"The past actually happened but history is only what someone wrote down." A. Whitney Brown.

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San Juan Archipelago, Washington State, United States
A society formed in 2009 for the purpose of collecting, preserving, celebrating, and disseminating the maritime history of the San Juan Islands and northern Puget Sound area. Check this log for tales from out-of-print publications as well as from members and friends. There are circa 750, often long entries, on a broad range of maritime topics; there are search aids at the bottom of the log. Please ask for permission to use any photo posted on this site. Thank you.

1943 ❖ SINBAD of the SAN JUANS


SINBAD

ON 243428

Location: Hix Bay, Shaw Island, WA.
Photo by Rod Peterson, 1971.

During the winters of the depressed 1930s, Shaw Islander Art Hoffman (1900-1981) was off work from his engineering job on the NEREID and other local cannery tenders. He and his younger brother Delbert (1903-1992) would leap at a chance to hop in Del's launch to motor out to neighboring island beaches, combing for logs. They saved them for a tow to the Spencer brothers' sawmill on Blakely Island.
      "Unc" carved out a scale half model, hauled home the raft of sawn lumber and the keel for SINBAD was laid near the shore of Hix Bay. The oak framed boat was 36-ft lod and 32.9-ft registered length x 9.3-ft B x 4.7-ft D. She was launched in 1943 on the site where Art's nephew, Henry, would later build his sawmill. A sawmill and a sawyer both of which became well known to many future homeowners on the island.
      The fishing vessel was built with the idea of trolling and was rigged for dragging for scallops for a few years. According to Henry, "Unc used to drag up a lot of different stuff.' One day he was particularly thirsty and it's said, he pulled up the drag to find a nice, cold bottle of beer.
      Later, when Art bottom fished for cod and halibut he would take a load to Bellingham once a week. Later still, the boat was used for gillnetting."

The last account of SINBAD we learned of her living in Seattle, WA., looking very well kept under the name of SNOOSE.

For more stories –– Henry Hoffman's book search

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