Commodore’s Message This past weekend we all enjoyed one of those rare, balmy, winter days. As the temperature ‘soared’ into the 50’s people began emerging from their winter hibernation! The sidewalks were full of parents walking babies in carriages, runners, and even bikers appeared on the streets. I dragged our jogging carriage out of the shop, dusted it off and headed down to the playground with our 2 year old. It was at the playground, as I sat on the engine of the play fire truck that I paused, and watched how everyone was soaking up the sun and fresh air. How we all long for this kind of weather! During this winter’s hibernation the Friendship Sloop Society Executive Board has been planning for the upcoming year. The Board continued on its tireless mission to provide a solid organi- zation which offers many opportunities for all the Society members to gather to soak up the fresh air and enjoy each other’s friendship. After a year as Commodores we have found that our work (throughout all seasons) is greatly simplified by the efforts of the dedicated Executive Board. We spent our winter meeting reviewing each event and trying to come up with ideas for enhancing the specific events for which we are responsible. Each Executive Board member contributes not only ideas but action and follow through. Our work with the Executive Board has been a year round pleasure and we look forward to one more year of work with this Board. Throughout the long winter our boats are covered and our attention turns to other matters, but on that first balmy day, the boat and fresh air beckon and we all vividly recall the immense pleasure of past sailing adventures and the friends who share our sea stories. In this issue of the Newsletter you will find our annual Calendar of Events. As this winter draws to a close flip your calendars forward a few months and plan to join us as often as possible throughout the year. Remember, the winter season is long, let’s make the most of our summer sailing season. Larry and Debbie Plumer 37th Annual Meeting Held at UNH Caroline Phillips, Society secretary, has submitted the following report of the Annual Meeting. Commodores Larry and Debbie Plumer called the meeting to order at 3:30 PM. Debbie began the meeting by stating that this was the 37th year that we have gathered together as a society which makes this organization very special to everyone involved. She mentioned that the Society now has an active web site on the Internet. Debbie then welcomed the new members of the Society attend- ing their first annual meeting, and the past commodores that were present (Roger Duncan, Bob Lash, Jack Cronin, Dick Salter, Bill Zuber, John Wojcik, and Richard Langton). Debbie also introduced two honorary members present: Marcia Morang and David Graham. She completed her opening remarks by introducing the members of the Executive Board. Secretary’s Report: Caroline Philips Caroline read the final membership numbers for 1997 which are as follows: Sloop Owners 104 Full Members 59 Cooperative 30 Honorary 8 Total 201 Caroline stated that the membership numbers were down from the 1996 membership number of 204. She reported that 39 members did not rejoin in 1997, and that there were 8 new members for 1998. Many sloops have changed hands during 1997. Caroline then read some letters from the membership. Treasurer’s Report: David Bell David reported that he did not have any further changes or discussions to the report that was handed out at the meeting and appeared in the Fall edition of the newsletter. He stated that he would answer any questions regarding the financial reports. Pendleton Scholarship Report: Bill Zuber Bill did not have anything further to discuss beyond what was in his report in the Fall newsletter. (Ed. Note: The scholarship fund’s financial reports for 1997 appear on page 4). Yearbook Editor: Roger Duncan Roger stated that it is the same old story — need money, money, money! The bulletin board page will be the same as in (Continued to Page 2) Volume 10 Winter / Spring 1998 Issue 1 Friendships Newsletter of the Friendship Sloop Society 1

