Commodore’s Message It’s been a long winter, spring is here and summer is finally starting to show signs of its appearance. Of course, this means we are now all juggling getting the boat ready, tending to our neglected yards and gardens, as well as the need to take in as much fresh air and sunshine for ourselves! Unfortunately, for us anyway, it means that none of these things are getting the full attention they need and deserve…. While making your summer plans, please check out the schedule of events listed, there are many events in various parts of New England. Updates are always either on the website at www.fss.org or on the Facebook site, http://tinyurl.com/r5x9he (this will get you there and it’s A LOT shorter than the other link). We are hoping that many of you are planning to make it to Rockland for our 49th Annual Homecoming on July 16, 17 and 18. We are looking forward to seeing familiar faces and hopefully putting faces to sloops that have not made it to Rockland before. One new thing this year will be a Safety Seminar under the tent on Wednesday the 15th (see Dave’s article). The Executive Committee was very excited when Dave proposed to add this, as it will be a great chance to refresh ourselves on boating safety and racing rules, and a wonderful introduction and welcome for those of you who haven’t been to Rockland before. Another exciting addition this year is that the Maine Windjammer Association is holding their Parade of Sail while we are racing on the 17th, right off the Breakwater! This may make things interesting for racing, but will make for some great sightseeing, photo ops, and memories, seeing these classic boats sailing together. We have been meeting with the wonderful folks at MWA and feel confident that it will be a great opportunity and event for all involved. The amount of mutual respect for all is evident and hopefully we won’t have to make many changes to the race itself that day. We hope that you plan on bringing your boat, even if you don’t plan on racing! Having your boat at the dock is a great place to show off all of the hard work you have put into her. There has been a lot of great publicity lately surrounding Friendship Sloop Days in Rockland and we hope to have many people come see us on the docks! Rockland is a wonderful community with a lot of fabulous things to do. We will be putting together a map of the area, things to do and places to see, most within walking or trolley distance. If you are inter- (Continued to Page 2) Race Committee News By Dave Graham With our all-important Coast Guard permit for 2009 in hand, I am happy to report that we are now well into the planning of our 2009 race program at Rockland. As you probably know, the dates have been established by the FSS Executive Committee as Thursday, July 16th through Saturday, July 18th. Here, there will be a couple of interesting “add-ons” that I’d like to call to your attention. On late Wednesday afternoon, July 15th at 5:30 PM, the Race Committee will be conducting a brief 45-minute “Safety Seminar” under the tent at the Rockland waterfront. While there will be nothing of a “mandatory” nature in attending the seminar, we firmly believe that you will be able to derive some very inter- esting and important “tips” relating to the racing and sloop operation scene. All will be welcome – – – and encouraged – – – to attend. During Friday afternoon, July 17th, the Maine Schooner Association will likely be conducting a Parade-of-Schooners, which will be held in the vicinity of just inside the Rockland Breakwater. Depending on what we learn from the parade organ- izers, we may want to shorten the race to another mark of our course. The thinking at this time is that we might want to do a finish of that day’s race at the mark just to our portable mark just to the southwest of the lighthouse – – – but nothing (repeat: nothing) is cast in stone. There will be ample briefing on this at the Friday morning Skippers’ meeting. For now, we only want you to have this advance “heads-up” on what could possibly (repeat possibly) be happening on the Friday afternoon portion of our race program. In the area of “Heads-Up”, next year will mark our 50th anniversary!!! Our Commodores, Wayne and Kirsten Cronin are already in a planning mode for some big (repeat: big) events. Meanwhile, we only ask that you note the dates of July 22, 23 and 24, 2010. In one way or another, we hope that you will plan to participate in what will be a gala celebration event! Finally, as has been the long-standing custom, we will be conducting a Skippers’ Meeting on all three race days at 9:00 AM or 0900 – – – whichever comes first – – – under the tent at the Rockland waterfront. Your Race Committee looks forward to seeing you there. Volume 21 Summer 2009 FSS.ORG Issue 2 Friendships Newsletter of the Friendship Sloop Society

