Spring 2016 Newsletter
đ Download PDFCommodoreâs Message Greetings Shipmates: Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Water, waves, wind, weather….all the ingredients for another season under sail. I do hope your calendar (and your checkbook) have room for a healthy dose of sailing this year. Regardless if you are a sloop-owner, or sloop- appreciating FSS Member, we all know that spending quality time under sail adds to the joy of life and creates memories to be savored both soon and long after we have returned our feet to dry land. Make it so in 2016! At our Rockland Homecoming, July 21-23, we will again hold our Parade of Sloops Friday afternoon at the water- front of Rocklandâs world famous Sail, Power and Steam Museum, accompanied by live music, and a public lobster bake under the tent. The rest of the activities will be at the wonderful Rockland Public Landing, including 3 days of racing, games and contests, and the best part: connecting with old and new sloop friends from near and far. The important thing to me about membership in an association like the Friendship Sloop Society is that it is not merely something that you belong to…it belongs to you, as well. We have a relationship with a maritime legacy that is special and unique. We are stewards of a tradition that is every bit as synonymous with Maine as is Moxie, L.L. Bean and lobster! So let’s celebrate that relationship, and that stewardship, in true friendship. Meet me in Southwest Harbor and Rockland Harbor this July and join the rest of the crew for another summer of joyful memories….and I’ll buy the Moxie. Fraternally, Noel March, Commodore A New Sloop in the Making! Membership Secretary Carole Wojcik recently received a membership renewal from Captain Steve Erskine of Wiscasset, ME, who also inquired about a sail number for the new Chapelle-designed 22â Friendship sloop Elysium he is building and hoping to launch this summer. Steve attended the Rockland Homecoming several years ago, and was very enthusiastic about the people, the event, and the sloops. If all goes well, he and his new sloop may be there this year! Steve writes: âI was born into a family that has deep sailing roots, and had the pleasure growing up to sail on a Friendship sloop, and be around traditional working sailing vessels. My Mom was a crewmember on the Maine Windjammer Victory Chimes back when she was first making the transition from cargo to people. At the ripe old age of 17, the Friendship sloop was one of the craft I was instantly smitten with, so when a local wooden sloop of 25 feet became available, I jumped at the chance. I was friends with the owners, and they assured me that even though she had been out of her element for 12 years, that with âjust a little elbow greaseâ she would be as good as new! However, a very knowledgeable uncle did a survey for me, breaking my heart by telling me to walk away from the boat, as she was close to needing a complete rebuild. Several years ago, 40 years after the first opportunity to own a Friendship, another friend offered chance number two, a sloop with hull and deck built, spars and sails complete; impossi- ble to pass up. All I needed to do was to finish her off and build the cabin, and so with tender loving care, this proud FSS newbie is putting the finishing touches on sloop #284, with hopes of a midsummer 2016 launch. And while a professional boat builder I am not, she has been built right, and I hope old Wilbur would have shown his approval.â Volume 28 FSS.ORG Summer 2016 Issue 2 Friendships Newsletter of the Friendship Sloop Society 1 Content #5 with the March family aboard
Marlinspike Seamanship By Ted Walsh Junk and Rope Mats Junk: ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting an old or inferior rope): of unknown origin. All of us have to replace lines from time to time. One of the byproducts of this evolution is a coil of rope that is no longer safe to use for its originally intended purpose, but which has usually attained a softness and worn quality that is nice to the touch, aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and too nice to throw out. Traditionally, sailors of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries called this spent rope âjunkâ, and they put it to work. Worn, soft, old rope that is no longer structurally sound is the very best material for making rope mats. The illustrations below are for making a âthump-matâ. A thump-mat is placed around