THANE

Joshua Slocum’s voyage alone around the world (1895-1898) is among the most famous feats of single-handed voyaging of all time. SPRAY was given to Slocum by a friend in 1892. The vessel had been abandoned in a field seven years earlier. Slocum rebuilt her, then in 1895 struck out on his voyage. Alone aboard the SPRAY, Slocum covered 46,000 miles in three years. The boat’s hull form enabled it to self steer under sail, and her sailing performance is legendary. “Sailing Alone Around The World” is Joshua Slocum’s account of his voyage. It has been in publication since 1900 and has been the inspiration for many SPRAY replicas including THANE of Victoria, BC.Len Pearson, similar to Slocum, found a SPRAY hull in a field where it had been abandoned 10 years earlier. In 1972 Len traded his '68 Chevy for the hull. Victoria was experiencing a building boom which provided an excellent source of quality timber and scrap metal. Made largely of recycled materials, THANE was meticulously completed in five years on Finger One at Fisherman’s Wharf. Present owner Rob McCallum bought THANE from Len Pearson in 2013.Although THANE has yet to circumnavigate, she self steers like the original SPRAY. She is stoutly built and, like her predecessor, she’s a working girl: Today she works as a Transport Canada-certified passenger carrying ship offering daily cruises from Victoria’s inner harbour.