the past: $20 / slot. The Society still needs to sell three pages of ads or pay the $900. Roger stated that he needs stories, articles, photographs, etc. by April 5th. Roger then went on to say that Roland Barth’s new book, “Cruising Rules” was excellent. He stated that Roland wanted the membership list so that he may send a letter about his book to the entire membership. With a few objections, the members voted to allow Roland to have the membership list for a one-time mailing. Report on Events: Southwest Harbor: Tad Beck stated that the winds were perfect for Phoenix (very strong). This race has no frills, no handicap system, and is just a fun race and highly recommended to all the members to attend. New London: Jack Vibber reported that the New London regatta had two wonderful days of racing and socializing. Next year’s dates (1998) are July 11 & 12. He thanked Joe Hliva and Greg Roth for their help in 1997. Marblehead: David Graham stated that 15 sloops showed up to race this year in Marblehead with the overall winner being Phoenix. David reported that the Saturday night presentation by Harold Burnham on the building of the schooner John W. Lanning was spectacular. He stated that this was his last year as chairman of the Corinthian race Committee so that he could now spend more time with the Sloop Society. Dates for the 1998 races are August 8-9th. He then asked skippers if they would allow one person from the yacht club to sail on their sloop during the races in 1998. Rockland: Bob Rex started out by thanking his race committee (Gerry Ross, Gerry Breton, Leo Campbell, and Dick Salter) for their time and help. He also thanked the Rockland Yacht Club for their assistance during the races, and Marcia and Penny Morang for their work in collecting trophies and organizing the trophies for the presentations. Friendship: Bill Zuber stated that those who participated had a wonderful time. He thanked Tom and Alice Loomis for their wonderful hospitality. New Business Donations: The following donations were approved by the membership: Maine Maritime Museum $300 Friendship Museum $300 Pendelton Scholarship Fund $400 Awards: Bancroft Award: Presented by Jack Cronin (committee consists of Maria Burnham, Jim Wilson and Doug Amsbary) to Bob Brooks and Al Zinc for their tremendous efforts in locating sloops, categorizing the sloops, as well as their overall contribu- tions to the Society. Bill Hadlock Award: Presented to Doug and Irene Amsbary Bruce Morang Award: Presented by Marcia, Kelly and Penny Morang. This award is presented to the person who submitted the best story in the yearbook. This year the award was presented to Ralph Stanley for his article: “The Friendship Sloop”. Friendship Sloop Society New Publication: Tad Beck Tad reported that this book was being created in memory of members who have passed away. He stated that he needs articles from yearbooks and photographs of existing sloops. He stated that Tom Berry has scanned in articles and John Wojcik has typed in 1961 – 1970 yearbook articles. Tad is hoping to complete this book before he becomes Commodore. Election of Officers: Dick Salter Nominations were as follows: Commodore Larry and Debbie Plumer Vice Commodore Tad Beck Secretary Caroline Phillips Treasurer David Bell The membership voted unanimously for the officers as nominated by the committee chaired by Dick Salter. Other Business: Penny Richards stated that she could transpose any photograph onto a mouse pad at a cost of $15 / pad with the proceeds to benefit the Sloop Society The 50/50 raffle – $105 won by Rodney and Jill Flora. A motion was made and accepted to adjourn the meeting at 4:45 PM. The silent auction and general auction which followed the business meeting provided income as follows: General Fund $330.50 Scholarship Fund $489.00 1998 Schedule of Events New London Regatta July 11 & 12 Southwest Harbor Rendezvous July 18 Homecoming Rendezvous & Races at Rockland July 21, 22 & 23 Friendship Day July 25 Marblehead Regatta August 8 & 9 Gloucester Schooner Festival September 5 Annual Meeting November 14 New England Center, Durham, NH – 2 – Annual Meeting (Continued from the Front Page

Membership News Membership chairman Doug Amsbary has sent along the follow- ing information regarding members of the Society: The new owner of #147 Anna B is Ronald Shaw of Peaks Island, Maine. He will be keeping his renamed sloop (Solace) at his Peaks Island home. He mentioned that he plans to install a holding tank and a fresh water system, both of which were never installed. He went on to say that he has ALWAYS wanted a Friendship Sloop since his early childhood days. He also plans on installing a boom gallows to replace the existing boomcrutch. Sloop #80 has had her name changed from Headway to Downeast and will be homeported in Edgartown, Mass. An article regarding her rebuilding appeared in the February edition of Soundings. #141 Katie E ‘s new owner is Greg Grundtish who hails from Lancaster, New York. He acquired the sloop in Jonesport, Maine from Frank D’Agosta. Greg reports that he has had a new mast made for his sloop in Jonesport, and is now in the throws of dealing with his town fathers in negotiating the storage of the sloop in