a ring bolt or eye in the deck where a block is hanked and where that block has the potential to âthumpâ on the deck causing wear to both deck and block. It is a pretty simple item to make and will use up some of that old junk and give it a second life protecting deck and block. There are a number of ways to tie this knot; you can go on the internet and find videos that might help you understand the process, but here are a few tricks to make the mat easier to tie. The mat described below is an oblong shape based on a knot known as a Napoleon, and is triple passed, or âthree strandsâ. What you will need: ⢠A flat board ⢠The actual width of the line you are using. ⢠Some small pegs approximately 2â long and 1/8â to Âźâ thick. (You can use pieces of dowel or whittle pegs out of sticks.) Tip #1. Make a tying board. Take a scrap piece of wood and diagram out the knot as I have here. This will not only ensure that the knot is tied and dressed correctly, but if you need two matching mats, say one for a starboard block and one for a port, they will be the same size and match. As you diagram out the board you will need to decide whether you are tying a two strand, three strand, or four strand knot. The diagram here is for a three strand. Tip #2. Drill holes for the pegs and place them in your tying board. Tip #3. Most books and videos will start the Napoleon knot in the center and work out with both ends. It is easier to teach the knot that way if you are not using a board. What I have found is that the whole knot is easier to tie if you start at one end of the line and lay out as much of the knot as possible by laying rope bight on top of rope bight on a board. The longer you can put off the process of pulling the bulk of the rope under bights in the knot, the less tangled things get. Therefore, these illustrations show a method that starts at one end of the rope and lays out 2/3rds of the knot before you have to pass the working end under any part of the knot (see #2). As you start to tie the mat follow the diagram on the board going around the pegs until you have completed following the diagram one full time around (see #3). Start your second time around following the path of the first and parallel to it (see #4). By the time you start the third time around, you will need to pull out the pegs, from here on in they are just going to get in the way. Dress the finished knot. Make sure the bights are even and take up any slack by opening up the middle of the mat so that it can pass over the ring-bolt or deck eye. There you have it!! – 2 –
Race Committee News By Dave Graham Thoughts concerning our upcoming Rockland gathering during July 21-23 this summer have been harboring in our minds throughout the past winter months, mild though they have been. It was in very early January that we filed the much- needed 2016 Coast Guard âMarine Event Applicationâ for racing at Rockland this year. While we havenât officially heard back from the South Portland office as yet, the Return Receipt that accompanied the Certified Mail application was delivered to us only a few days after everything had been sent, so we at least know that the paperwork is in the hands of our Coast Guard friends. Logistically, the issue involving our scoring program was placed last fall with a committee of two, formed by Commodore March, with the task of coming up with a solution. In turn, a sub-committee was formed consisting of FSS members who have been wrestling with the vexing problem of creating a level playing-field for handicapping and scoring our regatta racing. Although not a part of the committee or its sub-committee, I remain confident that a workable solution will be brought forth prior to our arrival at Rockland this July. (see article next column) Meanwhile, equipment and personnel planning so neces- sary to produce a great race program has been progressing. In the end, I remain confident that we will have a program that will be attractive to all. As the old saying goes, âIt doesnât just happenâ, and it never does, without the effort and many, many hours put in by volunteers throughout the winter and spring! On a personal note, I want to thank all of you for the very strong support given me this past late November and into Decem- ber as I suffered through the loss of my wife, Florence, on November 23rd. When she developed pneumonia a year ago last March, she went through a 10-month struggle of hospitalization and re-hab that, in