Fall Hauling, Service & Storage 2021
and
Moving Toward Bigger Changes in 2022
October 5, 2021
Not surprisingly, the Summer and early fall slipped away before I had a chance to announce some major happenings at the Boatyard. Every time I started an update, something changed before I had a chance to post it. I guess the most important thing right now is to let everyone know that Ormonde and Mike O’Carroll are busy hauling boats, and my plan to continue to run Pecks’ Boats, Inc. parallel to the development of a marine services cooperative is working quite well. I am particularly encouraged by the addition of several new sailboat enthusiasts who form a strong core of working Coop members.
We have continued to work with Ghislaine LaCerte, who came to us as a customer in the Spring and quickly embraced the role of volunteer for yard work. Although loathe to spend time on desk work when she already runs her own business as CPA, she eventually consented to advise and guide the development of Pecks’ Maritime Collaborative on the Board of Directors with me and Ormonde. Between her business experience and various affiliations with non-profits, she has invaluable insights which are further bolstered by her willingness to learn about democratic, egalitarian models for business — like cooperatives, benefit corps, and B-Corps.
In June we added a new service collaborator, Weston “Cliff” Henry, and by now he feels like family. Being from Jamaica, he is looking forward to sharing his Island contacts with us as we get more involved with maritime education, saving sailboats, eco-tourism, and working sail.
Near the end of last month we gained a new volunteer organizer, Robert, who has taken up where Ted Austin left off with the added advantage of being available full-time through the busy season, and beyond if all continues to work as well as it has thus far. He is the friend of another customer who is interested in cooperatives, Nina Landau, who recently started working with me in the office — which is one reason I have time to write this update. Nina just bought a 65-year-old wooden boat that was built in Falmouth, and I expect Ormonde to stay as busy helping her repair it as she will stay helping me formulate organizational tools for cooperative participation. You will definitely be seeing more on our website about her “Chinese Lugger,” Sun Seeker.
In addition to integrating these core Coop members, we made great headway on various organizational projects around the yard this past summer. I continued to handle the office work afternoons and evenings, while the crew keeps up with the marine services and hauling jobs throughout the day. Since we’re still catching up on a backlog of repairs and maintenance, we didn’t get much of a break this summer — so we were grateful to have office and store coverage with members of the Cape Cod E-foil Club until the end of August. I would have liked to introduce them before they went back to college, and hope at least some of them will be back next year. In June we missed an opportunity to officially follow our former front office and PMC volunteer, Ted, across the Pacific in an epic sail from California to Hawaii. I also had wanted to find some way to commemorate John Peck on August 16, but, in retrospect, I realize I’m really not ready to celebrate his life on the anniversary of his death. I can hardly believe it’s been three years… I do feel ready to celebrate his 70th birthday by pressing some cider from the abundant crop of apples I’ve been harvesting from his trees. Soon I’ll be settling on a date close to his actual birthday (October 28), so if you’d like to join us for a potluck with cider right off the press, please send me an email at pecksboats@verizon.net.
Laura Opie
President, Pecks’ Boats, Inc.
Focaliser, Peck’s Maritime Collaborative
Recent Comments