The Biloxi schooner Glenn L. Swetman was named the best of show and first place in its size during the 26th Annual Wooden Boat Festival in Madisonville, La., an event that attracts 30,000 people each year.
The 72-foot, 49-passenger schooner, a two-masted gaff-rigged oyster schooner, with the Mike Sekul, is one of two Biloxi schooners owned and operated by the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum.
The Swetman, which was built in 1989 by Biloxi master boatbuilder Bill Holland, was named best of show from about 80 participating vessels, which ranged in length from 12 to 70 feet.
Each year since 1990, at least one of the Biloxi schooners has made the trip to Madisonville, where the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum stages the two-day festival.
“It is amazing the people we meet and the contacts we have made over the years attending the show,” Seafood Museum Director Robin David said. “It’s excellent PR for letting people know they can come to Biloxi and charter the schooners. It was amazing to hear how many people have visited the new Museum since we opened last year. Also, it is so refreshing to see the children excited to step aboard and look in the engine room, and to look in the forward cabin, they sit at the helm and steer, while their parents take pictures.”
The two Biloxi schooners are available for chartered sails regularly from the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum pier.
Learn more about the Biloxi schooners
