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Mr. Hog Wins Again

THE RACE AROUND HOG:  THE SEA SPRITE CLASS FINALE

Bright blue sunny skies, a perfect 8 knot sea breeze and 9 competitive Sea Sprites lined up on Saturday, September 9 to finish off a successful season of top-notch one-design racing.

The Race Committee of Tim Sandiford and Kayla Kowal set up a perfect starting line and gave us a clockwise course around Hog Island.  A maximum flooding tide paid dividends for teams astute enough play the eddies off Hog Island and the Portsmouth shore.  As one tactician described the race after finishing, “It was a race decided by hitting one tack correctly.”  Amen to that analysis.  Everyone had to navigate a rushing wicked current heading northward between Hog Island Light and the Mt. Hope Bridge.

Halfway through the race, the top three positions changed several times.  Leading over to the southwest corner of Hog, was hotshot Bob Catani and crew.  Once they turned the corner, they were off to the races for the finish line. Their circumnavigation time was 1:04!   Pretty amazing for a 23 foot one-design!

  The order of finish with boat and skipper were:

  1. Bramasole – Bob Catani
  2. Hope – Emelia Moreno
  3. Oasis – Bob Rude
  4. New Hope – Dom Messerli
  5. Vexatious – Andrew McKeith
  6. Zara – Chuck Rosco
  7. Lullabelle – David Borton
  8. Seeker – Ian Cozzens
  9. Swallow – Jerry DeRahm

Below is the winning crew with the now famous winner’s perpetual one-of-a kind -trophy of Mr. Hog.

Following the race, skippers and crew were greeted on the BYC deck with free beer and pizza, courtesy of the Sea Spite Association.

There was the return of the famous Marino pulled pork sandwiches provided by the Marino family.

Karen, Lou, and Emilia Marino

Andrea Rounds took photos of the racing and of the post-race gathering at Bristol YC. Here is a link to Flickr and the photos:

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAUdqo

The only cloud on the day was the fact that SS Commodore, Dom Messerli was unable to join the festivities due to a positive covid test a week earlier. Congratulations to Dom, however, for all his hard work promoting the class during the 2023 sailing season and his fourth-place finish.

Bob Rude

Oasis # 785

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OINK! OINK! ‘Round The Hog 9/9/2023

Hello Sea Sprite Sailors!

On a super nice day today, Bob Rude and I are excited to send you the sign up link for the fun sail/race around Hog Island to be held on Saturday, September 9th.

This year we are lucky to have BYC provide a starting boat and the sign up can easily be done via the attached link. Please note, there is no cost associated to sign up, just make sure you are a member of the Sea Sprite association. There is only less than one week to go for the fun race around Hog Island.

Please take a moment to sign up via the link here.

Sea Sprite Around Hog Island Racetheclubspot.com

On this link, you will also see the SI’s and NOR’s and who has signed up thus far.

We have had a fantastic sailing season with all the Sea Sprites this far and this will be another super fun event. Rumor has it we may be in for a special, very special food treat after the race, possibly bringing back some former tradition from previous Hog Island races!!!

Please let me or Bob Rude know if you have any questions.

Looking forward seeing you out on the water and at the gathering at the BYC after the sailing. Everyone is welcome, skippers, crew, family and friends.

Have a fantastic weekend.

Dom & Bob

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Sea Sprite Racing In Bristol Harbor

Here are some wonderful pictures and a video of the SS23 fleet in Bristol Harbor in action. The album is on Flickr, and is shot by fleet sailors Andrew McKeith and his wife Shaween. The album is mostly still photos, and can be viewed sequentially using the arrow button on the right to move the pictures. A video of an evening race start follows.

UFUZ7146
Andrew And Crew

Here is the video of the start of a Wednesday evening race in Bristol Harbor…

What a beautiful sailing venue. Come join the fun! And send some pics of your own!!!

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2023 Annual Sea Sprite Regatta Won By Dom

SEA SPRITE ANNUAL REGATTA

Our own Sea Sprite Association Commodore Dom Messerli ran the tables and finished first at the Annual Sea Sprite Regatta on July 22, with finishes of 2/2 in two races.  Bristol Yacht Club, in Bristol RI, graciously hosted the event, supplying the race committee pro and staff as well as the RC boat.

Dom With His Auld Mug

Bob Rude finished second with Max and Mary Sherman finishing third.  The Shermans also won the trophy for the best new skipper(s) finish.

Bob, Dom, Max, and Mary

Dave Guinther , Race Committee PRO, had his hands full laying out courses for the fleet of eight boats.  Light air and shifty winds swinging from northwest to southwest meant that his able RC crew of Dave Legrand, Bob Yayalian, Roger Carney, and Flip  Meyerson were kept on their toes moving marks  and start lines.  Two races were finally able to be run with great windward-leeward-windward courses.  Thanks, gents.

Off The Start In Light Air

Great courses provided for close racing throughout the day.  Lots of tacking on the upwind legs and jibing on the downwind legs kept skippers and crew on their toes.  It meant you had to be tactically savvy to prevent getting pushed to the back of the fleet.

Close Racing All Day

Exhausted skippers and crews convened at the Bristol Yacht Club for a festive pizza and beer party, courtesy of the national Sea Sprite Association, after a long day of racing.

The next big event for the Sea Sprite fleet will be the annual Race Around Hog Island, scheduled for Saturday, September 9.  The Association invites all Sea Sprite Owners to attend this highly anticipated yearly event.   Or, come out in your own boat and watch the action.

Our fleet and the Sea Sprite Association continues to grow.  We now have the largest class for the Wednesday night Millard Series.  Grab a boat and become part of this growing one-design class.  Contact Dom Messerli (Dom.Messerli@me.com) or Bob Rude (Rrude1@me.com) for more information.  Or, go online to SeaSpriteAssociation.com.

Story And Pictures courtesy of Bob Rude

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Eight Bells For Herb Browne

THE  FINAL TACK 

It is with deep sadness that the sailing community of Rhode Island and beyond mourns the loss of long-time sailor and Sea Sprite aficionado Herb Browne,  age 92,  of Bristol, Rhode Island.

