Have you ever wanted to put down your laptop and pick up a table saw? Just in time to fulfill your New Year's resolution to learn something new, is an excellent opportunity arising in English Harbour.

If you have spare time and would you like to learn how to build and restore a wooden boat, join Anthony Piergallini and Nic Bohachevsky at the Woodstock Boat Builders Ltd. this Saturday. Anthony is a wooden boat carpenter subcontracting to Woodstock, and has just finished working on the severely damaged boat Longo Mai. The Longo Mai has just been sea trialled and is getting to ready to go on a cruise. With a little time on his hands, a new project dropped in Anthony's lap almost immediately when a local fisherman who damaged an old wooden fishing boat beyond his ability to repair it, came in seeking Anthony's help.  Piergallini saw it as a golden opportunity to do a course with his friend Nic, a marine surveyor (or as Anthony puts it "a boat doctor) so he told the fisherman "Tell you what, I'll help you fix the boat and teach others to repair it." He put an ad in the local paper, Woodstock very generously donated the space, and Nik is donating his time. 

The objective for the course is to take the antique fishing boat back into the sea so the fisherman can continue to earn his living. Classes are held every Saturday at 8 a.m. (ongoing) and all ages are welcome. Anthony is overwhelmed at the response to his initial notice, with 13 people showing up on the first day. It became readily apparent that members of the group had varying levels of experience. "Six people had never operated a table saw," said Anthony, "But by the end of the day they were doing fine. In fact,one young lady had never even turned on a machine but by day's end she was running it like a pro. Anthony has youngsters, those in their early teens up to 30's and over, with close to a half dozen people who want to sign up and are now on reserve.

For more details on how you can add something to your repetoire and at the same time help out your community, contact Anthony or Nik at the Woodstock Boat Builders Ltd., English Harbour 268.779.7984.