The Schooner Anne

[beaky]

A while back I posted some shots of the NYC millenium July 4th wingding in the harbor; one showed a very special boat belonging to the brother of a friend of mine. I took some shots aboard it last summer, but couldn't post them, as I thought I only had them on floppy and my floppy drive was inop...
Turns out all that was wrong with it was that the metal cover from another disc had come off and was lodged in there (D'Oh!)...
BUT (patience, the photos are coming): the pix on the disc looked like crap. so I rummaged, and found the set of prints (Me? Organized?); scanned 'em, and... here they are.
Not superb quality (had just gotten a vintage SLR w/ a bad light meter and was winging it), but those with an interest in sail might like 'em anyway...
There are plenty of other photos on the website- also a nice little video that shows a lot more.

http://www.1000days.net/




A yar boat, for sure... Anne is a homebuilt 70-footer; ferro-concrete hull, the rest mostly wood. Her owner, Reid Stowe, built her in the 70s with help from friends and family, and has lived aboard her pretty much ever since.


He keeps the boat at the Chelsea Piers in Manhattan, and takes friends and the general public on cruises. Donations are accepted to fill the coffers for an amazing voyage he has planned. Today ( April 2004), we're just wandering down to the harbor.


Here's Reid, offering navigation advice to his sister Sara, who used to live here at the loft (my connection to this whole Schooner Anne scene). She seems to have other ideas on which way to steer... typical siblings. It's all good, though- she knows this boat very well, and is quite a sailor herself.


Everybody who wants to help gets a little job to do, with a brief explanation on how to do it. Anne is rigged for hand-trimming, so there's always something to do when she's under sail. I'm relaxing here, having already done my bit: helping hoist the biggest sail. We're tacking here, and all the "lubbers" are scrambling to get clear of that boom as it swings to port. Later in the cruise, some fool got knocked over by it (unharmed)- he wasn't listening. That guy in back keeping an eye on the top of the sail is Wave, Reid and Sara's brother.


With no flash, I couldn't get any really good interior shots- shame, because Anne is decked out stem to stern with beautiful hendcarved hardwood paneling, all done by Reid himself. Here I'm inside the foul-weather cockpit, looking aft. That's a tiny wood-burning stove there on the left; there's a larger one in the saloon.


A shot looking forward, showing wheel and compass.


Here's loft-mate Christopher, trying to look dapper on the bowsprit. He's not as "lubberly" as he looks- he lived aboard Anne for awhile, and is a veteran of many cruises.


Now, if you like these pics, by all means visit Reid Stowe's website, to learn more about the Anne and her voyages- including a planned 1000-day sail without resupply or landing, scheduled to begin this November (and if you're going to be in NYC before then, go on down there and take a ride!!)

http://www.1000days.net/

It'll be the longest such voyage in recorded history (that's almost three years, BTW!!). An amazing sailor, an amazing boat, and a truly epic voyage. I wish him luck, and sort of wish I could go along...

[Woodlouse2002]

Far too many people on that boat.

[flyboy 28]

Very nice. This summer I'm headed down to the Florida Keys for a week on the Schooner Dreamcatcher. Should be fun.

[Woodlouse2002]

This summer i'm going to try and beat the six weeks sailing I did last summer. Fingers crossed.

[beaky]

This summer i'm going to try and beat the six weeks sailing I did last summer. Fingers crossed.

Sorry, I have all fingers and toes crossed for myself in hopes of getting airborne again before the end of June- but I'd like to see the pictures.

[ATI_7500]

Far too many people on that boat.

*Nods*

And too large for my taste. But better than nothing.

[Woodlouse2002]

*Nods*

And too large for my taste. But better than nothing.

I quite like large boats. But any more than eight people and they start getting in the way and falling over each other and generally causing mayhem. You try racing with a crew of 19, most of which have no idea how to sail at all and you can easily start getting angry.

[beaky]

Yeah, it was a bit crowded, but it was no big deal.
On this particular cruise, by the time we'd turned around down near Liberty Island, the group had pretty much been sorted out in terms of "lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way", so it wasn't so bad. I guess Reid just wants to expose lots of people to the experience, and as there's no pressure to even get anywhere, it doesn't matter if things are a bit sloppy. He does a pretty good job of playing host and skipper at the same time.  And he seems to always have enough experienced hands aboard to keep things safe.
I'm pretty sure that for his 1000-day sail, it'll be just him and one other crewman. If that sounds rough- no sight of a woman for over two years- consider that he and his ex-wife set the record for longest husband-wife cruise... and were divorced shortly thereafter!