his driveway. He went on to say that the sloop has been out of the water for 5 years. He will be renaming it. We heard from Rafeal Prohens of Chile about his interest in joining the Society. He is in the midst of constructing a 25′ Pemaquid design sloop. Pictures sent along show progress of getting her hull planked up. We will keep you informed about his progress. Dictator hull #220, Amor Brujo, has had her name changed to Sorceress. Several reasons were mentioned for the name change and include: hard to pronounce and the name board came up missing from the transom which necessitated replacement. #228 Cairdeas has been sold to Al Doucette of Mattapoisett, Mass. where the sloop will also be homeported. #40 Comesin, the sister ship to #6 Eastward, is in the posses- sion of Kip Alkema who would like to find a buyer (and hopefully get the sloop back into Maine waters). Our newest hull number (#264), has been issued to a recently constructed 24′ sloop built by David and Loretta Westphal. Its name is yet unclear to us but will reportedly be unveiled at the Rockland Homecoming. New members attending the annual meeting at the New England Center included: Greg & Daneen Roth who have recently acquired #22 Ellie T. Greg says that he is in the rebuilding stage with no exact target date as yet to relaunch, but envisions a 1 ½ year project to rebuild. Greg helps out Jack Vibber at the New London Regatta. Tim Sullivan, owner of Windward. Tim was an active and enthusiastic participant in the auction held after the business meeting. Roger Waindle of Scarsborough, Maine A Friendship Sails on San Diego Bay by Jack Vibber Virginia and I spent Christmas and New Years and time before and after at our son Van and his wife’s house in Malibu, Califor- nia, 1500 feet above the Pacific Ocean, 3 miles away. A picture book view. A number of cargo ships go North and South each day. Many sport fishermen anchor and fish during the day. Commercial fishermen seem to fish most of the time and during the darkness they have very bright lights. A few sailors cruise by also. After watching the above scene we decided it would be nice to be closer to the action. Richard and Katie Scott were contacted at San Diego and invited us to sail aboard their Friendship, #159 Pacific Child. Van and his wife, Virginia and I took a side trip to San Diego 150 miles south to meet the Scotts at the Red Sails Inn overlooking the boats slips and vessels in the harbor. At 1300 hours we hoisted sail on the bay. Sailing close to shore viewing many sights, we sailed past the submarine base and a sub tender with two subs along side and one sub in a lift dock. Farther along, the U.S.N. hospital ship Mercy was tied up to a pier. The Pacific Child sailed on passing a flat top channel buoy with six sea lions basking in the sun on it, packed like sardines in a can. On we sailed past Point Loma with two lighthouses. One high on the hill, one at sea level. The high one is an historical sight, marking the point where Juan Cabrillo first discovered Califor- nia. The low one is in use. Past the point #159 was in the Pacific Ocean. Now islands off Mexico could be seen, the Coronados. We came about, sailed along the opposite shore with a Navy air station and U.S. Coast Guard helicopter hanger nearby. On we sailed past a dredge used to keep the channel clear for subs. The sand dredged is deposited on the beaches. Making good headway we reached the site of the San Diego Maritime Museum with the square rigger Star of India and the ferry boat Berkeley with its nautical exhibit aboard. After seeing many craft of all kinds it was time to return to the slip and berth after a wonderful and informative mini cruise. The four of us find the Friendshippers on the West Coast are as friendly as those on the East Coast and the sloops sail the same. Help Needed Race Committee Chairman Bob Rex is looking for volunteers who would be interested in joining the Race Committee. Volun- teers would be provided an opportunity to assist the committee in their duties at the annual homecoming regatta, learn how to prepare and manage a sailing event, and also get a great view of the races. If interested, write to Bob at: 151 Grove Street Reading, MA 01867 – 3 –

