The Crew

Doug, Beth, and Annabelle

The crew of Harmony is comprised of Doug Tate, Beth Tate, and the lovable bosun's mate, Annabelle.  We began our sailing adventures together by building our first boat from plans.  Somehow surviving the lessons associated with laminating fiberglass, melting lead, and rolling/tipping Awlgrip paint together has made us a fairly cohesive couple.  Hmmm, maybe its the left over resin.  Annabelle, our bichon friese diva, joined us in 2004 and has become a very loyal and attentive crew member.

Annabelle indicating her opinion of our Marion Mooring

We proudly launched our 20 foot sloop that we named Windsong in Marion, MA, in 1990 and proceeded to realize that sailing on Buzzards Bay was an incredible, if not challenging, experience.  After an ambitious trip to Marblehead, we learned what happens when a strong southwest wind meets the current coming out of the Cape Cod Canal:  not something we want to do again anytime soon.  We soon realized with a bit of sadness that our nautical creation was a bit too small and light for the rigors of Buzzard Bay.

We were able to sell Windsong and purchase a 1965 Pearson Vanguard named Poetry.  While in great condition, Poetry needed some personal improvements to make her capable of sailing to the destinations we dreamed of.  I guess 6 years of building our Windsong hadn't discouraged us from big projects.  We proceeded to upgrade Poetry to a new level. 

Over the next 5 years we completely gutted and refinished her interior, rewired her electronics, upgraded her canvas and sails, and installed sufficient systems to allow us to take her on long cruises.  However, in the middle of our efforts, Doug accepted a job in California and we trucked Poetry to San Francisco Bay for three years of incredible sailing.

Our journeys brought us back to Marion and our favorite boat yard, Barden's Boat Yard, where we sailed Poetry all around Buzzard's Bay for the next 10 years.  In August 2011, we were offered the opportunity to purchase a Westsail 42 Ketch that we had admired for over 20 years.

While we couldn't imagine having either the desire or energy to undertake another boat project, we none-the-less accepted an invitation to look at the Westsail.  Well, it took all of 5 minutes for us to develop that familiar fiberglass itch.  Even though the boat had been neglected for about 5 years and showed significant deterioration of her interior, the survey revealed a bomb proof deck and hull.  With the price being opportune, the deal was done, and we became the proud owners of Harmony.

We needed to sell our beloved Poetry in order to not become overwhelmed with boat stuff.  Our dear friends Paul and Abbie fell for Poetry and our loyal ship took on two new owners who are as fastidious as they are wonderful.  We then jumped feet first into the restoration of Harmony.

Our Harmony project became much more involved than we could have expected, but excitedly doable regardless.  She became a great platform upon which to do all those things we'd read about and dreamed about in our nautical sojourn.  We could also use Harmony as a vessel in which to achieve the environmentally responsible cruising lifestyle we strived for.

We hope to launch Harmony in August 2013.