This morning I went to breakfast at Buccaneers before meeting my friends, Tim & Pam Pennington aboard their schooner which they built THEMSELVES!
I passed a freshly slaughtered hog which was being cut up…by machete….and sold and wasn’t all that excited by it.
I went to Buccaneers and found Norma hard at work in the kitchen. I showed her how to make hashbrowns and ate her first attempt (turned out great) with a fried egg and toast.
Saw Tim boarding his dinghy from the Bush Dock and waited as he headed my way.
He stopped to pick up a hitchhiker who he towed in and then we headed for the Pamela Ann.
Upon arriving, Arthur & Pam told me the story of the ten years of building their boat with little or no money and the craftsmanship and ingenuity blew my kilt up!
As we wandered through the schooner and Tim pointed things out, I oohed and aahhed at the appropriate times.
When Tim would stop for air, Pam would seize the opportunity to add a line or two. As soon as Tim caught his breath, he’d grab the tiller and head her up into the wind again.
And so, for the next couple of hours, the story rocked along, interspersed with anecdotes from first one then the other. To say that I was awed and entertained was an understatement.
The Pamela Ann, christened in Pepsi by her non-drinking owners, is a piece of work and a beauty of a boat.
The ingenuity of Timmy is amazing and you’d have to see it to believe it. This schooner, all 46 foot of her, is a labor of love and a lifetime dream which many folks said would remain unfinished and abandoned. Pam is a sailmaker and her skill precedes her wherever they go.
Not only were those folks wrong about the boat but anyone who fails to see the strength in this couple who eloped to marry at 15 & 17 and have made it through 50 years together, must be blind.
They have turned down BIG MONEY…..6 digit jobs in the nuclear power industry….. to keep their dreams alive and stay free of the system and should be an inspiration to anyone who has character and fortitude.
They have a book in the works and this is one story and two people who SHOULD be on reality TV. What a great time I had with them! Real fun with real people!
