Here you see LITTLE BEAR in Great Cove yesterday. She reportedly was launched in Scotland. She’s built for luxury cruising, but obviously is a steel-hulled replica of a North Sea fishing trawler. That ketch sailing rig can be especially helpful for stability in a rolling sea. She now apparently hails from Rockport, Maine. Detailed information about her has been hard to uncover.
I’m assuming from her looks and Scottish launching site that LITTLE BEAR’s name is not inspired by furry mammal cubs or hairy dolls named after Teddy Roosevelt. I suspect that she was named after Ursa Minor ("Little Bear" in Latin), which is the Little Dipper star constellation. Historically, that constellation has been important for sea navigation. Its brightest star, Polaris (“of the Pole”), is the North Star, which hangs out nearly directly above the North Pole and historically has been a general indicator of where North is.
The Little Bear constellation can be found by using the two "pointer" stars in the Ursa Major (“Great Bear”) constellation to locate the North Star, which is the rear light on the Little Dipper's starry tail. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on September 2, 2025.)