Mystic Seaport Seeks Information The Mystic Seaport is rebuilding the sloop Estella A and is looking for information about her original rig before being modified for yachting. Nancy d’Estang, a researcher with Mystic Seaport, has contacted the Society asking us to query our members for assistance. Nancy, during a conversation with the editor, stated: “The standard sources have been researched, but it is always the hidden, individual’s treasure we seek! Those glass plates used as greenhouse windows, the boy’s album in the attic, the local historical society archive which is not in the library listing, etc., etc. are more elusive.” Nancy followed our conversation with this letter : “For research of the Estella A., built 1904, Mystic Seaport Museum Shipyard seeks information regarding the original working rig, sails, and construction of other Friendship Sloops by Robert E. McLain and Robert A. McLain. If you have early drawings / photographs / memorabilia / half models, etc. regard- ing their configuration before alteration for yachting, we would be most appreciative to hear from you. Thank you so very much.” Nancy and Larry Jacobsen, the naval architect executing the drawings for the Estella A.’s new rig, can be contacted the following ways: Telephone: 860-572-0711 Ext. 5092 Fax: 860-572-5344 E-Mail: NANCY@MYSTIC.ORG Class A Birthdays There are a number of member Class A sloops that are celebrat- ing significant “birthdays” in 1998. Our congratulations to the owners and crews of the following “Senior” members of the fleet: 95 Years: #97 Gannett Tom Miller, New Boston, NH 90 Years: #195 Princess Joe Dubois & John Harror, Sarasota, FL 85 Years: #44 Sazerac Roger Lee, Weston, MA Dues Reminder If you haven’t mailed your annual dues in for 1998, please send them to: Caroline Phillips, Society Secretary 164 Sturbridge Road Charlton, MA 01507 Pendleton Scholarship Fund Financial Report David Bell, treasurer of the Pendleton Memorial Scholarship Fund, has submitted the following financial reports for the period of January – December, 1997: Cash Flow Report INCOME Annual Meeting Auction 489.00 Dividend Income 1,836.91 Donations 4,790.30 Interest Income 65.94 TOTAL INCOME 7,182.15 EXPENSES Mailings – Annual Appeal 297.16 Scholarships 7,100.00 To Putnam Fund for G & I Class A 1,000.00 To Putnam Fund for G & I Class B 1,500.00 TOTAL EXPENSES 9,897.16 OVERALL TOTAL -2,715.01 1997 Scholarship Fund Recipients: Lori Burns University of New Hampshire Laura Campbell St. Josephs College Angie Winchenbach Univ. of Maine at Augusta Alex Hooydonk Greensboro College Adam LaChance Rochester Institute of Technology Dael Nelson Weslyan University Amanda Barrett Montana State University Note: $2,400 in scholarships given out in 1996 were written in the early months of 1997 (students changing schools). Net Worth Report ASSETS Cash and Bank Accounts Cash – AG Edwards 0.00 Money Market – AG Edwards 308.49 Savings – First National Damariscotta 311.52 Total Cash and Bank Accounts 620.01 Investments Putnam Diversified Income Trust 22,711.76 Putnam Fund for G & I Class A 2,536.80 Putnam Fund for G & I Class B 20,467.32 Putnam Hi Yield Advantage Fund 24,885.41 Total Investments 70,601.29 Total Assets 71,221.30 LIABILITIES 0 Overall Total 71,221,30 – 4 –

During recent meetings and gatherings we’ve been asking your opinion on ways to broaden the appeal for this newsletter. Several folks have suggested that articles on various marine systems or boat maintenance may be beneficial. Hopefully, this column will be a forum for sharing the vast range of practical experience accumulated by our membership. It is also intended to be the place where you, the reader, can submit technical questions and either obtain answers or direction to appropriate reference material. Of course since I was among the first to suggest such an article, I was elected to write the first one. Having no more direction than to “fill about a page” gave me license to write about a subject that I always seem to be questioned on, namely, marine electrical systems. Unfortunately one page won’t be quite enough room. So in order to keep things manageable, and give me more material for future pages, I’ve divided “marine electri- cal systems” into the six topics that seem to be trouble areas for the average boaters. These are; electrical wiring, alternators and regulators, batteries, grounding and bonding, radios and antennas, and instrumentation (depth, speed, GPS, LORAN, etc.). Have you ever watched someone with an electrical problem step out of their boat with that look that says “there be monsters there”? Usually the look is followed immediately by the question “Hey, do you know anything about …….?”. 