Before this boat, I was lost. I was a little bit lost,” says 81-year-old Warren Jacques. Like a lot of seafarers and fishers, he finds some of his best reflection time when he’s on watch at sea.
The fishing vessel SKIPPER was launched in 1941 as a “party boat,” carrying deckloads of anglers on “deep sea” fishing expeditions from northern New Jersey. She continues in that role today, but now hails from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
There was a moment in time, around the turn of the last century, when the world eagerly watched to see which emerging means of propulsion—electric motors or internal-combustion engines—would challenge the long dominance of steam power. From the early 1880s through the 1910s, the development of the “electric accumulator,” or rechargeable battery, made the widespread use of electric power a serious contender for vehicles, including boats.
Few boatbuilding brands in the U.K. are as iconic as Fairey Marine. The company made its name from 1946 onward by building a line of sailboats, mostly designed by Uffa Fox, before branching out into powerboats, including distinctive craft such as the Huntress, the Huntsman, and the Swordsman.