Water Lore

Bold Kevin and His Crew

On August 23, 1959, a short photo-essay appeared in the Chicago Sunday Tribune Magazine. It described life aboard Heather for the Collins family as they prepared for their journey south. The short profile was a nice promotional piece for the artist, whose work appeared every Sunday in the Trib’s funny pages. (Sadly, it is likely the last promo the Tribune ran for Collins—four months later, after a nine-year run, KEVIN THE BOLD was discontinued.)

Now back to the story that resulted from the trip south.

Say… that dog and little boy in WATER LORE… they sure look familiar.

Ah yes, it’s Inky—a dog that, in real life, belonged to one of the Collins’ neighbors. But I digress. Heather has arrived for her overnight stay in Chicago, with an early morning departure and a date with its first lock.

It was smooth sailing through the lock, so much that Jane Marlin thoughts turn to Robert Burns’ Duncan Gray.

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For more information on the career of Kreigh Collins, visit his page on Facebook.

Maiden Voyage

Looks like a relatively warm spring day to get Heather ready.

With Memorial Day approaching, so too is the traditional start of sailing season. This usually means having already done prep work in chilly conditions. In order to extend the season, Kreigh Collins liked to launch early. Kevin Marlin was in the same boat — literally — they both sailed aboard Heather.

While the photo above shows skipper Collins 10 years after he purchased his schooner, the “Up Anchor!” chapter starting today was just the second one in the strip’s 3.5-year run. It starts with Pedro showing off a small fiberglass boat he’s peddling, which must have appealed to Kreigh — maintaining a 40-year-old, wooden 40-footer required quite a bit of elbow grease! No doubt the Collinses worked up a sweat, even in chilly spring weather.

Not only did Kevin and Kreigh sail the same boat, but they had the same kitchen, too. (The opening panel in the episode below is a rendering of the tiny kitchen in Kreigh’s own Ada, Michigan home).

Featuring a family’s adventures living aboard a sailboat, “Up Anchor!” was unique, and while it promoted the growing hobby of pleasure boating, it fought against the stereotype of it being a glamorous sport solely for the wealthy.

Continued next week…

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For more information on the career of Kreigh Collins, visit his page on Facebook.