Dirigible?

These will be that last of the photos that I post specifically about the Minoan. Sure, there are piles more but mostly I can't get them out of the photo album. The album of the photos that we took is one of those advertising gimmicks that were called 'magnetic' which really meant 'will stick so well you'll never get it out' unless...you don't need to take it out, therefore it falls out of it's own accord. The photos that were taken by LIFE magazine are too large to fit in my scanner without risking damage to them. I have managed a portion of one of them and that is this one of my dad. Do you think he looks enormously pleased? Even smeared with cement. This next photo is when the Minoan was being rolled over in our backyard. This is a good illustration of the strength of the hull as she is balanced at two points. All 5 tons. All the wood that is seen in this picture is only part of the mold and will be ripped apart. The Minoan has a ferro-cement deck that is made as an integral part of the hull. Amid the boat building years, my family decided to move from Groveland to the neighboring town of West Newbury so the Minoan was loaded on to a flatbed boat hauler and 'paraded' to Wallace Boat Yard in Merrimacport. And I mean paraded. You see we were quite well known by that time and people lined the streets watching the boat hauled by. After more years of fitting-out, she was launched in 1977. Several years of day-sailing later and it was time to cruise south to Florida for the winter. The first couple days out were rough weather with 50 knot winds. As soon as it settled down enough, Minoan motored through the Cape Cod Canal (above). Mom and dad spent the winter aboard in Stuart, Florida. We joined them for Christmas 1981. I hate this photo of myself! Be kind, I was over 5 months pregnant. I'm sharing the picture because it is one of the few that show 'down below'. And finally, a nice day in May, heading back home at the Cape Cod Canal. My dad is buried only a few miles from where this photo was taken.

For many years we were the neighborhood 'entertainment'. When we moved from Groveland, many of those neighbors said how boring life would be with us not being there. The best question..."So what's next, Al, a cement dirigible?"