Still in Awe

We've been home for almost a week following our trip to Michigan's UP to launch and sail Gardens of Fenwick.

Sailed three of the four days we were there (the second day was spent rearranging a bit of hardware and adjusting some rigging)... Conditions were just about perfect: Light air on Day 1, progressively stronger winds thru Day 4. Most photos of Gardens were taken on that first day, so there aren't any real action shots - but there are a few 'duffer' shots (slack downhaul, tight outhaul = big crease in the main). (

Gardens at the dock:

Sailing off the dock:

Light air, slack downhaul, tight outhaul:

Friday workday:

Toasting Gardens:

Me throughout the weekend:

My email to another Pathfinder builder best captures, I think, my reactions to Gardens, the Pathfinder design and John Welsford:

The Pathfinder is SO worth it! John Welsford is a genius!

I find it difficult to describe how it feels to sail a boat I have taken so long to get in the water. None of the ‘flaws’ I’ve fretted about matter. No one else saw them. The boat either didn’t notice them or shrugged them off.

Enjoy your build - but don’t dally: sailing a Pathfinder is so much more fun than building one!

I am still in awe!