90% of the time the problem is easy to fix (provided you have enough money). The biggest contributor to most of the problems I’ve witnessed is the wiring that hooks everything together or the connectors used to join the wires to the devices. Corrosion, improper wire, undersized wire, over-rated circuit breaker and fuses, and generally poor wire installations are the “monsters” that you can control if you know the right way to do things and the things to avoid. Never use solid wire on a boat. Solid wire is great for the house or barn. They don’t move or flex very much (or at least you hope they don’t). Boats on the other hand are subjected to all the abuse that the sea provides, plus the vibration of an engine in most boats. Solid wire cannot survive in this environ- ment for very long without fracturing. The only wire that should be used is multi-strand copper wire that will flex with the boat. Ideally you should use tinned multi-strand copper wire. It has a silvery looking coat of tin alloy on each strand of wire and withstands the corrosive marine environment very well. Always use wire that is large enough to handle the peak current load of all devices that will be connected to it. The maximum current rating for a wire is dependent on the size of the wire and its length. Using too small a wire will result in a voltage drop at the device end of the wire that may cause erratic operation. Even worse, the wire can overheat to the point of melting the insulation, causing a potential short circuit, and the fire that could result would certainly ruin your day. Most marine stores only carry wire that is meant for the marine environment and are reasonably knowledgeable in determining the right size for a given application. BUT —if they say they don’t know, or you are not confident with their judgment don’t buy. Remember the boat you sink may be your own! There are a lot of good books on the market that will help you pick the right size wire. Always run wire from a fuse or circuit breaker on the main power distribution panel. The only exception to this general rule may be the wiring for the bilge pump and its’ switch. If you are connecting directly to the battery make sure that its in-line fuse is located as close to the battery as possible. New boats are usually supplied with circuit breaker panels. The circuit breaker should be rated to protect the wire hooked to it, not the device that is being connected. In a properly designed system the device or instrument has its own fuse, either internal to the instrument or supplied externally as an in-line fuse. In most cases the fuse supplied with the equipment will protect it better than a circuit breaker. The circuit breaker and fuse should always be connected to the positive (+) side of the line. (Note: In the extremely rare circumstance that your boat has a positive ground system, call me, I would like to see it!) Most wiring schemes use white and black or red and black insulation on the multi-strand tinned wire to identify its polarity. A covering of gray or tan PVC insulation further protects these wire pairs. The black wire is normally the negative (-) side that is connected via a bus bar and heavy wire cable to the negative side of the battery, or a common point such as the engine block. The white or red wire is the positive (+) side which is connected to the positive side of the battery via the circuit breaker panel. If you are not sure of the polarity of the wiring DON’T HOOK ANY NEW EQUIP- MENT TO IT! Reversing the polarity of the wiring to expensive electronics equipment could cause significant damage to it and your wallet. Wiring systems should be well laid out with the wires neatly bundled and supported. Always run the wire in its’ PVC jacket all the way from the equipment to the circuit breaker panel and then open the jacket to connect the white wire to the circuit breaker (+) and black wire to the negative (-) bus bar. Never, never run a single positive wire from the circuit breaker panel to a piece of equipment and connect the negative side to another black wire or your radio ground plate. If you do (or, God forbid, have) disconnect the wire immediately. This condition can set up an enormous electrolysis problem for all the underwater metal fittings, the engine and saltwater cooled heat exchangers. Always run the wires in pairs all the way back to the circuit breaker panel and negative bus bar. Ideally, groups of wires should be wrapped with tie-wraps every foot or so, or spiral wrapped, and secured to a bulkhead or structural part of the boat to reduce the effects of vibration on the wire. One word of caution – avoid wrapping AC conductors and DC conductors in the same bundle. Run side by side for any appreciable length (Continued to Page 6) – 5 – Tech Tips by Bill Whitney (OLD_SALT@IX.NETCOM.COM)