the end, took all the âfightâ out of her. Your words of kindness and encouragement have made a tough winter seem easier over the weeks and months since her loss. For all of this, I shall remain eternally grateful to each and every member of the Friendship Sloop Society. As many of you know, Florence had been a long-time supporter of not only the Race Committee, but the entire Society, and for her support, I shall also remain grateful. Changes Come to Rockland Racing Several changes to the racing plan at the 2016 Rockland Homecoming were voted on at the FSS Executive Committee meeting held May 7, 2016 at the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. It was decided that a variation of the existing handicapping system will be applied to the 2016 races at Rockland. The five year average (for years 2011 through 2015) of actual seconds per nautical mile (s/nm) sailed for each boat will be calculated and will be the basis for the 2016 racing handicap. Any boat finishing a race series with an actual s/nm time faster or slower than their current average s/nm time will be assigned a new handicap rating for future races. This system will be scrutinized and evaluated closely after the 2016 season to see if it suits the FSS racing group. When a new participant registers for the race, the Race Committee will select no fewer than 3 captains within the same division and with similar boats, to agree on and recommend a temporary handicap for the new participant. The Race Committee will then apply this temporary handicap until the new participant can establish an actual s/nm rating. In an effort to enjoy the more favorable afternoon breezes, and in keeping with a motion passed at an earlier Annual Meeting, scheduled race start time will now be no earlier than 1 PM, with skippersâ meetings and crew call at 11 AM under the tent. This will allow participants more time to enjoy Rocklandâs offerings, attend to boat and crew needs, have lunch prior to racing, and set a more relaxed, enjoyable pace for the Homecom- ing. Some special events like the line toss, scavenger hunt and rowboat races may be held in the mornings prior to the race. Your feedback on these changes will be most welcome! Lobster Bake for Blackjack! Captain Jim Sharp and his largely volunteer crew at the Sail, Power and Steam Museum in Rockland, continue the impor- tant and extensive restoration of the circa-1900 33â Friendship sloop Blackjack #19. But it doesnât come cheap, as anyone who has recently bought a bronze shackle or cleat, or a decent piece of lumber knows. The restoration is as expensive as it is extensive, and the Museum, with the full support of the Friendship Sloop Society, is holding a lobster bake fundraiser at the Museum after the Parade of Sloops on Friday evening, July 22. Tickets are $40 each, and all proceeds will go to Blackjack, in an effort to ultimately return her to Maine waters. A prodigious amount of progress has been made on the sloop thus far, including a new stem, new frames and floors, and now the planking is well along. The Friendship sloop section of the Museumâs website (www.sailpowersteammuseum.org) has a most impressive slideshow of Blackjack photos, from the day she first rolled into the Museum parking lot, sagging, sad and slumped, through the various phases of making her right again. Tickets for the âBakeâ may be purchased at the Museum at 75 Mechanic Street in Rockland, and more information is avail- able by calling the Museum at 207-596-0200. Other menu items will be available for those who are not fans of the tasty crustacean. Additional donations of funds, marine hardware and sweat are also always welcomed by the Museum. – 3 – Former RC boat Seven Girls seconds before the start in 2014. Ralph Stanley is at the helm. (Photo courtesy of Joey Toppan)
