Preview: Passing Like a Dream

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As the light of another shimmering summer begins to warm the coast of Maine, we wanted to show our appreciation to all those who’ve helped us in passing the simple boating life along to future generations. The most appropriate way we could reflect on this was with one of our favorite songs by Walt Wilkins — Oh for the Shimmering Summer — so we’ve created a little video as a reflection on the first few years of our adventure together.

We hope you have a wonderful summer.

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Comments, Thoughts or Suggestions?

You can leave a comment or question for OCH and members below. Here are the comments so far…

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115 Responses So Far to “Passing Like a Dream”

  • Ken Moran says:

    What is the name and model of the sailboat shown on the rocks at the start of the video? There is a similar in my father-in-laws barn we are tying to identify and get rid of.

    • Kai Schrodt says:

      Harry Brian’s “Katy”.
      But I think it’s a one-off.
      Happy Holidays.

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Hi Ken. I added a few “related videos” above so you can see her there.

  • Robert Kunzig says:

    OK ok ok, this true delight is due for a remake! I love this was made in 2016, cause, It’s time again – just saying (and, thank you for this)

  • Jeffrey Silva says:

    The smiles of our children as they experience sailing reminds me of the way my soul smiles every time I take the tiller.
    Thanks for this!

  • Rod McLaren says:

    Thank you for posting this video again. It speaks so very well why I love “messing around in boats”. I am in the midst of my third build, an ECO 6 catamaran designed by Bernd Kohler, aiming for a launch in time for my 75th birthday in June. I shared the video with my three adult children who all know my passion for sailing and sailboats. I am hopeful they will bring my grandchildren to see me this summer so we enjoy some saiingl together. Wishing all the very best in the coming year. Cheers.

  • Ed Altonji says:

    Just keep sharing this every January 1st, this one video is easily worth the yearly subscription. Thank you and wishing all the OCH team and members a very happy and blessed new year.

  • Gordon Greene says:

    Now that was a New Yearʻs gift! We live afar and are but adopted members of the neighborhood until we make our annual road trip out to those waters. But we feel so at home when we are there.Tthatʻs what makes this such a splendid gift. Thanks for bringing this back out of the archives. Those smiles, those voices, that music – you have woven a spell.

  • Ken Elowe says:

    Early March, and I watched this video again (and again). Thank you for this one, and for all of the amazing videos you share with us all. They’re peaceful, entertaining, inspiring, and moving – sometimes all at the same time.
    Take care!

  • James Daw says:

    I never come to this page without great expectations, and never leave without feeling better about things than I did when I got here, regardless of how great I already felt. These videos are a wonderful reminder of how good life can be. It was good to see my WoodenBoat School teacher, Bill Thomas, who was the only person in the video who I actually know, personally but, having spent time here I feel that I know so many other great people as well. Thank you all for this.
    J. Daw, North Eastham, Ma.

  • Richard Neall says:

    Thank you OCH…this was simply divine beyond fabulous!

  • Fred Green says:

    Good morning,

    Awoke at 5:20 a.m. brewed a coffee and checked out OCH. Thank you OCH !
    Two peaceful hours of watching videos and reading about sailing and happy people. Aaaahhh!
    OK, back to reality.
    To the owners, staff and membership, please Stay Safe during these very uncertain times.

    Cheers to more of “Passing like a dream”,
    Hope to see you all on the water….soon !

    Fred Green
    Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Thanks Fred, and everyone. Everyone on our crew gets a daily email with all the comments made, and I can tell you that your comments provide a lot of fuel for our creative fire. We can only imagine what members around the world experience with our work, so this kind of note helps make that real. Thank you.

      • Dale Simonson says:

        It’s great that the whole crew get all the comments via email… so we can all tell you what a wonderful resource and inspiration you all are creating, day by day!! Well done team!
        All the best from Victoria, BC –Dale

  • Nigel Jaques says:

    This video left me with a peaceful feeling thank you

  • Kathleen Roach says:

    So thankful to Off Center Harbor for the virtual adventure you have added to this weird dumpster fire year. All the best, to all of you!