Tech Tips (Continued from Page 5) you can induce quite a bit of noise into the DC wires connected to the instruments. When we talk about radio installations in future articles I’ll point out some other conditions to avoid relative to the radio frequency energy given off by the radio, antennas and antenna cables. As I pointed out earlier there are many excellent references on the subject of boat wiring. The “12 Volt Bible”, “Boatowners Illustrated Handbook of Wiring”, and other books are available from most good chandlers and catalogs. Gordon West’s articles in “Sail Magazine” are excel- lent references, and well worth reading. In fact, the Dec ’97 and Jan ’98 issues of “Sail Magazine” carried two excellent articles complete with illustrations and further references. Hopefully this “about a page” long article has stirred up some questions. Certainly your electrical system should not be viewed as a “monster”. With a little knowledge and occasional tender loving care you can easily tame it and save yourself some money in repair bills. Sloop Society Internet Home Page The address of the Sloop Society home page is: HTTP://WWW.FSS.ORG Browse the home page, enter your comments, questions, or ideas, and communicate with others who are interested in our sloops. Yearbook Deadline – May 1st Roger Duncan is always looking for interesting articles and pictures for the yearbook, as well as advertising and bulletin board messages from our members. Bulletin board slots are $20. Roger has set a deadline of May 1st to get stories to him. Roger’s address is: P.O. Box 66 East Boothbay, ME 04544. Sloop Society Chandlery Our store keeper, Doug Amsbary, has a number of items still available in the chandlery. These items will make great gifts for the start of the upcoming sailing season. Send your orders to Doug at: 1297 Easton Road Sugarhill, NH 03585 Note of Thanks to Elbert Pratt At the request of the Executive Board, Caroline sent the follow- ing letter to Elbert Pratt who recently retired as the Chairman of the Pendleton Memorial Scholarship Fund: November 15, 1997 This is a letter of thanks for all you and your family have done for the Pendleton Scholarship Fund and the Friendship Sloop Society. As the Friendship Sloop Society Cannoneer, you shot the cannon off for each boat that entered Friendship Harbor allowing the skippers and their families to feel welcomed. Your purchase of trophies kept the society well equipped to give out awards and keeper trophies for many years. The race committee turned to you for trophies for certain awards. Finally, your many years of dedication to the Pendleton Schol- arship Fund will always be remembered by the Friendship Sloop Society. Under your guidance, the Pendleton Scholarship Fund has given many students the chance to further their education by going to college. The amount in the Scholarship Fund has grown tremendously, allowing it to continue to support students in their academic efforts in years to come. So, on behalf of the Friendship Sloop Society members and the Executive Board, I want to thank you and your entire family for all that you have done for the Friendship Sloop Society. Best wishes in your future endeavors and good health and happiness for your family. Sincerely, signed Caroline Phillips F.S.S. Secretary Sloop Society Officers Doug Amsbary 1297 Easton Road Sugarhill, NH 03585 (603)-823-8459 Bob Rex 151 Grove Street Reading, MA 01867 (781)-944-1481 Membership Chairman Race Committee Chairman John Wojcik 347 Lincoln Street Norwell. MA 02061 (781)-659-2820 Roger Duncan P.O. Box 66 East Boothbay, ME (207)-633-4780 Newsletter Editor Yearbook Editor David Bell 35 Pumpkin Cove Road New Harbor, ME 04554 (207)-677-2069 Caroline Philips 164 Sturbridge Road Charlton, MA 01507 (508)-798-0178 Treasurer Secretary Tad Beck 380 Broadway New York, NY 10013 (212)-966-4690 Larry & Debbie Plumer 8 High Road Newbury, MA 01950 (978)-462-9629 Vice-Commodore Commodore – 6 –

From the Zuber family: Gladiator celebrated her 95th birthday and 30 years of owner- ship of the Zuber family in 1997. Captain Andy and his bride Nirvana Shaw Zuber sailed her downeast on their honeymoon 9/8 – 9/16 with the windjammer fleet to Woodenboat. They were married aboard the American Eagle by Capt. John Foss on 9/7 off Owl’s Head light in Penob- scot Bay. They visited briefly with Richard Stanley in South- west Harbor to check on Roger & Mary’s new schooner. Gladiator is now safely moored ashore in a friend’s chicken barn in Cushing. Bill is threatening to do some major rebuilding on her cockpit and interior over the winter. Last time (1982- 1987) it took 5 years… From Pat West of Vineyard Haven, owner of #89 Erda: Erda finished in 6th place on corrected time in the 50 boat George Moffett Race in Vineyard Sound. I am 91 and still like to race actively. Paul Collet, owner of #88 Apogee wrote: Apogee had a very busy chartering season in South Freeport. We had