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.

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.