Göran R Buckhorn writes:

The boys might be gone, but their boats live on!

One rowing club which is making sure of this is the Rat Island Rowing and Sculling Club in Port Townsend, Washington, on the American west coast. One of the aims of the club is to restore, row and race old Pocock wooden shells, the kind of shell the now legendary “boys in the boat” raced in, which Daniel James Brown made even more famous in his 1-million-selling book. As the “Living Pocock Museum”, over the last 16 years the ‘Rats’ have rescued 15 Pocock shells.

During the month of March, the club is running a fundraising event for a worthy cause, indeed, to restore the Kathy Lazara Whitman, which was built in 1976 by the Pococks. “The Kathy” is an eight, but has also been rigged as an “Oct”, a 16-oared sculling boat. She is in need of new decks, new hardware and hull repair. It is what the club writes on its great website, ‘a big job!’

Here is a great video clip on the Kathy Lazara Whitman:

Why should you support a cause like this? The website of the Rat Island Rowing and Sculling Club gives you the answers:

a) American Heritage – Pocock shells represent half a century of U.S. domination in championship rowing and the Olympics.

b) Northwest Culture. Western Red Cedar, Boeing Aeronautics, the UW.  The ingredients that went into Pocock shells also shaped our entire region.

c) Less like a boat. More like a musical instrument. These shells are truly works of art. Their wafer-thin hulls are no thicker than a violin’s.

The boys are gone. The boats live on – help the Kathy Lazara Whitman to a new life. Get more information and donate HERE. And yes, there are some perks!