Photos: Jeanne Craig
Vicki and Alan Goldstein dreamed up their vision for Vintage Weekend at a classic yacht show near their summer home in Southwest Harbor, Maine, in the early 1990s. While walking the docks, the couple observed just how much the owners of beautifully maintained builds enjoyed showing them off. The old-boat romantics shared stories and sheerlines with show attendees, all of whom were nuts for heritage craft.
It occurred to the couple that there wasn’t an event like this for the boat crowd at their winter home in Key Largo, Florida, at the Ocean Reef Club. But they knew the setting of the 2,500-acre community on Card Sound could be the foundation for something special. So in 1994, they launched the Ocean Reef Club Vintage Weekend. “We scheduled it for the first weekend in December, which had always been a dull time of year, as few people were around and there wasn’t a lot to do,” Vicki said. “Well, we changed all that.”
The first show featured about 20 boats, but the event quickly picked up steam, expanding to include an impressive in-water fleet, plus antique cars and aircraft. The course to success, though, wasn’t always easy. “There were a few years when it was hard to put together, like pushing spaghetti through a strainer,” Vicki said. “But then it just took off.”
Vicki shared the birth story of Ocean Reef Vintage Weekend with Soundings during the 29th annual gathering last December, when she greeted guests at the opening ceremony and knew many by their first names. She was excited about the weekend and reminisced about some of the successes achieved over the decades.
She recalled the buzz around the replica of Pilar that Brooklin Boatyard displayed one year, and a beautifully restored custom powerboat by Forest Johnson that graced the docks. Aphrodite, the commuter yacht built by the Purdy Boat Company in 1937, was also something special, she said. “We even had the boat that starred in African Queen. It was an old junker, really, but you could hear its steam whistle all over the place. All kinds of boats show up here. You just never know from one year to the next.”
One of her all-time favorite boats was Ticonderoga, the 72-foot ketch designed by L. Francis Herreshoff and built in 1936. She was playing favorites at the 2025 event, too. “I really like the little Burger,” she said. “Be sure to check that one out.”
Heart of Steel
Delores, a 53-foot welded steel motoryacht built in 1951, was tied at the face dock along Ocean Reef Channel. “She’s one of just a few steel hulls from Burger Yachts, made before the builder went to aluminum. And she’s the last known 53-foot Burger in existence, a true one-of-a- kind,” said her owner, Mark Ingraham of Miami.
Ingraham is no stranger to classic boats, having owned a 1968 Cheoy Lee and a 1968 Hatteras, which he restored and displayed at Vintage Weekend in 2022. While at that show, he met Jim Ruffolo, who was the president of Burger at the time. (He is chairman today.) “I distinctly remember telling him that it was my dream to own a Burger,” Ingraham said.
That dream was realized in 2024, while Ingraham was trolling the web one night for boats. The Burger was 2,000 miles away in Ohio, laid up in a barn where she had been collecting dust for five years. “I took a leap of faith and bought her sight unseen,” Ingraham said. He then hired a crew to run her south on her original Detroit 6-71 diesels. She did the trip in 30 days.
He said stepping aboard for the first time was “like stepping into a time warp. She had the original gauges, no chart plotter or depth finder.” But cosmetically, she was in good shape, having undergone a refit in the late 1990s.
At the time of the show, Ingraham had invested blood, sweat and one year in her refurbishment, stripping down the original interior, overhauling the engines and running gear, and applying new bottom paint, among other things. He has more projects planned, but at Ocean Reef, he was in celebratory spirits, as the boat took an award for the yacht most worthy of restoration. “It all came full circle for me when Jim Ruffolo came aboard,” he said. “My dream of Burger ownership came true, and I’m proud to be part of this heritage fleet.”
Rare Rybovich
Uncommon boats were common sites at Vintage Weekend. Take the 1959 36-foot Rybovich Express Chino. Hull No. 39, it was built by Tommy Rybovich, one of three sons of John Rybovich, the founder of the Palm Beach, Florida, yard credited with pioneering the modern sportfishing yacht. It was restored from the keel up from 2008 to 2010 by Michael Rybovich (Tommy’s nephew) for the boat’s owner at the time, country singer-songwriter Alan Jackson. A boat with pedigree, it’s also the only 36 Rybo
Express in existence.
“I was overwhelmed when I first saw it. It was the most beautiful boat with so much incredible detail,” said Steve Adams, who has owned Chino with his wife, Tanya, since 2013. “It’s right for us because it’s perfect for owner-operators. We can manage the handling and maintenance on our own, although we have some help with the brightwork.”
Steve said they’re lucky to be the recipients of a remarkable restoration that Jackson organized. And because Steve is a hands-on guy, he continues to make improvements, including new Garmin electronics and a Northern Lights generator. But he’s also proud of the many original details on board, including the Stewart Warner gauges at the helm and the chrome-plated stainless shifters, which were converted from cable-driven to electronic when new Cummins diesels were installed.
“We were able to modify systems but keep the same hardware,” he said. “Now the boat is highly functional and looks period correct.”
The couple live in Coral Gables, Florida, and use the boat regularly. They spend summers aboard in the Bahamas and relish runs across the Gulf Stream. The boat can cruise at about 27 knots, upholding its reputation as a fast express built to chase fish.
“It’s incredibly seaworthy,” Steve said. “And it’s unlike any vessel I’ve had. I meet people on their 100-footers who are practically falling over the side trying to get a look at this boat. There’s nothing else like it.”
Echo of Another Era
Even beyond the docks, Vintage Weekend felt like a time capsule. Classic cars fanned out across the grounds. European exotics, American muscle machines and restored touring beauties were kept in concours-ready condition by owners who happily popped open hoods to talk provenance and piston counts. Best in Show honors went to a sublime 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 LS, and the crowd gravitated toward a 1960 Pontiac Bonneville that claimed the People’s Choice award.
Vintage aircraft added another layer of spectacle, and an electric performance by the Titan Aerobatic Team turned the sky into stage, as pilots carved loops and stitched smoke trails. For a few minutes, all eyes left the docks and looked up.
Still, for boaters, the strongest pull remained dockside, where other notable builds included Talon, a 1961 Merritt 37 designed for fishing. Her long bow pulpit was crafted specifically for harpooning bluefin tuna during their seasonal migration near Cat Cay. The boat is a rare find, with only about a dozen in existence.
The 87-foot Feadship Catch also caught a lot of attention from sportfishing fanatics. Built in 1984, the gentleman’s yacht has had more than one refit over the years, including an extensive project that finished in 2023 after the owner transported the boat to the Feadship yard in the Netherlands for work. The makeover included new teak for the expansive foredeck that invites a long stroll to the bow. It was in Bristol condition.
Yachts that were exceptionally preserved were the stars of the show, but there were real gems on trailers, too. Barton & Gray Mariners Club exhibited a sweet 1969 Boston Whaler 17, one of three identical models in its fleet of boats for members. Updates included bottom paint that matched the color used in the 1960s. “The refit wasn’t too difficult,” said Doug Gray, founder and chief marketing officer of the company. “There was no structural work required on the hull because the boats were so overbuilt. It’s impressive, really. This boat is older than I am. It shouldn’t be sitting here.”
As the weekend festivities wrapped, exhibitors were grateful for the efforts of the Goldsteins and their partners. Their work culminated in an event that was special not only for the collection of classic boats, cars and planes on display, but also for the people who attended.
“Most of the people I met really understood the boats and the level of effort that’s required to maintain them,” Steve Adams said. “And more important, they understood the legacies of these boats, and what they represent.”
This article was originally published in the March 2026 issue