many tourists, but interestingly, lots of FIT’s (Foreign International Travelers) i.e. South Africa, England, Switzerland, France. We miss Linekin Bay, Lewis Cove and seeing Roger across the Bay! Haven’t seen that schooner yet…? Everyone is always interested in the boat, the history, etc. Apogee still turns heads in the harbor! Maybe Rockland next summer… From Tom & Alice Loomis who have hosted the gathering on Friendship Long Island: Thanks for the lovely article on the Friendship Long Island party last summer! We do love having you all – you are a fun, energetic & interesting group… young and old alike! We are off to Captiva island for the winter (Dec. 10 – May). Our boating will be restricted to our little “flats” boat for jaunts of fishing, shelling & spying on otters, porpoise & manatees. We shall miss the gaff-rig silhouette on the horizon of the Gladiator and other cruising Friendship Sloops! If any of you get to the Ft. Myers area, please do come visit and stop by our Chapin Lane, Captiva Island home. From Bob Lash, owner of #43 Gypsy: Gypsy has been brought home and snugged down in her cradle for the winter. What happens to her next, I have no idea. She needs a lot of work this time around, and I’m not sure I want to tackle it. Time will tell! We hope to be at the meeting in November, Holly & Tom are checking their schedules to try and make it too. It is quite a jaunt for us “downeasters”, over four hours each way all done the same day! Frank Muddle of Cushing, ME, owner of #11 Shulamite sent this along: Shulamite will be 60 years old this year. A neighbor (John Goodridge), who lived in Scituate, MA for many years and knew “Scotty” Gannett the builder, says he is sure that she was called Polly and has a photo of Polly that could be evidence that he’s right (?). First owner must have named her Old Friendly(?). Loretta Westphal, who with husband Dave own #257 Toddy B and now #264 as reported in Doug’s membership news, enclosed this note in their membership renewal: A new 24′ Friendship is under construction at Manatee Bay Marine in the Florida Keys. We’re uncertain at this point if she’ll be completed for the ’98 regatta. Builder & designer Dave Westphal – she’ll have oak frames with cedar planking. As of 11/10 – the planking is about ¾ completed. If anyone is interested, our new boatyard in Westport, ME is located on the Sheepscot River overlooking Wiscasset Harbor. We should be there by mid-June. Local # 207-882-4692. Rafael Prohens of Ovalle, Chile, sent the following letter to the Society: I am a big admirer of the Friendship Sloops. During the years I’ve been enjoying sailing in my Marshall 18 ft. catboat. Being a grape grower, living on my farm, I think that I have the neces- sary time to start my dream, building a wooden Friendship Sloop. I already have the warehouse and all the electrical equip- ment for this goal. I bought the Pemaquid 25 ft. Friendship Sloop Plans at the Woodenboat Store. I think that during the construction I may have some problems to be resolved, for this reason I would like to join your society in order to have a way of consulting about any doubt. In the meantime. I will inform you about the progress of the boat. For your records, I think that this will be the first Friendship Sloop along the long coastline of Chile. I hope any request will be apprecited by the members of the society. I look forward to hearing from you in a short time. Do You Play a Musical Instrument? It was decided at the January board meeting to eliminate the band at the Wednesday dinner at the Rockland Homecoming, and instead, have some our musically talented members provide after dinner entertainment. If you play a musical instrument, and would like to participate, please contact Debbie and Larry Plumer. It should be fun! – 7 – Letters From Our Members Caroline receives many letters from our members during the year, here are a few that she has received in the last few months:

The winter meeting of the Executive Board was held January 31st at the home of Commodores Larry and Deb Plumer at their home in Newbury, MA. Thirteen members were present at the meeting. Secretary’s Report: Caroline Philips reviewed the status of the membership renewals and reported the following: Boat Owners 77 Full Members 47 Cooperative 18 Honorary 8 Total 150 Treasurer’s Report: Dave Bell was unable to attend the meeting, but sent his financial report which was reviewed. Membership Report: Doug Amsbary reported that there is a member in Chile who is building a sloop (see the membership report and letters columns). Doug has had several requests for the sloops for sale list and has also had several requests for