TREASURE COAST BOATING
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Name: Nat Huggins
Residence: Vero Beach
Family: Wife, Jayne, three grown children and three grandchildren
Age: 81
Career: partner in an insurance agency; now retired
Interests: Model making, history, marine art, sailing and cooking
Something nobody knows about me: “That I like to cook and that
my 50th wedding anniversary is coming up.”
his skills for most of his 81 years, carrying on the
tradition of his grandfather, who built models in
his basement. “I loved nothing better than to watch
him in his workshop making models,” he said.
Huggins’ tools include Exacto knives, tweezers, a
tiny hand drill with an even tinier bit (a pencil lead
is large in comparison), and his favorite: the singleedge
razor blade. Neatly stacked on shelves are
long boxes of materials. The really small parts are
in separate cubicles in a plastic box. These are the
ones he has to pick up delicately with the tweezers,
which look as if they belong in a medical office on
an instrument tray.
“I do this because it is something I thoroughly
enjoy,” he says. “It’s quiet time, and it’s something
that revives one’s spirit and allows you to focus on
one thing.”
Years ago he made a model of a storied ship
called the Pride of Baltimore. The ship he used for
his model was actually a replica itself, typical of
19th century clipper schooners. It was based in
particular on the Chasseur, which had taken part
in the War of 1812 and achieved some fame for its
exploits. The Chasseur was said to be the pride of
the city of Baltimore when it returned from war.
The Pride of Baltimore replica, launched in 1977,
traveled up and down the eastern seaboard and
crossed the Atlantic to visit ports in Europe. Representing
the city of Baltimore, it was welcomed
everywhere. Nine years after launch, it sank in a
tremendous storm — a violent line squall,
Model MAKiNG
The whaler carried everything it needed to render high quality whale blubber into highpriced
whale oil for burning, including a cooper who made barrels for the valuable oil.
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