Harbor Island: A Muscongus Bay Gem Lovely Harbor Island lies in central Muscongus Bay, several miles southwest of the mouth of the St. George River. The small, protected harbor is actually nestled between Harbor Island to the west and tiny Hall Island to the east. Though at first glance the cove appears exposed to the south, the substantial rocky shoals submerged at high water provide excellent protec- tion while nearby islands to the north keep things snug inside. A single stone Cape-style home is plainly visible on Harbor, while a more modest though sprawling camp lies opposite on Hall Island. We had sailed by Harbor Island on many occasions, always with some other destination in mind. I had seen a few masts visible over the low land and hoped that on the next excur- sion we would stop here. This was our lucky trip! We approached from the east, starting our day in Tenants Harbor under cloudy, windless skies with afternoon storms forecast. We chose the inside passage past Port Clyde, leaving Mosquito and Hupper Islands to the north, then passing between Thompson and Barter Islands. We made for the entrance to the cove, taking care to avoid two large submerged rocks off the northern tip of each island. These are well marked on the chart and there’s plenty of room between them for safe passage. The more popular anchorage is on the Hall side, and there we settled in 20-30 feet of water with good holding ground, in the company of 4 other sailboats. Another more challenging option was tucking up in the SW corner close to Harbor Island in 12-15 feet; tight, but several boats found room in there. A rocky shoal extending from the south separates these two anchorages. After settling in, and before the predicted showers began, an unanticipated spell of sunshine and heat prompted swimmers to dive in, and remarkably, people on every boat there took a plunge, something I have never before witnessed in Maine’s chilly waters. Though both islands are in private hands, the owners of Harbor Island have for decades graciously allowed visitors ashore to explore the shoreline and the inland trails. Dinghies can be pulled up on the beach just south of the stone pier, or tied off to the pier itself. The trails we found began near the house and meandered off into hilly spruce woods scattered with mossy knolls, fern groves, and boulders (sound like a Maine island?). Some dead-ended on beaches, other trails hugged the shoreline. The island is small enough that it would be difficult to get truly lost, but large enough to wonder where exactly you were headed with all the twists, turns and intersecting trails. The shoreline itself is stunning, with dramatic outcrops of striated sedimentary- metamorphic rock formations. The northern portion of Harbor Island is the Duryea Morton Audubon Sanctuary, off-limits to human visitors as the nesting eiders reserve it well into mid-July. The southern tip of Hall Island becomes an even smaller island at high tide, and at low water has some sandy stretches to drag up a dinghy and walk a dog if you have one aboard. During our brief stay, we spotted osprey, eagle, eiders, great blue heron and guillemots, but alas, intensive foraging revealed no mussels, the only minor disap- pointment in an otherwise perfect, tranquil and beautiful anchorage! Southwest Harbor Stepping It Up Miff Lauriat and Marge Russakoff The organizers of the Southwest Harbor Rendezvous are pleased to announce our intention to hold an event on Satur- day, July 16, 2016. In order to completely disseminate informa- tion to all participants we have determined that this year we’re going to require a representative from each vessel to show up at a to-be-announced shoreside location to “register” and pick up our one-page chart and instructions. We’re serious about that, folks. The growing popularity of the event is forcing us to be better organized and give our Race Committee a heads-up. We anticipate a start of no earlier than 1 PM. Betsey Holtzmann (owner of Endeavor #196) and her son Abe Noyes have graciously invited the FSS and extended family to an after-race potluck party at their new place on Kings Point (Manset shore), south side of the entrance to Southwest Harbor. They have a dock, which is the 5th dock east of the Hinckley dock. We will organize the potluck, which will include drinks, snacks and dinner, in the coming weeks, and will expect guests to contribute comestibles and bring their own rum! The Hinckley Company has again very generously offered free moorings and dockage for boats from away. We look forward to seeing you in Southwest! Registrar and Membership News Sail number 284 has been issued to Steven Erskine of Wiscasset, ME, who has completed the building of a 22â sloop, which he has named Elysium. Steve will be launching the boat this summer in Wiscasset. See Steveâs story on Page 1. David Niebuhr has sold #83 Perseverance to Rick Foote. The boat has been homeported in Yorktown, VA, and is a Bruno & Stillman sloop, hull #1. We are waiting to hear from Rick as to where he will be mooring the vessel. Neal Parker of Rockport, ME has informed the