Salem Harbor will come alive the weekend of August 26-27 as a fleet of striking vintage sailboats and motor yachts sail into Brewer Hawthorne Cove Marina for the 35th Annual Antique & Classic Boat Festival. The public will have the rare chance to see these extraordinary private yachts up close, talk with their owners and even get to board some for a personal tour. According to festival coordinator Pat Wells: one year, upon leaving the festival with his vintage craft, the skipper discovered he had picked up an extra passenger who was discovered asleep in a bunk! “It’s hard to tear yourself away from these magnificent boats,”says Wells. “The old wooden vessels are beautiful, true works of art. One fan calls them ‘the smiling boats.’”
Old favorites will be returning to the festival along with many “new” old boats. Among them is DRAGON, a reproduction of an 1882 Herreshoff Steam Launch. She is powered by a genuine 1882 steam engine which was found with a retired steam boat captain in Mississippi. It is a very rare survivor, one of only two such engines known to exist. Owned by Ulf Heide of Marblehead, Massachusetts, DRAGON was rebuilt by Redd’s Pond Boat Works of Marblehead.
The custom built 47’ ketch, MOONBEAM, owned by David Felsenthal, is also coming to the festival from Marblehead. A well-traveled yacht, she has made seven trans-Atlantic voyages!
GREMLIN started life in 1942 as a U.S. Navy motor whaleboat. Loaned to the United Kingdom, she did service on a harbor tug during World War II which built artificial harbors off the coast of Normandy in preparation for the D-Day invasion. The battered little whaleboat came into the hands of Burrage Woodberry, father of the current owner, Kathleen Anderson, in 1953, and has been restored and loved by three generation of the family ever since.
Another extraordinary vessel to be seen is UNA, a reproduction of an 1852 Skimming Dish Catboat. She was built by owner Garry Sherman of Dedham, Massachusetts and is distinguished by probably being the first racing style catboat. According to Sherman, she was shipped to England where she became a sensation and, soon, squadrons of the boat were seen sailing local waters. Her design in Great Britain became known as an Una –rig.
The public will be treated to these and many, many other intriguing vessels.
Another treat will be a free boat ride! Inaugurated by the festival last year, the rides were so popular that more have been scheduled for the August 26-27 weekend.
The festival is not just boats! Selected by Yankee magazine as a top event in Massachusetts, other festival highlights include a crafts market, childrens activities (including a chance to build your own wee boat), and live traditional music throughout the weekend. Culminating the festivities will be the Blessing of the Fleet. The festival goes rain or shine.
35th Annual Antique & Classic Boat Festival
August 26-27, 2017 (Sat., 11 am-5 pm; Sun., 11 am-3 pm)
Brewer Hawthorne Cove Marina, 10 White St., Salem, Massachusetts
$5, children under 12 free
Info & Boat Entry: 617-666-8530, 978-448-6757, boatfestival.org