The interest in traditional sailing ships—both here in the Grand Traverse Region and throughout much of the world—holds many in fascination. This enthusiasm for both reconstructing and maintaining these boats visually draws past maritime history and current life together. Schooners would come to grace the waterways not only out of need in the early days of settlement, but again today, bringing a deep recreational satisfaction to many. Being aboard, skimming over the water, feeling the wooden planks underneath one’s feet, winds whipping the face, is sheer exhilaration for the adventurous. A passion for classic wooden boats brought together the founders of the Maritime Heritage Alliance (MHA) in the early 1980s. The group’s primary interest was to preserve the maritime history of the area. A quote from the late Bill Livingston, a renowned boat builder from Northport, typifies the alliance’s attitude: “The real joys in life consist of making something with our hands, not making money, but making something.”