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Sain Away! Ken turns his love of sailing and wood boats into a thriving business The prospect of spending every day living your dream is just a wish for most people, but every once in a while, someone comes along who has taken advantage of the opportunity to live their vision every day of their lives. Ken Lavalette is one of these people. The founder and owner of Woodwind Yachts in Nestleton. Ken's company builds, restores and fixes wooden boats of all makes and shapes. “I’ve thought about boats as long as I can remember,” Ken recalls. “When I was young I would build models of ships from plastic kits and as I grew older I made them from wood.” Ken, born in Scotland, moved with his family to Scarborough when he was four. His father owned a successful printing business /\ and it was assumed Ken would follow in the family tradition. This would not be the case. During high school Ken wanted to be a veterinarian, but decided to take a break from his studies and at 20 years of age he bought a Folkboat’ and began restoring it, with the intent of sailing around the world. He completed the task and along with his dog and his gui- tar took the 25 foot ship out to sea. “I had $600 in my pocket and a world full of dreams,” Ken said, smiling as he remi- nisced about those days more than 30 years ago. It took him about a month to reach Florida and. when he stepped off the boat he was down to twelve dollars. Luck was with the young mariner, for a few feet away sat a boat in dire need of repair. Ken studied it and saw the owner on deck. He struck up a conversa- tion and said, “Boy, do you need me!” Ken explained about his ability to restore boats and the man, after looking at Ken’s ‘Folkboat’ decided to hire him on. “It was like being with a family and doing what I love. The owner’s wife would bring me sandwiches every day. We all got along really well.’ After a month of working Ken decided to set sail again, this time heading for the Car- ibbean. After six months of island hopping, sleeping on the boat every night, Ken was getting antsy for Toronto and the people he loved. It was then he decided to start a boat restoration business, something he had thought about for the past number of years. While sailing on the Hudson River, he called home and was told that he was badly needed in his father’s printing company, as the manager had won a million dollar lottery and resigned. Hesitantly, Ken sailed home Please turn to page 18 Ken, at 20 years of age, sailing his 25 foot ‘Folkboat’ in the Caribbean. 36 FOCUS - APRIL 2010