It may be of interest to members to see the text of an email I sent to Kenneth Colvin on behalf of the Committee recently, and the reply Kenneth sent back shortly after.
First my email :-
Dear Kenneth,
We on the committee of the Junk Rig Association wish to extend to you and your family our heartfelt condolences for your personal loss in the death of your father, and to record our continued appreciation for the achievements of one of the great men of sailing and boat design. It does not fall to many men to leave their mark forever on their sphere of work, but as long as there are sailing boats, or sailors to talk about them, I am sure the name Colvin will be to the fore.
Your father's memory will live on within the JRA, where many years ago he was elected an Honorary Member in recognition of his huge contribution to the junk rig. There will also be remembrances of your father, both in a forthcoming “Hall of Fame” article being written about him by our member Graham Cox in Australia, and by references to him in the book “History of the Western Junk Rig”, now being prepared in the UK by our Treasurer, Chris Gallienne.
It is not possible for us to hand on your father's Honorary Member status, but as a mark of respect we feel it right that we send you the copy of our latest magazine, just published, which would otherwise have been sent to him. We will also send you a copy of the next edition due in February, in which Graham Cox's “Hall of Fame” article is due to appear. And if further articles recalling your father appear in the subsequent magazine (June 2015) we will of course forward a copy of that as well.
The address I have for sending the magazines is XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, FL, United States. Please let me know if this is no longer the best address for me to send them.
With kind regards and much sympathy,
Roy Denton
Hon Secretary, JRA
And Kenneth's reply :-
Roy,
From the entire family I would like to thank you and your team for your kind words and heartfelt sympathy. Dad always spoke highly of the JRA and believe me that is saying something especially when it comes to something as near and dear to his heart as junks and junk rigs!
We appreciate you sending us the copy that will have Chris and Graham's articles in them. I know dad's input to the junk rig in the west (and some in the east) will be missed and it bothers me that only Hasler will be left to carry on. It is always good for any group to have differing opinions and diverse creative talents!
Although the US post will forward for a while I am not positive they will continue to forward non-first class mail in the future. So perhaps you should send the upcoming edition to my address:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Thanks again for your support and please stay in touch!
Take care,
Kenn Colvin