Herb didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth.  He spent his early years living in South Providence, a tough, rough and tumble place.  It wasn’t until he moved to the Edgewood section of Providence that he was introduced to sailing.  He took to it like the proverbial fish to water, cutting his teeth sailing Beetle Cats, one of the popular wooden one-designs of the day.  Later in life, after serving in the military in Korea and after living throughout the United States, he and his wife, Christine, ended up settling in Bristol, RI.  There, he quickly became engrossed in the sailing community and from 1977 to 1979 he served as Commodore of the historic Bristol Yacht Club.

Herb always had an eye for beautiful boats.  During his time in Bristol, he witnessed the birth and evolution of fiberglass sailing yachts.  At one point, the largest fiberglass boat at the Bristol Yacht Club was a 30 foot, Pearson Coaster, owned by his friend, Joe Kinder.  Herb’s heart, however, was always centered on racing in one-design boats.  At the time, Pearson Ensigns and locally built Sea Sprites were the dominate one-design racing classes on Narragansett Bay.  That’s when Herb fell in love with a 23-foot Sea Sprite day sailer, designed by Carl Alberg.  As we all know, there’s nothing like the sweet lines of an Alberg design.

Herb was an acknowledge master of one-design  Sea Sprite sailing in the region, campaigning his blue-hulled beauty named Scot Free.  As all sailboat racers know, having a crack crew comprises 50% or more of a skipper’s success.  Herb had two of the best young sailors one could hope for, son Robbie Browne and friend, Carter Skemp.  Herb would relish telling stories about skippering Scot Free.  Robbie and Carter would do everything else from sail trim to tactics. 

Herb modestly insisted that his job was easy…just drive the boat.

Eventually, Herb found it too taxing to be jumping around in the cockpit of his Sea Sprite.  It was then he transferred to a Marshall Cat.  He never lost his love affair with his Sea Sprite, however.  In his later years, Herb and I, along with our wives, would sit on the Adirondack chairs on the shoreline of the Bristol Yacht Club.  We would watch the boats sail through the mooring field while reminiscing about all the sailing characters we had met over our lifetimes.   Whenever a Sea Sprite under sail would pass into view, Herb would become animated and turn to me an say, “Bob, look at that boat.  Look how beautiful she is.”  Herb was right; there’s nothing quite as beautiful as a Sea Sprite under sail beating to weather.  

Herb’s insights into the Class and his knowledge about class development will be sorely missed as will his smile and wry story telling.  His absence leaves a gaping hole in our minds and hearts.

May he eternally sail on a lifted tack with a warm steady breeze.

Bob Rude

Sea Sprite Association Board Member

SS # 785 – Oasis

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Thanks From Herreshoff

The Herreshoff Marine Museum Waterfront

The Sea Sprite Association has a unique relationship with the Herreshoff Marine Museum. From our members, the HMM has acquired a fleet of five SS23’s along with assorted boat fittings and accessories and many hours of rehab work on the fleet of SS23’s. They are using the boats extensively in their teaching program. And for each of the past 7 years, the SSA has donated $300 to the HHM’s sailing program for both kids and adults.

Bill Lynn, president of HMM, wrote to Chuck Roscoe, Treasurer of the SSA, to thank us for our 2023 donation of $300. Our donation continues to contribute to the world of teaching kids the joy of sailing. It is much appreciated.

Kids In HMM Sailing School Storing Their SS23 At The End Of The Day
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Fine Arts Print of SS23 Weekender Available

Will Sofrin, in collaboration with the SSA and using the original line drawings archived at MIT, has created a beautiful fine arts print of the craft. His artwork is beautiful. We have offered his work through our Ship’s Store for many years, and continue to do so. Here is the print:

/Users/willsofrin/Dropbox/Sea Sprite Weekender.dwg

Each print is customized to reflect colors and names of the boat and owner on high quality paper. They are pretty neat.

Further information is available on the website under “Store”. Here is a link to the website page:

https://www.seaspriteassociation.com/store/ss23-fine-art-print/

On this page, you will find a link that will get you to the order form that describes layouts available, pricing, etc. Print it out, fill it out, and send it on to Will. He is very responsive, and will answer any questions you may have.

Right now, Will has drawn up only a print for the Weekender. If there is enough interest among Day Sailor owners, he will draw up a Day Sailor print as well. Please email me with a brief note indicating your interest in purchasing a Day Sailor print. I will keep Will and those interested up to date about the numbers.

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2023 Annual Meeting A Blast

2023 Sea Sprite Annual Meeting

Bristol Yacht Club

Bristol, RI

May 12, 2023

It was a perfect early May evening as the Bristol Yacht Club hosted the 2023 Sea Sprite Annual Meeting.  A musical instrumental duo welcomed Bristol Yacht Club members as well as Sea Sprite sailors and their spouses.

Cocktails were enjoyed prior to the formal 7:00 PM meeting.  As you can tell by the following pictures, everyone enjoyed socializing and sharing their latest sea stories and how much they loved their Sea Sprites.

Left to right:  Andrew McKeith, Dom Messerli (Commodore), David Borten, Shawn Hogan.

Dejan Radaka (Board of Governors), Michelle Free, Scott Free

Chuck Roscoe (Treasurer) and wife, Kristen

Following some rollicking sea tales, the boat owners assembled in the BYC Chart Room where Commodore Messerli opened the meeting by introducing himself and asking everyone assembled to introduce themselves and share any pertinent information about their sailing history and/or boat information.  Members in attendance:

Roberto Garcia

David Borton

Chuck Roscoe

Scott Free

Andrew McKeith

Bob Catani

Dejan Radaka

Bob Rude

Shawn Hogan

Shawen Williams

Great vibes could be felt throughout the Chartroom.  We could tell that this promised to be a great evening.  

Next on the agenda was to formally induct new officers and board members:

Chuck Roscoe – New Board Member and Treasurer

Dom Messerli – Commodore and new Board Member

Carter Hall – Secretary

All new Board Members and Officers were unanimously approved.

Chuck Roscoe issued the treasurer’s report:  The SS Association is solvent to the tune of roughly $6,000.  New owners continue to join the association and their membership fees continue to feed the coffers.  

