I grew up on basketball, not the sea, and I was twenty-something before I discovered boating on saltwater. The first time I took my wife into a sailboat we were off the elbow of Cape Cod (Chatham). I didn't know how to tack back to the dock after I had sailed casually downwind. A passing mariner towed us in.

We now live on an island in the Pacific Northwest, and the sea is an integral part of everyday life. It dominates our vistas, affects the weather, provides food and passage, acts as a moat, and smells good. Boats--ferry, sailing, power--are our vehicles of the sea. Boats require boatyards, and boatyards generate characters, just as do other fixed places where people gather regularly--construction sites, athletic fields, faculty lounges, and neighborhood bars. Banter is the common denominator.

The tales in this section are based on stories told by people who hang around Shipyard Cove. Some part of each story is true, but I don't know which part.