membership. He is currently updating the yearbook listing of sloops, a job Bob Brooks has done in the past. Doug reported that the Anna B has been sold to Ronald Shaw. Chandlery: Doug stated that the Society has an ample stock of T-shirts on hand, and he is thinking of ordering sweatshirts and other items so as to have them on hand instead of using the order forms. He thinks we would sell more of these items if people didn’t have to order them. Yearbook: Roger Duncan was unable to be present. Debbie read his report. Rich and Beth Langton have joined Roger as assistant editors. May 1st is the deadline for submitting materi- als. Roger has received some material, but not nearly enough. Roger is getting the ad rate sheet together to send with the newsletter. Newsletter: John Wojcik is working to get the newsletter in the mail by mid-March, and is asking that the material be forwarded to him by February 14th. Race Committee: Bob Rex suggested that if a sloop is over the starting line early by less than a boat length that it should just continue to race and will be penalized 5 minutes. Jack Cronin suggested leaving it to the discretion of the skipper whether he wants to take the 5 minute penalty or turn around and restart. This will be discussed further. Bob will have the information on the racing insurance and U.S. Sailing membership at the next board meeting so David can write a check to U.S. Sailing. Publicity Report: Bob Monk has put together an article and has sent it to “Soundings” who have said that they would try to put the article in an upcoming edition of the magazine. The schedule for 1998 was discussed so Bob could send that information to the various publications that publish the event schedule. Annual Meeting: Debbie suggested that in the future we request the New England Center to reserve a block of 25 rooms together around the suite used by the Commodore in order not to disturb other guests at the hotel during the after dinner social. The food at the dinner after the meeting was discussed and it was found that members were dissatisfied with the meal and that we need to put a new menu planning process in place. Doug asked if we would lose or gain people if they were allowed to order off the menu individually. The board thought that we could possibly gain more people if they were allowed to order off the menu. Debbie asked if we need to guarantee the number of people for dinner if we ordered off the menu. John Wojcik suggested that we order off the menu and guarantee tables seating eight rather that 2’s, 4’s, etc. Debbie stated that the New England Center does not want to lose us, and that they are very helpful with anything that we ask for. Debbie will call the center and see what options are available for dinner. Jack Cronin suggested that the bar be open until dinner is over so that people are not leaving the meeting or auction to get a drink before it closes. Debbie said that the charge for the bar is $16 / hour for the bartender. There were several recommendations from the membership for guest speakers. Jack stated that he thought that we don’t have enough time to socialize as is. Irene Amsbary suggested that we have the guest speakers in Rockland instead. Debbie suggested having a sea story time during the business meeting to allow members to share their different boating experiences. Rockland: Tad Beck suggested trying to have the dinner without it being a large burden for the Commodore to organize, collect tickets, etc. Debbie will call the Share the Pride group and discuss changes in the meal and the band. It was mentioned that the dinner gets everyone under the tent at the same time unlike the barbecue where everyone comes at different times. It was suggested that music at the dinner be sea chanteys. It was also suggested that an article be put in the newsletter asking members to bring their musical instruments for an evening of entertainment, possibly after the dinner. Bob Rex reported that we need another boat to help set and pull up the temporary racing marks since the Rockland Yacht Club would probably not be doing it this year. The New FSS Book Tad Beck is progressing on the new FSS book. All of the text material has been keyed or scanned into the computer and is now being edited. What Tad needs now is photographs. Ideally he would like to have a picture of every sloop that has sailed recently. If you would like to have a picture published, send it to Tad with a self-addressed envelope and he will return it to you. You can send a picture, or contact Tad via the Internet at: Tad Beck 380 Broadway, 2nd Floor NY, NY 10013 email: TadBe@aol.com – 8 – Winter Executive Board Meeting