Dejan Radeka, Forum editor of the website, encouraged all SS sailors to contribute articles to be posted on the website.  He also displayed two new sizes of Sea Sprite pennants that can be ordered from the Sail Bag Lady in Madison, Connecticutt.  The cost is $51.00 a single flag, and for orders of twelve or more the cost is $31.50 per flag.  Here is a link to the Ship’s Store on the SSA website describing the pennant in greater detail and providing ordering directions. https://www.seaspriteassociation.com/store/pennant/  

Different size pennants can be ordered if your Race Committee needs a flag to indicate a Sea Sprite starting sequence.

The Racing Schedule was presented for the year by Bob Rude, Board Member. Each boat owner will be presented with a copy of the Sailor’s Guide to the Racing Rules and The Rules in Brief.   It’s never too early to brush up on The Sailing Rules of Sailing, 2020-2024.  Let’s continue to have safe fun on the water!

To round out the evening, Commodore Messerli presented the trophies for last year’s sailing and Sea Sprite contributions:

Amon Trophy – Bob Catani

Nancy BelleAward – Bob Catani

Sea Sprite Regatta – Bob Catani

Denise Award – Greg Raleigh (see preceding or following post)

Brown Award – Dom Messerli

As an aside, all our trophies will be permanently displayed at the Bristol Yacht Club in an upstairs glass-enclosed trophy case.  (A huge thank you to the BYC and steward Chris Healy for making this happen.)

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Greg Raleigh Awarded The Denise Trophy

Greg Raleigh, from Wisconsin, our Fleet Log Editor, is awarded the 2023 Denise Trophy.

The Denise Award is a beautiful wire sculpture of a Sea Sprite 23 made in 2002 , and is named after Gary Collin’s wife Denise. Originally the trophy was awarded to the winner of the Around Prudence Island Race. In 2012, we began awarding it to a person who has contributed significantly to the Sea Sprite world.

Greg is a perfect person to receive the award. He is a full on participant in our Sea Sprite sailing world. I asked him to write up a bio. Here is what he wrote:

July 1, 2009 I bought my SS23 off an eBay auction on my 55th birthday.  I bid on it only to appease a coworker, and based on the bid I submitted, I obviously had no expectation of winning the auction. So it must have been fate that brought me into the Sea Sprite world.  I had never even heard of Sea Sprites prior to the auction.  That fall was spent sanding and painting the bottom and topsides, restoring the bright work, reworking the wiring, and checking over every part that came with the boat.  I changed the name of the boat from Kairos II to STIMULUS.  It seemed only fitting as I received my first stimulus check from Uncle Sam which was for almost exactly the same amount as the cost of the boat, and it arrived the same day I went to pick it up.  That winter I was on eBay daily bidding on boat parts, building a new wooden hatch and Dorade boxes. I also joined South Shore Yacht club (SSYC), Milwaukee, Wisconsin and by spring I was ready to splash.  Only problem was that I didn’t know how to sail.  I had been on sailboats before, knew I wanted to sail more, but never really learned to sail.

I started by reading whatever I could get my hands on.  Then with all that book knowledge, I ventured out on nice days to teach myself to sail. It wasn’t pretty and I’m sure several club members had a good chuckle watching me sail onto my mooring, but mostly they were supportive.  At the bar afterwards, they always took the time to answer my many questions.  SSYC was not the closest port to my home in Grafton but it has a break wall that creates a large protected area where I could safely practice without getting beat up by the waves.  It also emanated good vibes and just felt comfortable in a Cheers sort of way.  I always managed to get where I wanted to go but I knew that I wasn’t sailing efficiently, and still had much to learn.  I chose to advance my sailing knowledge by crewing on a race boat rather than taking sailing lessons.  I found a skipper that was patient and willing to teach a newcomer.  For his patience, I have remained a loyal crew member, I’m not sure he will ever forgive me.  We have always done the Wednesday night beer can social series of races.  We have raced and helped with the race committee for many Queen’s Cup races, a night time dash across Lake Michigan.  Annually we do the Hook Race from Racine, WI to Menominee, MI, about 189 miles up Lake Michigan.  We fortunately have been division winner three of our last four attempts.  We even almost won the whole thing when we double handed it in 2011.  We did get temporarily distracted by a storm with over 90 mph winds which washed our wind instruments when the tip of our stick met the lake.  I’m proud to say we survived and finished third that year, I learned more in those two days than I ever thought possible.  STIMULUS has been raced, and I use that term loosely, in SSYC’s double handed series, Milwaukee Area Sail & Trail (MAST) social series, SSYC pursuit races, and several Louie’s Last Regattas.  Most of these are serious fun not serious racing, but it is very competitive because Milwaukee is home to many good racers.  I single or double hand most of these races and have become accustomed to being the pickle boat, even with a 289 LMPHRF rating.

Over the years I have gleaned much from the members of the Sea Sprite Association and especially from the forum which is a repository of so much practical wisdom.  Eventually, I even began to contribute by responding to questions on the forum, and writing an article.  Later, I think I volunteered to help by managing the Fleet Log.  One thing I’m sure of, I have received more than I have given and I’m grateful for all I’ve learned.

I retired three years ago from a job that never was work.  I was the Safety Officer and Technical Coordinator for the Hyperbaric chamber facility at St. Luke’s Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI.  We were a vanguard facility, one of the oldest hyperbaric facilities in the country, with a high patient acuity level and were one of the busiest.  The rewards were not financial but many.  I retired to curling, woodworking, my bonsai trees, and of course sailing.  For three weeks in spring and fall I help SSYC by operating the derrick for boat launching and haulouts.  I’d like to add a Sea Sprite Regatta or a Round the Hog Race to my sailing resume before I permanently stow my sails.  It would be fun kibitzing with fellow Sea Sprite zealots.  So…. maybe a new trailer should be my next purchase.  Someday I hope to meet in person all of the personalities that I have corresponded with through the Sea Sprite Association.

I wish I had a picture of Greg receiving the trophy. Wisconsin is truly a long ways from Rhode Island!

Our very best wishes to Greg for a well-deserved award. Thank you.

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Annual Meeting And Dinner May 12th

GAME ON!!!