  • Danny Doyle says:

    Internationally to see daily all the bad negativity coming out of the US lately just depresses me about a country I love and love visiting and then I see this video and it raises my spirits again and makes me realise what a wonderful and good country it is. We have a great holiday in Alaska booked for later this year but will have to postpone. When these horrors are over we will be back.

    • Dave Mitchell says:

      A great start to the year! One that full of promise, and with a bit of good management some boat building. But which boat………?
      Thanks for all the inspiration, and Happy New Year to all!

  • François DELAUNEY says:

    Si le Paradis ressemble à çà, je signe tout de suite!!!

    Aucun stress; la simplicité dans les relations avec les enfants, qui ne sont pas les derniers pour donner la main; Des voiliers classiques, simples, superbement gréés et manoeuvrés.

    Et des gens heureux!

    Mille mercis pour ce partage bucolique et tranquille, que j’aime..

    ROUGH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
    If Heaven looks like this, I sign immediately !!!

    No stress; simplicity in relationships with children, not the last to shake hands; Classic sailboats, simple, beautifully rigged and manipulated.

    And happy people!

    Many thanks for sharing this bucolic and quiet, which I like.
    .

  • Ron Breault says:

    There are two kinds of virus that you catch – good and bad. OCH is a good one Stay safe

  • Theodore Gentsch says:

    Love and thank you. All the best to Everyone!

  • David Mowen says:

    I can’t add anything to what Bob Godfrey has to say.

  • John Wujack says:

    I’ve just watched this again with the announcement of your 500th video celebration. I wish OCH every good fortune and hope that you all last forever. I am astonished by how almost everything you produce touches me so profoundly. Thanks, John

  • Gary Tettlebach says:

    Any chance of getting the guitar chords for this song or maybe the music? Us rank amateurs would like sing and strum in the cockpit on a quiet night at anchor.

  • Gene Marsh says:

    Thanks so much. The music is wonderful. Is there an album?
    Loved the kids in the boats. Every kid should have some time on the water and maybe we’d have no more wars.

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Hi Gene. There are links above to purchase the song digitally. The album name is “A Good Ramble”.

    • Gene Gilbert says:

      Thank you OCH and may you have a Happy Thanksgiving…..

  • Andy Wolfe says:

    I love seeing this video, again for the first time, as the frost covered the mountain ground. We are saying a little prayer of thanks for the summer season, for friends and those wonderful little boats.

  • edward mcmahon says:

    This is a fantastic video and I love it every time I see it. The Walt Wilkins music is really sweet too. Kudos to your editors and keep up the great work. Happy Thanksgiving!

  • Rich Gard says:

    Weathering 2 Nor’Easters, watching this video, and listening to DeBussy’s Clair de lune has me longing for a fare breeze astern with the warmth of the sun on my face and sail. Thank you for this welcome reminder of Why i love sailing.

  • Chris Noto says:

    We’re at Hilton Head, SC for a week. Our grown kids and their mates are playing Monopoly after supper. During the day, heat and humidity make it hard to enjoy being outdoors for long. I savor your video, and save my energy for the cooler days that will come with fall. Thanks.

  • Ian Anderson says:

    This week our Winter officially starts, and I guess your Summer likewise. Thanks for the lovely vid, it will help me hang in there for the next few months!….

  • Norman NOLAN says:

    If watching this doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, you’ve either got a hard heart or never experienced the joy of a small boat! Thanks guys. You do it for me every time.

  • David Earle says:

    The old Herreshoff got her final spring prep today. Five days worth this year because she’s gotten cranky with age and needs humoring. Got a bit cranky myself toward the end but as I left the yard this evening and looked back at her, last sun shining off her white hull and varnish, something came into my heart. Passing Like A Dream reminded me what that was. Sweet.

  • Bharat Moorthy says:

    Absolutely resonates with me! Feel so lucky to live in Maine with such a strong yachting tradition. I have sailed with friends and family before, but my wife and I just bought our very first sailboat and couldn’t be more excited to join this wonderful community.

  • Thomas Mitchell says:

    Viewing this video brings back so many good memories of my summer days on the water …… Thanks for the flashback. Hats off to the OCH crew for making these videos happen!

