ALL HANDS on Deck 32
designing lighting
Sailing into the future with wireless lighting. By RANDY REID Imagine you are tasked with creating an interactive experience to showcase the history of sailing and educate those who don’t know a thing about it. What are you focused on? The story telling? Sure. The ambiance and flow? No brainer. What about the lighting? Heather Ruhsam, executive director of The Sailing Museum, was tasked with just that and jumped on board to bring the Museum to fruition. With extensive knowledge of the sailing world, she knew the lighting would bring all the exhibits to life. Heather explained, “With all of the different exhibits, and how dense our museum plan was, the lighting was going to be really important to how we displayed everything.” With such a compelling story, the Museum embarked on an expedition to educate and demystify the general population about the history and heart of sailing. David Elwell, chairman of The Sailing Museum building committee and two-time competitor in the prestigious America’s Cup, looked to the sailing community to find building industry experts he could pull into the project. He tapped John Tremaine, founder of Q-Tran and participant in two America’s Cup campaigns, for help with lighting, and Jerry Kirby, 6-time America’s Cup participant, to be the general contractor on the project. The result was a remarkable group of sailors for whom the museum became a passion project. The Museum was meticulous about selecting the right partners to renovate and build out the old Armory Building in Newport, Rhode Island, where it is located. As a historical site, they needed industry experts on all fronts to ensure the integrity of the building was