Welcome back, Dorothy fans!
We are long overdue for an update and I do apologize for having left you so long. I hope your holidays were merry, restful and gave you time to set your sights on the exciting times coming ahead.
There was actually a lot of downtime here at Dorothy HQ over the holidays. Some was planned, some was not…
The unplanned downtime was due to Tony Grove (our amazing shipwright), getting in a rather nasty car accident just before Christmas on Gabriola’s SINGLE night of snow – as vintage ’65 Dodge vans apparently aren’t known for skilled snow negotiation– resulting in 1 broken van, 1 broken shoulder and 7 broken ribs. Ouch!
Poor Tony! But fear not, he’s come through amazingly, and with no apparent lasting damage. Apart from lots of pain in the first few weeks (anyone who made him laugh was promptly banned from the house!) and having to spend far more hours propped up on the couch than he was used to, he’s weathered it just fine. I’m happy to report that Tony is back on his feet and able to do more each day. It might be a few weeks yet until work can begin again on Dorothy, but he’s managed to stay busy in the meantime.
And there’s lots in the pipeline for the coming few weeks, so we are actually glad for a nice rest. Here’s a look at what’s coming:
– Tony finished his painting of Dorothy (yay!) just before his accident, and he’s very happy with the results. I must say her fantail has never been so beautifully highlighted! He’s framing it today for shipping soon. It was a commission for the Vancouver Law Society. We shot still frames as the painting developed, which have turned out GREAT and will an amazing tool for the documentary. [Photo to come – just have to wait til the client sees it first]
– AND we look forward to making a canvas reproduction of the Dorothy painting to give away to the biggest donor in our fall Indiegogo fundraiser. So nice to give gifts! That’s been one of my favourite parts of fundraising.
– the German yacht magazine, YACHT, is sending a team to photograph and write a feature on Dorothy‘s restoration in mid-February
– Festool (a German manufacturer of premium equipment) has asked Tony to participate in their “Sand, Finish, Pass” promotion, in which they give out a Rotex RO 125 Multi-Mode Sander to woodworking specialists around the continent to test in the unique conditions of their own workplace. Tony is the only boatbuilder participating in the promotion, and we think they’re pretty lucky to get their sander tested on our precious Dorothy! Check out their Facebook page for some recent photos (actually screengrabs from the video Tobi is shooting for the contest)
– Tony and I (Tobi) will be speaking about Dorothy‘s restoration on Gabriola, in an event put together by the Gabriola Historical and Museum Society. Thursday, January 30 | Phoenix Auditorium at The Haven | Doors open at 6:30, presentation at 7:00 | Admission by donation.
– Tony Grove will be speaking again in Victoria at the Maritime Museum of B.C. during Maritime Heritage week, Feb 17-23. Check out the MMBC’s snazzy new website in the meantime for details.
– this month, Heritage BC is featuring an article on Dorothy in their quarterly magazine to celebrate their theme “Heritage Afloat”
– we are looking forward to an interview with Sheryl MacKay of CBC’s NXNW morning show, probably at the end of this month. We’ll post details on when it goes to air.
and… finally… some real work. Tobi gets to pick up the camera again tomorrow to meet a very special person in Dorothy‘s life. This amazing person learned to sail on Dorothy, as the lovely boat belonged to their family about 5 decades ago. We are very much looking forward to this and have waited a loonnng time for this piece of the Dorothy history to fall into place. More on that this weekend, with some photos for sure.
Dorothy is still patiently waiting for visitors to come see her in this incredibly beautiful state: wood sanded down to the grain, planks exposed, her “stuffing” taken out. So if you have a hankering to see this beautiful little ship, send Tony or I a note and arrange a visit. Once Tony gets back to work she won’t be like this for long! This shipwright moves fast, so get here while you can!
And finally, I believe I have sent out most, if not all, the gifts and thank yous for the donations that came in. IF you’re missing yours and I overlooked you somehow, please PLEASE send an email to tobi [at] tobielliott [dot] com and gently remind me! It wasn’t on purpose. There’s just a lot of things to keep tabs on. Doin’ my best…
Thanks for all your support. Keep sharing your stories and telling us what you are up to!
Tobi & Tony
