August 17 at 7pm- Film Screening at Weatherlow Farms
The 2022 Westport Film Series will be the tenth year of the screenings. Sponsored by Westport Cultural Council through a grant from the Helen E. Ellis Charitable Trust, the films are free to the public as part of the Trust’s mission to enhance the arts, learning, and community in Westport. A hallmark of the series are lively and informative question and answer sessions with one of the filmmakers, film participants, or subject matter experts after each film.
This year the series will be hosted by Weatherlow Farms, located at 845 Sodom Rd in Westport. The barn’s doors will slide open at 6 pm for an hour of socializing and the opportunity to enjoy the sunset and beautiful pastoral views. The Farm will have beer, wine, soda, water, light fare (and popcorn!) available for purchase.
The film honors a craft that nearly vanished and takes audiences in search of the soul of wooden sailboats. A fantastic visual journey for all who love wind and sea .. or just simply great photography.
The act of building and sailing boats made out of trees and powered by the wind is a small moment of grace in the face of a digitally enhanced world and throwaway culture. But forty years ago the rise of fiberglass boats nearly pushed wooden sailboats, and the trade of building them, to the brink of extinction. Wood/Sails/Dreams explores the resurgence of wooden boats, the restoration of American maritime history, and the to be lessons learned from the ancient craft of traditional boat building.
Narrated by Wooden Boat Magazine founder and publisher Jon Wilson, the film takes audiences from the rag tag regattas of the 1970s to today’s wooden boat world, from Nantucket to Vineyard Haven, Bristol and Newport, RI, to the rocky coast of Maine.
Trailer: https://www.woodenboat.com/woodsailsdreams-documentary-film-honors-wooden-boats
Or: https://vimeo.com/41387890
Speakers: Warren Barker and Bill Womack
Warren Barker, Senior Instructor, IRYS School of Technology & Trades
Warren remarked to a friend at Williams College that after graduation he was going home to build a boat with his father. Little did he know that over forty years later he would still be building boats. Returning to the Berkshires, he attended a furniture design and woodworking school. Determined that the furniture float, Warren took those skills to Maine to build the 42’ ketch Nia, to Rhode Island to build cold molded and composite sail and power boats, and to his home in Massachusetts to build custom boats under his own shingle. Having taught at IYRS since 2003, Warren has overseen the building by his students of a myriad of boats by multiple designers-instilling in this new generation of boatbuilders the skill and enthusiasm for the trade that have carried him through his career.
Bill Womack, Owner, Beetlecat Boats
Growing up with Beetle Cats in the 1950s out on Onset Harbor, and a life-long love of traditional wooden sailing craft, made the opportunity to own and work with these timeless, classic boats perfect for Bill Womack. In addition to childhood experiences and personal interests, Bill also served in the United States Navy with Seabee Team 1110/1114 in South Vietnam from 1966 to 1970. A degree in Civil Engineering and over 40 years working in heavy highway construction help to prepare him for the important task of preserving the art of traditional Plank-On-Frame wood boat construction at the Beetle Boat Shop.
