Judges Keep Busy at Master Mariners Wooden Boat Show
Friend of Latitude John “Woody” Skoriak was kept busy at the Master Mariners Wooden Boat Show on Sunday, inspecting and judging the 30 or so classic wooden boats that lined the docks at Corinthian Yacht Club.
Woody was one of three Bay Area sailors who had the honor of walking the docks, taking photos, chatting with owners and crew, and making check marks on their detailed scoresheets. Together with fellow judges Barry Stompe and Steve Hoffman, Woody was tasked with selecting trophy winners in three categories: Best of Show, Best Owner Maintained, and Best Restoration Effort, and an “Honorable Mention” in each.
“All of us are experienced wooden-boat aficionados, and all either current or former owners of wooden boats. Two of us had also been involved with the Matthew Turner build from the very beginning — so you could say we had a pretty keen eye for the task,” Woody says. He’s known many of the boats and their owners — with the boats sometimes changing hands — since the 1980s.
“Although this wasn’t my first time judging, I have to say — this year was a very tough contest. Several winners were separated by just a few points. What made it even more interesting was that we each worked independently and had no idea how the others were scoring.” Though when the three judges gathered to confer at the end of the day, they discovered that “with very few exceptions” their grades and choices were very similar.
Woody adds, “Whether an owner won a trophy or not, every boat was beautiful — just like the weather that day — and all the owners were friendly, excited, and eager to show their boats, whether it was a 55-ft ketch or an 18-ft rowboat.”
The show winners and awards are as follows:
Hurrica V, Mark Sanders — Stone Cup for “Best in Show”
Bolero, Tim Murison — Corinthian Trophy for “Best Owner Maintained”
Willette, Kenneth Wadsworth — Alma Perpetual Trophy for “Best Preservation Effort”
“Honorable Mention” for each category are Best of Show, Willette (a close call between Hurrica V and Willette); Corinthian Trophy, Black Witch; and Best Preservation Effort, James L. Cronin and Lawton C Hughes.
James L. Cronin and Lawton C Hughes were in “museum condition,” Woody says. “Absolutely exquisite. And they are used daily, year round! Unbelievable. They looked like they were brand new. And most of this work is all done by the members/volunteers.”
Of course no show would be complete without the “People’s Choice” award. This year’s show-going public voted for Liz Diaz’s 1956 Okamoto & Son Sloop Kaze.
Browse the gallery for more photos from this spectacular day. All images by John “Woody” Skoriak.
