Spring 2013 Newsletter

Commodore’s Message Cruising season is upon us! Let the fun begin! Join us in Maine and along the New England coast as we gather and celebrate the friendships that our Friendship Sloop Society has created over the last 53 years. This year we have expanded the activities planned for our event in Rockland, Maine and added opportunities for the membership to gather in other locations. We sincerely hope that your vacation plans and work schedules will allow you to participate in one of the local rendezvous. Among the expanded activities in Rockland are training workshops, a Friendship Museum display, and a preview of our new “Friendship Book”. As you will see in an accompanying article we have also made some significant changes to the way we will race this year. The goal is to make the race safer, simpler, and more fun! If it works we will continue to use this format in the future. The rowboat races have been so popular over the years that we added more shore-side activities that should be fun for everyone. The heaving line throwing contest will sharpen the nautical skills of sailors, young and old and challenge the physi- cal prowess and coordination of all participants. And for the less physically inclined we have a scavenger hunt that will challenge the brain instead of the brawn. In order to keep all of our Friendship Sloop Society activities going in the future we need to address the staffing shortfalls we have been facing. Over the years we have had an attrition of members who held critical positions on the Society’s executive committee and we need to fill these positions. We don’t need experts, although it would be nice, to head up our publicity efforts, this newsletter, the nominating committee, and be a contributor to many of the other committees and group efforts it takes to run your society. Please contact me, or any of the members of the executive committee, listed on the website if you have even the slightest desire to support your society and increase its value to all the members. Bill & Kathy Whitney Co-commodores FSS COMMODORE@FSS.org Update on the new Friendship Sloop Book The new Friendship Sloop Book is well underway. The Book Committee has met several times since the start of the year and has mapped out the chapter outlines for the first part of the book, covering the history of Friendship sloops and the Friend- ship Sloop Society. The first chapter has been written, edited, rewritten, been reviewed and is being revised again. Chapters Two through Four have partial drafts and research is continuing to make this history as complete as we can make it in the space of one book. In addition to the content for Part I, the Book Commit- tee has been collecting information on individual sloops for Part II of the book – the Catalog of Sloops. A mailing went out in March to all sloop owners (that we know about) with a form requesting confirmation of details of individual sloops, such as length on deck, beam, year launched, builder, and other specific, and non-specific details about each sloop registered with the Society. The mailing was followed a month later by a mass e-mail asking owners to follow up with us and send in their forms. To date we have had 45 sloop owners contact us with forms, pictures and further information about their sloops. We also know about several owners who intend to send us informa- tion but are involved in domestic disputes over which pictures to send. We understand. Just work it out and let us know. If you are a sloop owner, and you did not receive a form, or the cat ate it, you can fill out a form on line by going to the Friendship Sloop website home page (www.FSS.org) and clicking on the link Progress on the new Friendship Sloop book & how to electronically submit your sloop’s information. The link will take you to a page with more information and sample pages from the new book. It will also take you to the on line form that you can fill out and submit electronically. If you do not like computers, you can contact Ted Walsh directly at the address below, and he can send you a blank form. We want to include every sloop — even if it has not left the garage for ten years. Several members of the Book Committee will be at the Southwest Harbor Rendezvous, blank forms in hand, looking to track down information on individual sloops. In Rockland, the Book Committee will have a small table under the tent with a rough mockup of the book so attendees at Rockland can see first hand what the book will look like. As in Southwest Harbor, blank sloop forms will be avail- able as we make every effort to reach every sloop owner. (Continued to Page 2) Volume 25 FSS.ORG Summer 2013 Issue 2 Friendships Newsletter of the Friendship Sloop Society

