Pleoine

Pleoine

There has been a wonderful resurgence of wooden boat racing in New England over the last few years. Much credit is due Steve White, of Brooklin Boatyard, for getting the ball rolling, and to Wooden Boat Magazine, also of Brooklin, Maine, for their continuing support. The main event is the annual Eggemoggin Reach race, but the Castine-to-Camden and Camden-to-Brooklin feeder races are now well established and popular as well. The racing has a vintage car racing feel, part competition and part parade, and in most classes the sweep of the sheerlines and the depth of the varnish are as important as the finish places. However, in the ‘Spirit of Tradition‘ class the competition is a bit more, well, spirited. This class is open to contemporary boats that are built primarily in wood, and most show a classic, long overhang style above the waterline. Below the waterline, however, modern fin keels and spade rudders are the norm, and carbon rigs and high tech sails are allowed. The raison d’etre for the class is to encourage the continued development of new wooden boats that, over time, can replace the older ones that inevitably sail off to that great boat shop in the sky. The more immediate result is a diverse class of attractive boats, and some very competitive racing.

Read more at our ‘Spirit of Tradition‘ page

The one-two punch of unprecedented turmoil in the financial markets and the related economic slump has hit everyone especially hard since the middle of 2008. Most of us no longer have the financial resources that we thought we had, some no longer have jobs, and we all feel the anxiety and uncertainty of being in uncharted waters. The sailing world has been severely effected; current boat owners want to cut costs (or even sell), prospective new boat buyers are understandably cautious, and boat builders are caught in a very nasty squeeze between nervous customers and nervous banks. The storm will pass eventually, but for now, we need to cope with unusually rough seas. (more…)