Bristol YC in Bristol, R.I., has graciously offered to host our Annual Meeting next month on May 12th. Cocktails at 5:00 pm, and dinner at 6:00 pm will be in the dining room. We will adjourn around 7:30 to an upstairs meeting room for a short business meeting to vote board members into office, and to meet our new officers Commodore Dom Messerli and Treasurer Chuck Roscoe. Ideas and thoughts about moving forward will be welcomed.

You will order from the delicious menu for your dinner and from the bar for your drinks. You will pay for food and drink that evening. A deposit is not necessary, but reservations are.

Please let Bob Rude at goodreader@cox.net know by Friday, May 5th, how many folks will be in your party.

See old friends, meet new sailors. I know many (maybe most) of you live too far away to make the meeting. If you have issues you would like to comment on, email the secretary Carter at seaspriteassociation@gmail.com with your thoughts to have them presented at the meeting.

We will have a beautiful evening in a gorgeous setting at Bristol YC. I hope you can make it.

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Dues Are Due For 2023

I hope 2023 to date is finding you all well and happy.

And flush with cash!! It is early in the year, and that, of course, means it is time for dues announcement. The BOD decided dues would be again a mere $25 for the year. Here is the link to pay dues through PayPal :https://www.seaspriteassociation.com/membership/to-join-renew-membership/

You can use your own PayPal account, Venmo, or credit card. Please, no checks. It really becomes painful when I misplace a check.

The SSA is in great shape. The annual report to the annual meeting will read like last year’s. And the really good news is that our leadership/admin reorganization effort is bearing great fruit. Eric Doelling in California will continue as Classifieds Editor. Greag Raleigh in Wisconsin will continue running the Fleet Log. Dejan Radeka will coordinate the Forum. We have a new Commodore Dom Messerli who will also serve as Fleet Commander for the racing fleet in Bristol with the able assistance of Bob Rude. We have a new Treasurer in Chuck Roscoe. Carter Hall will continue on as Webmaster and will coordinate the transition to a more inclusive and clearly defined organization. The BOD is stable. All is looking very good. One more spot remains to fill, the Secretary, and our admin team will be complete.

Thank you all for your participation. You are a wonderful group of sailors. I wish everyone Fair Winds and Godspeed and a wonderful sailing year.

Best wishes,      Carter

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SSA LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES FOR 2023

A NOTE FROM THE COMMODORE

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

I hope you had a great celebration ringing in 2023. And I hope this new year brings you great joy and happiness.

2023 will see changes to the structure and the leadership of the Sea Sprite Association. We will be spreading out administrative functions. And I will be retiring from my position as Commodore.

I have had a great time helping to build the organization during these past eleven years. I have made many friends, met wonderful fellow sailors, and have had many truly memorable experiences. However, it is time to restructure the SSA organization to engage more people in leadership and administrative positions.

The SSA is a strong, healthy, and vibrant organization. A summary of the state of the SSA is included at the end of this post.

We are seeking participants from around the country who love the Sea Sprite crafts to fill leadership positions of commodore, secretary, and webmaster for the Sea Sprite Association. Positions are for one year.  We have a zoom account, and future BOD and organizational meetings will be via zoom. You can live anywhere and enjoy participating in the leadership of the SSA.

Helping fellow Sea Sprite owners to enjoy these fine boats is an incredibly rewarding experience. If you would like to know more about what each position involves , or wish to volunteer for a position, please either email me at: seaspriteassociation@gmail.com or call me at 401-258-1389.

My very best wishes to you all,

Carter

STATE OF THE SEA SPRITE ASSOCIATION

The SSA is well-defined with clear organizational structure. We are formally recognized as a non-profit organization by the state of RI and by the federal government. We have simple but effective by-laws governing the organization. Our leadership group currently consists of a Board Of Directors, a commodore, a racing chair, a webmaster, a historian, and a forum guru.We have an active website promoting communication with postings, a forum, technical support, and classifieds.

The membership is supportive and widespread. Over the past 10 years, 252 sailors have paid dues for at least one year. That number includes about 50 owners of SS28/30/34’s. We are spread out across the US in 30 states, Canada, Alaska, and even England. RI has 63 registered members, Mass 44, Maine 23, and Conn 17. States having one boat include Col, Okla,Ala, Del, Ill, Ind. There are 5 boats in Canada and one boat in England. 

The website is active and vigorously used. Site visits have been averaging 100 visits per day for several years, down from around 160 in the early years. Total visits since its inception are 434,000!!. The Forum is active, with archives dating back 25 years. Racing remains very active, with a one-design fleet in Bristol and PHRF participation in many local yacht clubs around the country.

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2022 ‘Round The Hog A Blast

Sea Sprite Annual Around Hog Island 2022 Race

Every year, the Sea Sprite Association and the Bristol Yacht Club host the Sea Sprite Race Around Hog Island.  This year’s event was held on Saturday, September 10.

Eight Sea Sprites competed in this year’s event.  Some fickle September winds swirled around the Middle Ground starting area for an hour and a half requiring the Race Committee to use an abbreviated shortened course.  We could have called this year’s race, “The Race Around Poppy Bell!” 

The good news was that we had a light but steady westerly wind which made for some great tacking duels heading up to Poppy and then some strategic downwind sailing angles for the run back to middle ground buoy. 

Sea Sprite sailing wizard Bob Cantani outdueled the fleet and finished first.  (FYI:  Bob has been sailing Sea Sprites since he was a teenager.  That’s more years than you can count on all your fingers and toes!) 

The final finishing order was as follows:

  1. Bramasole – Bob Catani and Adam
  2. Oasis – Bob Rude and Ted Brandley
  3. New Hope – Dom Messerlli and Josh Rodriguez
  4. Lullabelle – David Borton (single handed!)
  5. Freya – Susannah Holloway and her all female crew of three
  6. Primrose – Thorne and Lane Sparkman (Herreshoff)
  7. Jotun – Craig Fonseca and Richard Dulac (Herreshoff)
  8. Artemis – Ruth Suoto and Pat Crawford

Following the racing, skippers and crew met at the BYC for pizza and beers.  As always with racers, strategies were spelled out and tales of woe were shared.  The infamous “Mr. Hog” trophy was awarded to the first-place finisher.

Sea Sprite sailors are now looking forward to next summer and the 2023 Millard Series.  There’s nothing like one-design racing.  Hook up with a Sea Sprite boat and come join the fun.

