PORT HADLOCK — A vintage boat that was the vessel for the first solo trans-Atlantic crossing by a woman now is being used to teach women who want to enter the maritime trades.
The Felicity Ann is the 23-foot sloop in which the late Ann Davison sailed alone across the Atlantic Ocean at the age of 39, in a journey completed in 1953 and hailed as the first voyage of its kind.
Now, 60 years later, the boat, somewhat the worse for wear, is situated under a temporary cover up the hill from the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building, and has become an instructional platform for local women who have volunteered to effect its reconstruction.
“There is the perception that there aren’t enough women in the maritime trades and there should be more programs that are geared toward them,” said Pete Leenhouts, the school’s executive director.
“This is an ideal project for them.”
The restoration project is coordinated by Penelope Partridge, program coordinator for the Community Boat Project, and supervised by shipwright Ernie Baird who are directing 12 women, six Port Townsend High School students and six volunteers, in making the vessel seaworthy.
Partridge will give a presentation about the restoration at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Port Townsend Yacht Club, 2503 Washington St., at the monthly meeting of the Point Wilson Sail and Power Squadron.
The presentation, which is free and open to the public, will be preceded by a potluck dinner at 6 p.m.
For more information contact Linda Newland, 360-437-9530.
Construction of the sloop began in 1939 in Cronwall, England under the name Peter Piper. Its completion was was delayed by World War II and it was launched in 1949 as the Felicity Ann.
The hull is made of pitch pine and oak, while the cockpit and coach house are teak.
Davison, who lived from 1914 to 1992, bought it using funds from her book, Last Voyage, detailing the sailing voyage in 1948 that led to the death of her husband, Frank Davison.
She left on her solo journey from Plymouth, England on May 18, 1952.
It took her several months to complete the voyage because she attempted it in winter and was slowed by the weather, Leenhouts said.
In 1956, her story of the 254-day transatlantic crossing in Felicity Ann was published as My Ship is So Small.
Davison took the vessel to a New York boat show, and the boat was repeatedly bought sold and sailed until it ended up in Haines, Alaska, owned by John Hutchins.
Hutchins hired boat school graduate Ian Seward to work on the boat, according to a 2009 newsletter from the school, but eventually, realizing the vast amount of work that needed to be done, donated it to the school in Port Hadlock.
It was moved from Alaska to the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in 2009.
The rehabilitation project was put on the fast track after Leenhouts became director of the school in 2012, he said.
Leenhouts said the project is proceeding slowly. It could be several years before the Felicity Ann is seaworthy.
Once the boat is ship-shape, it could be sold to a nonprofit and used as a teaching vessel or end up in the hands of a private owner, he said.
“We don’t know what happens to a boat once we finish it here,” he said.
“Once it’s launched, we don’t have anything to do with it anymore.”
This project is a collaboration among the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building, Community Boat Project and Washington State University Jefferson County 4-H.
The work is funded by donations. Checks can be written to Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding- Felicity Ann, 42 North Water St., Port Hadlock, WA 98363.
For more information, see http://felicityann.com/ or phone Partridge at 360-850-9866.
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
