Study her shape and you’ll see why N.G.H. declared the sleek and subtle hollow-bowed Buzzards Bay 25 his favorite among the hundreds of half models he ever carved. It has stolen the hearts of many others as well. She’s the big sister of N.G.H.’s ALERION & SADIE, designed for racing, and is just as fast as she looks—parting the water with her knife-edged stem.

The Buzzards Bay 25-footers came out in 1914. A persistent story of why the class never grew to more boats involves a sudden squall and sinkings the very first season, and indeed this event is confirmed by the 1915 Beverly Yacht Club’s yearbook. The fact that these Buzzards Bay 25s cost about twice as much as the Buzzards Bay 15s and four times as much as the 12 1/2-footers might also explain why more were not built. The boats are breathtakingly beautiful, however, and they sail as well as they look.

Paul Bates and Nancy Destang donated ARIA to the Herreshoff Marine Museum in 1993. She is permanently on display in the Hall of Boats at HMM. Click here to read Roger C. Taylor’s account of owning and sailing in ARIA in the 1950s.