For more information, contact local fleet commodore, Dom Messerli at Dom.messerli@me.com or Bob Rude:  rrude1@me.com.

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Narragenset Bay 2022 SS23 Racing

From our RaceChair Dom Messerli:

Hello SeaSprite enthusiasts!

Great news, the sailing season is upon us and your SeaSprites and your crews can’t wait to go sailing, especially some sailing fun with your SeaSprite comrades! 🙂

This year we have the following in store:

Wednesday Night BYC-Millard Series Racing:May 18th Skippers meetingMay 18th, sign up deadline before late fee kicks in

May 25th, practice race

June 1st, First race

August 31st, Last race

September 7th, Make-up race

The spectacular, super fun Sea Sprite regatta will be:Saturday July 23rd, 1pm

SeaSprite Race Around Hog Island:Saturday, September 10th, 1pm

Looking forward to seeing all the beautiful Sea Sprites out there on the water, wave when you see one! 🙂

Happy sailing,Dom

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For More SS23 Interior Storage Space…..

From John Holster in Rhode Island:

I decided this winter’s project would be to clean up the cabin and make more storage space for all of the stuff that one needs when setting out on even the shortest adventure.
First, the head had to go! Its placement made it near impossible to access anything ahead of the forward bulkhead. I never used the damn thing anyhow. So out it went along with the plumbing and storage bag which also ate up a lot of potential storage space under the port berth. In its place I made a removeable shelf/seat platform. 
Next I made another access point in the port berth forward of the aft bulkhead where the bag used to live which now opens up the whole port side berth area for storage and then made up two new caps for the top of the vertical berth panels. 
The last bit of construction was a 20″ wide cabinet with a drawer and shelf atop the starboard berth attached to the aft bulkhead.
All that done it was time for a fresh coat of George Kirby’s Sand color topside paint to replace the glaring white that was just too white no matter what time of day.
Now I’ll hopefully have room to sit in the cabin without having to compete with all of the stuff I’ve brought along.

Cabinet-11.jpg (2.52MiB)+1

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The Cuttyhunk Jump

Cuttyhunk is a small island at the the tip of the Elizabeth Islands on the eastern side of Buzzards’ Bay in southeastern Massachusetts. It is a town time has forgotten (except for the 50 moorings in the harbor and all the cruising vessels moored there). Sort of like Brigadoon. Lobster rolls and clam chowder at the shacks dockside, gray shingled old homes along the few streets in the town center, and lots of preserved land. Lots of sea and sky. Wind, too.

A ferry from New Bedford comes once a day in the morning delivering supplies and a few people. It is a great day trip. And a fun and strange and endearing tradition is alive and well….jumping into the water to say farewell each time the ferry departs. Kids, adults, all are welcomed to assemble at the dock to jump. There can be a gaggle of 20 people of all ages doing the Jump for any given departure. An odd way to say goodbye, hope you had fun, but, I guess, a way of jumping for joy.

Sue and I sailing our SS30 bumped into Dejan Radeka and Mary Pat Radeka sailing their SS30 with his daughter and her boyfriend 2 days ago at Cuttyhunk. As the ferry left, our erstwhile Sea Sprite website Forum guru continued the tradition, waving goodbye as he plunged into the waters…

Here he is in mid-flight…

He did survive. He is a big guy, and made quite splash. He was not arrested for his wake (see sign).

I welcome your stories of travel or racing or day sailing in all vessels sea sprite. Describe your time in an email, attach some pictures, and send the email to me at seaspriteassociation@gmail.com. I will write up a post.

Fair winds, everyone!

Carter

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Sea Sprites History

It should be Spring, but it isn’t. No boat to work on yet. So I dug out some old brochures from the SSA archives (an almost forgotten bin in my basement), took pictures of them, and strung them together to tell the story of the sea sprite line of boats. The picture quality is adequate (you can read most everything), and the story is fun to follow from the brochures. I also added an oral history thread from the Forum of 2007, threw in a couple of obits, and maybe a couple of pithy comments. If you have nothing else to do……..

http://www.seaspriteassociation.com/history/the-sea-sprite-sailboat-history/

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Looking For A Few Good Souls

So, doing anything this winter? Covid blues got you down? Too much free time on your hands?

 
Here is a suggestion. Kirk Cusik at Herreshoff needs some help with maintenance projects on the 3 donated SS23’s they use in the sailing school. As you may recall, Carter spent each of the last 3 winters rehabbing their 3 sea sprites. They are heavily utilized in the school, and need a yearly spritz. Take a look at the next post below this one to see the work done on Grayling last year.

We have a great relationship with Kirk and the Herreshoff Marine Museum. The school instructors have raced 1 to 3 boats in the yearly Sea Sprite Regatta, and we have donated much volunteer time working on their SS23’s as well as a yearly gift of $350.


If you have some spare time this winter and would like to do some varnishing and other boat work on our beloved SS23’s,  please call Kirk at 401-353-0912.

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Grayling Rehab

For the past several years, the SSA has supported the sailing school at the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, RI, with donations of time, money, and parts. We have for the past 4 years donated $350 to the school. Members have donated 4 SS23’s as well as sails, blocks, roller furling, and other parts. HMM is an permanent honorary member of the SSA, and their instructor staff has been encourage to race their boats in our fleet races for free.

Last Fall, Zack and Kerry King donated Grayling to HMM. She had been raced by the Kings some years back and is in good shape. She needed some upgrades and repairs. Here is the rehabber-in-chief (Carter) describing the winter:

I took down all the paint inside and outside (not the hull), painted 2 coats of base coat and one coat of white finish inside, bilge, cockpit, cabin trunk, and deck. Same with deck nonskid, but I used a premixed nonskid gray finish 2 coats. I took down all the varnish and recoated with 2 coats of cetol and one clear coat. I took out of the boat and cleaned and repaired the floorboards and the seats, and coated them with 2 coats of sealer. I stripped and varnished the doors. I rebuilt the seat and floorboard supports.
I did this indoors at Herreshoff. Here are some pictures of the finished product!!

Stripped:

Beautiful doors. The teak seats and floorboards look good sealed.

