A father and son rediscover an old family “friend”
Issue 117: Nov/Dec 2017
For 22 years, we didn’t hear much about Quelle Vie, the boat my grandfather purchased in 1966. She was a Grampian Classic 31, the first fiberglass boat at the Royal Kennebecasis Yacht Club in Saint John, New Brunswick. She passed from my grandfather to my uncle, and eventually to my father, and she was a big part of my childhood. Then, in 1993, my dad sold her. I was 8 years old.
In August 2015, I noticed that Quelle Vie (renamed Awake) was for sale in Nova Scotia. As my wife, Lauren, and I were planning to be in Halifax later that month, I contacted the owner to ask if we could view the boat.
On the way out of town, we stopped at my parents’ place to drop off our dog. As we were leaving, my dad pulled me aside. “John, while you’re in Halifax, could you take a look at the Quelle Vie for me?” We had a good laugh when I told him I’d already made plans.
Sitting in the corner of the Dartmouth Yacht Club, Quelle Vie looked in hard shape, but I was too curious to turn away. Opening the hatch to look inside the cabin released a flood of childhood memories. After looking the boat over more closely and hearing from the owner about the work that had been carried out on it, I told him I would get in touch after talking to my father. Five minutes after we left the club, Lauren looked at me. “You’re going to buy it, aren’t you?”
By fall, Quelle Vie was again a member of the family.
My father and I began work in the spring. There were areas of rotted core in the cockpit and on the deck alongside the companionway hatch. We addressed a few issues with wiring and through-hulls and spent many hours stripping, sanding, painting, and varnishing. As the work neared completion, a childlike excitement came over my father and me as we anticipated our first sail. We renamed her Quelle Vie, and set a launch date.
On launch day, I got stuck at work and was late getting to the marina. My father is not the most patient person. By the time I arrived, Quelle Vie was in the water and the mast was up. I got to work attaching the boom and bending on the sails. It all went faster than expected and before long my father and I were left looking at each other.
“What are we waiting for?” he said. “Let’s go!”
We motored out past the marina breakwater and before we could get the sails up, the engine died. We were back sailing the Quelle Vie.
We spent every available weekend of the remainder of the season sailing Quelle Vie around the lower part of the Saint John River. We ended the season with our first saltwater cruise, an overnight trip down to Dipper Harbor. I’d last been in the same place, aboard the same boat, 23 years before.
At the end of the season, we put Quelle Vie away and began planning for the next season. From time to time, my father would say, “It’s like having an old friend back.”
John McKelvey, a 32-year-old geomatics engineer, lives in Saint John, New Brunswick. He grew up sailing and was only 14 days old when he first sailed in the Bay of Fundy. During his teenage years, John taught and raced out of the Royal Kennebecasis Yacht Club. He and his father keep Quelle Vie at the Saint John Marina and continue to sail the Saint John River.
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