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| Jericho - "Queen of the fleet" in Northeast Harbor - Photo by Brad Cole. |
“He’s got a pair of reddish-tan shorts, a Brooks Brothers oxford shirt with a worn collar, freshly laundered... Everything is slightly worn, a little faded but tidy. No jewelry, not even a wedding band. But he’s trim, he’s much thinner than the guy with the gold chain.... He’s going to get on a Swan or a Hinckley or maybe that handsome old Aage Neilsen ketch. You can tell his wife or girlfriend. She looks just like him, with breasts.”
- Llewellyn Howland III, drawing a contrast to the owners of megayachts in the wonderful Soundings article, A ‘comedy’ of conspicuous consumption, kindly sent to me, along with the above photograph, by (avid sailor) Brad Cole.
A conclusion of this really entertaining piece is, "The boat you own tells the world more about you than you may wish the world to know."
23 comments:
We have a canoe. I'm not sure what that says about us.
The entire article from which you excerpted that quote is hilarious and well-worth a read. My childhood boat, a dingy with sails, really, is currently being used by my mother as a large flower planter. Take that for what you will.
I've always wanted an old wooden Hinckely Pilot 35 sloop. Classic design, lots of work, in my opinion..beautiful. My clothes? Well worn BB BDC shirts, khakis and leather Top-Siders..seems to fit my lifestyle. Check out my icon..over the bow of a wooden Pilot-35.
This is why "Consider the source" is such a well-seasoned, enduring idiom/cliche.
IOW, my boat [my shirt, my car, my watchband] will not "tell the world" anything whatsoever about me; any judgement rendered upon my boat will inform the world more about the source who rendered the judgement, than about the owner of the boat.
-Flo
What did this one tell the world about its owner?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Kon-Tiki_inside.jpg
Great piece Muffy and have a very happy Thanksgiving!
Very enjoyable read for a Saturday morning!
Love the mentions of S&S and also the Herreshoff 12. I was fortunate to have learned to sail on a S&S-designed Blue Jay, although they were considered *very* dated at the time, and have since been phased out on Long Island Sound in favor of Pixels. My dream is to one day own a S&S-designed Morris.
I really enjoyed the referenced article. We went out for a sail yesterday, despite the chill and the light rain. But we were appropriately dressed (no gold chains!), and once under sail, barely noticed the chill or the rain. I doubt anyone was impressed, but we could care less!
I have illustrated many a boat and it is indeed true the boat you own tells the world so much about you. I would love to own a boat one day like that.
pve
"Boats ; holes in the ocean that you throw money into."
Even the mighty US Navy thinks so....
While it ust ne nice to have the $ that enables one to have a mega-yacht, I believe I'd enjoy something like what is pictured here more.
Boats like thi are the clas of the class and true labors of love.
Oh boy, Im working on my 71 corvette, with a black polo, washed out levis,and well worn,timberland work boots,in the barn on my horse farm. I hope the world doesnt think ill of me, my boots are rather ratty.
anonymous @8:35 is either being coy or facetious, Muffy
What does it say about me that I've never taken out a boat longer than 33 feet?
I enjoyed the referenced article very much. The only boat I have ever sailed on was a Sunfish on a lake. I am sure that doesn't compare to a sailboat on the ocean.
HAPPY HOLIDAY!
That would be Aage "Nielsen"
One winter, years ago I was with my father looking at boats in the Fort Lauderdale Yacht Basin. An old salt gave my father some sage advice.
“If you want to buy a boat, go to the bank and withdraw a thousand dollars in hundred dollar bills. Flush each one-hundred dollar bill down the head, one at a time. If you can stomach that, you’re ready to own a boat.”
True Wisdom.
One of my acquaintances taught sailing at the Naval Academy. He's from Nebraska, of all places. Anyhow, he has crewed on a few races to Bermuda. As he explains it, one of the curiosities of long sailboat races is that, in the morning when you get up, you're still in the same place.
Bermuda, by the way, is a very preppy place. Lots of pink.
I don't know the first thing about boating, but I can certainly appreciate the described aesthetics--especially where the wife/girlfriend is concerned. :)
This slice-of-life article reminds me of a tale of two boats in the SoCal beachtown in which I grew up. Their owners are long dead, and their vessels have found vastly different fates. The power boat of a famous actor now serves as a bay dinner/wedding cruise ship. The Philip Rhodes-designed motorsailer of a local oilman/rancher, after many years of multiple owners, was bought by a relative, and brought back to the harbor for a full restoration. I leave open which is the more lovely yacht. And the more admirable original owner.
Just read the reference article by LH III. He never mentioned Chris-Craft. That probably tell you more about me than it does about him. My "boats" are from Old Town.
My boat is an erg. I've never rowed on the water, though learning how is on my bucket list, after I learn to swim. As to real boats, my experience is on a 47-foot Jeanneau sailboat, though we always stayed in the Sound and never really made it out to the open ocean. Another thing to add to the bucket list.
I'm new to your blog, Muffy, and am delighted to have found it. Great work!
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