We were squeezed into Building 28 with some old Herreshoff wooden boats

Kirk graciously let her be borrowed for the Sea Sprite Regatta on July 25. Carter skippered with crew Jim Goff (John’s father) and Lee Hayes (Matt Hayes’ father). They called themselves the HOGS (Herreshoff Old Guys).They sailed to two third place finishes which earned them an overall second. She still has it!!


And here is the best picture of all. The summer sailing camp this year has been gangbusters. Grayling has been used every day this summer for teaching kids how to sail.  Here she is at the mooring last week.

Pretty neat. Six kids putting her away after an afternoon of sailing.


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Building A Wooden Spinnaker Pole

Greg Raleigh from Wisconsin has constructed a hollow, classic, and beautiful wooden spinnaker pole for his SS23. The details of the pole and the story of its construction is listed on this website under “Technical”.

Here is the link to the article:

http://www.seaspriteassociation.com/technical/sea-sprite-23/building-a-wooden-spinaker-pole/

Here are some pictures to whet your appetite:

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2019 Annual Dinner And Meeting…one fine evening

20 sailors along with crew, spouses, and children gathered Friday, April 12th, at the Herreshoff Marine Museum for our Annual Dinner And Meeting. It was a great evening.

Our dining venue was spectacular. The Herreshoff Museum sits on the Bristol Harbor waterfront. It is a collection of old boat manufacturing buildings that includes a large building housing about 25 to 30 sailing and power boats designed and built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company from the 1860’s well into the 20th century

The Hall Of Boats

The Hall Of Boats

After strolling about in the Hall Of Boats, we assembled  in the America’s Cup Hall Of Fame room with displays of Cup history and 2 walls of photographs of America’s Cup sailors and owners who have had a big impact on the sport. With these (mostly) guys staring down from the walls, it was destined to be a great evening.

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And the party began!

Beer And Wine Bar

Beer And Wine Bar

Leo’s Italian Restaurant in downtown Bristol catered a buffet style dinner…chicken piccata, grilled veggies, salad, eggplant parmesan, sausage and peppers, and 3 cheese pasta. It was absolutely scrumptious.

The conversations flowed. Al and Nita Voskian from Freeport, Maine, enjoyed the SSA dinner as well as time in Bristol. And Walter Hobb came over from Lincoln, RI, joining a large Bristol contingent.

 

Rob Browne explains to Andrew McKeith supervised by historical Cup figure from wall

Rob Browne explains to Andrew McKeith supervised by historical Cup figure from wall

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Lou and Deb with Herb and Chris in back

Lou and Deb with Herb and Chris in back

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Carter presented his annual  State Of The Organization  summary.

First the SSA, then his picture on the Wall??? Will Mr. Lambert concur???

First the SSA, then his picture on the Wall???  My pipe is here somewhere….

Here are the takeaways for 2018 and 2019:

Our statement of purpose guides our spending and planning:

“The Association shall promote interest and participation in the Sea Sprite class of sailing yachts. Activities shall include but are not limited to coordinating racing and cruising, social, cultural, and educational events.”

A subset/amplification of these goals includes promoting a sense of pride in ownership, a sense of family among owners, a commitment to maintaining our aging boats, and a vigorous racing group.

Here is how we worked to reach these goals in 2018 and what we plan for 2019:

The Organization  Remains strong. We had 74 paid memberships last year, up from 44, due to the free hat offer. We have a new Forum provider Tapatalk which gives us a capability to embed pictures in a posting directly from our computer with direct picture storage. No more third party hosting. Classifieds are very active. Visits to the website are leveling off at 41,000 a year.

The Budget   We have $4500 in the bank, down $200 from last year. We took in $1875 from membership dues, but spent close to $1300 on free hats and $300 to Herreshoff to maintain three SS23’s in their sailing school. Our goal is to cover 7 to 8 years of admin costs including website maintenance if we get to lean years with no dues. We have reached our goal.

2019 Plans   Dues continue at $25. No freebies. Admin hit of $600 for 3 year website costs next year. Donations continue to Herreshoff of $350 to maintain 3 SS23’s in their sailing school and free membership in the SSA and free entries in summer SS23 racing. Racing events will be the same as last year…SS2 Regatta late July and ‘Round The Hog in early September.

2018 Awards    Carter won the SS23 Regatta and ‘Round The Hog, each by a whisker. Bob Catani won the Wednesday evening race series, and was awarded the Nancy Belle trophy as the best SS23 racer on Narraganset Bay. The Browne Award for the racer exhibiting a high level of sportsmanship on the race course went to John Pagnoni sailing Belligerence. Lou Marino was awarded the Denise Award for outstanding contribution to the organization for his yearly ‘Round The Hog cookouts. He also contributed as liaison to the SS23 fleet for the Wednesday evening race series.

Lou embracing the Denise Award

Lou embracing the Denise Trophy

And that, folks, was it. What a night. Lots of fun, stories traded, friendships continued. The organization remains strong.

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER, EVERYONE!!!

 

 

 

 

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2019 Dues

2019 dues will be $25, same as always. No hats, pins, flags, or other goodies this year. The treasury needs a boost. Your joining/rejoining keeps the sea sprite spirit alive and the boats afloat. For a short pep talk about why join, click here:   Membership pep talk

Please use PayPal to pay your dues. It saves your  SSA Coordinator much time. You can use your credit card without a separate PayPal account. Here is the link:           SSA PayPal dues

If you prefer to pay by check, here are instructions on how to do so:  Pay by check

Have a wonderful 2019 sailing season!!

 

 

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‘Round The Hog…A Great Day

The 2018 ‘Round The Hog annual race was held on Saturday, August 25, under gorgeous blue skies and a perfect 10-knot breeze. Sailing days get no better.

The race is a self start, no protest, no fee race around Hog Island located just outside of Bristol Harbor. For this year we had 7 boats. The wind was directly from Hog Island, and we chose to go clockwise around with the upwind leg up Hog Island channel. Lulabelle (Carter Hall) got off to a good start, and headed up the channel leading the pack. We all squeezed upwind, and got a lift to get past land into the Mount Hope Bay channel. Everyone tacked to get around the lighthouse, and sailed another  long close-hauled leg to the upwind bouy. Remarkably (no, it really was remarkably!) Lulabelle was still in first. She managed to stave off a furious challenge from Bob Catani in Bramasole on the dead downwind leg. It was close racing, with the fleet continuing to race closer together. Rounding off the fleet finishing were Bob Rude in Apsaras, Lou Marino in Hope, Adrew MacKeith in Vexatious, Franco Rigatoni in Pau Hana, and Dom Meserli in New Hope.

