This image, taken yesterday, is poignant for two reasons.
First, it’s the final sail by the women in the first sailing class of the year at the renowned WoodenBoat School. They were ending a five-day basic course for women only called “Elements of Sailing I,” which was taught by super-sailors Jane Ahlfeld and Robin Lincoln. The sailboats used are 12 ½-foot Herreshoffs and Havens, usually shepherded by WBS Waterfront Manager Greg Bauer in one of the School’s motorized skiffs.
The second reason why this image is poignant is that these four little boats are tacking out of Great Cove into Eggemoggin Reach on a fair (albeit hazy) afternoon. The weather has been miserable here most of the week, forcing these sailors to stay in the Cove, often in fog and/or drizzle – which they didn’t seem to mind! But, the weather gods smiled on them for their last WBS sail yesterday.
Above, we see the class at an early, show-and-tell stage of the cours:
(Brooklin, Maine).