Welcome to the online portion of Penobscot Marine Museum's 2016 Gala Auction! This virtual auction will run until July 28, 2016, with the live event taking place on July 30, 2016 at Point Lookout in Northport, Maine. This is an exciting opportunity to start bidding early, with all bids closing when the gavel falls on the night of our Gala. All proceeds from the auction support Penobscot Marine Museum in preserving, interpreting and celebrating the rich maritime culture of Penobscot Bay and surrounding regions.
This year's spectacular items include recreational watercraft, beautiful antiques, original artwork by Maine artists, fine clothing and jewelry, travel, and more. Please enjoy browsing, bidding, and of course, sharing the news about this great event with your friends. Check in often - we'll be adding new items every few days.
Our 2016 Gala Auction live event at Point Lookout promises to be a fun evening with great food, wonderful music and of course, fantastic company. Tickets to the Gala may be purchased through July 28. Hope to see you there!
Our Gala Auction supports the great public programming at Penobscot Marine Museum!
This year, inspired by the 100th anniversary of “Maine Postcard Day”, Penobscot Marine Museum presents Wish You Were Here: Communicating Maine. In a series of exhibits, we exlore how images have been used over the years to communicate "Maine".
Maine: A Continuum of Place, in which noted author Carl Little pairs historical images of the coast with paintings by contemporary artists. While you're there, try your hand at creating your own postcard art or step inside and experience the workings of a giant camera obscura. All this plus outstanding maritime exhibits and programs!
Wish You Were Here: Communicating Maine runs through October 16 and is accompanied by related speakers and public programs. Visit our website at www.penobscotmarinemuseu.org for more information.
Proceeds from our Gala Auction makes these and many more programs possible. Thank you so much for your interest and support!
Penobscot Marine Museum Honors Hodgdon Yachts and the Hodgdon Family at its 2016 PMM Gala Auction!
Maine has been known for the quality of its boat builders going back even before statehood, when a certain family in East Boothbay put down roots and began producing practical wooden fishing schooners. Caleb Hodgdon’s first boat was a 42-foot pinky schooner launched in 1816. His descendants have been at it ever since.This year the family celebrates its 200th year in the boat-building business --- surely a record unmatched anywhere in the country.
In the early years the Hodgdons built fishing boats and schooners, such as the William Hand, Jr.-designed Bowdoin. The company transitioned to the pleasure-yacht business in the early 1900s, built Navy boats during the 1940s and 1050s, and by the 1960s was busy building yachts designed by the likes of Sparkman & Stephens, Bill Tripp, Jr., and John Alden.
These days Hodgdon Yacht Company is known, not for sturdy work boats, but rather for its expertise in producing high-end pleasure yachts made of both synthetic materials and wood. The company has offices in Newport, Rhode Island, and in the mega yacht destination of Monaco, where more than one super yacht carries one of the Hodgdons’ gorgeous limousine tenders. The company’s divisions include Hodgdon Yachts, specializing in custom sail and power yacht construction (up to 60 meters); Hodgdon Custom Tenders; Hodgdon Interiors, crafting high-end Superyacht interiors (up to 80 meters); Hodgdon Yacht Services, devoted to service, refits, storage, and dockage; and Hodgdon Defense Composites, constructing specialized defense craft.
This year the American Boat Builders and Repairers Association recognized the company’s excellence when it named Hodgdon Yachts its boat builder of the year and Hodgdon Yacht Services its boatyard of the year.
But while the boats have changed, and become increasingly sophisticated, the name behind the enterprise has not. CEO Tim Hodgdon is the fifth generation in his family to run the business. His daughter Audrey, who joined the company last year, is the sixth generation.
“It’s an important legacy and I’m proud of it,” says Tim, who started working at the yard during school vacations in 1971. He officially joined the business in 1979, when construction involved traditional wooden plank-on-frame and the workforce was four or five people. “In this business, you need to embrace technology. We’ve done that.”
The Hodgdon’s ability to innovate has brought them worldwide recognition. What really sets them apart in our eyes, though, is that they have been able to evolve and yet still honor their past, and that the sixth generation is helping lead the company into its future.
Hats off to the Hodgdons. Thank you for continuing to build history on the Maine coast! It’s a pleasure to honor you at the Penobscot Marine Museum’s 2016 Gala Auction.