Commodore’s Message (Continued from Page 1) ested in some group events on shore, please let me know as there are museums etc… in the area that have said they would give us a tour and special rates if we would like. I am more than happy to make these arraignments if anyone is interested. Please either call or shoot me an email and let me know. Along these lines, please check out the Chamber of Commerce Website www.therealmaine.com for more informa- tion on many area attractions. Also, we have a group rate at the Tradewinds, www.tradewindsmaine.com if you need accommo- dations. Please keep an eye out for further information from our Secretary, Caroline Phillips! Wayne and Kirsten Cronin fss.cronin@roadrunner.com 207-354-0467 2009 Schedule of Events Southwest Harbor Rendezvous Saturday, July 11th Pulpit Harbor Rendezvous Tuesday, July 14th Homecoming Rendezvous & Races at Rockland Thursday, Friday, Saturday – July 16th to July 18th Marblehead Regatta August 9th New London Rendezvous & Cruise Rescheduled to Early August Gloucester Schooner Festival Saturday, September 5th Fall Executive Committee Meeting Saturday, October 3rd Location – To Be Announced Annual Meeting Saturday, November 14th Best Western Merry Manor Inn South Portland., ME Dues Reminder If you haven’t mailed your annual dues in for 2009, please send them to: Caroline Phillips Sloop Society Secretary 164 Sturbridge Road Charlton, MA 01507 Racing Numbers The Race Committee is asking skippers to use sloop numbers for racing. Numbers do not have to be permanently attached to sails, they can be attached to shrouds. Numbers should be large enough to be read from a reasonable distance. SW Harbor Race & Cruise to the Westward by Miff Lauriat The 11th of July is very early, I know. The ice is barely out and we’re planning a RACE! With a little bit of luck (to quote Bert in “Mary Poppins”) it will be sunny and warm and WINDY for our 17th annual event. The special little race in SW Harbor has grown more popular in recent years. It’s not unusual (to quote Tom Jones) for there to be a dozen or more sloops enjoying the fantastic scenery that is MDI and Acadia National Park. Everyone is invited to attend. There are no entry fees, no handicaps, and no trophies. Just plain old FUN! Come on down (to quote Bob Barker) to the Eastern most regatta of the Friend- ship Sloop Society. While we don’t have any pre-registration, Marge and Miff would love to hear from you if you are expect- ing to make it. First-timers would do well to call ahead and get the lowdown to prevent confusion on just how we do it around here. Valuable local knowledge will be freely shared! Between SW Harbor and Rockland are 50 miles of some of the best cruising anywhere in the world. We plan to have a rendezvous at Pulpit Harbor on Tuesday night, so should any boats want to sail in company Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday to get there, that would be grand! Contact Miff (mifflauriat@gmail.com) or 207-244- 4313 (between 5pm and 9pm EDST) Pulpit Harbor Rendezvous Commodores Wayne Kirsten Cronin and the Rights of Man will be in Pulpit Harbor the night of Tuesday, July 14th. Wayne has suggested that the fleet rendezvous at Pulpit Harbor the day before continuing on to Rockland on Wednesday. For those not familiar with Pulpit Harbor, it is a snug and comfortable harbor for the fleet to gather, and a short sail to Rockland Harbor on Wednesday. Trophy Reminder Did you win a trophy at the 2008 Rockland Homecom- ing? Did you have it engraved with your boat’s name as the proud 2008 winner? Will you please dust it off, polish it up and bring it back to Rockland? If previous winners weren’t proud enough to engrave their names, would you be willing to do the engraving on their behalf? The Trophy Committee will gladly reimburse you for this additional expense. Contact Penny Richards for names of previous winners. E-mail her at pennyjrichards@gmail.com or buzz her cell at 978-815-4339. Many thanks from the Trophy Committee! – 2 –

Mark your calendars now for the Friendship Sloop Society’s 50th Anniversary on July 22, 23 and 24th, 2010! There is a small 50th Anniversary Committee busy working on ideas and thoughts for next year. Here’s the breakdown of some of the things we are looking at for the 50th. As you read through this list if you think you can help, please, let me know! The Book. A few years ago Tad Beck was working on a book for the Society. At that point it appeared that it would be too expensive to produce. Now with the additional self- publishing options etc… we are able to move forward. Tad did an amazing job of collecting a lot of information, which he saved and recently sent to me. So, for all of you who sent items to Tad, I have it now and am slowly sorting through it all. I am also still collecting the surveys that were sent out last year (they are also on the website (www.fss.org). There have been lots of great stories so far, but I could still use more stories and pictures (historical or recent) to make