Row ,row, row your wooden boat

2002 International Festival of Seamanship & Boatbuilding sails into Rockland

If it's made of wood, gleams with varnish and is based on a traditional design, chances are it will be floating or racing in Rockland Harbor in mid-July.

By Susan Milisa Mustapich

Two major boating festivals, the world -famous WoodenBoat Show and the international Atlantic Challenge race will converge for a unique, one-time event during the week-long 2002 International Festival of Seamanship & Boatbuilding or Rock ‘02.

Rockland is a first for both festivals. The well-established WoodenBoat Show, now in its 11th year, has been held in such renowned East Coast locations as Newport, R.I., Mystic, Conn., and Southwest Harbor, Maine. Atlantic Challenge, a competitive event where teams of youth from around the world row and sail Bantry Bay gigs, has been held in New York City under the Statue of Liberty and overseas since its inception in 1986.

Rockland is considered by some a perfect setting for the festival, with its rich maritime history and present day working waterfront. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Rockland's shipyards stirred with activity, turning out everything from massive square-rigged clipper ships and coastal schooners, to fishing sloops and lobster dories. Today Rockland Harbor is still busy with lobster boats and buoys and is home to the largest fleet of historic windjammers anywhere in the world. The city is also headquarters to The Atlantic Challenge Foundation and its wooden boat building school, The Apprenticeshop, both founded by Lance Lee.

Schooner captains and Apprenticeshop students alike know that everyday in Rockland is a celebration of the wooden boat, but it isn't just any day that 10,000 visitors join the party, which is the number expected by Rock '02 organizers, based on attendance of previous WoodenBoat Shows. It has taken scores of volunteers and more than two years of planning and coordination through the Atlantic Challenge Foundation to organize the festival.

The WoodenBoat Show attracts enthusiasts from all over the East Coast and around the world with demonstrations of boat building, mast-hoop building, knot-tying, marine carving, rigging, oar and paddle making, painting and much more. There are dozens of activities for adults and children, from hands-on demonstrations, to music, and competitive racing that can be viewed from land or tour boats out on the water. The exhibitors and demonstrators are the very same people who keep wooden boat building skills alive and offer encyclopedic knowledge of every aspect of their craft.

Woodenboat Magazine publisher and events coordinator Carl Cramer said, "people who are passionate about wooden boats will attend but we hope also to attract those who want to see what makes the wooden boat world unique and wooden boat building an art form that continues to thrive."

More than 140 boats will be exhibited on land, with another 30 or so available for viewing at the Town Pier and the Black Pearl pier. More than 50 of these boats will take part in the Watercraft Challenge, an event in which boat owners from all over the East Coast bring classic watercraft of regional historical significance, as well as historically derived boats with modern wood-construction techniques, to display on land, participate in the parade of sail Friday and race on Saturday and Sunday.

Teamwork is the emphasis in the Atlantic Challenge contest, according to organizer and U.S. team trainer Lee Scarborough of Cape Cod, Mass. This year, 13 teams of youth from Russia, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Ireland, Belgium and the United States will demonstrate their skills in handling and racing Bantry Bay gigs. Scarborough joined the program based on his interest in the elegant and historic boats.

"My interest was originally in the boats, but after a while I realized it [Atlantic Challenge] was really a youth program," he said.
The essence of the program is training youth to work together and build self-reliance and self-esteem, he said, and the beauty of using 18th century Bantry Bag gigs is that they are difficult to operate.

The heavy 38-foot rowing vessels that will be used in competition were once used as showboats by admirals and for transporting supplies to naval ships. The boats are fast, but complicated to maneuver. Each vessel has 13 rowing positions, three sails and space in the bow for a coxswain who has charge of the crew and boat. Unlike more modern sailing vessels, there are no idle positions for the crew. Team members learn rowing and sailing skills and get a chance to be in charge by rotating as coxswain. Rowing must be done in unison, and sailing maneuvers as common as tacking, or bringing the bow of the boat across the wind, require both the mainsail and the foresail to be dropped, the yardarms dipped and the sails brought up on the other side of the masts. The boats can either be both rowed or sailed, and teams are trained to transition from "oars out" to "sails full and by" in 35 seconds.

Because gig races are more involved than the average sailing race, they offer plenty of action for spectators. There are nine different events, including straight sailing races, races that combine sails and oars and some fairly unusual spectacles. In the sack transfer race, the gigs row close to shore, turn around and drop anchor, then maneuver a series of lines and weights in order to pull a sack from shore to ship. In a captain's event&Mac226; the uniformed crews row to shore to pick up a dignitary dressed in full period costume and then deliver this person to one of the schooners anchored in the harbor, while judges rate the crews on boat handling and style.

Through the course of training for the Atlantic Challenge, young people develop new skills and bond with other team members. Training on Green's Island in Penobscot Bay, without television, radio or candy, team members experience nature and physical challenges firsthand.
One of the most rewarding aspects for Scarborough is to see a transformation in some young people, who start out "a bit tentative about themselves and their lives ... and at the end of training feel they can conquer the world," he said.

