A story about a professor’s passion for boats and sailing

COOKSTOWN, NEW JERSEY, USA, March 12, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- From the young age of eight, William Fortenbaugh has had a love affair with boats and sailing. Fortenbaugh raced many types of boats, including the Barnegat Bay A Cat. Even when he had a successful career in academia as a professor of Classics at Rutgers University, he carried the love with him throughout his life, including when he built Ghost, a twenty-eight-foot wooden Catboat, in retirement. Ghost belongs to a class of boats unique to Barnegat Bay in New Jersey. The class originated in 1922 and by 1924 was recognized as a racing class under the name A Cat.

Wanting to share his love and passion for boats and sailing, Fortenbaugh wrote From Beaton's to Beach Haven: A Cat Ghost Bh G sharing the memories and adventures of Ghost, which he built with David Beaton and Sons. This book resulted from the collaboration of Fortenbaugh, the builders at Beaton’s, the crew of Ghost, and contributing photographers and friends. Photos paired with explanation take the reader from making patterns and preparing the woodshop to a celebratory launch at Beaton’s rigging dock. An account of Ghost’s initial misadventures on the race course, a remarkable recovery, and then twenty-two years of continuous competitions are also shared by Fortenbaugh in the book.

When asked about what readers can learn from his book, Fortenbaugh says, “Preparation and attention to detail attain success,” speaking also of the several races, including seven consecutive championships in the Bay area, and legacy that Ghost leaves behind as she takes her rest in the New Jersey Maritime Museum. There, visitors are also able to recognize that Ghost remains to be a paradigm of excellence in the construction of wooden boats.

William “Bill” Fortenbaugh is a Professor Emeritus of Classics from Rutgers University. The inspiration for writing a book about Ghost, a wooden Catboat, came from his years as an avid sailor beginning at the age of eight. Since he was young, Bill raced many types of boats, including the Barnegat Bay A Cat.


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