Hello Lucas
September, to me, has always been the start of fall. It just seems proper. Cold in the winter, pretty in the spring, hot and dusty in the summer and any which way in the fall. And then finally, at some point it’s going to rain. It’s going to rain like a cow… (can’t say the word). Like a cow doing his business on a flat rock. And that grand entrance of mother nature signifies the end of our fifth season, fire season. We live on pins and needles out here waiting for lightening strikes, or for some idiot to blow up his meth lab. Lake County is one of the poorest and least populated counties in California. Uh, there may be a reason for that. You would be hard pressed to find any part of Lake County that hadn’t burned in the last 25 years. So, fire season can be tough. The good things about it are what persuaded us to move here. It’s quiet, there are eagles, deer, bears, and it’s beautiful. Jane and I have a bit of history with fire it seems. In 2018 we nearly got burned out. Having just finished the house, we were ordered to leave but did not and spent the next 10 days with no water or power defending our house. We survived it and so did the house. I wrote about it: “Siege at Clover Valley.” (An earlier post) Then two years ago our former house in Altadena burned to the ground in the “Altadena Fire”, along with about 9,400 others. Nothing was left. Luckily, (for us) we had just sold it. You might think, so what, wasn’t yours anymore, but like Theresa she was a classic. A 1928 Spanish style that I spent 35 years custom rebuilding every piece of it, some of my best work. The nice lady who bought it, bought it for that reason. It was a showcase. Please bear with me. There is reason to this rant.
I was sitting in my comfortable chair admiring Theresa for the second time yesterday, having just laid on one more plank. One more on and just six more rows to go before a finished hull. It looks as though I may actually pull it off, I quietly whisper to myself, careful that no one could hear. I was still musing over an e-mail I had just received from Jamestown Distributors, a major marine supplies distributor. A few weeks ago, I had sent them an e-mail thanking the tech guys for their years of help. They actually are and have been a tremendous resource. I mentioned my Theresa project, a yawl by Albert Strange, a one-of-a-kind design that many people are following through my website and the newsletter. And that I had been using them since the mid 80’s. I thought no more about it until today when I received a request for more information and pictures. It seems they would like to feature Theresa and I on their website. And not only that but they would like to include a link to the ASA newsletter, “So that others could follow along with my progress.” I sat there in a bit of confusion, trying to sort out what this exactly meant. It could be a big help or possibly nothing at all. It’s not going to get Theresa built, only I can do that. I sent off a quick response saying, “Great, I’ll get you what you want.” Not two minutes later my phone alarm went off. Watch Duty, a Cal Fire app for forest fires in the area. This one said three acres burning about four miles away to the northwest. “Uh-Oh, I thought. They better get on that.” On walking out in the field, I could see the smoke column. This is the “Lucas Fire”. By the time I got back in the shop I got another alert that it was now 50 acres. An hour later it was 400 acres. Evacuation zones were already set up. This was serious. I got busy filling tanks with water, stretching hoses, moving piles of wood, etc… Lodged in my head somewhere between two neurons was the nagging thought that my 15 minutes of fame and glory are about to go up in smoke. That was a day and a half ago and it is now 4,128 acres. This is still small compared to the Ranch fire in 2018 which surrounded our house. Overall, the entire Ranch Fire—which was part of the Mendocino Complex fire and stretched across Mendocino, Lake, Colusa, and Glenn counties—burned a total of 410,203 acres. This made it the largest single wildfire in modern California history. The closest point of this new fire is still a few, maybe three miles away. Our little town of Upper Lake is on standby evacuation, 1.5 miles away. Today 9/12 was a red flag day with 35 to 40kts of hot wind from the west. Very scarry stuff, blowing a snowstorm of ash through my big shop door. Not good. So far though, there is no evacuation order for us. Not that that would mean anything to me. I spent the day clearing brush and moving stuff from one spot to another. One has to stay busy even though it may seem fruitless. It’s hard to work on a boat when you look out and see this.
On the other hand, I remind myself that this is just part of boatbuilding. On a long project like this something will always come up. Just focus on the next plank. Ignore the rest. Never fear, Cal Fire will do their job. They will get this one done just like they did the last one. These guys are superheroes, fearless. The Lucas Fire will be a distant memory. Theresa will get built. Whatever it takes.
Current pictures of Theresa follow:
New inner planks are 1/2″ thick. Once fitted they are set tight to the one above with thickened epoxy and two bronze ring shank nails into each frame.
All seams on the inner planking are then taped with 4 oz fiberglass tape and set in Total Boat High Performance epoxy.
P.S. Every story should have a proper ending. Today is September 14th, four days after it started. Though the fire still covers over 4,100 acres, but it is holding and now 30% contained. Lines of contingency have been established (backup lines of defense in case the fire jumps). This is very good. It means that they have had time to do this because the fire is getting under control. Theresa is smiling again as are all of us. Dusting the ash off her I get back to work. The only one not smiling is Lucas. But well, so what!
Dave Ahrens