When I get to feeling fortunate about being a boat nut, and particularly a sailor in the Pacific Northwest, it’s a “Let me count the ways” kind of thing. I could (and do) carry on (and on) about the incredible community with whom I get to share adventures or meet along the way. I gladly wax poetic about these extraordinary waters that offer cruising and racing experiences of pinch-me perfection. Another aspect of good fortune is the tremendous skill and talent that surrounds us and makes the industry of our region stand alone. From builders and boat yards making and restoring yachts of sizes both pocket and super, to naval architects and designers, makers and handyfolk and inventors—world-class professionals are all around us, and are our neighbors and friends every bit as much as they’re businesspeople we hope to someday hire for a project.
This month, I’ve been working on a new video about the custom Schumacher 77, Cascadia. The boat will be recognizable to those coming and going down Shilshole Bay Marina’s main thoroughfare—it may be much better known to some, but I was only peripherally aware of it as I motored past over the last couple decades. What I’ve discovered through our production process is the latest in a long line of boat builds or refits that excite and astonish me precisely because their scale, quality, and sophistication were executed right in our collective backyard.
Built over two years and splashed in 2002, Cascadia is uniquely local because the commissioning owner flatly denied the lead builder’s suggestion to build the boat elsewhere in the world to save cost. The owner, who had grown up in Seattle, was unequivocal—the boat was to be built locally, to employ this community of tradespeople and show what kind of boat it was possible to build in Ballard.
Twenty-four years later, the outcome remains magnificent and appears practically new—an impossibility if it had been a lesser build, though also a testament to Cascadia’s professional care in the intervening years. Throughout its construction and life since, hundreds of maritime careers have been touched by this single boat, affirming the owner’s motivation for its build location and creating a virtuous circle of work, knowledge, and capability for those involved.
It doesn’t diminish Cascadia’s story in the least to acknowledge that it’s but a face in the crowd when it comes to the top-tier work on display by our local marine professionals. Indeed, another of 48° North’s recent projects—focused on the jib-lead system refit on Jonathan McKee’s Dark Star—is also a celebration of the talent and skills in our regional industry. The boat was originally designed by the PNW’s own Paul Bieker, a world-renowned luminary; and Bieker Boats did the design work for this Dark Star refit that was then implemented by the expert team at Betts Boats in Anacortes.
Reinforcing my personal connection to that project was the individual who spans both of those Anacortes businesses—Evan Walker. Evan was at the center of the project in his capacities as Production Designer at Bieker Boats and Project Manager at Betts Boats. I’ve known Evan for years, and sailed countless miles with him. Coincidentally, nearly all that sailing with Evan was on the same boat I sailed with Cascadia’s Mate for the last 13 years, Conor Harkins.
I’m not just name dropping and saying my friends are cool; but they are super cool and, importantly, are just a couple of friendships with those doing unquestionably world-class work nearby. I’m confident you have the same experience of knowing, working with, and sharing the water with some of the finest marine professionals anywhere. That’s amazing, and we’re so dang lucky for it.
I’ll see you on the water,
Joe
Joe Cline
Joe Cline has been the Managing Editor of 48° North since 2014. From his career to his volunteer leadership in the marine industry, from racing sailboats large and small to his discovery of Pacific Northwest cruising —Joe is as sail-smitten as they come. Joe and his wife, Kaylin, have welcomed a couple of beautiful kiddos in the last few years, and he is enjoying fatherhood while still finding time to make a little music and even occasionally go sailing.
