Setting Sail with the Big Boys

With New Technology and New Money, Majestic Sailing Ships Are Back

Marc Wortman
From the Print Edition:
Michael Douglas, May/Jun 98

(continued from page 3)

Mary Ann Clerkin, marketing manager for Derecktor, says, "People who build custom know what they want. This is their passion. This is the only way to get exactly what they want." Many of the yard's customers come from the Atlantic seaboard precisely because they want to live close enough to participate regularly in the boat-building experience.

When the Shaman sailed out to the race course with the other Big Boys in the Nantucket Bucket last summer, Johnson's dream of a world-class, high-performance, luxury sailing yacht finally became a reality. As he steered through the last leg and approached the finish line of the race, he felt chills as he watched the boats pouring in. "I saw 19 different dreams on display. Each was different, and each fulfilled a vision of nautical creativity." That, rather than a great drive to win the Bucket, was what inspired him to enter the regatta.

On some distant sea somewhere in the world right now, Johnson is probably at the helm, scanning an unbroken horizon as the wind fills the sails of his dream.

Marc Wortman is a freelance writer based in New Haven, Connecticut, who writes frequently about architecture and design. Come Sail Away

For further information on building and chartering yachts, contact:

Charters:
The Moorings
19345 U.S. Highway 19 North
Clearwater, Florida 33764
(888) 724-5987 or (800) 535-7289

Port Yacht Charters
9 Belleview Avenue
Port Washington, New York 11050
(800) 213-0465

Construction Management:
Marine Construction Management
P.O. Box 1289
Newport, Rhode Island 02840
(401) 849-3387

Naval Architects:
Bruce King Yacht Design Newcastle Square
P.O. Box 599
Newcastle, Maine 04553
(207) 563-1186

Sparkman & Stephens Inc.
529 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10017
(212) 661-1240

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