Update on the New Friendship Sloop Book (Continued from Front Page) At the annual meeting in November we should be able to report on the projected publication date and we hope to have information on ordering books at that time. If you own a sloop and we have not heard from you, send us your form, or go on line and help us out. Thank you. For questions, or help with forms contact: Ted Walsh c/o TMC Books LLC 731 Tasker Hill Rd. Conway, NH 03818 Rockland Race Course News The 2012-2013 winter deliberations by your Executive and Race Committees have produced an attempt to alleviate the traffic-jams that have so frequently occurred in Handicap Alley at Rockland. This year, we will be starting three divisions in the following sequence as taken from the 2013 Sailing Instructions: Starting Sequence Minutes Activity Shape or Flag 30 Warning: Division II Yellow 25 Preparatory: Division II Blue 20 Start: Division II Red 15 Preparatory: Division I Blue 10 Start: Division I Red 5 Preparatory: Cruising Blue 0 Start: Cruising Red Of the three starting divisions, only Division II and I will honor Handicap Alley, with the Cruising Division by-passing it entirely. Then, as an aid to those using the Alley, we have significantly widened the distance between the entrance buoys G-1 and G-2. Here, the new coordinates have been posted on the 2013 course chart. A final word concerning the chart – – – aside from being informational only (and not to be used for navigation) this is the “official” chart that shall be issued to all skippers at the Skippers’ Meeting under the tent at Rockland. ALL previous charts should be discarded and must not be used for the 2013 race program at Rockland. Dues Reminder If you haven’t mailed your annual dues in for 2013, please send them to our membership secretary: Carole Wojcik, Membership Secretary 347 Lincoln Street Norwell, MA 02061 2013 Schedule of Events Parker’s Boat Yard Rendezvous Saturday, June 29th Scituate Harbor Rendezvous Sunday, June 30th Gloucester Harbor Rendezvous Monday, July 1st Southwest Harbor Rendezvous Saturday, July 13th Pulpit Harbor Rendezvous Tuesday, July 16th 53rd Annual Homecoming Rendezvous & Races at Rockland Thursday, Friday, Saturday – July 18th to July 20th Marblehead Classic Boat Regatta August 10th & 11th Fall Executive Committee Meeting Saturday, October 5th Annual Meeting Saturday, November 16th Best Western Merry Manor Inn South Portland, ME 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 additions. Thanks for your help. Trophy Engraving Reminder Please remember, before you return the trophy you won at the Rockland Homecoming to the Race Committee, it is your responsibility to have the trophy engraved with your name or the name of your sloop and the year. 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. – 2 –

Help Wanted The Society is looking for volunteers to fill the following key positions within the organization: Publicity The society needs to recruit members to form a Public- ity Committee. The function of this committee is to interface with local and national media outlets, keeping them informed about Friendship Sloop Society activities, rendezvous, and gatherings. Eventually we envision distributing stories and articles about society history and other human interest material. Committee members are not necessarily responsible for generat- ing news articles or stories. They will be provided from our archives or other members. Race Committee The society also is in need of volunteers to serve on the Race Committee. Many of the current members of the committee have served honorably for several decades and we need to train their eventual replacements. No experience is necessary for these positions, however some familiarity with boats and sail boat racing would be desirable. Newsletter Editor After 25 years of editing the FSS newsletter, the editor has decided to pass his pen on to a member who will take over the position and continue the production as well as enhance the newsletter. The newsletter is mailed twice a year to members. If you are interested in volunteering for any of these positions, please contact Bill Whitney: The FSS website: commodore@fss.org Home email: wmcwhitney@verizon./net Home Phone: 781-449-2063 Cell phone: 617-281-0113 Pulpit Harbor Rendezvous Friendships cruising from the west and from the east will be rendezvousing in Pulpit Harbor the night of Tuesday, July 16th. For the last few years the fleet has been gathering at Pulpit Harbor the day before they continue 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. 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. 