And then to the barbecue at the Merino’s. Lou again produced his famous barbecued pulled pork, everyone brought dishes to share, stories were told, and the season remembered.

Gathering at Lou's patio

Gathering at Lou’s patio

The spread

The spread

Mr. Hog disapproves of pulled pork for lunch

Mr. Hog disapproves of pulled pork for lunch

Bob Rude telling a tale

Bob Rude telling a tale

We all had smiles

We all had smiles

A wonderful setting

A wonderful setting

Mr Hog dines the next day still disapprovingly

Mr Hog dines the next day still disapprovingly

The end of season ‘Round The Hog races and the cookout at Lou and Karen and Emilia’s home in Bristol are just plain wonderful. I know it signals the end of the racing season, but when my boat splashes down in May, I am already looking forward to the warmth and good feelings of the day. Our continued thanks to the Marino’s for hosting.

Oink-oink until next year!

 

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Stunning

 

photo by Lou Marino

photo by Lou Marino

The article below appeared in the Bristol Phoenix on June 7, 2018. It is written by Christy Nadaline. The pictures are from Lou Marino.

 

Every girl wants a prom dress that makes her feel great. Not every girl gets to wear a prom dress that says so much about who she is.

Emilia Marino, daughter of Lou and Karen Marino of State Street, didn’t want just any dress when the graduating Bay View senior attended her final prom last week. She managed to marry her creativity and her favorite sport into an unforgettably fun frock.

“My mom taught me to sew when I was young,” said Emilia. “She’s a fantastic seamstress.”

At the same time, Emilia’s dad, and the East Bay Sailing Foundation, taught her to sail. For years, she has crewed for her father every Wednesday night, racing their Sea Sprite Hope out of the Bristol Yacht Club.

She’s currently captain of the Bay View sailing team, which also practices out of the BYC, and she spends her summers teaching sailing at the Herreshoff Marine Museum.

“I was always coming up with these random ideas when I was younger, and at one point I decided I wanted to make my wedding dress out of a white sail,” she said. “But that’s so far in the future.”

The prom, on the other hand, was right around the corner.

She told Peter Wisotzkey, sailing foundation program director and Bay View coach, what she had in mind.

“He was able to find a retired rainbow spinnaker in the basement of the club,” Emilia said.

photo by Lou Marino

photo by Lou Marino

The pattern on the spinnaker lent itself well to its new purpose, and the dress fea-

tures a fitted blue bodice with red, blue, orange and yellow stripes fanning from the waist.

Emilia, (who is also an accomplished ceramics artist) plans to attend URI in the fall and study ocean engineering. And yes, she will be joining their sailing team.

But, what shoes to wear with a dress made from a rainbow spinnaker?

“Rainbows, of course!” laughed Emilia, referencing the ubiquitous leather flip flops known for their durability and popular with sailors.

“I’m not going to spend a bunch on money on shoes that won’t go with the dress, that I’d end up kicking off anyway.”

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Raven Rebuilding

Jon Goff, avid Bristol sea sprite sailor, racer, and inveterate creative tinkerer, is in the process of rebuilding Raven, an SS23 daysailer. His work is a remarkable story spanning several years and many hours that he has now documented on a newly created and exquisitely detailed blog. Here is the link to Raven Rebuilding. And below is his home page. He looks forward to your comments, advice, and thoughts.

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SEA SPRITE 23 

RAVEN

Rejuvination of a Classic

During the summer of 2009 my father and I began to discuss the purchase of a boat that was larger than our Herreshoff 12 ½ but smaller than the C&C 35 that my wife and I previously owned.

The boats that we were principally looking at were the Pisces 21, Herreshoff Fish and Alerion 26.  That summer I sailed in a number of races on Elf a Sea Sprite 23.  I found Elf to be a pleasure to sail, well balanced and possessing an attractive shear.  The Sea Sprite 23 was added to the list of boats.  In particular the DaySailer model with a larger cockpit and more protected seating for sailing with small kids.  The price point was also very attractive being less than 10% the cost of any the other boats in consideration.  At the end of the summer the Sea Sprite 23 fleet sailed in the Herreshoff Regatta amongst all of the classics.  Seeing the Sea Sprites sailing alongside more traditional classics gave me an idea and at that moment this project was born.

Taking the classic hull and shear profile of the Sea Sprite 23 daysailer and couple it with a traditional Herreshoff Cabin Top; something similar to that found on a Herreshoff Fish Class, or Alerion. 

The GOAL became to rebuild a Sea Sprite 23 DaySailor to be more aesthetically pleasing, easier to sail and to create an ideal family boat for all ages that will last generations.

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Parts Needed For SS23’s In Herreshoff Sailing School Fleet

Dockside at the Herreshoff

Dockside at the Herreshoff

I hope you are thinking of cover removal, varnish, and bottom paint these days. There is, truly, a whiff of Spring in the air (maybe it is the odor of the varnish).

This post is a continuing request for spare parts. The Herresmhoff Marine Museum in Bristol runs a great sailing program. They own a fleet of Herresmhoff 12 1/2’s, and are expanding to include added bigger boats as the school grows to include more advanced sailors, older folks, and even rentals for the day. To that end, last year they accepted in donations three SS23’s to add to their growing boat inventory.

As you know, our boats are older craft, and often in need of repair. Kirk Cusic, Director of the Herresmhoff sailing program welcomes any spare boat parts you can spare. This might include blocks/winches/shackles, old lines, standing rigging, sails, special racing gear, or anything else used over the years and no longer needed.

Your donations will be made to the Herresmhoff Marine Museum, a non-profit organization, and are tax deductible. To coordinate a donation or to ask questions , please contact Kirk either by email at k.cusic@herreshoff.org or by phone at (401) 253-5000.

