Everything in life can take on a certain relavance when one looks at the context of the view. When Wings is tied to the dock in Rockland Me at the public landing she can certainly take on the presence of a large vessel. When she is tied to the dock at Nelson's dockyard here in Antigua she can appear to be relatively small when surrounded by a rack of superyachts. When a superyacht makes an appearance on the coast of Maine in a small town like Rockland it can be an event amongst the sailing community. Here in Antigua they can be stacked like cord wood. Having had the opportunity to be here in Antigua for the annual yacht charter show I was blown away by the quanity and size of the vessels on display. There was a time not long a go when there were less than 500 yachts of 100' or greater sailing on the planet. At this time there are 500 per year being built at this time.There has become a huge demand for dock space for these vessels and new marinas are being built just to accomadate these bohemoths of the sea. Many marinas that once were the home of a smaller crowd are being displaced in order to make room for the giants.
Although there are some spectacular sailing vessels being built in this genre most are of the Tri Deck Motor Yacht class. These boats cannot purchase fuel at most fuel docks as the docks do not have enough fuel in their tanks to accomadate them. It is not uncommon to see a couple of large tanker trucks along side a dock for a fill up.In a world where we read every day about greenhouse gases and the warming of the planet this concept is somewhat disturbing. The buzz word in this talk is carbon foot prints. Talk about a carbon footprint. These boats have enough power aboard to run a small town. It will become obvious if not down right apparent that I am a sailor and lean toward the sailing side of these giants. Some can take on the look of a motor yacht with masts and some can take on the look of a classic schooner built 100 years ago. What has always been an attractive side of sailing to me is that you can always get home with your boat regardless of weather or if the engine decided to quit. The same is true for a superyacht if it is powered by sail.
The other morning while I had few extra minutes to spare I took a walk over to the Antigua Yacht Club dock to take a look at what might be the most spectacular superyacht on the planet.While there I was blessed with a most unique photo opportunity. Alongside the Maltese Falcon was a traditional square rigged sailing vessel. What a contrast these two vessels made. I was taken back by the sheer size of the Falcon as she dwarfted the small ship that was next to her. As the Maltese Falcon has a completely modern and totaly unique rig it was an interesting view to say the least. The Maltese Falcon has what would look like a square rigged ship at a distance. When up close and personal to the vessel she is very far removed from the past. This is one very impressive sailing vessel. It is as high tech a boat as has ever been built. She is a superyacht of epic perportions yet she is sleek and elegant. While there the captain was getting the vessel ready to get underway. I was treated to a spectacular view as the sails started to set and the boat began to sail off of the dock. This maneuver is not for the meek and weak but the conditions were light and perfect to accomplish this spectacular departure.
So as I made my way back to the reality of our lovely and elegant little ship I was taken by the accomplishments of the shipwrights and craftsmen who build these boats. It is one thing to see them and to look at them tied to the dock. We must remember that human hands build these vessels and human hands sail them.
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