This is an unusual winter sight: BLACKFISH, a highly-regarded racing and cruising sailboat, is out of storage and on the move, apparently from Massachusetts. She was built here in the Brooklin Boat Yard in 2017 and is being transported back to her birthplace for a new paint and varnish job. She home ports in Nantucket. It was a joy to see her again.
BLACKFISH is well described in her WoodenBoat Profile: “While Blackfish has a modern keel, rudder and carbon fiber mast (faux painted [as wood]), designer Jim Taylor is proud that she accomplishes what she was specified to do and be: drop-dead gorgeous above and a race boat below.”
Here’s her data for you serious sailors: BLACKFISH’S length overall is 49’ and she’s 35’2” at the waterline, with a beam (widest part) of 11’7” and a weight of 16,600 pounds. She’s rigged as a sloop and has a sail area of 973 sq. ft. Her engine is a 45 hp Yanmar diesel. She races in the Spirit of Tradition Class and reportedly clubs at the New York Yacht Club.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on February 17, 2025.)