Most Beautiful Boat?
- Thread starter Simon Sexton
- Start date
Easy for me. I've seen BOLERO up close.
And backed up to get the whole boat in the lens.
BOLERO looks good even in the travel lift,...in the rain!
I get to photograph a lot of pretty boats where I live. I'm amazed how long it takes to find the best angle on most boats.
In the water - out of the water, 1949 - 2049, there isn't (and never will be) a bad angle to photograph BOLERO.
And backed up to get the whole boat in the lens.
BOLERO looks good even in the travel lift,...in the rain!
I get to photograph a lot of pretty boats where I live. I'm amazed how long it takes to find the best angle on most boats.
In the water - out of the water, 1949 - 2049, there isn't (and never will be) a bad angle to photograph BOLERO.
I love the PoB and a very good friend was her skipper for years, but my heart lies in the clipper bow, wineglass sterns of L Francis Herreshoff's boats.
White Hawk and Ticonderoga are a couple of examples of these designs, though I must admit nothing gets me going like a gaff topsail schooner's rig, like the one that sailed by us last week.
White Hawk and Ticonderoga are a couple of examples of these designs, though I must admit nothing gets me going like a gaff topsail schooner's rig, like the one that sailed by us last week.
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We have so many beautiful classic boats in the Chesapeake and visiting the Chesapeake. Pride, Sultana, Lady Baltimore, Woodwind(s), Virginia.
The Pride of Baltimore is an example of a ship heavily supported by her host city and the state of Maryland. It has an ample budget, an awesome dedicated crew and it gets around...Duluth..and we have seen it off Mustique in the Windwards! It is a beautiful sailing schooner in the Baltimore clipper tradition. Here she is going down bay during the Great Schooner race (Greg Pease photo):
Behind the Pride, you can see the schooner Virginia, the fastest and for my money the prettiest schooner on the Chesapeake:
The Pride of Baltimore is an example of a ship heavily supported by her host city and the state of Maryland. It has an ample budget, an awesome dedicated crew and it gets around...Duluth..and we have seen it off Mustique in the Windwards! It is a beautiful sailing schooner in the Baltimore clipper tradition. Here she is going down bay during the Great Schooner race (Greg Pease photo):
Behind the Pride, you can see the schooner Virginia, the fastest and for my money the prettiest schooner on the Chesapeake:
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I feel so inadequate; some of those bow sprits are longer than my boat! Such beauties though!
Nice thread. Who can ignore the beauty of classic sailboats.
For the most part, a sailboat navigates through its world of wind and water not leaving a single trace of its passage. Nothing is consumed. Nothing is altered. The winds and the water are left in exactly the same condition for the next user. Sailing is forever.
Michael B. McPhee
For the most part, a sailboat navigates through its world of wind and water not leaving a single trace of its passage. Nothing is consumed. Nothing is altered. The winds and the water are left in exactly the same condition for the next user. Sailing is forever.
Michael B. McPhee
My vote is POB with the Mystic Whaler as a close second. Just don't know how to inbed pictures
In a sense, it was a tall ship that finally got me into sailing. I had been becoming increasingly interested for a number of years and then I was in Boston on a lay-over and went to tour the USS Constitution. I walked the decks in awe of the size of the structure and the maze of rigging. That pushed me over the edge. Not a beautiful boat perhaps, but awe inspiring nonetheless. Under full sail she is as striking as any.
L’Hermione. The French frigate that brought Gen. La Fayette into Boston with news that France was throwing in with the American Revolution. Here she is in full replica.
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I think they a bit too ornate. And get a load of that bowsprit. Really? Is there some kind of phallic symbolism there? Anyway L'Hermione was here in tiny little Greenport the summer before last. Of particular interest to me was the planking in the bow area. As you know the bow is very broad and the planks take a wicked bend towards the stem. These are pretty massive chunks of wood. It would be possible with live oak but I'm sure they didn't use that. They had to be steam bent but it's hard to imagine the steaming box/jig setup. In the 17th century it is unimaginable.
As a Ship of the Line, these boats would really mix it up in very close quarters as the battles evolved (devolved?). That 'angle' allowed the boat to swing without getting snagged bow-on with an opponent, a fatal error. Do a Google image search of 'battle of the Nile' to see how close they scrapped.
If memory serves they did use oak, as it was hard enough to resist cannon ball strikes. Also mentioned was that the majority of injuries in battle were from oak splinters.
I can't even imagine being on the deck in those encounters. The noise and the stench of powder and blood must have been absolutely horrendous. It's a wonder anybody, from the captain to the powder boys, could concentrate on their jobs.
If any of you get to Gibraltar, a number of the graves in the graveyard in town are from those that died in the battle of Trafalgar. Most interesting to read the headstones.
The tall ships are beautiful for sure. Anyone who finds the sight of a schooner under sail mesmerizing should watch the Spencer Tracy version of "Captains Courageous". The footage of the Gloucester fleet racing back with their catches is unforgettable.
But if we're talking about "real" boats and not museum or historic show pieces, I'd split my vote into two categories: "obtainable", and "fairy tale" Under obtainable, I vote for the designs of Carl Alberg and Philip Rhodes. The CCA designs are to me what a boat should look like. It's tough to pick my favorite, but I'd go with the Alberg-designed Pearson Triton and the Rhodes-designed Pearson Vanguard. And although they are affordable, I'll likely never own one because as gorgeous as they are, they simply don't work for the way I sail. In the Fairy Tale beautiful category (i.e., owning one is no more than a fairy tale for me because it's so expensive), I vote for the Friendship 40. If you ever go to a boat show where one is on display, do yourself a favor and save it for last. If you go on it first, everything else will look like crap.
But if we're talking about "real" boats and not museum or historic show pieces, I'd split my vote into two categories: "obtainable", and "fairy tale" Under obtainable, I vote for the designs of Carl Alberg and Philip Rhodes. The CCA designs are to me what a boat should look like. It's tough to pick my favorite, but I'd go with the Alberg-designed Pearson Triton and the Rhodes-designed Pearson Vanguard. And although they are affordable, I'll likely never own one because as gorgeous as they are, they simply don't work for the way I sail. In the Fairy Tale beautiful category (i.e., owning one is no more than a fairy tale for me because it's so expensive), I vote for the Friendship 40. If you ever go to a boat show where one is on display, do yourself a favor and save it for last. If you go on it first, everything else will look like crap.
Ah, the old weather gage. I wonder if they had some sort of Colregs back then? Or at least gentlemen's agreements of action?
My first big boat was a Rhodes 49' ocean racing cutter. Though indeed a lovely, fast and great sailing boat, she was ludicrous as a cruising boat for a couple. Had to trade her in for a more practical boat.
Frigates were designed to be fast raiders, they would not normally be part of an battle line armada. Too lightly armed. One of the first things she did after dropping La Fayette off in Boston was to sail up to Castine (Maine) and tear up the Penobscot Bay Brit army. Here are some shots of her close up when she was in Baltimore:
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As a young boy I was often dropped off at Mystic Seaport and would spend the day wandering around gazing in awe at the Charles W Morgan and her sisters in their splendor. It led me to lots of reading of the days of sail...wooden ships and iron men. And now I be one. Lets face it. All of those are amazingly beautiful ships. I adore the Bark Eagle from the Coast Guard Academy. Saw her many many times in Groton/Mystic.