Priceless

Need we say more...

Regatta Fun

Here are some pics of Told Ya!'s crew. They are Schyler Barnes, skipper, Libby Wing, middle and Doug Pope, bow.

July 4th @ 6:10 pm

And there she is in the water floating! It was a sweet sight to see. What made the moment even better was the fact the previous owner, Dave Penfield, was there to witness it. When he bought the boat some 17 years ago, he was never able to sail it due to the bottom not being in the greatest of shape. It began to sink as soon as he put it in the water. He started the restoration process by having a new bottom put on. He also started working on stripping the hull when the life took over and he could no longer spend the time to work on it. For years it sat in his garage and then in storage at The Sailboat Shop until Schyler bought the boat with the promise to restore it. In fact, Dave gave us the little photo album he put together when he bought No. 39 and there is a photo of the boat in almost the exact spot of where he initially launched her and found himself knee deep in water! I'm sure he was thrilled to see the boat here at the Regatta. Thank you Dave! She's still at the club so take her for that sail you never got! You deserve one! Also, as you wished, the money to buy the boat was donated to The Historical Society for the funds needed to build the Boat Museum on your behalf. They were thrilled!!!

July 4th @ 5:05 pm

And there she goes!!! Off to the 70th Anniversary Regatta behind the Pope Sails & Rigging van. We made it and could NOT have realized our dream of sailing No. 39 in the Regatta without the help of Doug, Libby and Jack these last 2 days. It was them who worked furiously on getting the rigging and sails up and working. What a beautiful sight.

It was so exciting to follow Doug and Libby with Told Ya! behind them as the American flag flew proudly in the wind on this important day. It was a very moving moment for all of us. If one truly believes in something it will happen. It just takes a vision, determination, passion, a lot of hard work and most importantly, great friends to help you along.

July 3 @ 9:13pm

Told Ya! rolled out of the our driveway with crooked tail lights and all at 9:13 pm to go to the Sailboat shop for all the finishing touches.

We have been working real hard the past several days with incredible help from all of our friends. Doug Pope, of Pope Sails from Maine and his son Colin, are in town and have been busy helping to get the boat ready. Carolyn Legg who sewed No.39 onto the old sails from 1946 that Libby and I found in the barn, and of course Libby and Jack! Thank you all so, so, very much! We could not have done it without your help and encouragement. We can all honestly admit that at one point or another we had our doubts, but we kept plugging away. Poor Doug, when he first saw the boat on Wednesday, he just shook his head and wasn't quite sure what to think.

It has been a busy week. On Tuesday Jack and Schyler were told by the Village Police to shut down at 11:15pm just when they were on a roll with the deck. We have had to battle with thunderstorms, hail, heavy rains, and missing parts which at times really hampered the the progress of the boat. But little by little, the work got done.

Did I mention the Regatta starts tomorrow???