No, there’s not a new girl in my life, my wife Colleen and daughter Cate are all I want and more than I can handle.

Sweet Annie is a boat, a very special boat.

Chris Callahan whose sailboat, Truant, a 31 foot Southern Cross, on which I sailed this summer from Baddeck in Cape Bretton to Halifax, Nova Scotia, built Sweet Annie.

Chris, Chris’ longtime friend Lars and I spent the better part of two weeks “gunkholing” our way through the Bras ‘d Or Lakes and down the north-east coast of Nova Scotia. These types of trips require a safe durable means of transportation allowing access from the boat to shore. Most boaters choose a RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) dinghy.

Chris had a different approach; he built his own dinghy, out of wood, mostly in the living room of his Vermont home. This project took him years to complete; his hard work and diligence show through in this gorgeous little boat. His wife Annie’s patience while Chris took over the living room was rewarded with him naming the boat after her.