I’ve been experiencing lots of positive life changes recently, but have spent painfully little time on the water. I got married (for the 1st time) at the ripe old age of 44 and will have my first child just shy of my 46th birthday. I will be an old dad.

My homebuilt flotilla still consists of the Haven (Nimbus), the Handy Billy (Geezer) and two Fiddleheads (Tempest and Tranquility). The big boats both live on trailers now. I could not get out on the water enough to justify the slip fees. 

All the boats could use fresh paint and varnish, but they are all ready to go when I find the time. We actually use the Fiddleheads more often than the other boats. I am ashamed to say I have not sailed Nimbus in over a year. 

Anyhow, I was visiting my friends up in Maine last month. They had an incident with their Herreshoff  12-1/2 over Labor Day. I thought your readership might be interested in these photos. 

A culmination of somewhat blustery weather, rusty seamanship and possibly sticky running rigging resulted in a swamping of the boat. Nobody was hurt. This boat was built to the original design and therefore has the watertight front compartment. As you can see from the first photo, that kept the boat from going down. However, the compartment was leaking and she was slowly sinking. A helpful lobster fisherman saw the commotion and came over to assist. The boat was towed to nearby shoreline that was not rocky. The boat was righted and the bailing began. She floated a bit nose heavy until the compartment was pumped out. She was put back on her mooring the same day as the incident. She suffered a damaged rudder.

Without the watertight compartment she would have been on the bottom in about 30 feet of water (at low tide).

I hope things are going well with you,

Dan