When the Woodwind appeared in our waters in 1993, I admired her graceful schooner rig, as well as her sister Woodwind II who joined in 1998, from afar. It was love at first sight!
I was always a small boat sailor. I grew up sailing my family’s Penguin and later crewing for a local Hampton One Design fleet in my high school years. Much later, when I started teaching sailing at the Annapolis Sailing School, I still thought of the 24-foot Rainbows as big boats. I did have some experience with larger boats as they were added to the school’s fleet, but they were always sloop rigged. I never had any experience with split rigs.
The Woodwinds: graceful Marconi-rigged staysail schooners, 74 feet overall.
As my retirement from the sailing school loomed on the horizon, I began to think of other things to do, so one day in late 2005 I approached Captain Jen Kaye and said I’d like to try my hand at sailing the Woodwinds. Jen set up an interview with her dad, Captain Ken. I presented my 50-ton inland Master’s License. Considering my sailing and teaching experience, he was interested but informed me I needed a sail endorsement and that I would spend some time as a deckhand before he’d consider me working as a captain. Of course, I agreed immediately. Ken and Jen were both excellent trainers. They were demanding but patient. I enjoyed working as a deckhand evenings and weekends while I worked through the laborious process of getting the sail endorsement.
I started as a deckhand in August of 2006, secured my sail indorsement in September, and worked as a deckhand and maintenance crew member until the end of the season. Early in the spring of 2007, as we were returning the boat to her slip at the old Mears Marina, Ken called me back to the helm and said, “Put her in the slip.” I guess that was my final exam, since I didn’t break anything and shortly was promoted to captain.
The Woodwinds are both Marconi-rigged staysail schooners, 74 feet overall. I once asked Ken why he chose that rig, and he explained, “I wanted a schooner for the romantic appeal, but I wanted a boat that sailed fast and well with a small crew. The staysail rig is actually a modern development that came out of the schooner yacht designs of the 1920s and 30s. The traditional working schooners were usually gaffers (gaff rigged). That’s a complicated rig and takes time to set. We can go from a harbor furl to full sail in less than five minutes. Both the jib and the staysail, as well as the main, are self-tending, so you can short tack without touching a sheet. We routinely sail with a crew of three.”
The boats both have a modern hull design as well, with a spoon bow, a modified fin keel, and a modified spade rudder at the after end of her waterline. This hull design is fast, stable, and quick in turning maneuvers.
My first trip as captain hooked me. The rig is powerful and easy to handle. The three sails in her working canvas give you lots of options. Add the fisherman staysail between the masts for light air, and she’ll go in a zephyr. When the rig really shines is when the wind gets up. I have sailed with a reefed main and a small jib in winds gusting around 30, and she still is perfectly balanced, steers with one finger on the wheel, and goes like a freight train.
One minor disadvantage of the boats’ design for the Chesapeake Bay is a draft of seven feet. Being accustomed to a draft of three and a half feet, in my six-year career I polished her keel a few times, but I never stranded her. And one learns that there is plenty of deep water in the Bay.
Coming from small boats as I was, I once observed to Jen that gybing that long main boom could be intimidating, especially since the person on the helm trims the main sheet. She observed that if you do it right, it’s no big deal and talked me through three quick gybes. The permanent standing backstay and lack of runners make it easy. After that I was convinced!
In six years one accumulates lots of memories. For example, riding out a shower in Round Bay and reaching down the Severn into a perfect double rainbow. Or returning from a wedding in Mill Creek with the two boats neck and neck, hard on the wind, and the bride on the helm with her floor length veil streaming out behind her like a telltale. Or, on Thursday evening the last sail of the day often featured live music. I always liked returning to the dock to the strains of “Leave Her Johnnie Leave Her.” But I always remember the one and only race in six years that I won from Jen.
It was a good six years.
By Captain Rick Franke
Learn more about the Woodwind schooners and reserve your space aboard.
