Joe Follansbee has done it again. His knack for being the right guy with the right idea at the right time means good things happen that wouldn't otherwise. He just started an exciting new web community called Fyddeye to connect people who care about maritime history, on the local level and around the world. Now I want to help him spread the news.If you're a regular reader you might remember me writing about this busy freelance journalist, webmaster, and author last April in a blog post called Time, Connections, and a Guy Named Joe . Even if you just discovered Good Life Northwest you might know Joe because of his involvement with 4Culture , the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority, the Maritime Heritage Network, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition Community, his numerous articles in Seattle area magazines, and his book, "Shipbuilders, Sea Captains, and Fishermen: The Story of the Schooner Wawona."
You won't find "fyddeye" in the dictionary. On the site, Joe says its source was a word that refers to a sail-making tool and the human eye. That's logical, since he always keeps an eye on what's happening in the world of maritime history and preservation efforts. And it's a good thing, because treasures from the past can disappear in the time it takes to blink, if nobody cares. If you didn't care before, you will after you become a fan of Fyddeye. It's a place for people Joe refers to as "maritime heritage advocates," lovers of historic ships and lighthouses, to read and contribute to news and information about preservation efforts, urgent needs, and successes.
It isn't all serious either. The tone is friendly and fun and I can see it becoming the web equivalent to places like the Point Defiance Boathouse here in Tacoma, where you see old friends hanging out with steaming cups of coffee, just catching up on the latest catch. Or maybe they just need to be around water and boats. Having grown up on an island, I know that homing instinct that makes me want to lean on a railing, smell salt air and hear the seagulls. And I care about old ships, like Puget Sound's "environmental ship," Adventuress, which I've written about many times.
So come aboard! Your friends at Fyddeye are waiting, just a click away. For now at least, you have to bring your own morning coffee. But you never know with Joe...
Copyright Candace Brown 20009
1 comment:
Happy new year dear. Saw this article and excelent fotos on joes interest and i want to thank you. Since buying our beach house on the sand spit i have been researching the maritime history of bainbridge island back to the mid nineteenth century. You have provided a link that i am grateful to have. Your links came thru fine. Ran.
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