The Tale of Sea Sprite #228, Scot Free
General Douglas McCarther said to Congress upon his retirement in 1951,“Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.” Today, we could paraphrase his words with the following: “Old Sea Sprites never die, they just get restored and keep on sailing and never fade away.” What follows is one of finest legends of Sea Sprite sailing that typifies how these boats continue to hang around.
The best I can recall from past records, the first Sea Sprites were built sometime around the late 1950s or early 1960s, around McCarther’s time. At one time, I owned hull #162. But this is a story about the Sea Sprite Daysailer hull # 228. What makes this story so interesting is the path of ownership that the hull passed though decade after decade.
One of the early owners of #228 was a former member of the Bristol, RI Yacht Club, Spoffard (“Cap”) Woodruff. Cap so loved Sea Sprites that he bought hull #228 even though he already owned another Sea Sprite. Eventually, Cap realize that he couldn’t sail two Sea Sprites at the same time, so he sold the white-hulled #228 to the Commodore of the Bristol Club, Bob Millard. Bob was a former P-51 Mustang fighter pilot who decided to put his piloting skills to use on hull #228 on Narraganset Bay once he returned from pilot training in Texas.
For some unknown reason, this Sea Sprite had a wooden mast. At first, I thought that this was a myth. Bob’s two sons, now adult sailors at the Bristol club, swear, however, that they remember this wooden masted Sea Sprite because the mast collapsed while they were in the middle of a regatta while they were crewing for their father. The entire rig collapsed and went overboard, but fortunately no one was injured. As an outside observer, I can vouch for the authenticity of this story because I clearly remember the gossip that surrounded this tragedy since I had recently joined the BYC and was campaigning another Alberg design, a 22 ft. Peason Ensign. Losing a mast while sailing probably meant something catastrophic must have happened to lose the whole rig overboard.
There was a lot of commotion among fleet members when it was time to replace the snapped wooden mast. Eventually, however, a tapered aluminum extrusion with jumper stays was ordered from Hall Spars in Bristol, RI. Considerable gossip flew about how “whippy” the new aluminum mast was, even with jumper stays.
With a spanking new mast, Bob painted the white boat with a snappy blue color and named the boat, “Scot Free.” He had great success with the boat. Some attributed his success to the new Hall spar. Personally, I think part of his skill could be attributed to his talent as a top-notch airman. Not many pilots advanced to become checked out in one of the finest aircraft of WW II. Bob continued to sail Scot Free with his two sons; Bob Jr. and Bruce.
Just to prove how rugged ol’ #228 was, when Hurricane Bob roared through the east coast, Scot Free broke loose from her mooring and was washed ashore on the north side of Bristol harbor. Much of that area is nothing but a huge rock wall that protects the only road from Bristol to Colt State Park and Poppasquash Point. As luck would have it, #228 was swept to the west side of the harbor and came to rest on the shoreline covered with eel grass rather than the treacherous rocks to the east. Once she was hauled and refloated, Bob Sr. decided to repaint the boat a bright blue, the color she still wears today.
In 1985, Bob decided to upgrade his day sailor to a Pearson Triton, one of the Pearson Yachts line of early fiberglass cruisers. (His sons still sail this Triton today, forty years later.) To help finance the Triton, Bob sold his Sea Sprite to another BYC member, Spencer Martin. Spence already owned another Sea Sprite, so #228 never hit the water under his ownership. Soon thereafter, Spencer sold Scot Free to another former Commodore, Herb Browne.
Herb had served in the Air Force during the Korean War. While he wasn’t a pilot, he was instrumental in keeping the F-86 Sabre jets flying from South Korea’s major air bases. When he was about to be discharged, he was bumped off from his air force transport flight and had to wait until the next day when the next transport arrived. It was then that Herb learned that the plane he was originally scheduled to board lost power over the Pacific Ocean, crashed and all occupants were lost at sea. Perhaps this was an omen for the sailing success Herb would experience with #228 over the years.
Once Herb took over the old Millard boat, He put his sailing skills to work at the helm while his youngest son, Rob, and a friend of Rob’s, Carter Skemp , took over crewing responsibilities. This threesome ruled the waves of Narragansett Bay. Several years ago, I spent many hours with Herb as he recounted his skippering exploits during his senior years. The praise that he had for his crew left an indelible mark on me. Herb swore that he never had to tell his crew what needed to be done. Rob and Carter ran the ship. Herb drove the boat, giving 100% of his attention to driving the Sea Sprite through the chop of Narragansett Bay. Herb and crew amassed a plethora of cups and trophies over the years. Old #228 was clearly the boat to beat.
Eventually, Herb sold hull # 228 , to it’s next owner, Lou Marino. Herb passed away in his 90s but before he passed, he repeated told me about how much he loved to sail Scot Free with the two boys, Rob and Carter. The three of them were virtually unbeatable. As a crew, son Rob also learned how to maintain Scot Free so that it looked like it just came off the showroom floor. More about this later, however.
Lou was another Bristol Yacht Club member. Lou, too, actually ended up owning two Sea Sprites. Those Bristol boys just couldn’t get enough of their Sea Sprites! Hull #228 was the daysailer model while his other boat was a black-hulled weekender model beauty named Hope. Lou was employed as a mental health professional at Butler Hospital in Providence. I think his original plan was to sail Hope and let his daughter, Amelia, who would become a great collegiate sailor in her own right years later, sail Scot Free. Jump ahead a few years and Lou’s wish came true. Amelia graduated from the University of Rhode Island and raced Scot Free with success in the Bristol Wednesday night one-design fleet. Eventually, Lou took a job in Baltimore and Amelia graduated and moved to Newport. Sadly, old #228 was left neglected under a tarp in a local Bristol boatyard.
Time passes but life sometimes goes full circle! Robbie Browne, son of Herb, recently helped his son, Oliver Browne and a friend , Jackson Harney, buy ol’ #228 back from Lou Marino.
Two Guys And An Old Boat
Both boys cut their teeth on sailing and are well known around the Bristol Yacht Club because they grew up sailing in the junior sailing program. Now each is a certified launch driver at the BYC.
Old #228 was eventually moved to an off-season shed where the boys could began their magic restoration under the tutelage of father Robbie Browne.
Oliver and Jackson spent the entire winter of 2024-25 refurbishing Scot Free, stripping down the old brightwork and bringing it back to like-new condition.
Father, Rob, an exemplary restoration boatman in his own right, has spent the last few years restoring the family Hinckley yawl that was purchased a few years before father Herb passed away and coaching the boys through the entire Sea Sprite restoration process.
I’ve gotten to know both boys, Oliver and Jackson, over the past few years.
Oliver Browne and Jackson Harney
It is heartwarming to see Scot Free return to one of its earliest and proudest owners and to see the restored boat once again grace Bristol Harbor.
The rest of the growing Bristol Sea Sprite fleet may be looking at a new transom this season. While the old wooden mast is now a distant memory, the winning legacy of a group of racing immortals is still amongst us. The legend of Scot Free lives on. Oliver and Jackson carry on the legend of #228.
Bob Rude
Acting Commodore, Sea Sprite Assocation