Alumni Profile – Eric Blake ‘94

I was trained in wooden boatbuilding and design at schools in Maine and England. I spent years travelling the UK, Caribbean, Great Lakes, and the Pacific Northwest before settling in Brooklin - a small town of 800 residents on the coast of Maine - to build a home and raise a family. I built the house with the help of my father, Tom Blake ‘70, Ben Doyle ‘94, Josh Barnes ‘94. Brooklin is a unique community surrounded by hundreds of islands and is the self-titled “Wooden Boat Building Capital of the World.” I have worked at the Brooklin Boat Yard, an employee-owned company of 68 trades people, for the last 20 years and I am now Vice President and Head of New Builds. 

12 years ago, I founded an online video subscription website: offcenterharbor.com/tour

It is focused on documenting maritime culture and craft around the world. 

Lastly, I have taught wooden boatbuilding to the seventh and eighth grade class of the Brooklin School for the last nine years.

I have three children: Cyrus (20), who is a junior at Lehman College in New York City, and Lola (13), and Asa (11), who are in seventh and fifth grade, respectively, and currently enjoying playing on their school basketball team.  My wife, Oriana, and I got married this past fall.

A lot! I am a 4th generation alum, with many aunts, uncles and cousins who also attended LI, as well as my immediate family starting with my mother’s side (Janice Baird Solinsky ’71), my great-grandmother, Rose Denonville Baird ‘21, my grandfather, Everett Baird ’46 and my grandmother Pearl Ward Baird ’45, and on my father’s side (Tom Blake ’70), my grandmother Marjorie Deblois Blake ’42, and my sister, Jil Blake ’93.

Catching my first fish!

The number of incredible trades people who were inspired there.

Paul Hilliard’s Manufacturing class

Elwin Twombly’s Art History class! What made it difficult was that seating was very communal at large tables, and there was one seat at the front of the class that I was asked to sit in for some reason, which made for a long year.

Tug of War

It was turquoise with hot pink flamingos 

For the Love of Wood 

Mike Flynn comes to mind. He had a way of creating school spirit that was unforgettable.

In the woods 

 

Tim Simpson was my favorite, he was my chemistry and physics teacher and my running coach, and just one of the best.

 

…anything from Willie Nelson

 

“You don’t need a weather man to know which way the wind blows” ~Bob Dylan

 

1976 Dodge Aspen R/T metallic maroon with red orange and yellow racing stripes

Ben Doyle’s white 1964 Volvo sedan

Sports and the sportsmanship, I just loved that it felt like a community

Breanna Kilburn

What advice do you have for students as they look for future careers or programs to apply to?  

Think about the things you think about when you have time to yourself. Try and work towards and envision a career doing that thing.

Ben Doyle, Josh Barnes, Peter Tessier and Mike Springman