Just before 11am today a gentleman walked into the office with a package. On his way in I saw that he was having a long gaze at
Merva. I figured he had something to do with the boat. He said his name was Jerry
Stenson. He said that he wanted to show me something. He reached into the package and pulled out three black and white pictures. the kind with blurred edges and a crystal clear center. There was a boy in white overalls standing on the deck of
Merva tied up to the piling at
Musgrave landing Saltspring. It was clear by the way he smiled at me. The boy in the picture was him, 65 years ago.
Merva did not look any different than she does now. How time stood still for that boat.
These are the best moment for us. Most boats that come up into the shop have some scraps of history attached to them through the word of the present owner, but to have a real moment presented, that's something. The two boats in the shop are similar in this way. Balandra the 21f sailboat has this same feel.
There were two other photos, one of
Merva side profile with a man in a white shirt sitting in the wheel house doorway. The other was another picture in the tender with his mother and aunt. Jerry at the oars. That's where most 5 year
old would be. The two pictures were taken on the same day at Sidney spit. It was so
unrecognisable without hundreds of boats in the background.
I'll scan and post the photos tomorrow.
