"Front, bow; back, stern. If you can't keep that straight on my boat, I'll throw your ass out the little round window over there." -- Capt Quint, JAWS
[Aug 14, 2005: I'm not sure how any of you have found this website. You might have bookmarked it, found it through some of my postings on the O Gauge Railroading Magazine message board, gotten it from a posting on the Pearson Owner's mailing list, or through some of my other web activity. It doesn't matter, I guess. What matters is this: I apologize for it not being more up to date. Newer pictures can be found here (2003) and here (2005).
May 30, 2006: Earlier this month I passed my Coast Guard Master's exam. As soon as I finish some paperwork, I will officially be a Captain.
July 14th, 2006: You may officially call me 'Captain Steve'. Saluting is, of course, optional.
Sept 24, 2007: Finally, an update! After having to replace the engine this June with a new Mercury 4 stroke we went out and had some adventures. Some of this season's pictures (2007) can be found here. I've been offline for a while, so if I haven't returned your email don't hold it against me (and, in fact, feel free to email me again). I'm planning on revamping this page over the next few months.
You can take a better look at the Maria Jane here.
Have I really sailed the same boat for the last twelve years?
"All At Sea"
The Maria Jane is a Pearson 26, hull #1182. I have owned her since 1995 and, while I'd like a bigger boat, the thought of parting with my beloved Pearson 26 is too painful to contemplate. I sail mostly singlehanded out of the Merrimack River in Newburyport MA and have taken her around the North Shore of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Southern Maine. The Isles of Shoals is one of my favorite destinations.
Improvements I've made have been the addition of a CDI furling, dual batteries, an autopilot, and a new Mariner 9,9 fourstroke engine, as well as new rigging (standing and running), new interior cushions, new depthfinder, automatic bilge pumps, a Sunshower, a new 130 jib and a new tiller as well as a lot of little gadgets and knicknacks that turn a boat into a summer home.
She's easily one of the faster boats in her size range and one of my joys in life is passing my friends on a Saturday afternoon. This is the sweetest boat I've ever sailed and, while I may have performed some stupid sailing tricks, nothing the boat has done has ever made me fear for life and limb.
Sitting on the dock at the fabulous Dawn Mari-Na on Ring's Island, drinking booze and cleaning the boat.
(Maria Jane, moored off of the luxurious Dawn Mari-Na at the end of the 2000 season, in the fog and mist.)
Capt Steve smiles for the webcam.
Me and my father watching whales come near the boat.
My father enjoying a day on the ocean like only a passenger can...
Proof that there's a genetic urge to sail: Dad terrorizes Haverhill's Round Pond in his Snark.
Maria Jane, this year (2002), shiny and clean, with a new white cruising jib at the bow.
At the Sandy Bay Yacht Club in Rockport, MA
Maria Jane, ass-end
Gleaming in the afternoon sun, ready to go for a sail.