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. Two FSS Members to be Honored On Wednesday evening, June 26th, Harold Burnham and Ralph Stanley will be honored by the USS Constitution Museum at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston when they will be presented the 2013 Don Turner Award. The award is presented annually to honor the name of Don Turner, former head of the USS Constitution Maintenance and Repair Facility, for his singular contribution toward the preservation of “Old Ironsides” and the skills that built her, as well as his knowledge of and dedication to the ancient art of shipbuilding, and to recog- nize others who are similarly dedicated to maritime preservation and advances in ship construction and design. The Don Turner Award is made annually to a person or team of people, profes- sional or amateur, who have contributed significantly to efforts to preserve important vessels or who have made significant contributions to our knowledge and understanding of ship design and construction. Through the efforts of Dave Graham, an Overseer at the USS Constitution Museum, arrangements have been made for free admission to be granted to the first 12 FSS members who respond with a request to our Commodore, Bill Whitney, to attend the presentation ceremonies, with light fare, under a tent alongside the USS Constitution. The event will otherwise cost $60 per attendee. Our Commodore can be reached via e-mail at wmcwhitney@verizon.net 21st Annual Southwest Harbor Race by Miff Lauriat One score and one year ago, Alex Forbes and I started the Southwest Harbor “race” in an attempt to get all the local Friendship sloops to sail near each other for the purpose of making a pretty touristy pit-cha! We succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. Ed Elvidge put us on his calendar and even sold an image (of sloops at the entrance of Somes Sound) to the local beer distributor. Every time we got beah at the Foodmaht, we’d get to see Phoenix and Resolute and Heironymous beating into a nice NW breeze on a mural that stretched 30 feet, the length of the cooler on the back wall! Now it isn’t uncommon to have 10 or more boats participating in our relaxed rumble/ Downeast rendezvous, otherwise known as a “Fun, loose circumnavigation of Greenings Island”. Alex no longer summers in Maine, but Marge and I will do our best, along with Kate and Steve Hughes, to make all who venture East feel welcome. The competition will be keen amongst the preponderance of professional sloop skippers, but don’t let THAT scare you off. Chances are, no matter your preferred hull speed, there will be another sloop that sails about that fast, and you will have company close at hand, for a delight- ful afternoon sail in the “Great Harbor of Mount Desert”. As always, we’d love to have a heads-up if you think you are going to be here. Race should start about 1300 hours, off the NW corner of Greenings. The Hughes will again host the post-race party at their cottage on the Manset shore. (44 16.3N 68 19.0W) If you want any inside info, it will be freely given, just call Miff (207.244.4313) between the hours of 5-9pm or email – 3 –

Willis H. Collyer Will was a longtime member of the Sloop Society and was the former owner of #97 Gannett (now Integrity) Willis H. Collyer, age 91, of Mattapoisett, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, at Our Lady’s Haven in Fairhaven, MA after a long illness. He was the husband of the late Barbara R. “Bobi” (Walker) Collyer. Born and raised in Marblehead, MA, Willis was the son of the late Ernest L. and Corinne (Lindsey) Collyer. He had resided in Mattapoisett since 1956. He was a member of the Mattapoisett Congregational Church. He graduated from Marblehead High School and later went on to receive an associate degree in Criminal Justice from Northeastern University. Growing up in Marblehead, loving anything marine and water related, he began work at Graves Yacht Yard, and crewed on the classic one-designs of the day, including “J,” “Q,” and “S” boats, as well as 110’s and 210’s. He later worked at the Marble- head Transportation Co., and served as waterfront Steward of both the Eastern Yacht Club and Boston Yacht Club. Will was a proud Coast Guard veteran of World War II, enlisting in 1939. He first served as a gunner in North Atlantic convoy duty aboard the 125′ cutter Travis. Later in the war he served in the Pacific Theater aboard the cutter Taney. He was Chief Gunner’s Mate when he participated in the invasions of Okinawa and Tokyo. He remained very active in Taney reunion activities, visiting the ship enshrined in Baltimore on many recent Pearl Harbor Days. Will began his career as a National Resource Officer and patrol boat