the book a huge success, so please keep them coming! In addition we have (I believe) every yearbook that has been published and the group has been spending some time reading through them for special articles or glimpses into the past 50 years. The Calendar. We thought it would be a great idea to have a calendar dedicated to the Friendship Sloop Society and what better time to get started than for the 50th. A lot of themes were tossed around and the one that we have decided to go with (title still to be determined) a 12-momth calendar, Women Before The Mast – pictures of the women of the Society on their boats standing before the mast. Now, these pictures can be recent or older, as long as you have permission to give them to us for publishing (so if they are someone else’s we need their permission too). In order to determine which pictures we will use we are having a: Photo Contest. We need pictures for the 2010 Calen- dar. While the name is still in the air the theme is not. We need pictures of the women standing/sitting/laying before the mast of their sloops. Please make sure your name, sloop name and date are on the picture. Entries are due in by August 15th, 2009 and will be voted on by the 50th Anniversary Committee. If you have a picture that you think would be great, but doesn’t fit exactly – send it anyway, you never know…. Pictures we don’t use for this year’s calendar may be used another year, or for yearbook, newsletters etcetera, etcetera. A Special Cruise. There has been some talk about adding an extra day to the Homecoming next year for a cruise. We are considering adding a day in order to have us all sail out somewhere, anchor, have lunch and sail back. What do you think? Let us know! Events in Friendship. Let’s face it, our homecoming is in Rockland not Friendship, but shouldn’t we be doing something in Friendship? Honor our sloops heritage in some way? Maybe we can get a bus together for a trip to the Friend- ship Museum. Have as many of us as possible stop in Friendship Harbor on our way home – I know schedules are tight and many need to get home quickly, but do you remember the fun on Friendship Long Island? Maybe we could get something like that together again for next year. Land based activities. Ok, so the list here is rather endless. As you know I have been in touch with some of the local museums and such who are happy to give us deals and tours. We were thinking also of having some of them set up a display under the tent. This year Gordon Bok is playing at the Strand (as a benefit for Station Maine) during Sloop Days. Next year maybe we try to set up a special viewing of something for the group. There is so much to do in Rockland and the surround- ing area that we will be able to put some things together for those that don’t want to race, and for us to do in town at the end of the day. 50th Anniversary Awards Ceremony. I know it’s hard to imagine making our awards ceremony and banquet any better then it already is, but we are thinking about going a little fancier next year. What about a lobster bake, corn on the cob? On pavement or in a building instead of the grass? We are planning on making it extra special to celebrate a momentous occasion, and as you continue to read you will see why we may need to do something more…. The hardest part – 50 Friendships in Rockland for 2010. Here is where we REALLY need your help. We need your feedback and input to make this event a special one for all of us. We know from talking to many of you that it can be challenging to get to Rockland, or you don’t necessarily want to race. What can we do to help get you and some more boats here next year? If you haven’t been to Rockland and think you want to sail up (or down) next year, come by car this year and check it out! We get some great deals at the local motels like the Trade- winds and Navigator, both with rooms that look out over the water and in easy walking distance. There are also lots of great B&B’s in walking distance to the harbor and downtown. There are lots of great things to do, terrific shops, museums, galleries, lighthouses, restaurants and of course plenty of sloops available for you to sail on if you are so inclined. Those are the updates for the 50th so far, keep your eyes and ears posted for more info. We really do need and want your feedback to make next year extra exciting. So, thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing from you with your thoughts and ideas! If you have interest in joining the committee please let me know, there is a lot to do and not many to do it right now…. If you have pictures, stories, surveys or questions you can email me (or Wayne) at fss.cronin@roadrunner.com (note this is a changed email address – I needed to keep things straight!) or call me at 207-354-0467. If you prefer to send me a note in the mail my address is: Kirsten Cronin, 525 Main St., Thomaston ME 04861. – 3 – 50th Anniversary Update By Kirsten Cronin

