Sailing Heritage on Display at Annual Master Mariners Wooden Boat Show

The 2023 Master Mariners Wooden Boat Show enjoyed a spectacular day on which to display the Bay Area’s wooden-boat sailing heritage. Wooden masts visible from outside the breakwater at Corinthian Yacht Club revealed only a snippet of the eye candy to be found on the other side, where a host of classic boats were lined up to show off their gleaming beauty.

This year’s Stone Cup trophy was awarded to the Ocean Queen V. The 54-ft yawl was designed by Phil Rhodes, and built by Abeking & Rasmussen in 1951. The Stone Cup trophy is awarded to “the best restoration (often with professional maintenance).” The trophy was originally donated by Bill and Grace Bodle, who at that time owned the Stone Boat Yard, Alameda.

Ocean Queen V has more to offer than just beautiful lines: She also has a racing heritage, and is currently operating as a charter boat providing youth sailing programs throughout the Peninsula and the Bay for the nonprofit Pacific Seafaring Foundation. For yesterday’s show, the Queen sailed to and from the show from Redwood City under the watchful eye of her crew Robin Driscoll, Joe Driscoll, Barbara Demere (the original owner’s daughter) and Keith Hubbard. Her homeport dock neighbor, Hurrica, owned by Mark Sanders, was also her dock neighbor for the Wooden Boat Show. Hurrica won the Stone Cup in 2022.

But it wasn’t only large boats that came to the show. Below is Jan Van Sickle’s 1913 Lawley 16-ft tender, which he found back East and brought to California. The boat had been stored in a barn for 80 years and still had some of the original finish on it. Jan lives in Sonoma and sails and rows out of Tomales May.

There is no doubt it was beautiful weather for the show and a good crowd on hand to see the boats. A big thank you to John ‘Woody’ Skoriak for the photos and the local snippets.