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Row ,row, row your wooden boat 2002 International Festival of Seamanship & Boatbuilding sails into Rockland If it's made of wood, gleams with varnish and is based on a traditional design, chances are it will be floating or racing in Rockland Harbor in mid-July. By Susan Milisa Mustapich Two major boating festivals, the world -famous WoodenBoat Show and the international Atlantic Challenge race will converge for a unique, one-time event during the week-long 2002 International Festival of Seamanship & Boatbuilding or Rock ‘02. Rockland is a first for both festivals. The well-established WoodenBoat Show, now in its 11th year, has been held in such renowned East Coast locations as Newport, R.I., Mystic, Conn., and Southwest Harbor, Maine. Atlantic Challenge, a competitive event where teams of youth from around the world row and sail Bantry Bay gigs, has been held in New York City under the Statue of Liberty and overseas since its inception in 1986. Rockland is considered by some a perfect setting for the festival, with its rich maritime history and present day working waterfront. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Rockland's shipyards stirred with activity, turning out everything from massive square-rigged clipper ships and coastal schooners, to fishing sloops and lobster dories. Today Rockland Harbor is still busy with lobster boats and buoys and is home to the largest fleet of historic windjammers anywhere in the world. The city is also headquarters to The Atlantic Challenge Foundation and its wooden boat building school, The Apprenticeshop, both founded by Lance Lee. Schooner captains and Apprenticeshop students alike know that everyday in Rockland is a celebration of the wooden boat, but it isn't just any day that 10,000 visitors join the party, which is the number expected by Rock '02 organizers, based on attendance of previous WoodenBoat Shows. It has taken scores of volunteers and more than two years of planning and coordination through the Atlantic Challenge Foundation to organize the festival. The WoodenBoat Show attracts enthusiasts from all over the East Coast and around the world with demonstrations of boat building, mast-hoop building, knot-tying, marine carving, rigging, oar and paddle making, painting and much more. There are dozens of activities for adults and children, from hands-on demonstrations, to music, and competitive racing that can be viewed from land or tour boats out on the water. The exhibitors and demonstrators are the very same people who keep wooden boat building skills alive and offer encyclopedic knowledge of every aspect of their craft. Woodenboat Magazine publisher and events coordinator Carl Cramer said, "people who are passionate about wooden boats will attend but we hope also to attract those who want to see what makes the wooden boat world unique and wooden boat building an art form that continues to thrive." More than 140 boats will be exhibited on land, with another 30 or so available for viewing at the Town Pier and the Black Pearl pier. More than 50 of these boats will take part in the Watercraft Challenge, an event in which boat owners from all over the East Coast bring classic watercraft of regional historical significance, as well as historically derived boats with modern wood-construction techniques, to display on land, participate in the parade of sail Friday and race on Saturday and Sunday. Teamwork is the emphasis in the Atlantic Challenge contest, according to organizer and U.S. team trainer Lee Scarborough of Cape Cod, Mass. This year, 13 teams of youth from Russia, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Ireland, Belgium and the United States will demonstrate their skills in handling and racing Bantry Bay gigs. Scarborough joined the program based on his interest in the elegant and historic boats. "My interest was originally in the boats, but after a while I realized it [Atlantic Challenge] was really a youth program," he said. The essence of the program is training youth to work together and build self-reliance and self-esteem, he said, and the beauty of using 18th century Bantry Bag gigs is that they are difficult to operate. The heavy 38-foot rowing vessels that will be used in competition were once used as showboats by admirals and for transporting supplies to naval ships. The boats are fast, but complicated to maneuver. Each vessel has 13 rowing positions, three sails and space in the bow for a coxswain who has charge of the crew and boat. Unlike more modern sailing vessels, there are no idle positions for the crew. Team members learn rowing and sailing skills and get a chance to be in charge by rotating as coxswain. Rowing must be done in unison, and sailing maneuvers as common as tacking, or bringing the bow of the boat across the wind, require both the mainsail and the foresail to be dropped, the yardarms dipped and the sails brought up on the other side of the masts. The boats can either be both rowed or sailed, and teams are trained to transition from "oars out" to "sails full and by" in 35 seconds. Because gig races are more involved than the average sailing race, they offer plenty of action for spectators. There are nine different events, including straight sailing races, races that combine sails and oars and some fairly unusual spectacles. In the sack transfer race, the gigs row close to shore, turn around and drop anchor, then maneuver a series of lines and weights in order to pull a sack from shore to ship. In a captain's event&Mac226; the uniformed crews row to shore to pick up a dignitary dressed in full period costume and then deliver this person to one of the schooners anchored in the harbor, while judges rate the crews on boat handling and style. Through the course of training for the Atlantic Challenge, young people develop new skills and bond with other team members. Training on Green's Island in Penobscot Bay, without television, radio or candy, team members experience nature and physical challenges firsthand. One of the most rewarding aspects for Scarborough is to see a transformation in some young people, who start out "a bit tentative about themselves and their lives ... and at the end of training feel they can conquer the world," he said. *** Seamanship and boat building go on all year-round in this area while windjammers ply the protected waters of Penobscot Bay June through September. These vessels offer cruises ranging from one day/overnight to week-long excursions. For information, call the Rockland Thomaston Area Chamber of Commerce at 596-0376 or visit their Web site: http://www.rocklandchamber.org. The Atlantic Challenge Foundation and the Apprenticeshop sponsor wooden boat building programs and workshops, school programs and community education and sailing programs for youth and adults, the international Atlantic Challenge Contest and a three-season lecture series. For information on these programs, and more, call 594-1800 or visit http://www.atlanticchallenge.com. WoodenBoat Magazine, located in Brooklin, Maine, is the premier publication for people who love wooden boats or would like to learn more about them. For information visit www.woodenboat.com. MONHEGAN ISLAND**: The Island •What to know before you go • Fort William Henry • Hiking•
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