I’ve misplaced my sunblock! Ha!
Continuing on with the theme of summer, a followup on last week’s fishing experience column, I remain invested in an archive dive from days gone by. To this end, allow me to share brief recollections of my Antonisa experience.
The photo attached with this week’s adventure was made from a magnificent flying machine, the “Bell Jet Ranger,” then owned and operated by Maine Helicopters based in Whitefield. It is probably my most favorite platform from which to photograph. The Jet Ranger is spacious and maneuverable, with a picture window view from the open side door providing unobstructed sight. If I could afford it, this would be my aircraft of choice. Perhaps someone out there would like to gift me one!
I mention the Jet Ranger because it helped me make the attached photograph and other significant images. Full credit to the captain of the ship for excellent piloting. Maine Helicopters had some terrific operators who were very skilled at translating my requests for better positions in the sky relative to subjects on the water and land. They delivered!
Antonisa, as many local folk know, is a gem — a work of art. The boat was designed by the Bruce King Yacht Design shop and built at the Murray Hill facility of Hodgdon Yachts in East Boothbay. I had the honor of photographing the project from lofting through sea trials. It was the experience of a lifetime.
Antonisa’s owner, an Italian leather furniture magnate, had pretty specific inclinations and visited the Hodgdon facility quite frequently with a significant group of his team. I recall shouts of “Basta” during his visits. I thought it was a swear word, but John Doig, the project manager, assured me that it was not. John lived here in the area during the ship’s construction.
Antonisa has a working fireplace. Chip Haggett and Neil Jones created the fireplace with tedious specificity, arriving daily at the yard around 4 a.m. The coffee was on early! Antonisa's home port is Viareggio, Italy, and sails mostly in the Mediterranean with Captain Chris Harmsworth in charge. Antonisa is a 124-foot flush deck sloop, built in 1999. Local multi-talented and creative soul Linda Allen worked aboard Antonisa from launch date until her Atlantic crossing.
The attached photograph was made at the mouth of the Sheepscot River showing Antonisa’s main sail and her blue asymmetrical multi-purpose spinnaker that is a versatile sail designed for use sailing down wind on a reaching course. The photo also includes a bright sunny day!