ROCKLAND, Maine — A distance from the Rockland breakwater, Andy Zuber turned off the engine and suddenly all was quiet on board the Gladiator, save the sound of the water and wind.
“Quiet,” was his first reaction, when asked how it felt.
He might have added “wonderful," but the smile as he sat at the wheel of the boat said it for him.
Sailing Gladiator has been part of Andy’s life since he was born. The 32-foot Friendship sloop is a classic Maine vessel, built in 1902 as a fishing boat.
“This boat was built in 1902, for a man named Dana Simmons in Waldoboro … and fished it until 1927,” Andy Zuber said with some pride. “It did not have an engine, sold for 450 dollars with sails in 1902.”
And for him and many other owners of these boats, that kind of heritage is part of the appeal.
Friendship sloops, with their clipper-style bow, a long bowsprit, single mast, and large gaff rig sails echo the look of the schooners that once worked the Maine coast, and now form Maine’s windjammer fleet. The sloops gradually turned into pleasure craft when fishermen switched to gasoline engines for their work boats.
Eventually, boat owners formed the Friendship Sloop Society, and gathered every year for a regatta to race them.
The sloops are not speedy, the owners say, but solid and easy to sail.
That, too, Zuber said, may come from the heritage of the boats and many years of trial and error.
“A lot of these fishermen would build their own boats. Build it in the winter, fish it for a season, say well, I didn’t like that or this, and they’d change the design," Zuber said.
The sloops were especially popular—and builders prominent—in the midcoast area of Muscongus Bay, which led to them becoming known as Friendship sloops.
“Friendship sloops are handy,” Zuber said, using a sailing term. “They can be easily sailed by two people, they’re a good work platform and they’re nice to look at!"
For him and other owners, like Diane Fassak, the look of the sloops come from their history and is part of the appeal.
“Because they’re a working boat and are put together for that form and function, you have a truly beautiful sailing craft," Fassak said.
Both Fassak and Zuber grew up with Friendship sloops, learning to sail and work on the boats at a young age, and that devotion has continued through their adult lives.
“It's part of our upbringing, our family,” Fassak explains. “Taking care of them is really the thrill of our lives. It's what we all loved to do. As much as we like to sail, we like to work on our boats.”
Zuber said it’s a tie to family history and legacy.
“I do everything on this boat, I’ve learned to do everything on the boat from my dad and from the experience of sailing, navigating, you name it, and passing it on to my son and stepdaughter," Zuber said. "And that’s the beauty of it.”
They also love gathering with other Friendship sloop owners. Not all the boats are historic. Some were built of wood just to be pleasure boats. There are newer ones, built of fiberglass but carrying the same look. All are part of the society, loving the form, the feel, and the connections that come from sailing a Friendship.
That is what brings those who are able to gather, each year, for the regatta.
“It used to be called homecoming,” Diane explained. "And that’s exactly what it feels like when we’re all together, and we put our sails up and we’ve come home and the boats have come home. It's really about the boats. There are the families and the people and all that, but it's really about the boats. And the fact people put this amount of energy into them is really kind of wonderful."
Out by the breakwater, the sea was smooth, the wind filled the big sails just enough, and Gladiator glided along, the only sound coming from the water against the wooded hull.
