Imagine That: Hawk in Coal Harbor, A Tribute.

This past summer I had a short but sweet love affair with a very special man. Meet Bob McKnight. This entry is my photo essay of Bob's passion for wooden boats, in particular, Hawk, a 49' wooden racing sloop designed by William Roue, of Bluenose fame and built in 1929. A Canadian sailing icon on the Westcoast, Hawk was in dire need of repair and Bob took on the job with the intention of returning her to her former glory. The restoration began in the dead cold of winter, on the hard in a North Vancouver shipyard, replacing one rotten plank after the next. A close friend of Bob's, Jan, who worked side by side with Bob on this job, mid-way through the grueling work grabbed Bob by the shirt collar (yes, she is a very powerful woman) and told him, through clenched teeth, IF HE EVER FUCKING TOOK ON ANOTHER JOB LIKE THIS AGAIN SHE"D KILL HIM. Unquote. Physically it would be akin to pushing a large bolder uphill with a toothpick. Twelve to thirteen hour days, seven days a week. After steaming the oak planks, fitting them, recaulking and sanding (imagine holding a long board covered in sandpaper over your head and moving it back and forth, then repeat motion 3,000 times), they painted the hull Electric Blue, a deep, dark stately color that befits her elegant lines. A marine rich yellow line engraved in the length of her hull enhances her sheer line, and Jan's painstaking care on her topsides brightwork polished her off. The result? Stunningly beautiful. Sheer elegance.

On a brilliant sunny day in August, 2014, Bob brought Hawk into the mast tower at the Vancouver Rowing Club to step her mast.