Looking for the Tamarac II

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  • August 23, 2013 7:51 PM
    Reply # 1372988 on 1323445
    Brian:

    I just joined the WOA tonight, saw your post and realize I have your answer.   I sailed a Friendship Sloop on the Chesapeake Bay for 20 years until moving to La Paz, BCS, Mexico about 18 months ago.  I missed being on the water and, especially my Friendship.  So  I bought a boat in February of this year.   I found a Westsail 32 with the name of Tamarac II barely visible beneath the paint on the bulwarks.  The boat had been on the hard for over 2 years so it took several months to get her ready to launch.  She's been in the water about 5 weeks and I've sailed her an average of 2 times per week getting used to her.  (There are some not-so-subtle differences between a Friendship and a Westsail: gaff v. marconi rig, no winches v. winches, 12' bowsprit v. 6', etc.)  I hope to coastal cruise her in the Sea of Cortez in the future.  She's growing on me.  She handles very well, responds nicely to the tiller and moves unexpectedly quickly.  Maybe it's because I'm used to a "slow" boat, but I don't understand where the Wetsnail nickname came from. 

    I assume Jack Francis is your grandfather.  He did a great job building Tamarac II.  His workmanship is high quality and it has stood the test of time.  You should be proud of him.  According to the USCG Vessel Documentation website previously mentioned here, I figure I'm the 6th owner of the boat.  The 4 between your grandfather and me are Edward Foster, Terence Loose, Leonard Gibson.  The 4th owner was Mark (not his brother Adam) Penny, a Brit who died and left the boat to his mother, Jayne Brydges, in England.  Mark Penny had her under British registry.  I bought the boat from her and she is now re-documented with the USCG in my name.  Go to that website and, under "Search by Vessel Documentation Number," enter 574000 for this and other information.

    I understand you'd be interested to know if Tamarac II would be for sale.  If this email exchange were 5-6 months ago I'd have been tempted to say yes, for I recently learned that my old Friendship is up for sale!  Alas, I have too much invested in Tutti Va Bene (her new name) and I still believe that the Sea of Cortez is the wrong place for a Friendship.

    I hope I've helped you in your search.  If you have any questions or other needs please respond to me here or my email address on file with the WOA (I'm too new to know how all of this works.). 

    Best wishes,

    Tom Berry           
  • August 24, 2013 5:35 PM
    Reply # 1373338 on 1323445
    Deleted user
    This is SO COOL!  We met Tom on Tutti Va Bene at Costa Baja just before we left to come back up to the States for our annual summer visit.  His boat is painted the same color as ours and so, when he came in, what with being a Westsail and all, we definitely noticed.  Once I found out he was a new Westsail owner I told him about the WOA and urged him to check it out.  This connection to Tamarac II is just another example of how freakin' cool this organization is.

    -Steve

    PS: Tom, is Siempre Sabado still floating?  We should be back around the end of September.
  • November 24, 2014 10:29 PM
    Reply # 3157586 on 1323445

    Back from the dead! 

    This is awesome! I am so happy to have finally found her!

    To Tom: Thanks for responding and completing the puzzle and sorry for taking soooo long to reply. I've written you an email with more info.

    To all: Thanks for the help and wonderful stories. I didn't know my grandfather, Jack Francis, very well (he died when I was about 10), but hearing stories about him makes me feel like I'm getting to know who he was.

    Hopefully I will learn to sail someday soon and will have stories to share of my own, but until then, I will sift through the boxes of Tamarac II stuff I recently found and share my findings.

    -Brian Francis

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