The Landing School facilities are abuzz as we prepare for students to arrive on September 8. The Admissions team is pulling together their plans for welcoming the class of 2021; the Finance team is putting the final touches on scholarships and aid; and Faculty are updating the curriculum, upgrading the shops and classrooms, and putting all affairs in order.
Like any venture that has existed for multiple decades, The Landing School has evolved to adapt to changing times, but we maintain the same core mission set forth by founders John Burgess and Cricket Tupper. As stated by author Eric Sorensen in a 2017 Soundings Trade Only interview with Burgess, that mission is to create “a welcoming, positive, invigorating environment for staff and students to interact and create.” Sorensen continues, “In fact, it's the creative and recreative functions of the school—along with the technical expertise, patience and humor of its instructors—that help make it a success."
We posted the article (linked above) to our Facebook and Instagram pages for everyone to enjoy because, while this sentiment is fully integrated into our daily decisions, it’s important we, as a community, keep it in the forefront of our minds. We bear witness to so many positive changes at the school as we move through times of COVID and as we adjust to the needs of a shifting landscape with a continually diversifying student body. But, we always remember, at the end of all the planning and revisions, you still have to cut to the line.
We have a wide variety of students coming (and returning for second-year programs), from a former high-level finance professional who has decided to pursue his passion by studying Yacht Design; to a young woman who paddled the length of the Mississippi River and is now looking to learn Marine Systems; to a winner of the Dare County Boat Builders Foundation scholarship funded by an annual offshore fishing tournament featuring boats built in Dare County, North Carolina. We are, as always, looking forward to welcoming the class of 2021 to guide their training as they “create and recreate.”
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Welcome New Team Members! |
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Please join us as we welcome three new members to our team.
As former COO at Pearson Composites as well as GM at Vanguard Sailboats and Deputy Director at Advance Planing Hull Forms, Brian Barer presented as a strong candidate to become our new Chief Operating Officer last month. In his role as COO, Brian will focus on operations, accounting, and facilities management.
Brian was quick to start pulling his team together. Almost immediately he hired a COVID Compliance Manager, Bettina Reece, who will create and maintain our COVID protocols as students and faculty return to school and carry out their daily onsite activities. Quickly thereafter, we welcomed Kevin Williams as Senior Staff Accountant to handle the day-to-day accounting necessary to run a school such as ours.
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Take a Tour from Your Desk
For those who express interest in coming to The Landing School or are simply curious about what our facilities look like, we have created a Virtual Tour of some of the shops and classroom, as well as the library. Take a tour today, from the comfort of your living room.
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Notes from the Shop Floor |
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We were thrilled to receive two E-TEC G2s, a much appreciated donation from Evinrude this summer. Our deepest gratitude to Margaret Podlich and John Adey at the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) Foundation as well for their support and vigilance as we awaited the engines’ delivery.
The second-generation E-TECs are two-stroke outboards that combine high power with very low fuel consumption and emissions.
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While BRP, Evinrude’s holding company, has discontinued the Evinrude product line, there is still high demand for service since many remain on the market, and will remain in use for a long time. Furthermore, because they have fewer moving parts than a four-stroke engine, they are relatively simpler to maintain.
Students in the Marine Systems program will have access to these engines as part of their training, along with an extensive learning tool kit, purchased by The Landing School.
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Final Touches on the Town Class |
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If you’ve been receiving this newsletter for a while, you’re likely quite familiar with Nick Tonello and Kate Slocum’s project in the wooden boat shop.
The 16½-foot lapstrake Town Classes being built over this past winter were “abandoned” when all students and faculty left the facilities in March during the initial days of the COVID outbreaks.
Once they got the “okay,” however, Nick and Kate came back earlier this summer to complete one of the hulls.
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Recently, Nick’s Town Class was officially branded by Ralph Johnson, Pert Lowell’s son-in-law who now runs Pert Lowell Co. Pictured above, from left, Nick, Ralph Johnson, and WBB instructor Jake Jacobsen.
Launch date is next week. Check our social feeds for pictures of that auspicious event.
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Get ready for updates on a Town Class renovation! Just as we launch Nick’s newly built Town Class, Ben Matos (WBB ’20) has taken on a Town Class project as part of a project-based Second Year Program.
Let’s look at the history of the design, first. The first Town Class sailboat—affordable and easy to sail for folks in the town where it was launched (hence its name)—was designed and built in wood in 1932 by Marcus C. Lowell in Amesbury, MA. At some point, Marcus' son Percival "Pert" M. Lowell took over the business and relocated to Newbury, MA, where the outfit remains today. The centuries-old history and connections between the Amesbury Lowells (aka Lowell Boat Shop) and the Newbury Lowells (aka Pert Lowell Co.) could likely fill a Ron Chernow tome.
In 1936, the Town Class sailboat was adopted as a one-design class boat, and while it was most prevalent racing in the ’60s when fiberglass models became available, the “Townies” have seen an upswing in popularity in recent years with small fleets popping up in New England. To date, more than 2,000 wood and fiberglass Townies have been built and are still available to order directly from Pert Lowell Co.
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This coming year, Ben will dedicate his time refitting a wooden Town Class, or Winnebot as they were called at the time, hull #58, built at Pert Lowell Co. in Amesbury between 1932 and 1936. The Landing School purchased the vessel Evening Star from a local woman who has been in possession of it since the late 1970s and wanted The Landing School to be part of the boat’s continuing life.
In her words:
My townie is rare...it was first called a Winnebot, as is written on the plans, which is the predecessor to the Townie, which is so great! It is in fair to good condition, especially for her age…bronze hardware on everything, the mast and spars are in good condition with bronze fittings, and the mahogany deck is beautifully made. And as far as her cracked plank, one could put cotton and caulking back in it, and let it swell up, which is what I did when I got it, or one could replace the bottom plank with like kind, which is what I would do, or, one could glue and fasten 1/8 inch plywood over the bottom plank and add fiberglass over it. A good project for you all!
These Second Year Programs are designed for those students who would like to expand their education in a field of their choice. For Ben, this translates to an independent, deeper dive into Wooden Boat Building with an emphasis on restoration.
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In each newsletter, we typically showcase alumni and students who have interesting backstories or have moved into prominent roles in the marine industry, but this issue we have decided to showcase the student workers who have been with us all or most of the summer. Multiple students and alumni have been on site helping us handle administrative duties and prepare us for the upcoming year. In fact, they’ve sort of been the glue holding this place together.
Top row: Stephanie Wills (MS ’20) and Rebecca Matos (MS ’20) have been holding down the fort at the front desk, supporting our operations and accounting until they return for a second year at The Landing School in the Wooden Boat Building program for Stephanie and Yacht Design for Rebecca. Ben Matos (WBB ’20), showcased in our “Notes from the Shop Floor” section above, has been a fixture this summer, most often in cahoots with Jamie Houtz, keeping our facility standing.
Side row: Miles Mancini (WBB ’17/YD ’18) and Ata Arsay (YD ’20) stepped up to help us create COVID-compliant classrooms and workstations for the 2020-21 school year—Ata will stick around to participate in the Marine Systems program this year. And, last but not least, Robert Blocker (MS ’20) has grabbed the inventory bull by the horns. He returns to school to assist with all programs in a couple of weeks, but will carry on in his role tracking inventory, purchase orders, and project management.
Thank you team.
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Landing School Merchandise Available Now!
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