ki A Short History of Vixen's Voyage
In 1950 John Atkin designed a 34-foot sailboat for James Stark of Miami, Florida. The boat was to be named Vixen. Stark’s request was for a vessel that would take he and his wife, Jean, safely around the world. Vixen was built by a well known shipwright of the Bridgeport area named Joel Johnson and launched in 1952 from Johnson’s shop in Black Rock, Connecticut. Over the next eight years the Starks successfully sailed Vixen around the world.
Upon returning to Florida, Vixen was sold. Through a series of owners she eventually made her way to Port Townsend, Washington where she underwent an extensive restoration by Les and Libby Schnick.
In September of 2002 when Tiffany and I first saw Vixen at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Show she was in the final stages of her restoration and she was for sale. A few months later we sold what little assets we owned and bought Vixen from the Schnicks. Tiffany and I took the boat over to Canada where we lived onboard in the inner harbor of Victoria, BC.
The next two years were spent saving money and getting to know Vixen. In June of 2004 Tiffany and I were married and on September 2nd of the same year we left Victoria bound for Hilo, Hawaii with Tiffany’s father and sister onboard as crew. Twenty-four days later, after a beautiful tradewind passage, we reached the Big Island of Hawaii.
Eleven years have passed since that first ocean voyage. We have crossed Pacific and Indian Oceans and completed three trans-Atlantic crossings. We have visited some thirty-plus countries and invited countless visitors of all nations and aboard Vixen. Our longest stay was in New Zealand -- a year-and-a-half -- where our daughter Solianna was born. In 2010 our second daughter, Seffa Jane, was born after we reached Brazil.
Despite traveling in some remote and potentially dangerous corners of the world we have always been welcomed warmly and treated fairly. Now having finished her second circumnavigation, Vixen has again proven herself to be a faultless ocean-going vessel. Admittedly, among a world of fiberglass sloops which these days take most people to sea, Vixen’s wooden construction and gaff rig are anomalies. However, as sixty-three years of hard use can testify, there is a wisdom in her design and a timeless beauty in her lines not found in modern vessels.
please send me a note if you can add to Vixen's history or just to say "Hi" at: vixensvoyage@gmail.com
In 1950 John Atkin designed a 34-foot sailboat for James Stark of Miami, Florida. The boat was to be named Vixen. Stark’s request was for a vessel that would take he and his wife, Jean, safely around the world. Vixen was built by a well known shipwright of the Bridgeport area named Joel Johnson and launched in 1952 from Johnson’s shop in Black Rock, Connecticut. Over the next eight years the Starks successfully sailed Vixen around the world.
Upon returning to Florida, Vixen was sold. Through a series of owners she eventually made her way to Port Townsend, Washington where she underwent an extensive restoration by Les and Libby Schnick.
In September of 2002 when Tiffany and I first saw Vixen at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Show she was in the final stages of her restoration and she was for sale. A few months later we sold what little assets we owned and bought Vixen from the Schnicks. Tiffany and I took the boat over to Canada where we lived onboard in the inner harbor of Victoria, BC.
The next two years were spent saving money and getting to know Vixen. In June of 2004 Tiffany and I were married and on September 2nd of the same year we left Victoria bound for Hilo, Hawaii with Tiffany’s father and sister onboard as crew. Twenty-four days later, after a beautiful tradewind passage, we reached the Big Island of Hawaii.
Eleven years have passed since that first ocean voyage. We have crossed Pacific and Indian Oceans and completed three trans-Atlantic crossings. We have visited some thirty-plus countries and invited countless visitors of all nations and aboard Vixen. Our longest stay was in New Zealand -- a year-and-a-half -- where our daughter Solianna was born. In 2010 our second daughter, Seffa Jane, was born after we reached Brazil.
Despite traveling in some remote and potentially dangerous corners of the world we have always been welcomed warmly and treated fairly. Now having finished her second circumnavigation, Vixen has again proven herself to be a faultless ocean-going vessel. Admittedly, among a world of fiberglass sloops which these days take most people to sea, Vixen’s wooden construction and gaff rig are anomalies. However, as sixty-three years of hard use can testify, there is a wisdom in her design and a timeless beauty in her lines not found in modern vessels.
please send me a note if you can add to Vixen's history or just to say "Hi" at: vixensvoyage@gmail.com
Interesting links:
Atkin boat plans
Wooden Boat Magazine
Another family sailing an Atkin Gaffer
Latest favorite boat!
Atkin boat plans
Wooden Boat Magazine
Another family sailing an Atkin Gaffer
Latest favorite boat!