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Ms Lynne G in Good Old Boat

Good Old Boat featured Ms Lynne G and her owners Joel and Lynne Schuman in its March, 2016 magazine. It is a great story. As you might remember, her rehab is carefully documented by Tim Lacky, from Maine, who did the restoration. Bill Jacobs has written a fine article, and he and Good Old Boat have generously given us permission to post his work on our website.

Click on the link below to bring up the article.

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Tim Lackey Restorations

As part of my winter project to post descriptions of rehabs for reference by Sea Sprite owners, here are 2 more recent major SS23 restorations done by Tim Lackey in Whitfield, Maine. They are Ms Lynn G, owned by Joel Schuman of Eagle Harbor, Wisconsin, and Aventura, owned by Peter Krause of MacMahan Island, Maine. Tim does fine work, and posts terrific documentation of the entire project.

His site is Lackey Sailing. From his home page click on Projects Log to get to links for Ms Lynn G and for Aventura. Alternatively you can get to the project documentation for each boat from the Restorations category on the right-hand menu on the home page of the Sea Sprite Association website.

 

 

 

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Heritage Restoration

Many of you know the work done by Chance Smith on Heritage, his SS23, from his postings on our Forum. Chance’s work is meticulous, and his documentation is beautiful. He believes we are all stewards of our boats. It shows in his work.

Chance posted many posts on our Forum for several years.  You can reference them by going to the SS23 Forum, and typing “Heritage” into the Search box at the top right-hand location. You can get to this site as well by clicking here: Search SS23 Forum link Unfortunately, due to Photobucket’s recent decision to eliminate 3rd party hosting, the pictures associated with those posts are not available. We are working to resolve this problem.

However, Chance did write several posts for a forum on the Pearson-Ariel website describing his work on through-hulls, cockpit drains, brass portholes, and the cabin sole. Click on the following link to get to his postings on their site:

Heritage Posting On Pearson-Aerial Site

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Norm Grant SS23 Photos

Norm Grant is a Rhode Island based photographer who among other subjects has taken some gorgeous pictures of sailboat racing on Narragansett Bay. He has been a photographer for 30 years, currently producing video for the Community College of Rhode Island and shooting freelance photo and video assignments. He welcomes inquiries for event photography, documentaries, or corporate videos, and can be reached through his website at http:////normangrant.zenfolio.com

 

He has kindly lent our website numerous photos of Sea Sprite 23’s sailing in local races in the upper Narragansett Bay. The images below are from Bristol YC races in 2010 and 2013 as well as from the Mount Hope Sailing Association races in 2013 and the Herreshoff Regatta from 2010. You will also see a few of them cropped and used as web site headers. If you use any of these pictures from our site, please give him appropriate credit. If you would like prints, they can be ordered from his website.

 

By the way, if you would like to while away some time in the cold (or even warm) weather season, go to his website and scroll through his galleries. He has some spectacular shoots of PHRF yachts and big boat Herreshoff classics racing in the Upper Narraganset Bay.

 

SEA SPRITE RACING PICTURES FROM NORM GRANT. Single click on photo for full size screen.

 

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Bob Rude and crew racing in MOHOSA 2013

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Herb Brown Memorial

Herb With His Son Rob

As you might recall, Herb Brown, an icon in SS23 sailing on Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, passed away a few weeks ago. There is to be a memorial for him on Sunday, September 24th, at 3:00 pm, at the Bristol Yacht Club on Poppasquash Rd in Bristol, RI. Here is Herb’s obituary that Bob Rude wrote for our website posted after his death:

It is with deep sadness that the sailing community of Rhode Island and beyond mourns the loss of long-time sailor and Sea Sprite aficionado Herb Browne,  age 92,  of Bristol, Rhode Island.

Herb didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth.  He spent his early years living in South Providence, a tough, rough and tumble place.  It wasn’t until he moved to the Edgewood section of Providence that he was introduced to sailing.  He took to it like the proverbial fish to water, cutting his teeth sailing Beetle Cats, one of the popular wooden one-designs of the day.  Later in life, after serving in the military in Korea and after living throughout the United States, he and his wife, Christine, ended up settling in Bristol, RI.  There, he quickly became engrossed in the sailing community and from 1977 to 1979 he served as Commodore of the historic Bristol Yacht Club.

Herb always had an eye for beautiful boats.  During his time in Bristol, he witnessed the birth and evolution of fiberglass sailing yachts.  At one point, the largest fiberglass boat at the Bristol Yacht Club was a 30 foot, Pearson Coaster, owned by his friend, Joe Kinder.  Herb’s heart, however, was always centered on racing in one-design boats.  At the time, Pearson Ensigns and locally built Sea Sprites were the dominate one-design racing classes on Narragansett Bay.  That’s when Herb fell in love with a 23-foot Sea Sprite day sailer, designed by Carl Alberg.  As we all know, there’s nothing like the sweet lines of an Alberg design. 

Herb was an acknowledge master of one-design  Sea Sprite sailing in the region, campaigning his blue-hulled beauty named Scot Free.  As all sailboat racers know, having a crack crew comprises 50% or more of a skipper’s success.  Herb had two of the best young sailors one could hope for, son Robbie Browne and friend, Carter Skemp.  Herb would relish telling stories about skippering Scot Free.  Robbie and Carter would do everything else from sail trim to tactics.  

Herb modestly insisted that his job was easy…just drive the boat.

Eventually, Herb found it too taxing to be jumping around in the cockpit of his Sea Sprite.  It was then he transferred to a Marshall Cat.  He never lost his love affair with his Sea Sprite, however.  In his later years, Herb and I, along with our wives, would sit on the Adirondack chairs on the shoreline of the Bristol Yacht Club.  We would watch the boats sail through the mooring field while reminiscing about all the sailing characters we had met over our lifetimes.   Whenever a Sea Sprite under sail would pass into view, Herb would become animated and turn to me an say, “Bob, look at that boat.  Look how beautiful she is.”  Herb was right; there’s nothing quite as beautiful as a Sea Sprite under sail beating to weather.  

Herb’s insights into the Class and his knowledge about class development will be sorely missed as will his smile and wry story telling.  His absence leaves a gaping hole in our minds and hearts.

May he eternally sail on a lifted tack with a warm steady breeze.

Bob Rude

Sea Sprite Association Board Member