This September, I visited TELEPORT and her owner, in Prince Rupert, B.C., or Port Edward, to be more accurate, just south of Prince Rupert. She now belongs to a retired fisherman who claimed ownership after the owner who bought her from Chris and Jess Gray disappeared without a trace.

He had invited me to visit him, view the boat and show him how to sail a junk rig. The corona virus delayed that trip a couple years. I don’t think he has owned a sailboat before, his experience being with power boats.

I flew up from Vancouver for 6 days on September 24. The owner picked me up at the shuttle station and we went directly to TELEPORT. The weather was lovely as it has been all summer, I am told, because Prince Rupert is the wettest town in Canada.

He had brought the boat from where she normally resides at a local, floating wharf which belongs to First nations but allow him to use it. Also sharing that wharf is a thirty-two ft, maybe, 2 masted, junk-rigged, live-aboard cruising boat. It belongs to a nephew of TELEPORT’s owner.

It was great to see her again, but my feelings soon switched to disappointment.

She was tied port side in. The side of the hull was badly scrapped, possibly down to the wood in some places.

A hull patch has been made in the bow area. One of the two bow rollers has been removed. The bent pulpit has been bent back into shape, The vane and rudder on the Hasler self-steering are gone. But they could be fabricated from drawings.

The interior is pretty much as Chris and Jess left it when they sold the boat. It just needs to be decluttered, washed down and a little paint. I refer you to Chris’s YouTube videos to get a better idea.

Note: The interior has been modified from the original plans which depict a layout which would have been popular in the boating industry circa 1970. The port upper birth has been converted to two shelves. The starboard upper birth now has a fold-up extension to make it a double birth. The lower starboard berth has not changed. It is extendable to a more comfortable single berth but it’s still too narrow for two.

On deck, the owner has installed tubing for each line. I assume this is to make the coach roof available for storage of fuel etc.

The mast is in poor shape. I remember Chris telling me he had chafing problems aloft, between the yard and mast. He wrapped the yard in carpet which was still on the yard. I don’t know if he patched the injury or not, to keep water out.

The photos I got from her present owner show the fiberglass intact. In the interim, the fiberglass has split and is breaking away from the built wooden mast. There are several vertical cracks in the wood. It’s a sorry sight. One of the cracks reaches the partners where you least want one.

We went for a little harbour tour (Port Edward) under power with the Sabb 6-8 HP diesel with variable pitch propeller. It didn’t sound like it did when I owned her but I’m 2/3 deaf now and rely on a personal sound enhancer. Apparently, reverse is not possible now. It may just need a haul out, disassembly of the propeller pod, cleaning, and regreasing. I offered to help him do that but he declined.

The main hindrance to going sailing was the bottom fouling. I don’t think it’s been washed for 2-3 years.  I’m afraid that a sailing demonstration just wasn’t possible.

As I said, the boat hull was badly scrapped amidships. It could have been wharf damage (wharf-burn?)  or caused when she went aground on return from her second attempt to sail to Australia. Especially just below the deck level. I saw mostly the port side. In fact, the wood hull was visible in at least one spot. You could see the epoxy microbaloon fairing compound.

What of Teleport’s future?

I think the mast should be pulled, taken indoors, dried out, damage assessed, cracks repaired, reglassed and painted.  If not glassed, it should be repainted.

I don’t think the present owner is able to get her back in shape without a lot of help, not to mention money. He figures it would take CAN$10,000 to put the boat into sailing shape.

I think one of our members recently costed the replacement of a similar mast in DF in the UK for about CAN$14,000.  The owner tells me his nephew, who owns the junk-schooner, is a single-hander, live-aboarder, has his eye on TELEPORT So, he may be her next owner.

I asked to see the sail raised but was declined. I got the impression some of the battens had been replaced.

The problem for others who might wish to acquire her is her location, 600 miles north of Vancouver.

There are lots of stories of famous vessels that have severe ups and downs but carried on.  I hope this one is followed by an upturn.

It’s difficult for me to separate myself from this boat having put so much into it. But it doesn’t belong to me anymore.

Photos to follow.