Vintage Color, Vintage Cruising
Most of Maynard’s camera work was laid down in black and white. Parallel to this sustained effort, he did manage to capture some color images, on both negative and slide film. These color photographs are a treat to behold; they have an immediacy we’re all accustomed to. This month, we’re sharing some pictures shot mostly on Kodachrome film, whose brilliant colors, deep contrast, and durability are beloved by analog photographers (some of whom probably have a few rolls of the prized stock stashed away in their freezers). Our selection focuses on cruising—the people and the boats. This timeless pastime attracts even people who’ve never done it; it has a romantic and a real appeal. Getting out onto the water and bringing a little bit of home with you creates both a sense of expansiveness and security. Dropping the pressures of modern existence for the simple pressures of contending with weather, wind, tides, and landscape brings calm and satisfaction; despite having no ground under you, it can be deeply grounding. At its best, it generates camaraderie, a cooperative and optimistic spirit. At its worst, it’s dull, uncomfortable, and sometimes dangerous. Changing one’s perspective can be as straightforward as changing surroundings, the most unmistakable benefit of travel. And, of course, the extent of your mastery of the boat correlates directly to how enjoyable the trip is. Cruising today is augmented by a range of digital tools; however, it’s essentially the same experience as it was for these latter-day sailors, photographed 40 or more years ago. Some (but unfortunately not all) of the wooden boats depicted are still around today.
Image Captions by Maynard Bray.
“The Buzzards Bay 30 CATSPAW about 1974 when she was rigged as a Marconi yawl and owned by Bob Hellier. She fell on hard times under the next owner who eventually donated her, as a near-derelict, to IYRS in Newport. Good fortune prevailed when Charlie Ryan purchased her, and along with two other identical BB-30s (Young Miss and Evelyn), she was restored by French & Webb of Belfast, ME. She now sails from Nantucket under her original gaff sloop rig and with her original name of QUAKERESS II.”
“This is our lovely 1926 Herreshoff yawl AIDA. We owned her from 1967 to 2007. Doug Hylan restored her in 2008 and, after a time at Shelter Island, NY, she was donated to Mystic Seaport and returned to eastern Connecticut waters—back where she spent her early years. She's beautifully cared for these days by Snediker Yacht Restoration and you might catch a glimpse of her on her Essex, CT, mooring.”
“The late Bob Sloan and his wife Monika aboard their schooner SPIKE AFRICA, sailing off Newport, CA. The schooner, recently restored, now sails from the Pacific northwest near the San Juan Islands.”
“I took this photo of the 1912 Alden-designed schooner WENDAMEEN while she was docked at New London, CT, before Capt. Neal Parker restored her and put her in the passenger carrying trade out of Camden, ME. She's still going strong, now owned and operated by the Portland Schooner Company.”
“This is the New York 30 COCKATOO II, originally one of 18 identical gaff sloops built by Herreshoff in 1905. Owner Lloyd Bergeson converted her to a Marconi yawl shortly after buying her in 1956, then to a Marconi sloop, and raced her actively. He single-handedly sailed her to Norway, but on the return, with son Henry aboard as crew, the boat fell off a wave, fractured the planking, and was lost. A passing freighter heard the distress call and saved both Bergesons.”
“John and Mary Leonard's R-class sloop PRELUDE always bested our R-boat PENOBSCOT on the racecourse, so her transom was a familiar sight as we competed against each other in Eastern Long Island Sound. Later, she was restored by The International Yacht Restoration School in Newport and given back her original name, RUWEIDA V.”
“Our lovely R-class sloop PENOBSCOT with Anne at the tiller near Friendship, ME, around 1964. Subsequently, after a number of years in Florida under another owner, Penobscot returned to Maine and was beautifully restored by Hylan & Brown for Lindsay Merrithew. Lindsay now sails from Chester, Nova Scotia, and sees to it that the boat is well cared for.”
“JACK LONDON is one of a pair of schooners designed and built by the Herreshoff Mfg. Co. of Bristol, RI, in 1925. HARLEQUIN was her original name; her sister was ROFA. This photo was taken at Mystic, CT, not long before her final days when she sunk to the bottom in nearby Noank.”
“Giffy Full and his late wife Charlotte sailing their cutter FULL MOON to Greens Island (off Vinalhaven, Maine) where they visited us. The boat was built by Frank Loud in 1977; she's a 34' traditional clipper-bowed cruising cutter.”
“FANNY W originally dredged for oysters in Long Island Sound. But she was serving as John Clapp's pleasure boat when this photo was taken, and when John was keeper of the lobster pound on Greens Island near Vinalhaven, ME. She was old by then, weak, and finally sunk at Vinalhaven and was demolished.”
“The late Skip Green hauls up BACCARAT's anchor, with our yawl Aida in the background. Skip will head off on a single-handed and successful cruise to Nova Scotia—despite his being legally blind. More recently, he succumbed to diabetes and, sadly, his beloved BACCARAT became a dry-land derelict near where he lived in Islesboro, ME.”