When I was young, I spent many summers on the East Coast. My grandmother lived in NYC and spent her summer at Provincetown on the Cape. My grandfather lived in a little harbor town called Westport Point just across the border from Newport, RI. He owned a boat and we sailed all over Buzzards Bay and beyond.

So, when I got the opportunity to hop aboard the Arabella, I did. After all, it was August; a perfect time to sneak away for a week! I primarily shot video in hopes of making a nice story about the yacht. I’m torn between calling her that and a tall ship. Because she really is both. She was built in 1983 as “Centurion” at 118 feet for actress Kelly McGillis. In the 90’s she was damaged badly in a dock fire. But she was too beautiful to scrap and lived on to be rebuilt and reborn as the 157 ft Arabella. When rebuilt, she was built to USCG standards as a certified mega yacht capable of taking about 40 passengers in 20 cabins.

Besides sailing on this grand ship, I got to get off in a bunch of idyllic places and shoot some still photography too. The video has to wait to be finished as my next video project is underway with Faces of Cuba. It will be a good winter project because I’m off to Scotland soon which, of course, means there will be even more photos, time-lapse and video to work with!

If you get the chance to consider a tall ship sailing vacation, I would check Arabella out. She sails in the British Virgin Islands in the winter and in New England in the summer.

You can see all the photos from my New England sailing adventure here. If you like one, I hope you will buy a print as I’ve teamed up with Bay Photo to get you high quality prints at very affordable prices. Loads of selection too and things like note cards and more!
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