Nic Compton
Designed by Albert Luke and built by Luke Brothers in Hamble, England, in 1938, GALENE is a member of the Teal Class—a wholesome 1930s racer-cruiser. She has been under the same ownership for more than two decades and steadily maintained and upgraded. Here she is reefed down off St. Mawes, near Falmouth, Cornwall.
When you know, you know, says the old adage about love. And it seems that it can equally apply to boats. Take James Smith, who comes from a salt-water family: his father, mother, and step-grandfather all served in the Merchant Navy. James joined the Sea Scouts and has sailed dinghies from a young age; he raced a Laser 2 out of Bosham in West Sussex, England, for many years before himself joining the Merchant Navy as engineer and traveling the world in cargo and passenger ships. But he never owned anything bigger than a dinghy.