Society that he has sold #50 Heritage to Jeff Beck of Camden. Heritageâs homeport will now be Camden. Tyler Grace of Boston has purchased #169 Defiance and has renamed the sloop Nika. The 22â wooden sloop will be homeported in Boston Harbor. Forrest Richards of Chesterton, MD, has acquired #105 Lady E from Mike Johnson of York, PA. Forrest will be sailing out of Chesterton on the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay. Michael Schoff has sold #257 Salty Dog to Jonathan Wesley King of Gulfport, FL. This sloop is 28â in length and was built by Dave Westphal in 1992. From David Dick, owner of #70 Sailin Shoes: âIâve been unable to work much on Friendship #70. I also own (having bought it through the Block Island Foundation, which sells boats for tax write-offs for owners) the 27â Philip J. Nichols. Iâve done a lot of work but I am offering it for almost nothing to get it to a good home (i.e. someone with enough energy to finish it). So Wings of Morning is now Sailin Shoes. Hopefully I can sail it and keep her beautiful. The very first boat I sailed on was Roger & Mary Duncanâs Eastward in 1958. I was 5 ½ years old. Friendships have been my dream boat ever since.â – 4 –
Friendship Memorial Scholarship Fund Where have the last 50 years gone? It seems like just yesterday that it was 1967, the year that Bill Pendleton requested that the FSS create a scholarship for the children of Friendship, ME. This was to thank the Town of Friendship for their hospi- tality during the annual Friendship Sloop Races held in the harbor. The FSS approved the request at the annual meeting in 1967, and in 1968 four scholarships of $200 each were awarded. The goal was focused on distributing as much assis- tance as possible to Friendship High School seniors desiring a post-secondary education, and placing some of the donations received annually into an endowment. The idea was to build an endowment large enough to generate a significant dollar amount to distribute as annual scholarships. Since its inception, the endowment has grown to over $110,000, and the Fund has awarded over 250 scholarships. Today, the Trustees of the Fund have a goal of making larger awards to individual graduating seniors. To accomplish this, one of the efforts will be a $20,000 Matching Gifts Program in 2017, the 50th anniversary of the Fund. Every gift given to the Fund in 2017 will be matched dollar for dollar up to a total of $20,000. This will grow the endowment by $40,000 – a growth of 36% in one year! There will be a mailing to over 1000 property owners, previous contributors, past scholarship recipients, and organizations showing an interest in the Fund, announcing the Matching Gifts Program. I want to thank the Trustees of the Fund, for their positive approach to change, their deep-seated dedication to the youth of Friendship, and their support when extra help is needed. I want to give a very special thank-you to Caroline and Bill Zuber for their successful management of the Fund, and for their current efforts in compiling a history of the Fund. Respectfully, Phil Pratt P.O. Box 129, Friendship, ME 04547 207-832-4335 EMAIL: davisloop100@gmail.com Homebrew Bronze Cleaners By Bill Whitney Every now and then you come across something in a nautically oriented publication that not only applies to a Friend- ship sloop, but also really works. Here are two recipes for homemade bronze cleaner that I picked up from an old copy of Practical Sailor. I have edited it slightly to remove superfluous information. âLest you think multi-billion-dollar chemical companies and their geeks in white lab coats have a lock on cleaning your bronze, there are numerous homebrewed cleaning solutions that folks claim have the ability to put a shine on your bronze and a gleam in your eye. We decided to test two of these strange brews. Below are the recipes and our test results. These recipes were pulled from the Internet, HOME BREW NO. 1: SALT AND VINEGAR PASTE Recipe: Dissolve 3 teaspoons of salt into 1 cup of white vinegar. Add enough flour to make a paste, and then scoop the paste onto a clean sponge and polish. Rinse with hot water and buff dry with a soft cloth. Result: This polish worked surprisingly well. While it took a little scrubbing, and we had to let the tougher stains soak for 10 to 15 minutes, it worked well overall and earned a rating of âGoodâ on our test scale. HOME BREW NO. 2: LEMON PASTE Recipe: Polish with a soft cloth soaked in a