Tag Archives: Double-ender
“LML 144” – Sailboat secures past to present with Homer to Bristol Bay trip
Standing tall among the thousands of visitors at last weekend’s Salmonfest was a 29-foot long wooden vessel with a 9-foot beam, a 25-foot mast, and a plaque identifying it as “LML 144.”,,, Accompanying it were Tim Troll of Dillingham and Dave Seaman and Kate Mitchell, both of Homer, organizers of “Sailing Back to the Bay.” The vessel is set to take off and then follow a route that has linked Homer and Bristol Bay for decades. It will sail west, across Cook Inlet to Williamsport, be portaged 26 miles to Iliamna Lake, sail the length of the lake with stops at villages along the way, navigate the Kvichak River, and then proceed on Bristol Bay to the community of Naknek, arriving an estimated two weeks later, in time for Naknek’s “Fishtival.” Total distance of the journey: more than 200 miles. Photo’s >click to read< 22:02
Libby’s No. 23 – Double-ender offers peek into the Bristol Bay sailboat era
The double-ender sailboat is a relic of the non-motorized Bristol Bay fishery that disappeared in the early 1950s. One of these boats is on display at Lake Clark National Park in Port Alsworth — a 30-footer built in 1914 in a West Coast shipyard, named Libby’s No. 23. Libby’s No. 23 was one of the thousands of wooden sailboats manned by two-man crews back when the Bristol Bay fleet was totally at the mercy of the wind and the tides. “Not only did you have to be a good fisherman in this era, you had to be a darn good sailor,” said John Branson, the historian for Lake Clark National Park in Port Alsworth. You had to be a skilled sailor back then, he says, because mistakes could cost you dearly. Audio report, read the rest here 10:25
