TERRANCE PHILLIPS -- The Harbor Column

Harvested trees successfully served the marine industry for many years.

Since that time we’ve seen, iron, steel, aluminum, plastic, fiberglass,

carbon fiber, Kevlar and “PBO,” (whatever that is). Each material has

contributed greatly to the progress and technology of boats and boating.

It’s great to watch all these technological achievements in action. The

likes of America’s Cup contenders Dawn Riley, Dennis Conner, Paul Cayard

and New Zealand’s Russell Coutts, taking technology to new limits.

To view a $15-million object being pushed by wind at never before dreamed

of speed, makes you realize just how far we’ve traveled. How fast will a

human run the 100-meter dash; how deep will a diver go; and how high will

an Olympian soar over a bar? What’s next? What’s left to achieve? What

materials will boats be constructed of in the year 2025? We just don’t

know! One thing is constant in the boating world -- pleasure. To be

aboard a boat of any kind, brings a great deal of pleasure to many of us,

however, there is one thing that only time can capture -- the grace and

elegance of an object that was “crafted by hands.”

To observe a yawl, ketch, schooner or square-rigger sailing in our harbor

makes you stop and stare. It’s a brief moment of reflection, knowing that

these particular boats were made by men (women too), not machines and

designed by computers. Classic yachts were all a little bit different and

not clones popped out of a mold.

It’s not an issue of what is better, what is faster or what is more

sophisticated and it’s certainly not an issue of teak versus technology.

Each boat has its place in time. But when it comes to classics, it’s all

about romance and historical values. When we look at a Victorian sofa

placed next to a Danish Modern couch, one seems to represent the past and

one, the future. Both are fun to sit upon but only one could tell us many

a story, the other can only fantasize.

Samarang, Ace, Astor, Kelpie, Rejoice, Jesture, Madness, Aloha, Wonderler

II and Newsboy are only a handful of local boats that have many stories

to tell. They have stood the test of time and they survived! They are

graceful, elegant, constructed of wood and continue to turn heads

everywhere they sail.

“The Newport Nautical Museum is re-introducing the Lyle Galloway Racing

Series, a race series for both vintage and classic wooden boats,” said

Newport Nautical Museum trustee Bill Dunlap. The race series, originally

sponsored by Josh Slocum’s Restaurant, will move to the Nautical Museum

and commence turning heads at 6 p.m. Tuesdays beginning June 6 and

finishing Aug. 29.

“The series was started back in the ‘70s and subsequently named for the

late Lyle Galloway, a local yachtsman and artist,” Dunlap said. Galloway

used to draw the boats racing in the harbor as he sat at Slocum’s bar and

his etchings appeared in the original Slocum’s menus.

Each race will conclude at the Nautical Museum Texas Deck where video

footage of the races will be shown. Food and beverage (in the classic

sense “grog”) will be plentiful and the public is encouraged to both

attend and even participate. Opportunities do exist for people desiring

to crew aboard some of these classic yachts.

For more information concerning this event, participating or how to

enter, call Marshall Steele at the Newport Nautical Museum at (949)

675-8915.

* TERRANCE PHILLIPS is the Daily Pilot’s boating writer. You can leave a

message for him at (949) 642-6086 or via e-mail at dailypilot@latimes.com

.