The S/V Sparrow is my first sailboat. She is a Balboa 27 and is a fiberglass full masthead sloop 26 feet and 6 inches long. She has a fin keel and a balanced spade rudder.

Here are some pictures of Sparrow and the surrounding area in Whittier where she is moored. Whittier is on the northwest side of Prince William Sound. This small community of roughly 250 people has often been described as the "End of the World". I think that's only a small exageration. Its certainly an odd place. It recently was connected to Alaska's road system with a new $70 million dollar tunnel called the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. Formerly, it could only be reached by boat, small plane, or train. The tunnel certainly makes for a shorter trip. Previously, if you missed the train you were out of luck!

Sparrow was pretty rough when I bought her and I enlisted several friends to help me fix her up. It was a trial ... as several of my long suffering friends would agree with. All I can say is long live "eau de'Sparrow". Painting a sailboat in Whittier is a chancy proposition because of the unpredictable weather and bugs. Poor Sparrow still has thousands of little bug feet embedded in her green paint job. I eventually decided I'd rather sail in a cosmetically challenged boat than spend all my time fixing her up. Besides, if you squint real hard, the green and yellow paint scheme kinda grows on you ... sorta - kinda.