Sailing Above the Artic Circle,, with Captain Graham McKay

October 23, 2024. Captain Graham McKay, Executive Director of Lowell's Boat Shop presented his experience of sailing on board the gaff rigged 88 ft long schooner "Bowdin" this past June and July; above the Artic Circle to 70 degrees North latitude. The Bowdin is owned by the Maine Maritime Academy and is used for training students in the operation and management of an ocean going sailing vessel. The vessel departed and returned to Maine Maritime Academy with a crew of 15, 9 of whom were students, the remaining being Academy staff.

During the voyage they logged 4,575 nautical miles, and made 6 ports of call, The distance traveled converts to 5,261 statute miles, which is approximately the round trip air miles between Boston and Los Angeles (5,218 miles). Due to opposing winds during the voyage, they had to run on the ships auxiliary diesel engine about 85% of the time. In the earlier working years of the Bowdin, as an Artic research vessel, the north bound voyage was timed to take advantage of the prevailing south winds, and the return was timed to coincide with the wind shift to the north. This was not the case for this voyage, as it had to fit within the Maine Maritime academic calendar.

While in the northern latitudes, the crew had a surprise and pleasant encounter - with the Danish royal family, aboard the Danish royal yacht.

For Graham McKay's very interesting biographical sketch, please click on the READ MORE button at the lower left of this page. For a detailed history of the BOWDOIN, click on the following link: Bowdoin (Arctic schooner) - Wikipedia

Captain Graham McKay, Marine Archaeologist & Boatbuilder

Born and raised along the Merrimack River in Amesbury, Massachusetts, I’ve always been fascinated with boats and the water. After four years of studying economics and playing baseball at Harvard I found myself not wanting to head to Wall St. along with the rest of my class. Thus, my incurable interest in all things maritime led me to become both a commercial fisherman, and professional sailor. By 29, I was: A Sea Captain, A Commercial Diver, and a Fisheries Scientist. Ethically, the killing of marine life involved in commercial fishing became too much for me, and it was at this time I chose to further my education in Maritime History and Archaeology, and moved to the U.K. to attend the University of Bristol where I obtained my Master’s Degree in Maritime Archaeology. I am now the Executive Director and Master Boatbuilder at Lowell’s Boat Shop in Amesbury, MA. Historically speaking, Lowell’s is the oldest operating wooden boat building business in the United States, as well as a working museum, whose mission is dedicated to continuing both the education and preservation of the craft of wooden boat building. (http://www.lowellsboatshop.com/) For the past 8 years I have continued to build boats, captain tall ships, and have launched several youth programs in boat-building and related maritime experiences. I have travelled throughout New England teaching and lecturing on the art and craft of wooden boat building, and have consulted on marine archaeological projects and findings.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I would say the two proudest moments of my career thus far have been when I first took command of the 125′ Schooner Spirit of Massachusetts. Having grown up aboard the ship when she was commanded by some of the people whose skills I respected immensely it was an unbelievable honor to myself be in that position. My second proudest moment was at the launching of a whaleboat that our apprentices had built for Mystic Seaport Museum. It was our inaugural apprentice year and the project was intense and difficult. The boat we produced was perfect and as true a replica as could be built these days. It was also the beginning of the programming that has made Lowell’s so successful to this day