Board of Directors: About the School: Silva Bay Shipyard School, Canada's Only Full-Time Traditional Wooden Boatbuilding School

Board of Directors

The Silva Bay Shipyard School is operated by a non-profit Society and a volunteer Board of Directors:

Rufus Churcher: Chair, Terms: 1998-2006; Rufus [C.S.] Churcher is a retired professor from the University of Toronto. His training is in Zoology, Palaeontology and Geology and his work has taken him to many parts of the world. From an early age he was interested in boats and especially sailing vessels, whether large or small, and from across the world.; Shortly after arrival on Gabriola Island he was invited to join the Board of the Boat School (1998), which he has chaired for most of their meetings. He had the aim to build a boat during his retirement but instead has tried to make it possible for others to learn how to build and actually to build small wooden boats. Hobbies are gardening, woodwork, and natural history, but he still carries out annual palaeontological field work and research. Born in England in 1928, and came to Canada in 1959. He lived in Kenya and South Africa before settling in Toronto, and later retiring to Gabriola Island in 1995.

Inge Fretheim: Director, Terms: 2003-2006; Inge Fretheim graduated from University of Colorado in 1968 with a M.Sc in Civil Engineering, and a M.Sc. in Structural Engineering in 1969. He has also taken two Executive Development Programs ("Mini-MBA's"); University of Calgary 1988, and Stanford University 1994. After an initial career with Kaiser Engineers in California and Australia, he became involved with energy in the North Sea offshore in 1974 with Norsk Hydro and Total, living in Oslo, Paris and Scotland during the next 4 years. His work in energy became the main focus of his career, with significant business engagements on a world wide basis.; Joining Dome Petroleum in Calgary in 1978, he joined the quest for oil and gas exploration in the Arctic offshore regions of Canada and the US. When Dome was bought by Amoco in 1988, Inge became an Executive with Amoco to run one of their companies in Calgary, and then moved to Houston in 1994 to lead Amoco's entry into gas-fired power installations on a world-wide basis.; He left Amoco in 1999, and pursued a career with early stage companies in the renewable energy field, heading up a biomass gasification company in Atlanta, Georgia until 2002, when he became Chairman of a wave energy company in Sydney, Australia; a position he currently holds. Inge is currently also Director of the Silva Bay Shipyard School, and an Executive-in-Residence with the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia.

Tad Roberts: Vice-Chair, Terms: 2001-2006; A Roberts of Roberts Creek, Tad Roberts was born in Pender Harbour and grew up with boats on the South Coast. Tad fished commercially, was mate on tug boats, and taught himself yacht design. He opened his own design office in Victoria, BC in 1984. From 1987 to 2001, Tad was senior designer at Bruce King Yacht Design: During those years, the design office became a leader in using cold-molded wooden construction methods producing the designs for the cold-molded wooden yachts Sophie 90', Liberty 80', Antonisa 124', and Scheherazade 154' (launched 2003). Other designs included Alejandra 134', Hetairos 124', Cecile Marie 131', the Hinkley 70, the Talaria 40 and 44, and the Hinkley Picnic Boat.; Since 2001 Tad Roberts has lived on Gabriola Island where he practices yacht design and naval architecture. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Silva Bay Shipyard School and the organizer of the annual Shipyard School Raid, a long distance rowing and sailing race for traditional small boats. In his spare time Tad sails his 20' cat ketch Ratty, built on Gabriola Island by SBSS alumni.

Captain Jack Sickavish, Retired: Director, Terms: 1998-2006; 55 years in the marine industry, from building Park Ships during the World War 2 to towing, salvage, training and some racing.; My first love has always been wooden boats and primarily sail; I am a rag bagger as opposed to a stink pot sailer and that is why I am so committed to our school.; Jack retired as a senior skipper from Rivtow Straits Towing. His later years there were mainly spent towing log barges. Jack has also had a hand in building 3 family boats, all designs from William Garden.