The Bluenose Way

The "saltbankers" that sailed out of the Maritime Provinces and Down-East ports half a century ago had to be capacious and beamy enough to hold their fish, yet fast enough to race competitors back to market. The 143-ft. Bluenose met both requirements. During the 1930s, she made maritime history against the Gertrude L. Thebaud in the International Schooner races. The tenth renewal of those briny contests last week proved that the boats have changed with the times--at least in size.

The U.S. challenger, Outward Bound, was a miniature: only 38 ft. overall, built 25 years ago as a pleasure boat on the same sturdy lines as an old New York Harbor pilot boat. She is owned and skippered by Milton T. ("Nick") Craig, 44, an engineer who sails her out of Marion, Mass., with four of his own brood, aged 7 to 16, as crew. The Canadian challenger, at 46 ft., was not much bigger--but much younger. Kathi Anne II was only 17 days old, launched barely in time to have her sails bent on for the elimination trials. "She's a family boat," says Owner-Skipper David Stevens of Lunenburg, N.S.

Indeed she is--to a degree almost unheard of nowadays. Stevens, 65, descended from a long line of schooner fishermen, designed Kathi Anne II himself, although he had no training in naval architecture and never went beyond ninth grade. From groves on his own farm he cut white pine for her planking, black spruce for her spars, oak for her ribs. He poured the lead for her keel in two old iron bathtubs. One of his brothers made her trapezoidal, gaff-headed sails (no newfangled spinnakers for Kathi A nne). A brother-in-law made her goosenecks, blocks and deadeyes (no modernistic turnbuckles). Spoon-bowed Kathi Anne plowed a fast furrow in the races at Lunenburg Harbor.

The contest was billed as the best two out of three races. In the first, Stevens steered to a 1 hr. 15 min. victory, using a compass that his father had won as a trophy in 1910. The second race was in fog and light airs, but Kathi Anne proved fast enough on any heading, in any wind: she won by 36 1/2 min. There was no third race--only rejoicing among Lunenburg Bluenoses and pride in their tradition of family craftsmanship.

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