Launch of the Fame

Memorable Moments

Fame Launch
Fame Launch (Photo by Author, © Todd B Harrington)

Capturing an event that is one of a kind and seen up close by so few is a photographer’s dream. Such was the case with the launch of the ‘Fame’.

This is known as a ‘side launch’. A fascinating process to get the boat from land into the water using a method from the very early days of boat building.

Fame Launch
Fame Launch 1 (Photo by Author, © Todd B Harrington)

With the boat being built upright on the rails used to slide it into the water, the rails are then ‘greased’, the boat tipped to one side, the blocks holding it knocked out, and away it goes.

Fame Launch
Fame Launch 2 (Photo by Author, © Todd B Harrington)
Fame Launch
Fame Launch 3 (Photo by Author, © Todd B Harrington)
Fame Launch
Fame Launch 4 (Photo by Author, © Todd B Harrington)
Fame Launch
Fame Launch 5 (Photo by Author, © Todd B Harrington)

A remarkable event!

I was most fortunate to be present the day Harold and his crew launched the Fame.

The wooden boat replica was built board by board by a master at his craft.

Harold Burnham has a family lineage in Essex that goes back to the very earliest days of boat building in this country. His story is incredibly interesting and is worth the read. It is a story too long to recite here so I have included a link to his website.

Home page — Burnham Boat Building & Design

Harold Burnham bears a family name that is virtually synonymous with Essex, the birthplace of approximately 4,000…

burnhamboatbuilding.com

More about the Fame.

Fame

Fame is a replica of a successful Salem privateer from the War of 1812. The original Fame was a Chebacco-style fishing…

tallshipsamerica.org

The Fame of Salem – Burnham Boat Building & Design

The vessel’s auxiliary power is from a hundred and sixty-horse Yanmar diesel turning a twenty two-inch x 12 inch pitch…

burnhamboatbuilding.com