Life as a sailboat
Captain Rik Allen and cook Ann Gracie aboard the the couple’s sailboat, Sandcastle.
Sandcastle at anchor in the Virgin Islands. Sailing tip: “(Mayonnaise) doesn't need to be refrigerated,” Allen said, even in the heat of the Virgin Islands. “There's limited space for refrigeration in a boat's galley, and if anything doesn't need to be refrigerated, it isn't. What contaminates the mayonnaise is a knife or spoon that has touched other food before scooping out mayonnaise.” Courtesy of Rik Allen and Ann Gracie
The main salon of Sandcastle. Courtesy of Rik Allen and Ann Gracie
Nancy Thayer, Allen’s sister, Allen and Gracie sit on the steps at the big summer cottage Allen's grandfather, Frank Leonard Allen, built in 1912. The pair come to Boothbay Harbor every summer. When Allen's not sailing, Boothbay Harbor is his home port. While here, they stay in the cottage, which is at the top of Crest Avenue, beyond the Sprucewold cabins. The house has remained in the Allen family. It now belongs to the younger Allen and his three siblings, Nancy, Gregory and Bruce, and their familes. SUZI THAYER/Boothbay Register
Ann Gracie snorkling in the Virgin Islands. Courtesy of Rik Allen and Ann Gracie
The original sign from Allen’s grandfathers Boothbay Harbor art studio. Courtesy of Rik Allen and Ann Gracie
Captain Rik Allen and cook Ann Gracie aboard the the couple’s sailboat, Sandcastle.
Sandcastle at anchor in the Virgin Islands. Sailing tip: “(Mayonnaise) doesn't need to be refrigerated,” Allen said, even in the heat of the Virgin Islands. “There's limited space for refrigeration in a boat's galley, and if anything doesn't need to be refrigerated, it isn't. What contaminates the mayonnaise is a knife or spoon that has touched other food before scooping out mayonnaise.” Courtesy of Rik Allen and Ann Gracie
The main salon of Sandcastle. Courtesy of Rik Allen and Ann Gracie
Nancy Thayer, Allen’s sister, Allen and Gracie sit on the steps at the big summer cottage Allen's grandfather, Frank Leonard Allen, built in 1912. The pair come to Boothbay Harbor every summer. When Allen's not sailing, Boothbay Harbor is his home port. While here, they stay in the cottage, which is at the top of Crest Avenue, beyond the Sprucewold cabins. The house has remained in the Allen family. It now belongs to the younger Allen and his three siblings, Nancy, Gregory and Bruce, and their familes. SUZI THAYER/Boothbay Register
Ann Gracie snorkling in the Virgin Islands. Courtesy of Rik Allen and Ann Gracie
The original sign from Allen’s grandfathers Boothbay Harbor art studio. Courtesy of Rik Allen and Ann Gracie
It was 1974 and Rik Allen had spent part of the summer in his family's cottage in Boothbay Harbor.
At that time, the biggest boat he had ever sailed was a 15-foot Sunfish on Lake Champlain.
Then he heard someone was looking for an “able person with a decent personality” to work on a 50-foot sailboat in the Virgin Islands. No sailing experience required.
Allen got the job and sailed on the Renaissance, cruising around the Caribbean and sailing to Bermuda, earning $10 an hour, plus “bunk and chow.”
About a year (and several ships) later, at the age of 25, sailing had become a way of life for him.
He decided to go for a “six-pack” captain's license, good for taking up to six people out on a charter boat.
Allen spent the next several years sailing in the Virgin Islands. When he wasn't sailing he was skiing in Steamboat Springs, Colo. “I couldn't complain,” he said.
In 1982, he bought a 38-foot, steel hull cruising sailboat, the Romper. He spent the next two years fixing her up, with the dream of taking some time to cruise, just for fun.
Six years later Allen took a job as captain for a 72-foot sailboat, Sandcastle. He had worked on it before, doing weekly charters. This time fate intervened.
Ann Gracie was on a sailboat that was tied up next to his.
“It was totally accidental that I happened to be there,” Gracie said. “I came down to see a friend whose boat was in St. Thomas.”
Gracie asked Allen if he needed a cook. “The rest is history,” she said. “We had known each other for a while. There were a bunch of us who wanted to work on boats, and most of us still do.”
In 1991 Allen and Gracie left Sandcastle and outfitted Romper to make it seaworthy. They spent the next six years cruising.
Gracie said they got as far as New Zealand before they realized they were “financially embarrassed.” They tied Romper up the at a dock in Nelson, New Zealand and got jobs. “We really enjoyed living there on the dock,” Allen said. “It cost us $75 for the slip for three months.”
From New Zealand they sailed north to Tonga and Fiji. It was a 10-day trip on open ocean. They took turns at the helm with six-hour watches.
“I loved the rhythm of days at sea,” Gracie said. “Watching the weather change, adjusting sails, watching the stars and meteor showers.
“It was magical.”
Asked what she likes most about her job, Gracie said, “The commute. Between the bow cabin and the galley.”
When she’s not cooking, Gracie is in the water, scuba diving and snorkeling. “It's the perfect dovetail of things I love,” she said. “I love the water and I love cooking.
“I was lucky.”
Gracie and Allen said they never planned for sailing to be a career. “The high school guidance councilor didn't suggest it,” Allen said.
Asked why he thinks he ended up sailing, Allen referenced Robert Frost. “'As way leads on to way.'
“It just happened. I ended up sailing.”
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