Page 10. MAINE COASTAL NEWS March 2018 70s Memories: Granada Episode By Lee S. Wilbur Episode...? Yes, it may be a bit mis-


leading to reference a boatbuilding project as an episode. Yet, if one thinks in a time line: buyers call, set a date to visit.(usual- ly within a few weeks to a month) They arrive and we go through the shop tour routine, look over boats in progress, talk about their ideas, and then go home while we do drawings and estimates. Drawings to fi nal decisions can take a month to six weeks... longer in some cases depending on complexity. Some projects did become epi- sodes, and throughout my career there were a few.


Several times I'd have had to go see


the buyers and in the case of the Granada Episode it was similar with one exception. “Pete” Purinton, since deceased and a tru- ly wonderful individual who worked for us as a Commercial boat broker under the umbrella of “Wilbur Marine Brokerage” put much of the purchase together over a period of time lasting a good two years and developing something like this. I don't recall exactly how Pete hap-


pened to fi rst hear of the fi shermen from Granada. More than likely it could have been one of the several “Fish Expo's” held then to promote fi shing. Our 200 mile limit had fi nally gone into eff ect....distant mem- ory today of the utter disregard by another do-nothing Congress, this one allowing our off shore waters to be swept clean of any and all species of fi sh by foreign fi shermen. There remained a fervent hope, however, by many East Coast fi shermen, including those from other South American countries as well, some aquatic edibles would still be swimming. Turned out, there weren't many. For a couple of years though, commercial boatbuilding soared.


Pete set up an appointment. We rolled


out the carpet. Two fi shermen and a gov- ernment representative arrived to spend the better part of a week. Granada, being a British country at one time, (then invaded by Cuba and chased out by us), the Grana- dians spoke English with a “Brit” accent which I thought was really neat. We talk- ed over various layouts, trying to fi nd the more workable one and fi nally arrived at a Gillnetter setup with reinforced accommo- dations for dragging should a changeover be necessary in the future. The mini entou- rage returned to Granada and their work in funding the boat while we went to work on drawings and cost profi le for a Wilbur 38. Time passed with Pete doing most of


the correspondence regarding fi nancing until he realized the project was on hold, perhaps permanently, for lack of funding. Now, Pete was a delight. Always optimis- tic. Always looking for a solution. He was caught up as well in the euphoria of this vast ocean supposedly fi lled with fi sh for the taking and a need for boats to catch them. Tried to get us involved monetarily, but we respectfully declined. Finally, he convinced a car dealer family from “west- ernish” Maine to get involved in the proj- ect. How he accomplished this I'll never know, “Pie in the Sky” I'd guess. but they did, and then became involved in a majority way. There may have even been some gov- ernment help: United States grant money to Granada then back to the States minus pocketed shares along the circuitous route. Pete's enthusiasm was contagious.


Hooked me into taking a trip to Granada with the car folks to see fi rsthand what was taking place in the Caribbean. I had even lined up a quick fl ight to Jamaica for the day. If Pete hadn't worked as hard as he had


for the Granadian boat I would have caught the next fl ight back to Maine. After meet- ing with Jamaican government offi cials and a tour of their one boat navy, an ancient American WWII sub-chaser used for drug interdiction...I asked one of the crew how often they went out on patrol, answer being “two or three times a year” (all they could aff ord) I quickly surmised there was little or no future there or perhaps in the Caribbean for LSW&CO. By now, nine months to a year have passed and we begin construction. LSW&Co, was very fortunate during


that time in having an outstanding crew as well as the ability to hire from a relatively large labor pool. We were one of Hancock County's largest employers. Jarvis New- man had recently introduced the Newman 46 (well suited to mid-range fi shery) so our Main shop was fi lled to capacity and we had plans for another building in the offi ng. Once a hull was brought into the shop it would take us about three months for com- pletion of a commercial vessel. In those days we were known as a shop where “the lights never went out”. Go home for dinner, spend an hour or so with the kids and back to work until 9 or 10. Up at 5:30AM for my morning run and do it all again. Wild. Sunday was sacred. Family day. Launching of the now named “Wilbur


Dowden” went well. Small launching party. Heidi or Pete's wife Martha may have done the christening with a bottle of champagne. (Vessels must be christened with a splash of spirits or bad luck follows). Pete had agreed to go along with one of


the Granadians as crew for the delivery and they left soon after launch and shakedown. Pete would call with progress reports along the way, but the call I remember best was


one from our old stomping grounds, place we used to cruise for a week or two in win- ter: St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Pete held the phone up so we could hear the rifl e shots from a hillside in back of the Marina where native islanders were holding a rev- olution...Told me later they didn't dare to leave the boat or the marina for fear Wilbur Dowden would be stolen or they'd be shot. Boat was delivered safely and few


days later, Pete fl ew home and came up to the shop for a “de-briefi ng”. Regaled us with stories of how great it was in Granada, how nice the people were and we should really put some enthusiastic eff ort into sell- ing more there. I agreed he should and con- sented to AJ and I fl ying down for a few weeks vacation in the spring which we did. Beautiful Country. Great beaches. Poor. Diff erent. We never really felt comfortable though. Still traces of the invasion(s) and I'm guessing, a resentment against Ameri- cans which I'd missed on the fi rst trip. We rented a vehicle, and not used to driving on the “wrong” side of the road I managed to clip a bus's outside mirror as well as ours. Rental agency said, “It happens often” and they were nice about it. While there, I of course went to the


marina to see how the boat was doing. Boat was running well and the captain was quite appreciative. However…fi sh were gone. To catch anything they had to venture miles out and was hardly profi table without the government assistance. I've often won- dered about Wilbur-Dowden, if the fi shing ever rebounded and she was doing the work we'd hoped for. My niggle says “probably not.”


End of “Granada Episode”---stay tuned for another “Episode”


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