solution of lemon juice and baking soda, or sprinkle baking soda on a slice of lemon and scrub. (We made a paste as in Brew No. 1.) Result: After the mini-volcanic reaction of mixing lemon juice and baking soda settled down, the resulting paste powered off the stains exceptionally well with minimal scrubbing. We tried using a slice of lemon, but the cloth held up better and worked best while rubbingâit was also less messy. This home brew polish earned a solid rating of âVery goodâ on our test scale, comparable with many of our top commercially produced performers. CONCLUSION Overall, the results in the home brew category were pretty impressive, particularly considering that they have all natural ingredients and that both are economical to make. While the Brews Nos. 1 and 2 cleaned the bronze, they lacked the âlusterâ of products such as the Miracle Cloth. Following up the cleaning with a coat of wax would add shine and additional protection.â I like, and have used, both recipes. I personally like Home Brew #2 for two reasons. We usually donât have enough salt or flour on board to mix a batch for recipe #1, but we certainly have more than enough left-over lemons (or limes) from our evening consumption of Tangueray gin and tonic. So raise a glass to Home Brew #2! Membership Renewal Reminder Your membership secretary is still accepting annual membership dues which were due by June 1st. Please mail your payment to: Carole Wojcik, Membership Secretary 347 Lincoln Street Norwell, MA 02061 – 5 – Freedom #167 with skipper Maldwin Drummond and crew behind the Rockland breakwater. (photo courtesy of Joey Toppan)
2016 Schedule of FSS Events (June dates dependent on cooperative weather) Red Brook Harbor Rendezvous (Buzzards Bay, MA) Tuesday, June 28. Scituate Harbor Rendezvous Wednesday, June 29 Cape Ann Rendezvous Thursday, June 30 Southwest Harbor Rendezvous, Race and Potluck Supper Saturday, July 16, start time approximately 1:00 PM Pulpit Harbor Rendezvous Tuesday, July 19 56th Annual Rockland Homecoming: Rendezvous and Races Thursday, Friday and Saturday, July 21-23 Sloops arrive Wednesday, July 20 Races on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (start time 1:00 PM) Depart Sunday, July 24. Parade of Sloops Friday afternoon, at the Museum of Sail, Power and Steam, live music and benefit lobster bake & food truck. Awards Banquet Saturday night, 5:00 PM Rockland Public Landing, under the tent Fall Executive Committee Meeting TBA FSS Annual Meeting Saturday, November 19 Best Western Merry Manor Hotel, South Portland, ME Events of Interest – Summer 2016 Wooden Boat Show, Mystic, CT June 24-26, 25th Annual show at Mystic Seaport Presented and produced by WoodenBoat Magazine www.woodenboat.com Windjammer Days, Boothbay Harbor June 26 â July 2, 54th Annual Festival Events for the whole family www.windjammerdays.org Camden Classics Cup, Camden, ME July 28-30, Inaugural event Presented by Lyman Morse at Wayfarer Marine and Camden Yacht Club ** Friendship sloops welcome with registration www.camdenclassicscup.com Chowder Cup Race, Friendship Harbor August 6, one day race, free, 37th year. Contact Charlie Witherell at cwitherell@roadrunner.com **Friendship sloops welcome with registration Eggemoggin Reach Regatta, Brooklin, ME August 6, all wooden boats 24 feet or longer are welcome 8 Classes of vintage wooden boats, 15 mile race course ** Friendship sloops welcome with registration www.erregatta.com Corinthian Classic Yacht Regatta, Marblehead, MA August 13 and 14 Corinthian Yacht Club, Marblehead, MA www.corinthianclassic.org Antique and Classic Boat Festival, Salem, MA August 20 and 21, 34th year Brewer Hawthorne Cove Marina, Salem, MA ** Friendship sloops welcome with registration Pat Wells, Festival Coordinator, 617-666-8530 – 6 – Hieronymus and crew down from Southwest Harbor to join the races in Rockland. (Photo courtesy of Joey Toppan) Dick Salter, Bill Zuber, and Noel March relax aboard Gladia- tor. Must be happy hour! (Photo courtesy of Joey Toppan)
