Dear Mr. Legere,

I was surprised and amazed to receive a note from Paul Jacques at Dutch Wharf with news of the discovery of our lost oar in St. Margaret's Bay. I was on a cruise for a week along the coast of Nova Scotia from Lockeport to Halifax, our first time in Nova Scotia. The day we lost the oar I was towing my precious 11 foot shellback dinghy, the P. Ellen, behind Chaos, my 38 foot sloop. We had gotten a bit overconfident, I guess, as the weather had been just wonderful and the forecasts were good. The P. Ellen tows very well, but we noticed the bow was riding very high at one point. It turned out the plug had worked itself loose and she had taken on some water. We slowed down and tried to bring her in close, but by this time the wind was approximately 25kts and the seas were 5 feet. Slowing down was causing the dinghy to take on water much more quickly. We were not able to safely replace the plug or bail out the P. Ellen. So, we raised sail again and ran for the lee of a nearby island. Unfortunately, as the water emptied out the stern while the boat was picking up speed, one of the oars managed to work itself loose. We marked the spot on our GPS. While we were in the lee of the island it was easy to correct the problem by securing the plug and bailing out the dinghy. We then went back to look for the oar, but we estimated that in the time we had gone to island and back, the oar was probably all the way to shore. Of course, I felt a bit foolish for not having taken more care in taking all equipment out of the dinghy while towing it. I also have developed a better method of locking the plug when towing.

I never imagined the oar would be discovered. I wondered if you would be amenable to trading my one found oar for two new duplicates. I would be happy to bear all costs for the new oars and shipping for the new and old oars. I would be prevailing on you to arrange for shipping the found oar. If this is possible, I would greatly appreciate it. I already have a duplicate, but it doesn't quite match my old one. The grain is more pronounced and the turk's head is made of slightly different line. It would be great to have the perfectly matching old oar again, and it somehow brings the story of my lost oar full circle. I would also like to give you a set of oars as thanks for finding mine.

I would like to add that my crew and I had a wonderful time in Nova Scotia. It is a place of great natural beauty, and we encountered only friendly people the entire time. I hope to return for a spring cruise again next year, probably along the coast just north of Halifax this time.

I don't know how far you've gotten in getting a matching oar. I already received my new one. What I hoped to do was send my new one to Paul Jacques at Dutch Wharf, where the P. Ellen was built, and see if he could make sure the new oar and a properly matching duplicate were shipped to you. I think he could also make sure the button is properly made with line that grips the oar well. I found the button on the new oar slips. The line is synthetic, and may not shrink and tighten. I would like to get Dutch Wharf to make sure the two oars are also closely matching in terms of wood, as well. If you already received a matching oar, then I would at least like to reimburse you for the cost and send you the new one I have received, so you have two that should be very close in any event.

I apologize for contacting you out of the blue. The email addresses were on the note sent to me by Paul Jacques, and I couldn't resist sending you an email. I hope you enjoy the story of how it was lost...

Regards, Bill Wraith