The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston to Present a Major Exhibit and Outdoor Exhibition Entitled

New Age of Sail: The Story of Canada's Sailing Boom

New Age of Sail Exhibit
From May 5th to November 30th of this year, The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston will present a look back at the explosive growth in the popularity of recreational sailing from the late 1950's, through the 70's. Entitled New Age of Sail: The Story of Canada's Sailing Boom, the exhibit will recall the exciting developments in design, construction and marketing that popularized the sport of sailing.

During these innovative years, the transition from wood construction to fiberglass gave designers the ability to conceive lighter, stronger and more durable boats. They were boats that builders could mass produce for an affordable price. And since they required less maintenance than their wooden predecessors, their owners could spend more time sailing them, and less time working to keep them shipshape. New yacht clubs and class associations sprang up as a post WW2 affluent middle class began looking for new ways to spend leisure time.

The New Age of Sail Exhibit will engage, inform and inspire. Visitors will encounter the past and present of recreational sailing. They will experience interactive displays, view pictorial remembrances of the era and the most famous boats. There will be half models, full models and actual boats on display, including Laser number 1, which has been generously loaned to the New Age of Sail exhibit by the Mystic Seaport - The Museum of America and the Sea.

The New Age of Sail Exhibit, co-curated by yacht designer and historian Rob Mazza, will honor the designers and builders of the time, giving visitors the opportunity to come to know the people and the personalities that launched sailing's popularity. The Museum is especially pleased to have as honorary curators of the exhibit, George Cuthbertson, a founding partner of Canada's most renowned yacht design firm, Cuthbertson and Cassian (C&C Yachts); and Bruce Kirby, the designer of the Laser one-design, America's Cup 12-meter yacht Canada I, and dozens of other successful classes and custom designed boats.

More information about the New Age of Sail Exhibit may be found at the museum's website www.marmuseum.ca.

New Age of Sail Outdoor Exhibition
On the weekend of July 26 - 27, the grounds and waterfront surrounding the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston will be the bustling with the New Age of Sail Outdoor Exhibition. The Exhibition will be open to the public and admission will be free.

Experienced sailors and neophytes of all ages and interests will be captivated, enlightened and encouraged to experience the many different aspects of the sport.

There will be exhibitors and demonstrations offering information on a range of topics, including wood and fiberglass repair and restoration, a historic look from the old to the latest in equipment and technology, sails and sail making, lines and rigging, navigation, the purchase and care of a sailboat and learn-to-sail opportunities. Younger sailors, and those not so young, will be entertained with special activities including sailing demos around Kingston harbor, on land sailing simulators and radio controlled model boat races.

On display will be class boats that successfully converted from wood to fiberglass construction and still remain popular to this day, more than forty years later. We will also be showcasing the boats whose designs only became possible thanks to the technological advances of that time, including today's modern skiffs and hydrofoils.

More information about the New Age of Sail Outdoor Exhibition may be found at the museum's website www.marmuseum.ca.

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