For the last three months I’ve been going over the boat getting it ready for the epic voyages planned for this summer. In the process I realized that I didn’t really have what you might call a checklist for anything I was doing. Years of doing the same chores year after year had made me complacent, and now that I’m getting older (I use this as a comparative term only) I find that my steel-trap memory has rusty springs. Not a good thing when it could severely limit the scope of epic anything! So where do you start? After giving it some thought I decided that the checklist should follow the priority of necessity. Given that reasoning, my sequence of checklists was; boat hull, spars and rigging, sails, engine, safety equipment and navigation equipment. Starting with the boat hull was obvious, if the boat doesn’t float you don’t have to worry about any of the rest of the items. Boat Hull The hull checklist would depend on the boat but should look like this: a) Garboard drain plug installed b) Hull caulking and seams in good shape (Your assessment here will be confirmed or condemned when the boat is launched, so if you are brave you can skip this check) c) Sea cocks greased and closed d) Double clamps on all connections below the waterline e) Hose clamps not showing any rust f) Propeller shaft stuffing box packing adjusted (When was the last time the packing was checked?) g) Rudder post packing adjusted h) Deck caulking in good condition especially over the berths! I) Deck hardware bedded and well fastened Spars and Rigging The spars and rigging (with the sails of course) provide the motive force for the boat so they come next. The things to check should include: a) Checks and splits in the spars should not have grown worse over the winter, if they have they may need structural repair. b) Check for loose or missing fittings, you know the ones that were removed in the fall when you intended to refinish but never got around to it. Try looking in the recycled peanut butter jar on the back of the workbench, or the bottom of the tool bag. There are several options. Be creative! c) How about those frayed lines you noticed last year, time to replace them? d) And when was the last time you put on a heavy glove and inspected the wire standing rigging for excessive wear or broken strands in the form of “fish hooks”? e) Check the blocks for free-running sheaves and excessive wear. It might be time for a little maintenance. f) Are the turnbuckle threads clean and well lubricated? Do you have the correct cotter pins? Sails As for the sails the checks are fairly simple but time consuming if you inspect the stitching at all the seams, which really shouldn’t be necessary. What may be needed is to look for signs of chafe in areas where lines rub across the stitching. Engine The engine checklist depends on your engine; gas and diesel will have different checks so we’ll only cover the basics on this one. They are; air, fuel, exhaust, oil, coolant, and zincs. a) All engines have some form of intake screen or filter. It has to be clean, and not restrict the airflow, especially for a diesel. Check it. b) If you topped off the fuel tank last fall like you should have, you probably won’t have any issues with the fuel. If you didn’t there is a possibility you have moisture or algae in the tank. Make sure you have the appropriate clean fuel filters installed and have at least one set of spares aboard. Now, do you know how to change them? c) Check the exhaust hoses for cracks or other deterioration. d) Diesels have a bad habit of leaving serious carbon deposits in the exhaust elbow if run at low RPM for extended periods of time. This build-up causes a gradual loss of power over time since the engine can’t expel exhaust gasses easily. When was the last time you checked it? e) Change the oil. Even if you changed it last fall. f) Unless you are using an extended life anti-freeze you need to change it. Anti-freeze contains several additives that provide coolant pump lubrication, acid reducers, rust inhibitors and other benefits to the engine that are depleted over time. g) Most heat exchangers, both oil cooler and engine cooler, have pencil zincs in the primary (salt-water) side. If they have been reduced by more than half of their mass play it safe and replace them. Save yourself a potentially costly heat exchanger replace- ment or worse, engine replacement. Safety Equipment Now that we have checked the major items needed to keep the boat afloat and make it go we need to do so safely. The key to safety is preparation. All the things we’ve checked contribute to safety but there are several pieces of safety equipment needed to ensure you can handle an emergency. Your safety equipment checklist should include: a) Class I or II life jackets for the number of people you plan on having aboard. b) A working VHF radio and the know-how to broadcast a “MAYDAY” c) Fire extinguishers capable of fighting class A (wood, cloth, etc.), B (fuels, oil), and C (electrical) fires. d) A good bilge pump and perhaps a good bucket too. (Buckets rarely fail or clog. A scared person with a bucket can move a lot of water!). e) An anchor. (Continued to Page 5) – 4 – Tech Tips – #10 – Spring Commissioning by “The Old Salt”