The Fate of the Wilbur A. Morse We occasionally receive inquiries via the Internet regarding the fate of various Friendship sloops, many from family members who are curious about the sloop that provided such happy memories of summers gone by. Commodore Noel March received the following note and forwarded it on to registrar John Wojcik for research: (See photographs on page 8) âCommodore: My name is Peter A. Hussey from Kennebunkport, ME. My brother & I were former owners of the Wilbur A. Morse #21, built by Carleton Simmons in 1946. My Dad bought the Friendship sloop in 1950 for my brother & I. We sailed it along the Maine coast for about ten years. We started the Arundel Yacht Club in Kennebunkport in 1958, and soon decided we needed a Class boat for racing on Sunday afternoons. We settled on a Crocker 20, and eventually had six boats in the âfleetâ! With this interest in small boat racing, the Friend- ship sat dejectedly on her mooring in the Kennebunk River. We made the hard choice and put her up for sale in 1960. I do not recall who bought her then, and in the last few years I have been anxious to trace her whereabouts. I was amazed last year to read on your website that the Wilbur A. Morse was in Port Townsend, Washington, and owned by a Richard Brown. I have tried to contact him to find out the story of how this Friendship got all the way across the country to a port across the bay from Seattle! I have had no luck in contacting Richard Brown, as there are several listed in the Port Townsend area. Could you please shed some light on how this Friendship got so far from home and how I might contact Richard Brown so I could find out how he came to own our old Friendship?â John researched the request and replied to Peter with the following: âThere is not much information I can provide for you. About 5 years ago I undertook a project to contact all sloop owners who we have not heard from for some years, in order to verify the existence and ownership of missing sloops. The Wilbur A. Morse was one of those on the list. Unfortunately, the letter of inquiry mailed to Richard Brown in Port Townsend came back as undeliver- able. Further research (Internet inquiries of his name, looking at tax roles, etc.) was unsuccessful. I called and spoke with a member of the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Foundation and they could not shed any light on the sloop.â (John then went on to provide Peter with a list of seven previous owners of the sloop, with dates of sales and homeports, from 1961-1993) Peter replied to Johnâs note with the following: âJohn, thank you so much for your extensive reply. I note that Richard Brown was not the one who âmovedâ the sloop from Rhode Island to Ventura, CA. What a strange place for a Friendship named Wilbur A. Morse to end up! Then she got moved to Puget Sound in 1993 under the ownership of Richard Brown, a bit more like Maine. Port Townsend looks on the map to be a great place to sail from! Then the trail mysteriously ends 23 years ago, despite all the research, legwork and inquiries.â John did some further research and sent Peter the following: âI finally got a chance to do some additional research on the Wilbur A. Morse and the only thing I have been able to find is what Roger Duncan had written in his book “Friendship Sloops” published in 1985. Roger wrote about the sloop on pages 85 & 86, and included a picture of Wilbur A. Morse sailing along with Vida Mia. I was curious if there was anything else I could find about Richard Brown in Port Townsend, since it had been a few years since I last looked into the whereabouts of the sloop. I did a search on âRichard Brown boatbuilding / repairâ, and found a Rick Brown in Point Dana, CA, who does boat repair / restoration work. His bio indicated that he at one time did repair work in Port Townsend and it seemed to be about the time that Richard Brown owned the sloop. I sent a note to Rick Brown last week inquiring whether he was the same Richard Brown that at one time owned the Wilbur A. Morse, but have not yet received a response.â John ultimately did get a reply back from Rick Brown: âI left the boat in Port Townsend in 1998, in restoration under the guidance of my brother, who discovered it was too far gone to rebuild. So the boat was dismantled.â Peter replied to the news: âJohn, thank you so much for your perseverance in searching for the long lost Friendship sloop Wilbur A. Morse. It is a bitter-sweet outcome, but at least we all are not left with the mystery. The vessel had a 52-year life, and I suppose that is not bad for a wooden boat. Thanks again; we did enjoy her for ten years of her early life!â – 7 –
Friendship Sloop Society 347 Lincoln Street Norwell, MA 02061 – 8 – Brother Phil Hussey and friends cruising the Maine coast on the Wilbur A. Morse. Peter Hussey at the helm of the Wilbur A. Morse, which the family owned in the 1950âs
