About Rainshadow
S/V Rainshadow is a Nicholson 38 – that means she is a 38 foot, GRP ketch built by Camper and Nicholsons in 1974. She is hull number 126, out of 134.
We (Van and Marilyn) bought her in November 2009 from her previous owners Sid and Stephanie Morrell. Sid and Stephanie had Rainshadow for 27 years and had taken her cruising for three of those years in the South Pacific, all the way to Australia. Except for those three years, she’s spent all her time cruising in the beatiful Pacific Northwest.
“Rainshadow” is an interesting name – separately, rain and shadow are two words normally associated with unpleasantness. “Don’t rain on my parade”. “All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain” “A dark shadow crept over the land”. “The valley of the shadow of death…” But, put together, they take on a new meaning. A rainshadow is a shelter from the rain, blocked by a tall mountain or range of mountains, or perhaps an island in the South Pacific. There is usually sunshine in a rainshadow. It’s a kind of safe harbor – a fitting metaphor for a boat. And finally, Rainshadow has spent the last decade or so in the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains, in Port Townsend. And our home port, in Hansville, is still in the rainshadow.
BUILDER: Camper & Nicholsons
MODEL: Nicholson 38 ketch
YEAR BUILT: 1974
DESIGNER: Based on John Alden’s Mistral
BUILDER DIMENSIONS
– LOA: 37’10”
– LWL: 27’8″
– Beam: 10’6″
– Displacement: 16,000
– Ballast: 6,000 Lead
– Draft: 5’4″
– Hull speed: 7.75 knots
You can learn more about Rainshadow on these pages:
* Equipment List