Cheryl Cooper, author, presented 1812 and the Age of Sail to the Shellback Club. She covered her early amusing writing career and shared the inspiration behind writing a series of historical novels set upon the high seas during the War of 1812. She discussed aspects of that naval war, and the hardships & conditions of life for the men who lived & fought on warships during the Age of Sail. About Cheryl Cooper Cheryl Cooper was born in Toronto, spent her youth in Thornhill, and now lives in Bracebridge with her husband Randy and two cats, Magpie and Fog. Her sons, Evan and Brodie, reside and work in Los Angeles. She holds degrees in English and education from Queen’s University. Cheryl is a former teacher of the deaf, and acquisitions editor for both Blue Butterfly Books and Muskoka Books. She is presently a director of the Children’s Foundation of Muskoka. Cheryl’s articles and stories have appeared in numerous Canadian periodicals, and in 2010 she made her book publishing debut with Come Looking for Me, a work of historical fiction set on the high seas during the War of 1812. She completed its first draft in the 2004 Huntsville Festival of the Arts “Muskoka Novel Marathon,” and earned top honours from the panel of judges. After several more years of research, her greatly expanded and refined novel was published by Blue Butterfly Books. Her second and third novels, Second Summer of War and Run Red with Blood were published by Dundurn Press in 2014 and 2018 respectively. All three of her works are part of the Seasons of War series. When Cheryl is not at her desk writing, she is on the road speaking, addressing various clubs and organizations on the historical backdrop of her books. In her spare time she enjoys journaling, sketching landscapes, reading fiction, travelling, and spending time at her cottage on Browning Island, Lake Muskoka. She has recently, with her husband, purchased a new home in Dallas, Texas to be closer to their two sons.
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Oralee O’Bryne, Executive Director of the Age of Sail Museum in Port Grenville, Nova Scotia, joined the Shellback Club to share her knowledge and insight about sailing, the family histories revealed from the area as seen in the history of the museum. About Oralee O'Bryne Oralee is the Executive Director of the Age of Sail Museum, Port Greville, NS. Although her education was in law enforcement and psychology, life took a different path. Oralee started managing the Age of Sail in 2004 when the then manager took ill. Through museum studies, an archival course, various other courses to develop her skills and strong mentorship, she rose in her new field. Oralee is also currently an Executive on the board of the Association for Nova Scotia Museums, and the Cumberland Geological Society, a Member at large on the Heritage Trust Nova Scotia board and an interim board member for the Shore Drive Community Association. Her passion for the history of the area and betterment of the community shows in her work. Peter Rowe, filmmaker, joined the Shellback Club for the fourth time, this time to present his film Shipwrecked on a Great Lake. The film is about the maritime attack on Toronto in 1813, the Lake Ontario storm that sank two American ships, and the discovery of the two shipwrecks off Port Dalhousie. About Peter Rowe
Peter is a prolific producer of marine-themed films. His feature films on the water include “Treasure Island”, with Jack Palance, “Lost!” and “Horse Latitudes”, the story of round-the-world sailor Donald Crowhurst, starring Gordon Pinsent. Peter’s TV series include “Exploring Under Sail”, “Black Harbour”, and “Angry Planet” (filming on 24 volcanoes around the world, and on one of them he ingested sulphuric acid which destroyed one of his vocal cords.). He has made documentaries on Sir Samuel Cunard, on Joshua Slocum, and on the sinking of the War of 1812 warships “Hamilton” and “Scourge”. Peter is also a long-time sailor, and a member of the Explorers Club and the Mimico Cruising Club. He worked in the 80s as a skipper of a Bahamas charter boat, sailed a Mirage 35, “Blade Runner” for many years in California, Mexico, up the US east coast and here on Lake Ontario. He has had several boats in the last few years and just this month bought a new boat, a 1988 C&C 35 Mark 3 called ‘Restless’, which he is currently working on in the last days before the snow flies and ski season begins. Jayne Finn & Mike Evans joined the Shellback Club once more to share their unique experiences and adventures sailing Newfoundland’s South Coast. Southern Newfoundland between Port-aux-Basques in the west and the Avalon Peninsula in the east is mostly a beautiful but sparsely-populated coastline of rocky fjords. At many points roads and infrastructure are non-existent. The few roads that do reach points on Newfoundland's south coast mainly run north to the Trans-Canada Highway, making water the only direct way from one southern community to another. Some communities (such as Grand Bruit, which has no road) are now ghost towns where the ferry no longer stops. This inaccessible shore is opened to us by the travel presentation of Jayne and Mike. Come sailing with Mike & Jayne as they close their circumnavigation of Newfoundland. Departing from Gaspe, Quebec it’s 250 miles overnight to Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland. From Port Aux Basques they sail east to many of the south coasts famous harbours: Isle A Morts, Garia Bay, Rose Blanche, Grand Bruit, Cinq Cerf, Burgeo, Grey River, Francois and Hare Bay. From there they cross to St Pierre, France to enjoy French food, wine and culture before heading back to NL. They tie up with the fishing fleet in St Brides Harbour to investigate rugged Cape St Mary and the sea bird colony there. Rounding Cape Race in dense fog they hurry up to St John’s just ahead of hurricane Dorian. Sailing north from Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club they visit Bonavista, Seldom, Change & Exploits Islands before bringing the boat into Lewisporte Marina to haulout for the winter. Web http://gonesailing.finnevans.ca YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/GoneSailingCA https://www.facebook.com/GoneSailingCA Instagram @LoonsLace About Jayne and Mike
Mike learned to sail in Vancouver, British Columbia. From there he graduated to racing and cruising on the Pacific Coast. After relocating to Toronto, he and Jayne met. In 1998 they decided to become boat owners and so purchased a C&C Mark V. They raced their C&C on Lake Ontario and loved life on the water so much, they moved up to Phantasia II, a 1978 Niagara 35. In 2019 they purchased Loon’s Lace. On ‘Phanty’, since 2000, they have cruised extensively on Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, and Georgian Bay; they have also completed a multi-season ‘Down East Circle’ to Quebec, Atlantic Canada, and New England. Since then they have sailed from Toronto to Lewisport, Nfld., circumnavigated Newfoundland, and sailed the south shore of Labrador. In July 2021, Jayne & Mike completed an Atlantic crossing, sailing from Fogo Island Newfoundland to Horta, Faial Island, Azores. Their boat, Loon’s Lace is overwintering on Terceira Island til they return in late March. Sally & Noel Lien returned to the Shellback Club to bring us a detailed documentary video on the Mulberry Harbours, one of the most gigantic schemes of WWII. The remains of these artificial harbours can be still seen today off shore, at Arromanches, France. These synthetic harbours were the keys to victory in Europe. About Sally and Noel Lien
Sally was born in Winchester Ontario. She is a multi-talented lady and generous to a fault. She is a skilled sailor, a Lieutenant of the Sea Cadets, volunteers with disabled children teaching them to ski. She has a grand sense of humour. Noel is also multi-talented. He was a carpenter when the TD Tower was built. He was a ‘copper’ for many years. That career led to his becoming a paralegal. He is a skilled sailor with all things boating. And he joins Sally in teaching disabled children to ski. Both Sally and Noel work hard in the winter so they can sail somewhere in the summer. This summer they . . . no specific plans yet, although the Baltic may feature. |
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