Tech Tips #10 Continued from Page 4 Navigation Equipment Most folks don’t view navigation equipment as “Safety” gear, but if you do find yourself in a bad situation, rescue will be a lot more effective if the responder knows where you are. GPS and Loran are good tools. They can give you a good position in a reasonably short time. Battery powered GPS should be part of your emergency kit. See you safely on the water! Please Check the Registry Each year the registry of sloops is published in the back of the yearbook. We attempt to keep it up to date when new members are added and boats change hands. This is, however, an imperfect process and incorrect or incomplete entries occasionally make their way into our records. Since this is our official register we are requesting that each of you check the entry for your boat and get back to either secretary@fss.org or registry@fss.org with any changes or corrections. Thanks for your help. New London Rendezvous Rescheduled The rendezvous and cruise scheduled to start in New London on June 20th has been rescheduled to the beginning of August. Greg Roth who coordinates this event, will announce the exact date in the near future. The early date has presented a problem for skippers in getting their sloops ready, and the ability to get crew. It is hoped that the later date will enable more sloops to attend this event. For more information, contact Greg Roth at scuppers@ct.metrocast.net or (860) 442-2747. Support Our Supporters This year as usual, our yearbook is made possible not only through the efforts of our members, but also through the businesses that place ads in our book. With the state of the economy this year, we are grateful to the many advertisers who chose to take an ad in the yearbook. When you read the articles in this year’s yearbook, take some time to notice the advertising. Then, when you stop in the store or restaurant, make a point of telling the waitress, manager, or anyone that will listen, that you saw their ad in the Friendship Sloop Society publication. Please help us keep the yearbook afloat by supporting our supporters. From the Membership Deck Things on the Membership Deck have been very quiet this year. In January we welcomed Harrison Jewett of New London, CT, crew member on “Fiddlehead.” There has been one change in ownership: #262 I Got Wings, has been sold by Jim Wright to Tamara Stoddard, Daniel Gordon and Eric Austin. The sloop is currently in Mystic, CT and next year will be taken to Brooklyn, NY. Hull Maritime Festival The Hull Massachusetts Life Saving Museum has extended an invitation to all Friendship Sloop owners to attend their Maritime Festival scheduled for July 8th to 12th. This festival coincides with the arrival of the Tall Ships to Boston, and is the final event in the museum’s year long celebration of their 30th anniversary. If interested, please contact Ed McCabe at the museum by sending a note to info@hulllifesavingmuseum.org. The schedule of events follows: Wednesday 7/8/09  Row/sail to Lovell’s Island to view the Parade of Sail Thursday 7/9/09  Ferries to Boston/Tall Ships available throughout the day  Outdoor Movie Night – Fort Revere, Hull Friday 7/10/09  Rowing and Sailing Races in Hull/Hingham Bays* (awards at the evening dance)  Family activity: Pond Yachts – Hull Bay near the US Coast Guard Station  Ferries to Boston/Tall Ships available throughout the day  Gathering of the sailing/rowing fleet at Windemere Harbor  Evening dance with full bar and DJ – Hull Yacht Club Saturday 7/11/09  Rowing and Sailing Races in Hull/Hingham Bays* (awards at the evening concert)  Water dog demonstrations – HLM’s Windmill Point Boat House, Hull  Ferries to Boston/Tall Ships available throughout the day  Noddaclu evening reggae concert at Fort Revere  Caribbean barbecue at Fort Revere during the Noddaclu concert  Harbor Illumination, visible from all points in Hull Harbor Sunday 7/12/09  Pancake breakfast hosted by the Hull Saltwater Club  Ferries to Boston/Tall Ships available throughout the day  Sail away parade – Hull Gut *Friday’s races will focus on “one-design” categories (pilot gigs v. pilot gigs, catboats v. catboats, etc.), while Saturday will feature an all-boat dash to the Brewster Archipelago, at the mouth of Boston Harbor, and is open to all mariners and vessels. For more information or to submit thoughts about the race courses, e-mail Ed McCabe at info@hullifesavingmuseum.org. For more information about Boston Harbor, visit www.bostonislands.com. – 5 –

Friendship Sloop Society 164 Sturbridge Road Charlton, MA 01507 Address Correction Service Requested