A unique partnership between Gray Wolf Ranch and two local non-profit organizations has resulted in the construction of a new trek vessel, a 26-foot longboat that will be used for nautical educational programs. Last year, Gray Wolf and the Wooden Boat Foundation collaborated on five- and ten-day nautical treks in the San Juan Islands using the Foundation's longboat, the Townshend. A heavy, stable, and seaworthy vessel, the Townshend requires cooperation and teamwork and a concentrated physical effort to get where you want to go. The reward is reaching beautiful areas under your own power and feeling the accomplishment of working together as a crew.

With a donation to the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, Gray Wolf has provided the funding for construction of a sister ship (Bear) to the Townshend. The Townshend was built by students at the school in 1992. Both boats are replicas of the yawls used by Captain George Vancouver and the crew of the HMS Discovery as they explored and mapped Puget Sound in 1792. Designed to be rowed by 12 oarsmen, the two-masted boats can also be sailed with their classic lug rigs. The school, which offers a nine-month Associate's Degree Program in the traditional craft of wooden boatbuilding, used the project as part of its hands-on curriculum this past year.

Bear will be owned by the Wooden Boat Foundation, an organization committed to maritime education and community involvement. Many Gray Wolf residents volunteer at the Foundation's boat shop as part of the community service program, helping with maintenance and repair of boats and, in turn, getting some sailing time out on the water with the Foundation's staff. In return for the donation, Gray Wolf will have the use of Bear for two or three treks per year. With two longboats available, it will be possible to take twice the number of residents on each trek. Bear will also be used by the Foundation for its youth Adventure at Sea programs and for its high-school Puget Sound Explorers program. We will be christening Bear in a ceremony to be held on the Port Townsend waterfront on July 6th at 3PM.

To find out more about the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding and the Wooden Boat Foundation, check out their websites at:
www.nwboatschool.org and www.woodenboat.org.

July 18 - 22, 2002

We are very excited to invite you, the alumni, back to the Ranch for a reunion and a trip to the Olympic Coast. Our plan for the 3rd annual Summer alumni trek is to gather Thursday afternoon, July 18th, and leave for the field Friday morning. Our destination is the Olympic Coast. We will spend three nights out, then return on Monday, the 22nd in time to be cleaned up for a barbecue with the current residents and the local AA community.

To register, make a deposit or ask questions: Call Peter Boeschenstein or Alex Borton at Gray Wolf Ranch: 800-571-5505. Be sure to register early, space will probably be limited.

Hi, I'm Roger. I'm twenty years old and I'm from Michigan and I first started off with Gray Wolf Ranch when I'd just turned nineteen years old. I was terrified. I didn't know what to do. I was getting sent away to this place across the United States on the West Coast. I didn't know anyone out here and it was one of the first times I'd been away from my family and it was rough for me. I came here, I didn't know anyone, I didn't know anything about being sober, I didn't know anything about telling the truth, or helping other people, and I for sure didn't know how to help myself. And through the community at Gray Wolf Ranch and through the amazing staff and the treks that they do, I was able to process relationships with friends, gain trust with myself and with others, and it took me a very long way. I was here for about five months. I was in treatment a total of just shy of six months total and you know, when I first came here, as I said before, I wasn't interested in it, I didn't want to get sober, and as I came here, I made friends that I'm still in contact with now, that was two years ago. You know, I'm doing great today. I have a job, I go to school, I have friends, a girlfriend, and a healthy relationship with my parents, and that's really all thanks to Gray Wolf and the experience that I learned here. One thing that was very special for me was being able to go out on these treks. I'm a city boy, you know, I was always in the cities, New York, Detroit, Miami from a very nice family where we would never go out into the wilderness. We never went backpacking or hiking. I was always like a two, three shower-a-day type guy, very high maintenance, and I came out here. I was willing to just let go. I surrendered completely to the program. We would go out in the wilderness. It'd be beautiful, these treks, and they provide everything that you need here to find yourself, find your soul, and just to be able to live comfortably and love yourself and love other people, which is something I'd never been able to do before in my life and it, it's really changed me and it's really turned me around. Thank you.GWR Staff Trek