Framed oil painting

24 x 28 (image size), oil on board

There have been many times when I’ve been out on the Penobscot Bay and the Maine Windjammer fleet is barely moving.  It’s always a little disappointing to see the sails limp and the skipper at the helm waiting for a ripple on the water to indicate a breeze a comin’.  There have been a few times though when it’s been just the opposite.  This was the case in Offshore Challenge. The schooner Nathaniel Bowditch and the Heritage are depicted in a stiff wind, in deep water.  I wanted to capture a rolling sea, with the schooners at their best.  Graceful and yet workmanlike they manage the treacherous seas.  It is not only a testament to how well built the ships are, but to how skilled their Captain and crew must be.