There is something about sailing and painting on an old wooden catboat that has its charms especially bringing home the "Spirit of the Opera Cup " award.

I have owned many types of catboats and only until a few years ago did I buy the mother of all catboats ‘Molly Rose’, 28 foot wooden catboat built in 1935 with a 10x 12ft cockpit, standing head room; a virtual studio on the water, to replace my studio on Long Neck Point where I had been for 20 years. After an overhaul and modernizing I set sail with my daughter Terra to Newport. Just before we set sail I stretched the 650 sq ft sail on the deck and painted a seven foot black ball on it as it had no identifying marks. I had just finished a Marine Show of NY Harbor scenes down at the India House and in their permanent collection I couldn’t help but notice the clipper ships of the Black Ball Packet Line and thought what a great idea for ‘Molly’.

We stopped at Watch Hill visited my gallery, The Lilly Pad, went to Block Island (my daughter was delighted when the cuaisaunts and apple turnover boat came over to our mooring), then sailed in the Tall Ships Parade in Newport. I had done the poster painting for the Tall Ships Newport 2007 for Admiral Tom Weschler, where they held a live auctioned of my original oil at the Breakers with 700 people there, my wife and I were dumbfounded never having been to the estate; it made the NY Times Society section.

That following week Geoff Leckie, whom I studied with at the League from Venezia, his wife and another artist in the class, we took off from Sounderstown wesr of Narragansett Bay, sailed up the coast to Westport, Ma , Cutty Hunk , Menemsha, Tarpolin Cove, Vineyard Haven , painting all the way we probably did a dozen paintings each tacking them and covering the ceiling of the cabin . It was at Cutty Hunk that all three of us were painting on the western most beach that a woman came up and said ‘What I sight’ she was a painter as well and after I told her of our incredible journey she sail “I had often heard that incredible things happen to people that buy a wooden boat.” I left my painting friends off at Edgartown and took on my wife, Mary and son Andre, a junior at Loomis School, where we won the 28 yr old trophy for the Edgartown wooden catboat regatta. That same day I had an interview with Gary Conover of the Charlotte Inn in Edgartown and he took me into his gallery where Ray Ellis has shown for 30 yrs. We sailed to Nantucket where we proceeded to break our rudder post in 20 knots of wind with the rudder hard over. We were able to lash the rudder down with a line and cleat it off on the stern to steer, a little clumsy but we sailed into the Nantucket and back to the Cape the next day, unable to race. We returned to Greenwich to mill a new rudder post out of local locust, set it back in and off sailing again.

That following week I trailered my chase boat ‘Paint Brush’ up to the head of Penobscot Bay and put in ,and began to follow the The Wooden Boat Classic in Brooklyn Maine. Some of the most beautiful wooden classics where racing down east on Eggammoggin Reach. Ticonderoga, Dorade, Lion’s Welp, the new Juno built in Benjamin and Gannon in Vineyard Haven where ‘Molly Rose’ was built. It looked like a scene from the NY Yacht Club cruises of the 1920’s transported up to Maine. I spent ten days painting the harbors of Maine from Castine, Bucks Harbor , Dark Harbor, Pulpit Harbor, Stonington, following the NY Yacht Club Cruise with boats like Sumurun, Black Night, and Black Watch. I later followed a lot of these classics to the OperaHouse Cup in Nantucket, the oldest classic regatta in the country. Black Watch won the race and I was stunned at the awards ceremony to receive the “Spirit of the OperaHouse Cup Award “ for’ Molly Rose’ the only catboat in the regatta needless to say we came in dead last.

That brings me to the present where I just finished the CMA (Connecticut Maritime Association) 12 Meter Challenge Cut painting to be auctioned off at the Indian Harbor Yacht Club and the funds donated to The Mystic Seaport. By strange coincidence I along with two friends purchased a 12 Meter , America 42 , an aluminum winged keel transition boat used to win the Cup back from the Aussies in 1987; and our first race was the CMA Challenge , Sept. 28, followed by the Shake-a-leg fund raiser at Belle Haven the following day.

We have started the 12 Meter Yacht Development Foundation here in Greenwich where we hope to bring excitement to the community sailing 12 Meters including the youth sailing programs at the local yacht clubs.

The most hero ring experience painting this summer, besides breaking the rudder post in Nantucket Sound ,was in Castine Harbor in this corner way off by myself, I had been painting all day and when I set out I saw this beautiful scene of the Camden Hills , so I decided to paint it and snagged a lobster pot and tied off on it. The tide was coming in and I being next to a rocky point and so entrenched in my subject that I was unaware my line had slipped off the pot. The Camden Hills was this intensely rich blue violet like you find in the background of the “Mona Lisa” and as I was painting I was increasing aware of this lapping noise on the shore that just got more profound. By the time I looked up I was on the rocks, yikes! I pushed off with a paddle , started the motor and took off. It was one of those moments where you are in total bliss and the next moment your heart is in your stomach.

Sailing is like camping, a place to study nature. You are there when the effects strikes and most often it’s gone in a few minutes and the great thing is you don’t have to carry your stuff.

Happy trails and now back to the studio to paint some great paintings of this summer's motifs.