Gloucester Schooner Festival
Photo by Dimetrious Athas What is the Gloucester Schooner Festival? The Gloucester Schooner Festival celebrates the major contribution of the classic fishing schooner to the history of Gloucester. The events feature the last remaining of these great old vessels and their replicas, as they compete in the Mayor's Race for the Esperanto Cup, a trophy from the first International Fishermen's Races sailed in 1920. For two days the city's harbor, the oldest fishing port on the Atlantic Coast, is the backdrop for a unique mix of old and new as modern-day trawlers share their home port with traditional vessels from the age of sail. Lots of schooner masts will fill the harbor's skyline. What a sight! On Saturday night you won't want to miss the Lighted Boat Parade and fireworks over the harbor. (Read more below). And Sunday is the Schooner Race. The Lannon participated in the twenty-fourth annual Gloucester Schooner Festival over Labor Day Weekend, 2008 (and WON our class!). Everyone involved agreed that this was the best Schooner Festival yet. The breeze was strong and from the northwest, which made for calm seas and great sailing. The heavy air favored the big vessels and what a magnificent sight it was! There were lots of big schooners here for the weekend: The Schooners Virginia, American Eagle, Alabama, Lettie G. Howard, Roseway, Westward and Liberty Clipper, all came to race. The Schooner Bluenose came from Lunenberg, Nova Scotia to participate in the festivities, though not in the race. The Parade of Sail went off without a hitch on Sunday morning. And the fireworks Saturday night were exceptional. Warm weather all weekend made for a delightful end to summer. We look forward to an equally exciting 25th Annual Gloucester Schooner Festival on Saturday and Sunday, September 5th and 6th, 2009. And what better way to see these vessels in action than to join us for the day as we race for the Cameron Cup!
Don't worry, we won't ask you to go aloft. Here, Heath has a bird's eye view of the action. Here's the deal: Passengers usually board at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday morning, while Captain Tom is at the Captains meeting getting the course for the race and any other final details. We leave the dock by 8:45 a.m. The Parade of Sail begins near Cape Pond Ice Co. at 9:00 a.m. The Lannon has the honor of leading the Parade. All the schooners get their sails up and cruise by Stacy Boulevard for Joe Garland's introduction. Of course, a little cannon firing is in order to salute the spectators who have gathered to watch the show! The Parade then heads out through the outer harbor and past the Breakwater. The starting line is usually located just outside Dogbar Breakwater, off Eastern Point. The jockeying for position and strategizing for the start makes for an interesting half-hour til the race begins at 11:10 a.m. The Large and Small Classes of Schooners start together (The Lannon is in the Small Schooner class). The Little Schooners start a short time later. The rest of the day is spent trying to win the race. The crew is constantly adjusting sail, trying to tweak just a little more speed from the sail trim. The course might be north toward Rockport and back, or south toward Magnolia and Manchester. Weather conditions are different each year, so there is no way to plan for how things will turn out. But whether there is plenty of wind or no wind at all, it's still a lot of fun to witness first hand.
Schooner Roseway seen through the Lannon's rigging. 2008: This year we woke to sunshine, a nice breeze from the northwest and a forecast of 15-20, a perfect schooner day. Even before the race started, the schooner crews were anticipating a great race. A couple of minutes before the race began, we were doing a mail pass with Liberty Clipper when we heard a loud noise that sounded like cannon fire. Unfortunately, it was the Clipper's foretopmast that had snapped. It came crashing down, hit their starboard rail and splashed into the water. Luckily, no one was hurt. But, what a scare! The Liberty crew was able to secure the rigging and completed the race. Here they are below on their way in.
Liberty Clipper, at race's end in 2008, with her clipped foretopmast. The race began at 11:10 a.m. with American Eagle and the Lannon both nailing the start, just off the breakwater. The course was three laps down toward the LNG platform and back. Passing all those big schooners under sail is always a thrill for our passengers. But seeing them moving at such great speed was something special. The excitement of making tight turns at the marks and then accelerating again was great fun. The wind on Sunday did indeed favor the bigger boats and there were great battles going on all around us. Our crew did a fabulous job and we were the winners in our class. We love having both our sons, Heath and Brian, as well as our nephews, Nick Ellis, Dylan Ellis, and Craig Bonaventura onboard. All have worked on the boat for at least a summer and love to come back to sail with us on Race Day. Also, thanks to our tactician, Jack Alexander who adds a lot of racing experience to the mix.
The Lannon passing the Virginia, taken by Renata Greene on the Lettie G. Howard, 8/31/08 After the Race, we sailed out to see the Bluenose II, (see photo below), whose crew was enjoying the race from a distance. Our passengers were delighted to see her tearing through the water under sail. We sailed back into the harbor next to her. The Lannon (65 ft.) is dwarfed by the Bluenose (144 ft.), but we love watching her. Capt. Tom was awarded the Ned Cameron Cup at the awards ceremony that evening for winning our class.
Schooner Bluenose II looking good! Other years: In 2007, there was virtually no wind at the start of the race. We sat at the starting line fighting the tide for more than an hour. Finally the breeze came up and we were able to make some headway. There were several schooners who were not positioned as well and weren't able to make it over the starting line for three hours. Light air favors the smaller boats, and we were able to beat all the traditional vessels this year. There were three lighter boats in our class who finished well ahead of the pack. (Race results are below). It is always an awesome sight to see these magnificent schooners under full sail! Our passengers were not disappointed. In 2006, we were a little overanxious and then had to stall coming up to the start. The close proximity of the other schooners made for a very exciting start. We were battling with Liberty Clipper, Roseway and the Spirit of Massachusetts for the first couple of legs. At one point we were practically eating Roseway's main boom and could definitely have passed the grey poupon to them! After a couple of legs, and some fancy sail handling, we were able to get in front of most of the traditional boats. After the race, we sailed out to join Bluenose. Sailing back next to her under full sail was such a thrill for our passengers. I'm sure none of them will forget it. 2005's was a very exciting race, as we nailed the start and lead the pack around the first mark...around the second mark...around the third mark and heading to the finish line. Oh no, here comes Adventurer on our outside trying to sail past and steal our wind. We fought a valiant race, but were edged out by Adventurer by a mere 13 seconds! Our passengers include photographers, artists, visitors and locals who just love being part of the event. Some help the crew and actually handle lines as we race, while others choose to socialize, watch the action or just relax. Many make their reservations for the next year before they get off the boat on Race Day. So think about joining us on Labor Day Sunday for a day of fun. Bring your lunch, binoculars, camera, and a bag with layers of clothing. A hat, sunblock, polar fleece and a windbreaker are good to include. Because of our license, no carry-on liquor is allowed. But we do have beer, wine and champagne available for sale. Soft drinks, bottled water and snacks are on us. You will be on the boat until the race is over, generally until between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m., depending on the wind. The cost is $165/person for the day. Space is limited, so don't miss out. It is sure to be an amazing day. Call us and reserve your spot soon! Here's a comment from one of our 2008 passengers:
"Today was one of the most thrilling
and fun experiences I've ever had!!! Guess I really have got
sailing in my blood!! Each trip on the Lannon just gets better
and that was simply the BEST!! Congratulations to you and your
amazing family for winning the race - I learned so much listening to
all the guys plotting and planning. I hope you got a nice big
trophy and had a few well deserved beers!!
Please
save me a space for next year! I'm going to make it an annual
event and keep taking sailing with Manchester Sailing assoc. in
between so I can get really good at this! I'm hooked."-AnneMarie
Martins
Call us at (978) 281-6634 for reservations for Race Day.
|
