From a young age, our founder, Eric Baldwin, had a love for sailing and being on the water. After learning to sail at nine years old, he quickly took to the sport, developing a deep-rooted affinity for the sea that followed him through his collegiate racing years at Roger Williams. After graduation, the goal was simple: find a career that kept him on the docks and near the salt air. This led to the launch of Shore Sails in 1987, where the intricate craft of sailmaking became a lifelong calling. He discovered a profound sense of accomplishment in the work; designing a sail from scratch, stitching it with precision, and then watching it pull a hull through the waves on the race course.
That expertise evolved into his own independent company, which found its permanent home in South Freeport, Maine, in 2004. For over two decades, the loft has remained a fixture of the local waterfront, serving the needs of the sailing community with the same dedication that defined those early days at Shore Sails.
The next chapter of our story began in 2008 as a creative response to the shifting economic tides of the recession. We realized that while a sail eventually retires from the rigors of racing, its journey doesn’t have to end. Our customers were eager to give their old gear a second life, providing a vast pool of high-performance, weather-worn materials. We set out with a mission to recycle up to 90% of every sail we received, keeping these durable fabrics out of landfills and turning them into something functional. That first summer, we crafted 300 bags and they sold out almost instantly.
Each year since, the demand for these repurposed pieces of maritime history has grown, allowing a thriving small business to flourish alongside our traditional sail loft. Our mission remains personal. Every bag we produce is a testament to a life spent on the water, designed to be as rugged, reliable, and authentic as the sails that first inspired a nine-year-old boy decades ago.