Our story

In the early 1990s, the TREE OF LIFE was named One of the 100 Finest yachts in America by Sail magazine. She was designed in 1989 for a Virginia owner who planned extensive world cruising and wanted a husky yacht that resembled the Baltic trading schooners. TREE was beautifully and strongly built by Covey Island Boat Works in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Commissioned by Kelly Kellogg, Tree spent several years circumnavigating the globe with the owner and his friends and family. Tree was sold to John Laramee of Newport who sailed her for ten years and also did a circumnavigation. Tree is now owned by Captain Paul & Alison Morse of Jamestown, RI.

Since her launching she has won schooner races in Nova Scotia and crossed the Atlantic to Ireland where she won races there. A letter from her builder, claiming speeds in excess of 12 knots under sail, is adequate testimony to her performance while a world circumnavigation attests to her seaworthiness and ability.

The TREE's rig is very traditional, with its fidded bowsprit, reefing topmasts and deadeyes. She spreads 3,894 sq ft of canvas with all sail set, giving her a sail area/displacement ratio of 24; this is more than adequate to keep her moving nicely in even the lightest of breezes. There are enough lines to handle to keep the crew busy and she is a beautiful sight surging along on a broad reach.

The accommodations offer berths for 10 in four cabins forward, plus a navigator's berth in the wheelhouse and a double berth owner's cabin aft. A passageway below the nav berth connects the owner's cabin to the saloon and gives good access to the engine room. Other features include the library/ office with upper/lower berths, an 11 foot long settee in the spacious saloon, and a very large galley. The wheel house offers protection to the helmsman and navigator in inclement weather and there is, of course, an outside wheel forward of the pilot house giving an unobstructed view of the sails. TREE is built of 2" fir planking on laminated fir frames, 14" c.-c. Decks are laid, oiled fir and the construction is designed to be extremely strong and durable. Epoxy resins are used for laminating and coating the hull to avoid rot problems and to reduce the chance of teredo worm damage.