Under the Trade Wind Sky

Under the Trade Wind Sky is a compilation of tales about growing up and coming of age in most of the most unique ways imaginable, as a sailor on some of the most celebrated yachts of all time. Robert Louis (Lou) Boudreau first went to sea when he was six months old aboard the famous 98-foot schooner Yankee. His father owned and sailed the schooner in the beautiful Bras d’Or Lakes of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. When Lou was a year old, the Boudreau’s left Canada and voyaged south to warmer climes. Sailing out of Miami, Florida, they eventually ran their charter cruises in the West Indies. Lou spent his early childhood on the island of St. Lucia, sailing the Caribbean aboard such vessels as the 100-foot schooner Doubloon and the 98-foot Howard Chappelle designed Baltimore clipper Caribee, both owned by his father. In fact, in November of 2022, Lou’s father, Capt. Walter Boudreau, was inducted posthumously into the Charter Yacht Brokers Association Hall of Fame for his lifetime achievements in the charter industry.

The adventures under sail made a deep and lasting impression on young Lou. In 1968, at age 16, Lou joined the crew of the 135-foot Herreshoff schooner Ramona on a voyage to Nova Scotia, after which he left school to follow the sea permanently. The young seafarer’s apprenticeship saw him on some well-known sailing vessels including the 143-foot schooner Bluenose II and the 137-foot Herreshoff schooner Le Voyageur.

The stories contained herein are a treasure trove of tales about what it was like to sail those famous schooners, priceless childhood stories about growing up in the West Indies, as well as several historical tales of seamanship, imbued with the invariable toughness and character of schooner men and their ships.