Our profuse thanks to everyone who greeted us on our four-stop tour in August and September!
Stops included:
Madison, Wisconsin
Newport Beach, California
Sacramento, California
Port Townsend, Washington
We've seldom seen such big crowds trying out boats and thinking about building boats. Let us catch our breath, then we'll be back on the road over the winter.
Austin, who was at the wheel of the CLC Big Rig most of the trip, grabbed this money shot in Utah.
This was the start of the demo at the Newport Aquatic Center in Newport Beach, California.
Next up was Lake Natoma near Sacramento, California. We ran out of wristbands at 100 people, so we're not sure of the total head count, but this was a VERY busy demo!
We splurged on two trucks this year and towed PocketShip out to the WoodenBoat Festival in Port Townsend. Here, our friend Russell Brown tows PocketShip into the marina with his stitch-and-glue PT Skiff.
We were delighted to see Jon Lee appear at the show in his own beautiful PocketShip. Jon built his boat from plans.
A good shot of Jon's PocketShip.
The CLC kayak tower keeps presenting interesting photo ops.
PocketShip nestled into a sea of cool wooden boats.
We had a half-dozen paddleboards on hand for people to try out. This is a Kaholo, built with a strip-planked deck by our colleague Larry Froley. Larry runs Gray Whale Trading and specializes in paddleboards.
Our Chester Yawl out for a spin off Port Townsend.
Jon Lee's PocketShip, only about a week old, sailing near Admiralty Inlet.
Larry Froley and his son Zach put on daily Kaholo paddleboard demonstrations.
One of the great things about the Port Townsend WoodenBoat Festival is the ethic of participants all heading out on the water every afternoon. We did, too, with our friend Dieter Loibner volunteering as skipper.
The waters off Port Townsend offer sometimes-boisterous sailing conditions, as this photo of CLC's PocketShip and the following pics demonstrate. We got some great video, too! Click here for a fun 1-minute YouTube clip.
A Shearwater Sport next to Jon Lee's Pocketship.
The CLC crew went out daily to explore the local waters.
Here's an Eastport Pram and a Kaholo SUP being used as tenders to a larger boat.
Our colleague Aaron, staying dry in very cold water.
Joey, with Whidbey Island in the background. Shearwater 17
Colleagues Austin and Dieter, with Port Townsend visible. Night Heron and Night Heron Hybrid.
Great photo of a Shearwater 17!
Hudson Point
A Northeaster Dory built by Doug Van Allen
Karli Mueller's Northeaster Dory, with a sliding seat.
Heading out for the rowing races during the Festival.
Doug's Northeaster Dory competing as a tandem.
Night Heron trials.
The daily sail-by at Hudson Point.
Shearwater Sport rolls.
A Wood Duck kayak with a sailing rig!
PocketShip in company with Russell Brown's 36-foot Pacific proa "Jzerro."
Jzerro making 17 knots off Port Townsend. Sharp eyes will recognize Jzerro as the direct inspiration for CLC's 31-foot proa, "Madness." We got some really good video of Jzerro in action: Click Here.
Joey closes the show on Saturday with cannon fire from a Wood Duck.
That's a brass signal cannon with a 10-gauge blank.
Joey was lucky not to shoot his eye out. He'll be refinishing that deck back here in Annapolis.
Stack of show programs. CLC was a major sponsor of the WoodenBoat Festival.
The show as we packed up. See you next year!