The schooner Ardelle was launched using the Essex Side Launch technique on July 9, 2011.

There is something about seeing some of the many other vessels I have designed, built, or in some way had my hand it while out on the water with friends and paying guests. The sight makes me both eternally grateful for our Cape Ann heritage and proud of the role I played in keeping our maritime traditions alive.

“He’s the real thing. He’s the classic new England Yankee: He’s independent, he’s determined, and he works around all the challenges that come up in boatbuilding. I’m as interested in the culture of what he’s doing as I am in the craft of what he’s doing.’’

“He’s not afraid to call his boats beautiful, because it’s not just his work,” said Tom Ellis, who commissioned Thomas E. Lannon. “It’s the community’s and everyone who came before him.”

Cousin Jane came out for a sail on Father’s day. It was wonderful weather and Jane loved looking at the new interior in the Main Hold. Throughout the sail Jane and her brother Charile were begging us to haul a

Captain and builder Harold Burnham ties the sails onto ARDELLE on Wednesday last week, just 4 days after the launch. Harold worked on rigging the boat and after finishing, took some friends out for a thank you sail.

An 11th-generation Essex shipbuilder, Burnham built the 55-foot pinky schooner Ardelle, which he was docking at Gloucester Maritime on Wednesday morning, along with a number of other wooden ships that still sail local waters.

We were featured in the May/June 2012 issue of WoodenBoat Magazine.