Bill And Helen Wright Return Here ,
“Fancy Free” Is Hone To Travelers
The white hulled “Fancy Free,"
after livring it up for more than
tiro years in Southern waters,
rounded the channel breakwater
of the small boat harbor here
Thursday of last week, A after com
pleting more than 7000 nautical
miles.
Bill and Helen Wright, Kodiak
residents and owners of the boat,
have been poking into harbors,
coves, up and down the coasts of
Alaska, Canada, Washington, Ore
gon and California, as far as the
Alaskan seacoast city/ town or
hamlet you can name.1 Continuing
down, cities big and small, such
as Seattle, Portland, San Francis
co, Los Angeles were their ports
of call, until they reached Coro
nado. There they joined the local
yacht club, and stayed nine
months.
This leisurely way of traveling,
the culmination of considerable
planning and preparation over a
period of many years, has enabled
them to gain a host of new
Shown above are Helen and Bill Wright as they
relax aboar* the “Fancy Free." Since they were
absent for two years, the Wrights were thrilled
to see Kodiak’s new boat harbor, which Bill pro
nounced “as good as found anywhere."
Mexican border since they left
tore May 12, 1957. Aptly named
the “Fancy Free” the sleek, 45
foot converted pie tot boat, has
been the Wright’s floating home
ever since. On their downward
trip they visited just about any
friends, and visit old ones along
the way.
The beat Which was later to
become the “Fancy Free’1 was
purchased surplus and remodeled
by the Wrights. Every detail was
planned with the thought in mind
I
ALL-PURPOSE
BIS POCKET
SWINGING >>
SIDE POCKET
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STRAPS
HEAVY DUCK ^
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CARPENTERS OVERALLS
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DONNELLEY & ACHESON
PHmw 3201
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of a floating home. On it you will
find a good sized stateroom, with
ample clothes closet^ and storage
space. The latter includes space
for ration?, and other emergency
gear, including a rubber raft,
floatable food packets, etc. There
is ample space aboard for enter
taining guests, providing the com
fort of a settee and other seats.
Incidentally, this is probably
one of the few boats equipped
with a completely decorated
Christmas tree—stored away for
use on the proper* occasion.
Below the after structure is a
w^ll-equipped galley—complete
with oilburning cook stove, and
a refrigerator. The former heats
the entire boat, by means of a
special device attached to the
smoke pipe.
The boat is wired for 110 volt
electricity and also battery cur
rent enabling the use of both as
occasion arises. The refrigerator,
too, serves as an ice box.
But being landlubbers, too, the
Wrights did not always remain
aboard the “Fancy Free.” Tney
purchased cars on two occasions,
once in Los Angeles and later in
iSan Diego, and took off over the
highways,visiting points of inter
est. Altogether they spent a month
in San Francisco, one month in
Seattle, and six months in Los
Angeles.
The trip back was not as leisure
ly as that Southbound. They left
Coronado March 23, and made
many port calls along the way.
They visited former Kodiakans,
Leo Se.irs and family and Ray
h
Sears and family, who are now at
Santa Barbara. Continuing up the
coast, they stopped at San Fran
cisco, Eureka, Crescent City, Coos
Bay, Grays Harbor, Nanaimo, B.C.
and Ketchikan. There they visited
Helen and Tinv Gilmore both
former residents here. After leav
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Free" took waves and heavy seas,
without difficulty, aud at no time
was she passed along * the* Way,
since she had a cruising speed'of
10 knots..-... .. .• .,• •„>*\ \ •
This is the- second trip in eight
years the Wrights .have made.
Their first was in 1953-54, when
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ing Junea; id t>itk ey went
all around oe St. 1 :t: without
oven seein it due to murky
weather an heavy eas. From
Conjova, where they oled in for
supplies, et , they began the
home stretch across the Gulf of
Alaska, to Home Cove, Portlock,
laying in at Jzhut Bay on Afognak
overnight.
Bill said the two 1C3 h..p. GMC
doisels performed nicely during
the whole trip, with only some
minor pump trouble. The “Fancy
they spent 13 man traveling
throughout Southeast^, i Alaska.
The five years th. Wrights
spent in 'converting i wartime
picket Into a pie sure craft
has paid off in broadening their
horizons, enriching their lives,
added new friends, and enabled
them to follow a way of life they
like, and store up memories for
the future.
One more pleasure they looked
forward to materialized—the joy
of returning home.
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