Model of the schooner C. S. Holmes Carved by Mr. Orland Olson that he began in ca. 1934. He is now 101 years of age. |
Sail Ahoy! Avast the halyards! Come about!
Batten down the hatches!
A story of Orland Olson and his Boat
Having drawings and details now of the ship to guide me I was ready to begin on the model. I started when I was 15 years old which would put it about 1934. My father got me a piece of straight-grained cedar, some 30-inches long and I started whittling away. At about the same time, I had met and was going with Phoebe, who became my wife. We had this thing where we would go to church and then would come back to the house. I would carve away and she was content to watch and give advice. I finished the hull, laid in the decking, put on the sails that my mom had made, and finished the rigging. Now, about 5 years later came the time to launch it. I put it in the water at what was the Golden Gardens Pond by the Sound. It was a thing of beauty, a joy to behold as the wind filled the sails and moved swiftly through the waters just like the one she was modeled after--and I was her captain!
Life goes on. You know how it is. Phoebe and I married. We moved from place to place, job to job, house to house. The model was upstairs at times and then in the basement, never unloved––but time takes a toll on boats as well as humans. We made the move to Cristwood and the one thing my son wanted to keep was the boat.
Orland Olson Restoration of the C. S. Holmes Congratulations!! |
So I brought it here and have been working at restoring it and will pass it on to him. There have been many hours of pleasure in refitting it. Making over 100 grommets to hold the sails in place, (my daughter-in-law made them out of nylon)--remembering the pulleys I made out of flattened buckshot. Ah, yes, she is the beauty that you can see in the lobby area by the dining room. The plaque tells the specifics of this marvelous schooner, built in 1893; it sailed to the Arctic, the South Pole, and the Fiji Islands carrying lumber, sealskins, and salted cod among many other items. She set a record for sailing from San Diego to Marrowstone Island in the upper Sound in 4 1/2 days."
Written by Leo Mahan.
May 2006.
Cristwood Courier
Submitted to Saltwater People by Orland's grandson, Rich Olson.
Thanks to all of you for this great story.
No comments:
Post a Comment