captain in 1955, retiring as supervisor of Massa- chusetts marine environmental law enforcement in 1986. On his early “off duty” days, he was employed by Brownell Boat Yard, Edwin L. Perkins Co. and Joseph Luiz Contractors at various times, instilling a much respected strong work ethic in his three sons. Willis was very active, independent and “sharp as a tack” throughout his later years, kept busy maintaining his own home, furniture making and of course following the activities of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Regular drive-throughs of the Mattapoisett Boatyard, the town wharf and visits with his friends for coffee filled his days. He is survived by his sons, Michael L. Collyer and his wife, Jacqueline, and Craig W. Collyer and his wife, Joanne, both of Mattapoisett, and his daughter-in-law, Jennifer M. Collyer of Fairhaven; numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Willis was the father of his much beloved youngest son, the late Karl M. Collyer. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Karl M. Collyer Memorial Fund, PO Box 947, Mattapoisett, MA 02739, which affords the opportunity for all youths, regardless of ability to pay, to learn the fine art of sailing (mattsail.org). Cruise Down East to the 53rd Cruising in company with other sloops is a safe way to make the voyage to the 53rd Homecoming in Rockland, especially if this may be your first extended cruise. Not only is it safer, it also can be a lot of fun. Again this year a cruise is planned to leave Buzzards Bay. Current plans are to rendezvous on the night of Saturday, June 29th at the mooring area on the north side of Bassett’s Island by Wings Neck at Cataumet. Currently there are three sloops planning to meet that afternoon: Bill Whitney with Gaivota, John Wojcik with Banshee and Laurie Raymond onboard her sloop Hegira. The planned itinerary is to depart Bassett’s Island at 8:00 AM on Sunday and pass through the Cape Cod Canal with the fair tide. The destination for that day is Scituate. The following day the “fleet” will head to Cape Ann and anchor in Folly Cove on the north side of Cape Ann. Wednesday’s objec- tive will probably be Cape Porpoise Harbor since it’s generally uncrowded and is a good anchorage. The cruise will then continue to the Portland area and will attempt to spend the night at Jewell Island or Cliff Island in Casco Bay. The schedule after that day will be flexible depending on the wishes of the crews and of course the weather. If you are interested in joining the cruise anywhere along the line, please contact John Wojcik at home at 781-659- 2820 or 617-571-5824 (CP). Since the schedule is very depend- ent on the weather, we may not be able to keep to the above schedule, so do not assume that we will be in any of the above locations without contacting John to verify the status. Membership News Carole Wojcik has received a few notes from our members: John Crumpton, owner of #117 Leading Light out of Freeport, Maine wrote: Recruiting crew in order to go is a new experience – much different from “we’re going – would you join us.” I managed to have a good summer on the water – day sailing 11 times from mid-July to mid-October. We launched too late for Rockland. Next year? Maybe – if a good crew person with time shows up – no prospects yet. Richard Mosher owner of #205 Daystar who sails on Lake Michigan, sent along the following: Daystar had a bad summer – she almost sank due to seams opening (like Tannis). The water levels were low and still are – Daystar had to be pulled out of her slip backwards down the river to the haul out. I plan to ream all seams below the water line, and recaulk and seal. I hope that the water level on Lake Michigan rises to normal levels. If not, Daystar will not be launched. Sarah McLean Anderson has sold her sloop, #93 Anna R, and her charter business to Aaron Paolino of Thomaston, Maine. Sarah has been accepted to the Maine Maritime Academy and will start her studies this fall. – 4 –

Information Requested – Sloop Annie O The registrar received the following email from David Franke requesting information on the sloop Annie O. If you know of this sloop, please contact David directly. I am researching my relatives Joseph E. Butler and William F. Butler. Is there any truth to the tales told in Nelson Webber’s booklets regarding a Friendship Sloop named Annie O? I was hoping that Annie O would appear in the Friendship Sloop Registry. I note that there have been several McClains who built Friendship Sloops, but found no Annie O in the regis- try. Was it just too old a vessel to have been listed? See refer- ence material below, which put me on this search. Many thanks for any assistance you may