‘Boating with Clyde‘ is a web t.v. series created by the artist, Clyde Petersen. Each episode features a musical performance shot in waterways around Seattle. They’ve hosted everyone from Rae Spoon, to ‘Behead the Prophet No Lord Shall Live‘, all performing in a boat that Clyde designed and built.
I wanted to go out in Clyde’s boat to be part of this great art project, but I don’t have a musical act.
Luckily, I was staying with my parents in Tacoma, Washington.  Apart from being a retired Marine Colonel, professor of law at the University of Washington, and an active member of the Olympic Mountain Rescue, my dad is a bit of a performer.
Clyde and my dad were instant friends (which mostly means listening while my dad tells you about stuff),
and they got right to work setting up the equipment.
“Sing a few notes,” said Clyde, “give me your loudest.”
When my dad saw Clyde’s show on the internet the night before, he said, “Uh oh, I better bring along my good guitar.” That is a Martin D-28 Purchased at Manny’s Music in New York City in 1972.
“Sounds great.” said Clyde.
I got in back to steer the canoe, and we set off down Thea Foss Waterway.
That’s Forrest Baum, Clydes friend, technical collaborator, and true adventurer.
I was worried that I’de dragged everyone out here, and somehow Tacoma wouldn’t stack up compared to the other episodes in ‘Boating with Clyde’,
but the Foss looked great and my dad’s songs were perfect. First he sang “The Sinking of the Reuben James†an old song by Woody Guthrie about the first U.S. naval ship sunk during World War II.
“Hey, let’s turn the boats around.” I said, “The other side will make a better backdrop for this next song.”
‘Where I’m Bound’ by Tom Paxton.
“If you see me passing by and you sit and you wonder why,”
“and you wish that you were rambling too”
“Nail your shoes to the kitchen floor, lace ’em up and bar the door,”
“Thank your stars for the roof that’s over you,”
“Cause I can’t help but wonder where I’m bound, where I’m bound”
“Can’t help but wonder where I’m bound.”
“Here we are in the Foss Waterway,” my dad said into Clyde’s tape, “The Murray Morgan Bridge, 1905.”
I could have paddled around like that all day,
checking out the sights, getting to know Forrest and Clyde,
and listening to my dad sing,
but we had one more thing to do.
That night I was giving a lecture at Tacoma’s Working Waterfront Maritime Museum.
The Museum is housed in an old historic wharf building on Thea Foss Waterway,
and it hosts a wonderful array of maritime artifacts and enthusiasts like model boat builder, Ron Huhn,
who was actually on site to show us some of his amazing modeling tricks.
We also arranged to meet Bill Holland, who spoke to us about the classic boats that he donated to the museum.
These are handmade wooden canoes, built by the Willits Brothers Canoe Company in the 1930’s right here in Tacoma, Washington. “This was before the 1950’s car culture,” Bill pointed out, “and a canoe was a great way entertain a date.”
I was starting to think that this might be a little more information than Clyde and Forrest signed up for today, but I shouldn’t have worried.
“Ahoy! Marie! Look what we found!”
Clyde was perfectly engaged, piloting ‘Faith’, the Columbia Gillnetter Youth Educational Tool.
Clyde and Forrest even sat through my talk, about artwork and growing up with my adventuring dad.
Thanks Clyde and Forrest for an amazing day, for featuring the Lorenz Family Outing on Boating with Clyde,
and thanks to my parents for hosting me in lovely Tacoma, Washington. (This is the view from their living room, overlooking Thea Foss Waterway.)
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