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Publisher, Sailor, Adventurer Re-joins the Stars [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-04-16
Carl Cramer, a lifelong adventurer, publisher, and sailor, died peacefully on April 10, 2025, at the age of 78. He spent much of his life in, on, or thinking about boats—when he wasn’t chasing stories, championing others, or reading from his many stacks of books waiting to be read or reread.
Born in Hollywood and raised in Santa Barbara, California, Carl was the son of Ambrose and Lee (Norris) Cramer, and older brother to Kevin and Jill, all of whom predeceased him. He attended Crane Country Day School and Cate School before heading east to Bowdoin College. He didn’t graduate—instead, he enlisted in the Army during the Vietnam War, a decision entirely in character for a man who always seemed to prioritize experience over pretense.
Carl’s early years were wide-ranging, geographically and otherwise. He worked as a bookstore owner, preschool teacher, taxi driver, hotel worker in Amsterdam, carpenter, screen printer, and ranch hand—among other things—while honing his worldview and his wit. He lived for stretches in places as varied as Wyoming, Sweden, Lunenburg, the Netherlands, and multiple corners of Maine, each one shaping the man he became.
In 1975, Carl settled in Rockport, Maine, where he raised his daughters and began the professional chapter he would become best known for. After a stint at Down East magazine, and an early foray into publishing with Color Computer Magazine, he found his true professional home at WoodenBoat magazine. There, he served as publisher for decades and left a lasting mark on the world of maritime craft and culture. He later helped to found Professional BoatBuilder magazine and co-founded the International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition & Conference (IBEX), becoming a guiding force in the marine industry.
Carl loved a good story—and loved helping others tell theirs even more. He had no need for the spotlight but was devoted to turning it on others: mentoring, championing, and challenging people to see what was possible. He believed in potential—his, yours, the world’s.
He read voraciously and widely. He loved Beowulf as a young man and read Moby-Dick annually for many years, presumably until he had wrung from it every last drop of salt and symbolism. He never met a stranger, and he had an uncanny ability to connect with just about anyone.
He was a world traveler with a particular fondness for Amsterdam, a city he visited nearly 50 times. He loved his family, boats, ideas, dogs, bookstores, and people—and was usually happiest with at least four of those in reach.
In his later years, Carl moved to Brooklin to be closer to WoodenBoat, then eventually to South Portland, where he remained near the coast he loved and his youngest daughter and grandchildren.
He is survived by his daughters, Chloe (Doug Gurley) and Morgan (Eric Babcock); four beloved grandchildren—Quincy, Max, Sebastian, and Isaac; his wife of six years, Melissa Wood; and his cousin Judy Flint. He also leaves behind a chosen family of friends, colleagues, protégés, and shipmates—many of whom have their own stories of how he changed their lives.
Carl’s legacy lives on in the waters he sailed, the words he published, and the lives he quietly lifted.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a WoodenBoat School Scholarship Fund established by the Pennsylvania based 501c3 — Charles Bruce Foundation — or shop vociferously at your favorite local independent bookstore.
Fair winds and following seas, Carl.
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