Bravo Team was called in today to lend a hand to help launch Longboat Bear. We launched Townshend a few weeks back (blog post: https://nwmaritime.org/bravo-team/floating-our-boat/) after putting lots of energy into her maintenance in the boatshop. Bear is very similar to Townshend except for some details like her planking (carvel on Bear, lapstrake on Townshend), her sole boards (oiled on Bear, painted on Townshend), and her mizzen boom rigging.
To get ready for another boat at the dock, we had some boat shuffling to do. We also had some gear shlepping to do. We got right to work! Oars and masts, fenders and docklines were put into place. Down at the dock, we practiced hand-lining boats out of the way to create a spot for Bear dockside as we predict she’ll take a few days to ‘take up’ while her wood swells after a month in a heated shop.
Lots of knot-tying practice in the classroom paid off with Round Turn and Two half hitches (on a bight), and cleat hitches made fast with a locking turn. We had a sense of the southerly as we practiced tensioning dock lines to help us brake and hold boats with fenders working to protect newly painted wood.
We had Snack aboard Townshend dockside and there was a chance for a Moment of Silence while we waited for Bear to launch with the help of SEA Marine’s boat lift. Rowing her around to her slip was a fun way to do just enough rowing to get warm.
After being outside in the chilly weather, we made it to the classroom to have hot drinks and continued to plan to the environmental project. We are closer to honing in on consensus around a topic and will keep you informed about what we decide. Much discussion was made about using SMART goals for our project: S=specific, M=measurable, A=achievable, R=relevant, T=timebound.
Our final reflection was a fun one! – Tell about a time you had an interaction with a wild animal. Many laughs and stories were shared about interactions with a moose, a rat, a puffer fish, an eagle trying to hunt chickens, a mountain lion, a seal, and an otter.
Friendships are being formed through working with each other, sharing stories, Snack and rowing, as well as showing up for each other and our boats.