Afloat: Masquerade, local, seaworthy and tales to tell

The locavore movement has been a trend for a while now. Local fresh food and wine and local crafts are placed on a higher order of desirability over distant places.

Does the same hold true for boats? Ken Judge, yard supervisor at Coecles Harbor Marina and Boatyard for the past 46 years, certainly thinks so. Ken is the owner of Masquerade, a 36-foot Aage Neilsen-designed sloop built at Greenport’s Brigham’s Shipyard, formally the Greenport Basin and Construction Company.

Greenport was always a shipbuilding and seafaring town. Not as important as Sag Harbor, but still a major destination for whaling, and inshore and offshore fishing. The proof of the importance of that maritime commerce can still be seen in the majestic sea captains’ homes along Main Street.

The vitality of the industry, while greatly reduced during the Depression, was boosted by World War II when the Navy commissioned scores of wooden mine sweepers from the shipyard. It is hard to fathom today, but wartime productivity turned out ships in weeks rather than years.

After the war, recreational boating boomed simultaneously with the rise in American affluence. Pick up a copy of Yachting magazine from 1948 and it’s as thick as a phone book, dense with offerings of mass production power and sail yachts or plans to build them. This nautical abundance continued into the 1960’s when two wealthy brothers, ocean racing yachtsmen, Lawrence and Robert Reybine, both members of the most prestigious yacht clubs, owned the shipyard and decided to build a boat on speculation now called Masquerade.

The Aage Neilsen sloop with a centerboard allowing for some shallow draft sailing, is built with double planked Honduras mahogany, teak cabin sole and bronze strapped white oak. Aage was a celebrated yacht designer who worked at the Sparkman & Stephens and John Alden firms before striking out on his own. Yacht connoisseurs can often spot one of his boats just by her lines.

There is a long sea shanty story behind Ken acquiring Masquerade. Characters in the story range from the IRS to shady investors … but somehow in 1987 she was in Ken’s hands. He and his family sailed her extensively, cruising the New England coast with frequent stops at Block Island. According to Ken she was, “A total dream to sail, well-balanced with just the right amount of sail in ratio to ballast … As a true classic beauty she turned heads in every harbor and we often had fellow sailors come over to ask about her.”

Another bit of Masquerade lore also came in 1987 when movie maker MGM wanted her to be a major part of a film of the same name. “For a month the producers had her under contract and both the boat and the Island became part of the story,” Ken said.

Wooden boats are notorious for the amount of time and expense needed for their upkeep. Wood deteriorates rapidly in a marine environment and constant repairs are needed to keep any wooden boat afloat. Since Ken works at the marina, she was “Always in good hands at the Coecles yard. Generations of Needhams have always been so generous allowing her to stay indoors all winter long, thus providing the space for all the work to be done on her.”

However, the tides ebb and flood, things change for both Ken and Masquerade. She needs a new home, an owner willing to make sure her future is secure. Classic yachts are by their very nature a labor of time, money and most of all love. Ken hopes Masquerade can remain close to the place where she was born. “She is a part of our maritime heritage,” he said.

So, the search is on for a patron of wooden boat arts to take the helm. If anyone is interested, please contact Ken at Coecles Harbor Boatyard. He would be glad to show you this nautical masterpiece.