be able to give. From the booklet by Nelson Webber, “Bremen, Maine” #12 page 32 a list of shipbuilders: “Will Butler 1875-1956? born on Shore Road, Bremen was a Grand Banks fisherman most of his life He retired to Bremen and built many sailing models of local Coasters and Schooners which he gave to the children, many little boys had fun sailing them at Muscongus Harbour.” Nelson Webber material [copied as it appears, complete with misspellings]: “William Butler and his father Joe lived on Bremens shore road, they owned a large Friendship Sloop “Annie O.” built by “Bugs Mclain” and made their living fishing for Halibut as far north as “Sable Island” off Nova Scotia, until about 1930 when they sailed into Friendship Harbour, moored their Sloop and walked to Bremen on the ice of Muscongus Bay, to retire at Muscongus Harbour. Will became Captain of another Sloop owned by the Coolidge family of Bremen and took out many fishing parties. He also carved and whittled many models of sloops, Coasters, Schooners and dories.” David L. Franke 4423 North Bennett Heights Batavia, New York 14020 dlfla@2ki.net Information Requested – Sloop Eda L. Morse Membership Secretary Carole Wojcik received a call this winter from John Mullins of Dartmouth, Mass, inquiring about the Eda J. Morse. Here’s what we know: The Eda J Morse was built by Wilbur Morse in Friendship and launched in 1891. The sloop is named after his daughter who was 13 years old at the time. John’s father was Captain Dan Mullins who owned a number of fishing boats out of New Bedford, Mass, one of the boats being the Eda J Morse which he owned early in the last century. John is researching the history of his father’s fishing vessels, and has inquired if any member of the Society knows the history of the Eda J Morse. If you can provide some information, please contact Carole at membership@fss.org. Corinthian Classic Yacht Regatta The Corinthian Yacht Club of Marblehead will again be hosting the Classic Yacht Regatta on Saturday and Sunday, August 10th & 11th. The Corinthian will be providing compli- mentary moorings for entrants on a first come first served basis. For more information, visit the regatta website at: www.corinthianclassic.org. Free Sloop – #154 Muscongus Bruce Williams of Bridgeport, Conn, owner of Captain’s Cove Seaport and #154 Muscongus, has contacted the Society and has offered his sloop to anyone who will give it a home. The sloop was built in 1909 by Albion Morse of Cushing, Maine. It is 28’ on deck. The sloop does need some work. Bruce can be reached at 203-335-1433. The sloop is at the seaport which is located at 1 Bostwick Ave., Bridgeport, CT. Please help us save this Class A original sloop. 31st Annual Antique & Classic Boat Festival Pat Wells, one of the organizers of the Antique & Classic Boat Festival, has again invited Friendship Sloops with the following note: “We would love to have a Friendship sloop at the Festival. Please let members of the Society know about our show in Salem, August 24 – 25. This is a rare chance to see vintage motor yachts and sailboats, tour the vessels, meet skippers and crews and vote for your favorite boat! A crafts market, artists, old-time band music, children’s activities, the Blessing of the Fleet, Parade of Boats and more! Boats don’t have to be in “show” condition. The spirit of the Festival is to gather together the grand old craft and all who love them.” The festival will be held at Brewer Hawthorne Cove Marina in Salem, MA on Saturday from 11 AM to 5 PM, and on Sunday from 10 AM to 3 PM. Admission is $5 with children under 12 free. For more information or to enter a sloop, visit their website at www.boatfestival.org or call Pat Wells at 617-666-8530. Ardelle Cruise Harold Burnham, designer, builder, owner and skipper of the schooner Ardelle, hosted 26 members of the Sloop Society on Wednesday evening, June 12th. The Ardelle is a 58 foot pinky schooner capable of carrying 49 passengers, and sails from the Gloucester Maritime Center. Harold launched the Ardelle in July, 2011. The weather for the cruise was cool, with a stiff north- west breeze with a few rain showers passing through the Gloucester area. Harold and his first-mate – his son Alden, sailed the schooner out of its slip and out into Gloucester outer harbor where he sailed along the western shore of the harbor. Passengers enjoyed meeting new members, and reacquainting themselves with old friends during the two hour cruise. After returning to the Maritime Center, many of the members met at Captain Carlo’s Seafood Restaurant for drinks, dinner, and more conversation. – 5 –

Friendship Sloop Society 347 Lincoln Street Norwell, MA 02061 Address Correction Service Requested