Mavis is an Irish heartbreaker.
Even at 90, her lines are so perfect that one man can remember her vividly from 65 years ago, back in Ireland. Another suitor brought her on his honeymoon. Another fan spent eight years in a Camden barn to bring her back to perfection.
Mavis, of course is the masterpiece of Irish boat designer John Breslin Kearney, launched in Dublin in 1925. Kearney is a legend in the sailing industry who designed his first sailing dinghy at age 18. In his varied career, he pioneered the use of concrete vessels and built concrete barges during WWII. While he was managing the Dublin Harbor, he used his spare time building his dream ship, Ainmara, a 36-foot gaff yawl. He lovingly built the vessel by hand, using oil lamps for light.
Boat people said the trademark of a Kearney vessel was its ability to “effortlessly maintain a respectable average speed over many miles while sailing the high seas in comfort,” according to W.M. Nixon in Afloat Magazine. Ainmara routinely won races in Ireland and Scotland. Eventually, Kearney wanted to change the design and sold Ainmara to build our girl Mavis, a 38-foot yawl. He sailed Mavis for 30 good years. Naturally, Kearney joined the Irish Cruising Club and he and Mavis gained fame by winning a particularly stormy race to the Isle of Man in 1935.
Kearney designed a number of sailing vessels including the 18-foot Mermaid model, designed to develop interest among the young sailors with limited income. But Mavis, according to Afloat Magazine, was the “creme de la creme.”
For the first time in almost 20 years, Mavis tasted salt water on Saturday, relaunched by Ron Hawkins of Camden, her latest suitor.
Donald O’Keeffe can still remember Mavis. He sailed aboard Mavis on Bantry Bay in 1950 with his uncle Paddy. “It was sheer delight. I remember her vividly. It was a great day in your life, a vivid recollection,” O’Keeffe said. The distinctive fishing yawl design was adopted by others and used for fishing in Ireland. “Three men would leave for three months at a time, coming ashore only for Sunday Mass,” he said.
When O’Keeffe came to America in 1965, he tried to track down Mavis, with no luck. When he heard about Hawkins’ plans to renovate Mavis, he had to attend the Saturday launch. “I had to be here. I promise to come back” when the mast and rigging are complete, he said. O’Keeffe is a boat designer for Burger Boats in Wisconsin.
Mavis has a distinctive canoe shape, which captivated Ron van Heeswijk when he discovered Mavis in Port Jefferson, Long Island. He was familiar with canoes as a youth in Amsterdam and suspected he could handle Mavis. He bought the vessel and was stunned at the ease of sailing it. He loved to sail in and out of Maine harbors with no engine. Legend has it that Kearney used to sail Mavis out of harbors backwards. Ron van Heeswijk spent his honeymoon aboard Mavis. He could set the sails and sail for hours without touching the tiller, he said.
Hawkins is a member of the illustrious sailing Hawkins family of Camden. His father, Havilah Hawkins, designed, built and sailed for years aboard the schooner Mary Day. Ron and his brother, Havilah Jr., have sailed or motored most things that float. Ron Hawkins loved the design of Mavis and bought it from van Heeswijk, knowing that she needed serious work. He loved her so much that he found a barn and spent the next eight years working on the restoration. He admitted that he took a year and a half off, but got right back to the project that hit the waves on Saturday. How many hours did he spend on his labor of love? “I don’t want to think about it,” he said.
Ironically, Hawkins never saw Mavis under sail. He found her under a tattered blue tarp in van Heeswijk’s driveway. But he could see her “adorable lines” even in her state of disrepair. Boat people know. He said the restoration was an act of love “with a story behind every piece.” Hawkins even traveled to South Carolina to get the right oak trees for the planking. He cut down the trees and trucked them back to Maine. “I loved every second of the project. You have to enjoy what you are doing,” to complete such an arduous task, he said.
Think of it. Eight years, working alone. No one was more aware of the damage done to Mavis. No one was more impressed with the meticulous renovation than van Heeswijk. “Ron Hawkins is God, or at least one of his prophets,” van Heeswijk said.
The work is not done. Hawkins has some other projects to do and does not expect to go sailing aboard Mavis until sometime next summer.
Mavis had her suitors and admirers lined up along the rain-soaked docks at Wayfarer Marine on Saturday. Now they have to wait for the mast and rigging to complete her rejuvenation.
The little Irish heartbreaker always has them asking for more.
Emmet Meara lives in Camden in blissful retirement after working as a reporter for the BDN in Rockland for 30 years.