August 2008 Newsletter    By Harold Aune VP

This Newsletter covers some of the great times we had out on the water this summer.  First Andrea Guyon reports on the fun she’s had with her Solo 14 and then I tell about a week Marie and I spent with friends messing about in small boats.

A Solo 14 in My Backyard!          By  Andrea Guyon

I am a pretty lucky girl these days and I thought I would share my joy with all you Whitehall fans out there.

Since May, my family and I have been living in a waterfront townhouse on the upper Gorge Waterway known as Portage Inlet here in Victoria.  It's a 10-minute bike ride for me to get to work and my two children go to school 2 blocks from the Whitehall manufacturing facilities and corporate office. I work at Whitehall doing sales. I might have spoken with you! Soon after moving in, Marie Hutchinson and Harold Aune offered one of the first Solo 14s ever made for myself and my family to use and let me say this… that slide seat stays warm as the boat gets so much use!

Sage, my 12 year old son, took sculling lessons through his school last spring. He is the smoothest at coming in and out of the private pebble beach where we keep the boat, at the foot of our back yard.  He and his 6 year old sister Kestrel, are out in the boat most days rowing around, exploring the waterway and getting to the playgrounds along the Gorge Inlet that are accessible by water.  They take their lifejackets, water, snacks and walkie-talkie and off they go.  I love to watch them and the neighbor's kids out enjoying their summer on the water. Kestrel is keen on learning to row, but for now she enjoys being the "bow" singer…. row… row…  row… your boat… (As a round if others will join in). 

I row most mornings with my new friend Carol who has been rowing shells for over twelve years and is a great coach. Carol flagged me down as I was rowing by and we have been friends ever since. She introduced me to a few other women in my "waterhood" that row regularly so it's fun for me to buzz her dock and yell for her to "come out and play?"  We are out there in all sorts of boats… kayaks, canoes, rowboats and shells… too much fun!

Another great thing about living next to the water, in an urban setting, and having a practical boat like the Solo 14 is the ability to incorporate the boat into everyday things such as getting groceries and videos and whatever else we may need as well as visiting friends along the way.  Instead of jumping in the car, we can jump in the boat, and tie up while we do our shopping about a mile from our place. It's fun, the kids love it and everyone stays in great shape.  I also love to row in the evenings to unwind. My husband, Herve, enjoys being out on the water and also loves what rowing is doing for my mind and body (booty!).

We keep our boat right on the beach on some boat skidway trax secured with an anchor plate/bungee system and a Python cable lock so "Nimble" is always ready to go!  I only hope that those of you who own a boat like this one are having as much fun as we are.

If you are considering a boat for yourself or your family I am even more excited and ready to go over the details after the last few months of having fun with our Solo 14. By the way, we named her “Nimble” because she’s fast and so easy to maneuver.

"Row with the flow" And give me a call at the office!

Andrea Guyon
International Sales and Marketing

A Flotilla of Fun       by Harold Aune

Here in Victoria just a short distance off Oak Bay is a charming group of uninhabited islands that are just perfect for beachcombing and exploring by rowboat. A few weeks back Marie and I sailed over to them in our trimaran “Physis” and met up with Bob Wilson and Estaire Blackbourne aboard their sailboat the “Mornin Maid”.

We anchored out in the islands for a few days enjoying the “cruising” lifestyle while only a couple of hours from home. Bob and Estaire had sailed down from Comox taking  a couple of weeks and enjoying many beautiful anchorages. Mornin Maid’s tender is  a beautiful 14’ black dory Bob built himself.

Aboard Physis we brought a good supply of small boats along including our regular ships tender a Westcoast 11.6”, a Solo 14 and a classic Whitehall Spirit 14. On the two Whitehalls we rowed with slide seat setups and sculling oars and the Mornin Maid’s dory and the Westcoast both from fixed seats with traditional oars. We each had our own boat to row.

Days were spent rowing and exploring the shorelines and beaches of the Chatham Island group in the hot July sunshine. Well sometimes a cool westerly breeze flowed down Juan de Fuca Strait but it was refreshing and made for perfect rowing conditions. We traded boats and sampled the subtle differences each design offered. All were enjoyable and a pleasure to row. When you have a boat all to yourself it really is a lot like being on a bicycle. You can row where you want and with only one person aboard the boat is light as possible so the responsiveness is more noticeable.

We picked our way through the rocks and kelp patches and pulled up our small fleet on many little beaches while walking about checking out the otter trails, flowers, flotsam and jetsum. At one point Estaire spotted a bottle with a message inside. It was from a person who had set it adrift down the coast in Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River over a year ago.
Oddly enough there was no return address but that made it a lot easier to not send a reply.

My birthday fell on one of the days and word had leaked out to a few other boating friends who sailed their boats over for a small beach party.  Estaire produced a really cool birthday cake in their shipboard galley stove and a salmon was barbecued over a small beach fire. Stories told, songs sung and a great time had once again.

Sunday rolled around and we hauled our fleet of small boats back aboard, hoisted our anchor and headed back to town but with fond memories of a great week gunkholing the islands in some wonderful  small boats with great friends.