  • Henrique van Deursen says:

    Missing summer time, now begins our winter … short days weak winds.
    Great video!

  • Dick Boger says:

    Summer on the water is like mustard on a hot dog!

  • william biba says:

    The life around the water and on boats Is indeed a wonderful one. Your videos are so well done and I have no doubt they have inspired many to do things that they may not have otherwise done. I’ve grown up and lived my summers on a small island in the great south bay of long island and would not trade it for anything in the world. My parents were fortunate enough to acquire the beach house in 1962 when I was 2 years old. The life lessons I have gained because of that place have served me well to this day. As I begin to prepare for yet another summer the only thing that make me feel bad is the simple fact that more people don’t have access to this kind of life. Lets face it this is a costly lifestyle (I don’t know how long I will be able to sustain it) More needs to be done to make boating and access to the shores and harbors available to all. Not just to those with a thick wallet.

  • Philip Myer says:

    Watching this video for the umpteenth time thinking wow that is so nice, think I just might have come again.

  • Al Aosved says:

    On this time between Christmas and New Years with the grandkids still in bed, you created the dreams for this summer! Thanks!

  • edward mcmahon says:

    This is my favorite video of all with great music too!

  • Joe DiDomenico says:

    Right now it’s snowing outside, but this video made me forget all about it. Thanks.

  • Weaver Lilley says:

    What a beautiful, bitter-sweet piece, many thanks.

  • Mario Basura says:

    Live simply, love deeply. You guys capture it better than anyone. Thank You!

  • David McKay says:

    I like everything you guys do…..but, this is my favorite. Thank you!

  • Richard Greenway

    Richard Greenway says:

    Drop everything and see that wood curl into something that is alive on the water and that can carry you places that you have never been.
    A thought after watching the video.

  • Dan Miller says:

    Thank you for these 3 minutes and 27 seconds. They’ve been a fantastic reminder of why we launch so many boats for so many people. I’ll watch it again when I need another reminder.

  • Thomas Bassler says:

    I must get back to Brooklin to live in this wonderful little town again. There are no better people in the world that I know of. I love being surrounded by all the boat building yards in the area as well as that wonderful resource the town has called “WOODEN BOAT”.

  • Tom Haydon. says:

    Smiling in Wisconsin….your videos always put a smile on my face.
    Thanks

  • Barbara Murphy says:

    If I didn’t live in southern Tasmania I would want to live in Maine.
    Steve – bring Walt with you when you come back to the Australian Wooden Boat Festival next February.
    Thanks OCH – Barb – Hobart

  • Geoff Kerr says:

    I was listening to the Red Sox this afternoon and catching up on videos…but after watching this I’m going to run to the shop and do another coat of paint on Ned Ludd. The first trip to Brooklin for 2016 is one week away!

  • Al Gallant says:

    Every video I watch inspires me to learn more. Your skill set is outstanding. Have been a member for the pass year and am looking forward to another year. Thanks all.

    Al

  • James Cornwell says:

    I was injured in a car crash this spring and temporarily disabled so my boat’s on the hard until 2017. OCH is my sailing fix summer and winter this year. Please keep the wonderful vignettes coming. They’re potent medicine!

    • Gordon Burvill says:

      Good luck with your recovery (from Australia)

  • John Simlett says:

    Well played the OCH team; glad to be on the same side … albeit the Atlantic Ocean separates us.

  • Del Banners says:

    Thank you OCH crew for your unwavering dedication to clear, precise, expert, and quality video production for the love of our boats!

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Hi Will. Schmee is a word we sorta made up that expresses the undescribable thing thats bigger than the sum of its parts. The gestalt of something.

  • William Mangum says:

    There is something just wonderfully spiritual about this!

  • Hans Scholl says:

    Thank you for four years of magic! Congratulations and deep appreciation for what you create at OCH. To a wonderful summer on the water….

  • Christopher Whaley says:

    Short video with a rich narrative. Every image sends me to another lifetime’s worth of possible memories. Thanks for this great website

  • Terry Lent says:

    Thank you for all the beautiful videos. Watching (and studying) your videos has elevated my appreciation of the quality and workmanship in all you do. Thanks so much for the opportunity to participate and be a lifetime member.

