Sailboat Construction in the Garage
Andrew Sailing Matt's Boat
Matt Sailing Matt's Boat
This season we find ourselves blessed with good health, high spirits, and bright expectations for the future. Since we are all still in the Boston area we have had the opportunity to share many experiences, both among ourselves and with Sarah's family, the Rothbergs.
Matthew graduated from MIT with a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering and has begun the PhD program in Ocean Engineering here. His senior thesis project won him a trip to Kobe, Japan where he presented the results of his work at an international conference. This summer he finished the 15-foot strip built wooden sailboat that he designed and has been building in our garage. Sea trials on Squam Lake showed that not only does it look spectacular, but it is fast and agile as well.
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Sailboat Construction in the Garage |
Andrew Sailing Matt's Boat |
Matt Sailing Matt's Boat |
Andrew and Sarah continue to live in Cambridge as they pursue their respective PhD programs at Harvard and Boston University. They joined me in weekly sailboat racing at MIT during the summer, and have had the chance to take a number of trips this year. In April, the Spring Meeting of the Materials Research Society took Andrew out to San Francisco. Following the conference Sarah joined him to visit Point Reyes and the Muir Woods. Sarah was on the west coast again in November for an Aquatic Toxicology conference in Portland. They enjoyed visiting Andrew's cousins David and Will in Manhattan this fall, and are looking forward to our trip to the Cabin over Christmas. Both have recently had major papers accepted for publication and expect to graduate in the coming year. We are all waiting to see what they decide to do next.
Andrew and Sarah at Point Reyes, CA |
I have been more involved in administrative tasks at MIT than usual. I am the chairman of the Committee on Academic Performance, which decides what to do with the weakest of our students, and I am a member of a Presidential Committee reviewing MIT's entire undergraduate program. The best that can be said is that in these cases the time is well spent and one is left with a feeling of accomplishment.
This year MIT decided to replace its fleet of Tech Dinghies, the principal boats used for racing and recreational sailing. The new boats are lighter, more robust, and easier to right after a capsize. The family paid for two of the new boats. At the commissioning ceremony on graduation day Andrew and Matthew each christened one of the boats: the John Bardeen and the Betsy. A great picture of the two of them appeared in the school newspaper.
Christening a Tech Dinghy at MIT |
Sarah and Andrew Sailing the John Bardeen at the Ceremony |
In August we went backpacking in the North Cascades of Washington state. We were there last in 1994 when Andrew was 16 and Matthew 12. This time, as then, we benefited from the warm hospitality of Jim and Nancy Bardeen in Seattle. Matthew and I took a five-day trip over Rainy, Park Creek and Easy Passes. This fulfilled a decades old dream of mine of visiting Park Creek Pass. We were rewarded with spectacular views of Boston Glacier over the deep defile of Thunder Creek.
Thunder Basin |
Boston Glacier from across Thunder Basin |
Tom and Matt at Easy Pass - Last Day |
Andrew and Sarah then joined us for a six-day loop near Glacier Peak. We went over Spider, Cloudy, Suiattle and Buck Creek Passes. At the end of the first day we were treated to the longest (two and a half hours), most sustained storm of thunder, lightening and hail that I had ever experienced. Fortunately, we had just set up our tents and thus remained warm and dry. Our stay at Image Lake brought back fond memories. Betsy and I had come there for our first summer of backpacking in the Cascades in 1966, the year we were married. I hope that this trip - with its alpine lakes, glaciers, wildflowers, and sunrises and sunsets - will instill in the next generation the love of the Cascades that brought so much joy to Betsy and me.
Spider Basin |
Sarah and Andrew |
Lyman Glacier and Upper Lyman Lake |
Image Lake |
Glacier Peak |
Glacier Peak at Sunset |
Matt and Andrew |
We wish that you will all find joy, excitement, and adventure in the new year.
Tom, Andrew, Sarah, and Matthew