Boatbuilder Barrie Farrell has been launching boats for decades, and is now about to launch a memoir, as well.
Join Farrell at the Museum at Campbell River for a reading and book signing for his new book, Boats In My Blood: A Life in Boat Building on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 1 p.m.
The son of legendary boat builder Allen Farrell, Barrie Farrell built his first boat at thirteen (an eight-foot row boat), using nothing more than an old hammer with one claw, a dull handsaw and a rusty block plane. He first gained recognition for his boat building work amongst the salmon fleet fishermen who benefited from Farrell’s speedy designs, when having a faster boat meant quicker trips to short fishery openings along the coast.
In Boats in my Blood, Farrell tells the story of his life – the highs (innovative boat designing, steady work) and lows (bad business dealings and over enthusiastic nights on the town). Through sharing his memories of growing up in Pender Harbour, North Vancouver and Vancouver Island, Farrell provides an entertaining portrait of fishing village life in the 1940s and 1950s and his sharp eye for detail and humour makes for an engaging read. Through it all Farrell’s engaging character and unquenchable good nature shine through.
Barrie Farrell was born in North Vancouver in 1934 and built his popular Farrell line of fiberglass boats at various locations around the south coast of B.C. until the late 1990s. He currently lives in Nanaimo and, at the age of 81, is still working on boats.
Books will be for sale at the event and the event is wheelchair accessible.
For more information about this event, please contact the Museum on Campbell River at (250) 287-3103 or visit their website.