  • Jim Denny says:

    “Maine Magic ” a very popular book written in 1979 by Bill Caldwell comes alive with this terrific video. Great job….. to the crew of Off Center Harbor..

  • Bryan and Brenda Harris says:

    Ahhhh! ! that was beautiful.
    Summer, although very long and warm this year has gone in New Zealand. We hope to get out for a short sail today, just to stretch her sails. But to see your video brings hope for another summer. Hope you all enjoy the times you have and keep up the good work.
    B.and B. “Mystic Lass” (Alan Wright 11 meter)

  • Donald Musselman says:

    OCH brightens my day every time I see one of your video’s. Glad to be a member.

  • peter strietmann says:

    You rule! It is like a perpetual summer on this site. Thank you very much.

  • Dennis Lancaster says:

    So Awesome….. loved it! Thank you, thank you!!

  • Conbert Benneck says:

    Thanks for rekindling lovely memories of all our sailing experiences. One of he best things about sailing were all the wonderful and helpful people that we met on our journeys, and which are immortalized in our log books. Where else could you have a fleeting encounter with a lock tender on the Meuse in Belgium who asked me if I might be able to send him some American stamps; he was a stamp collector. I sent him a large envelope full of American stamps from our Paris office. In return I got the most exquisite thank-you letter from a man who probably only had a Grade School education. It was written as if it were a
    steel engraving, and signed with a flourish that would make Alexander Hamilton jealous.
    Just one of many such memorable encounters. Thanks for the memories..

  • Don Fraser says:

    PS…. Lead photo in Passing Like a Dream looks like Harry Bryan’s “front yard” (??)

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Yep. When the 25-foot tide is out. At high tide, it’s entirely full of water. Mid-tide it runs in and out at one foot every 15 minutes.

  • Don Fraser says:

    2 years a member. Great videos! So much learned from Eric, Maynard, Geoff et al. Have built a few small boats, but OCH inspired me to take on a Herreschoff COQUINA this year. Looking forward to getting the hull wet…soon!
    Keep up the good work at OCH !

  • Steven Feinstein says:

    Wonderful videos. I hope a Lifetime Membership is long enough.

  • Martha White says:

    Beautifully done. Definitely puts a (happy) lump in the throat for the wonderful people and gorgeous places we call home. Grateful to have you recording some of it.

  • David Webb says:

    You guys at OCH are the greatest. So Glad I am a member . Keep up doing the wonderful things you do so well. God Bles

  • David Mowen says:

    Thanks folks! – – – – You bring us a site that energetically reminds us of our core values. Bye the way, I am inspired to get that schooner back in the water with your visions of wooden boats in salt water

  • George Weinbrenner says:

    The “Fellowship of the Craft”. Not my words but so appropriate for this beautiful video and music.Look at the joy in that little girl’s face as she races her brother. Look at all the shared memories. So nostalgic!

  • Larry Cheek says:

    Three minutes and twenty-seven seconds reminding me to give thanks, once again, that I’m now living on an island in Puget Sound rather than Tucson, Arizona.

  • Kent Lewis says:

    Thanks for the video and thanks for helping us fulfill our dreams. Your videos and personal responses to information requests have been extremely helpful as we explore new areas of restoration and building.
    Please be sure to look us up if you travel down to Pensacola!
    Cheers
    Kent and Audrey

  • EeBee4 says:

    Superb! Best subscription, of many, that I have. OCH wonderfully illuminates all aspects of the love and care of boating. Thank you!

  • Walter Allan says:

    Brought a tear to me eye… Summer IS wiffleball and sailing! Keep up the great work, OCH!

  • ROB BLACKBURN says:

    Sensational schooners too. Sighs to himself….

  • Joy Phillips says:

    Its why traveling 11,000 miles from Tasmania to Maine is so worth it — 3 weeks to go. Thanks to all the OCH crew- Philip & Joy -Hobart

  • Judie Romeo says:

    What a beautiful way to start our summer! Heartfelt thanks to all the OCH crew who bring all of us so many excellent videos and other good stuff all year long.

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