“He does not need opium. He has the gift of reverie.” ~ Anais Nin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79UfWizjGiQ

“The Gift of Reverie”  is Roger & Julia Possley’s chronicle of thoughts and actions centered around the restoration and sailing  of a classic 31 foot wooden sailboat.

I (Roger) found Reverie in a 30 day old Craigslist ad after swearing I would stay off the internet looking at boats for sale.   We had just found a nice little Compac 16 and were excited to have a small, trailerable boat to sail on the cheap.

 

I showed pictures of Reverie to Julia and asked if she wanted to take a look.  We were to be  in Holland, Michigan the following weekend anyway, so what was the harm in taking a look at her?  As we looked her over from stem to stern, keel to coach roof, she looked like a worthwhile endeavor.   After 3 hours of inspection in temperatures hovering near freezing.  I asked Julia, “Do you like her?” Julia said, “Yes”, and that was that.  We agreed on what she was worth to the seller and revealed we were boat rich and cash poor.  A deal was struck and we were off to buy a tarp to protect her from the impending winter snows.

While Reverie was not free in the monetary sense, maybe she was a gift of the fates.    She needs work- a lot of work.  Even with all of the required skills planted firmly in my psyche and muscle memory I knew this was no small undertaking.   Our page.  As We Found Her, will describe her condition in greater detail but suffice it to say, she wouldn’t have made through the Winter of 2014/15 very well.  It was time for action and Reverie was about to be rescued from imminent decay.

That first day, we went out and bought a 25 x 33 foot tarp to stop more water leaking through her  deck.  We then drove off with the car filled with boat gear; the wooden boom and beautiful wooden spinnaker pole were strapped to the roof rack.  We turned a lot of heads that December day as we pulled up to the New Holland Brewing Company to toast our ‘new’ boat.

Let the adventure begin!