Inside IYRS 

Restoration Hall is a really big space.  The two tenders were on display at the front of the room, and they looked tiny up there before the people started arriving.  

Up close, they were beautiful.  

Everything has been varnished, cleaned and laid out just right.  

The original Lawley has had the leathers replaced on her oars.

You can see the difference in how the two boats dealt with protecting their gunnels.  The original used rope

while the newer one used a padded canvas.

But… I'm getting off track and wandering into details.  Back to graduation!  

The power boats outside were soaked from a downpour earlier in the morning, and the students were busy drying everything and getting it back looking shiny and new.

Personally, I thought the beaded water looked pretty great.

But, a wet seat is no fun, and a dry, shiny surface really does look stunning.

The 12 1/2 was out in the parking lot by the power boats, waiting to be launched.

And the Beetle cats were all lined up at the end of the dock, waiting their turn as well.  

Ok, just a short aside here.  When you want your boat to look it's best, you should flem, or flemish, your lines.  That means to coil them on deck thusly: 

This is just for making everything pretty and not for every day use.  Still, if someone has their boat out on the dock ready to be launched for the first time, and they were too busy or scattered to flem their lines,

it's not considered rude to quietly go over and set things right.  It is considered rude to point out that you've done so.  Unless you're a guy, of course, and then it's ok to mock the other person and generally make a huge deal about it.

Renegade, the IYRS launch that the systems guys had fixed up was at the dock, looking very nice.

You may have noticed all the flowers on the boats.

The tradition is that you toss these overboard on your first launch as a kind of peace offering to the sea.  There's no hard data as to whether or no the sea actually appreciates this practice, but we side with the "better safe than sorry" way of thinking.  

Each year's graduating classes have their photos mounted and displayed for all to admire.

These are then mounted on the wall up along the catwalk.  You can see them all there, from the first class onwards.  

Soon, families and friends began to filter in to Restoration Hall.  The food was excellent, by the way.

(sorry for the multiples of the same people as well as the creepy disembodied head… the stitching software makes some unusual choices.)

There were babies everywhere

And tacky outfits

Ouch.  Worst pants Ever.  But, Best Hat, definitely.  

Terry Nathan, the president of IYRS and the Museum of Yachting, got things going.

He was followed by the guest speaker, Donn Costanzo of Wooden Boatworks in Greenport NY.  

Donn reminded us that this kind of work teaches us patience, or at the very least, learning to pick your shattered ego up from the wreckage of your most recent mistake, learn, and get on with it.  

It's good to hear how even pros have to take a big breath and get back on the horse like the rest of us.

Clark Posten, the school's program director presented the teaching and support staff.  For those of us who know Geoff Almeida, the former systems program instructor, it was particularly special to see him honored up front with the new systems instructors.