For the Wooden Boat Buff

Mark time with sloops, schooners, and dories.

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All year long, wooden boat worshippers can drool over pin-ups of the worlds classic beauties, thanks to two calendars that spotlight these works of art (and elbow grease).

Wooden Boat Calendar

The Wooden Boat Festivals 2008 calendar, by Gumbo Publishing, chronicles the annual Port Townsend, Wash., event of the same name. With photographs by well-known photographer Mitchel Osborne, the calendar offers a glimpse into the world of wooden boat groupies. Photos of schooners under way dominate the pages, but Osborne also captured the details that make wooden boats what they are. From cane-backed seats and impeccable varnish to tan-bark sails and a busty figurehead, the photos tell the unique stories of the boats that make the Wooden Boat Festival an annual homecoming for people from around the world.

You can preview each of the calendars pages and buy a calendar ($13) on the publishers website (www.gumbopublishing.com).

A portion of the calendars proceeds benefit the Wooden Boat Foundation (www.woodenboat.org). The foundations programs include wooden boatbuilding symposiums, regattas, and youth sailing courses. It also has a wooden boat chandlery and organizes the festival.

Wooden Boat Calendar

 

Another calendar geared toward wooden boat enthusiasts is the 2008 Calendar of Wooden Boats by Noah Publications. A perennial favorite, the calendar captures the allure of wooden boats and the beauty of sailing. With excellent photography by Benjamin Mendlowitz, the calendar covers a variety of boats in international locations. Each photo is accompanied by a brief narrative written by marine historian Maynard Bray with tidbits about the specific boat, its designers, and its background.

The calendars sell for $16 at www.noahpublications.com.

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Darrell Nicholson
Practical Sailor has been independently testing and reporting on sailboats and sailing gear for more than 50 years. Supported entirely by subscribers, Practical Sailor accepts no advertising. Its independent tests are carried out by experienced sailors and marine industry professionals dedicated to providing objective evaluation and reporting about boats, gear, and the skills required to cross oceans. Practical Sailor is edited by Darrell Nicholson, a long-time liveaboard sailor and trans-Pacific cruiser who has been director of Belvoir Media Group's marine division since 2005. He holds a U.S. Coast Guard 100-ton Master license, has logged tens of thousands of miles in three oceans, and has skippered everything from pilot boats to day charter cats. His weekly blog Inside Practical Sailor offers an inside look at current research and gear tests at Practical Sailor, while his award-winning column,"Rhumb Lines," tracks boating trends and reflects upon the sailing life. He sails a Sparkman & Stephens-designed Yankee 30 out of St. Petersburg, Florida. You can reach him by email at practicalsailor@belvoir.com.