Commodore’s Message Spring is near and it is time to start thinking of the summer. Tern is still covered in the driveway, but soon it will be time to remove the cover and start getting her ready for the water. It is time to get those things done to the boat that just a few months ago you said I have all winter to get this done. Well, winter is over, spring is here and now there is only a couple of months left to get those things done. Where does the time go? The Society lost its founder this year. In January, Bernie MacKenzie passed away. As most of you are aware it was Bernie who started the Society in 1961. His vision of bringing Friend- ship Sloops together to race and socialize is going into its 42nd year. I don’t think that he ever imagined it would still be going on 42 years later. He sailed to Rockland last year arriving Tuesday night after a wild sail in that Tuesday wind, and a month later he and his sloop were being filmed for National Geographic. He loved to sail, he loved his Friendship and he was permanently tied to the Society. He will be missed, but his vision will go on. November saw our winter meeting in NH. This year we tried some new ideas. Bill Cronin gave a talk on reefing and the silent auction was running for the whole time of the meeting. The number of items in the live auction was reduced to items we thought would bring a good return. This seemed to work well. The silent auction did well as did the live auction. The idea of a talk at the meeting was well received. Along with this new format we tried to keep the business part of the meeting shorter to allow more time for the more interesting parts of the meeting. Between now and next year we will expand on that format. If anyone has any ideas for talk subjects let the board know. We want to have subjects that are interesting to the membership. Doug Amsbary has decided to step down as membership secre- tary after many years of service. Doug has been instrumental in helping to increase the membership rolls and it was his idea to start the chandlery. He and Irene got it started and got it opera- tional before it was taken over by Tom and Peggy. We want to thank Doug for his many years of service to the society. If there is anyone who would like to take over this position let us know. It is a good way to get involved in the society. (Continued to Page 8) Bernard MacKenzie, FSS Founder, Passes Away at 80 Bernard MacKenzie, Founder and Honorary President of the Friendship Sloop Society, and owner of Voyager, passed away on January 15th at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He was 80 years old. “Bernie” was a self-employed marine surveyor and retired naval architect. He served in the Navy during World War II aboard the aircraft carrier USS Essex. Bernie was a member of the Scituate Historical Society, and curator of the Irish Mossing and Maritime Museum in Scituate. He was also a member of St. Mary of the Nativity Church in Scituate. He was a lifelong resident of Scituate and 1939 gradu- ate of Scituate High School. Bernie founded the Sloop Society in 1961, having been inspired by his winning of the Boston Power Squadron race for Auxiliaries the previous Fall. With the help of many citizens of Friendship, the Society was founded and the town hosted the first annual homecoming event in July of 1961. Donations in Bernard’s memory may be made to the Irish Mossing and Maritime Museum, 43 Cudworth Road, Scituate, MA 02066. A donation to the museum in the name of the Sloop Society has been made by the executive board. Volume 14 Winter / Spring 2002 Issue 1 Friendships Newsletter of the Friendship Sloop Society

The Board of Trustees met three times during 2001. Scholar- ship applications were received from six graduating seniors and from six former graduates for continuing assistance with their education beyond high school. The deteriorating national economy had reduced the earnings from the Trust Funds. With great reluctance, the Trustees voted to deny any grants for other than graduating seniors, and letters were sent to those requesting continuing assistance. The Trustees voted six scholarships in the amount of $800.00 each to graduates of the Class of 2001. Their names and the schools they are attending: Kyle M. L. Genthner Central Maine Technical College Ineke Katherine Hooydonk University of Maine at Orono John Frederick Lash Thomas College (*) Sarah R. Lash Gordon College Louisa Kai Lichtman Lewis and Clark Ryan Wayne Olson Maine Maritime Academy The scholarship awards were made before the Thanksgiving holiday for assistance with second semester expenses. Applica- tions for 2002 are available at the school guidance office, and must be completed by May 1st, 2002. The Trustees voted to accept a memorial donation in the amount of $7,823.28 from the Friendship Community Club. These funds had been invested when memorial donations were made after the death of John T. Harlor on July 10, 1999. With the assistance of Susan Bramhall and Katharina Keoughan, the funds were transferred to the existing 501 (c)(8) trust of the Pendleton Memorial Scholarship Fund, which has the same requirements as the Community Club for the award of scholar- ships. In keeping with the wishes of Mr. Harlor’s family, one of the scholarships to be awarded is named the “John T. Harlor Scholarship”. The first recipient in 2001 was John Lash (*), whose family has worked with the Harlor family for many years, and was announced at the graduation ceremony. Memorial donations were received in memory of Ruth Mueller, Dorothy Bellbouse, Elizabeth and Beppy Bradeen, and an additional donation in memory of John T. Harlor. The Trustees accepted with regret the resignation of Mary Carlson as a Trustee. Her many years of service are deeply appreciated, and we thank her for all of her help. The Trustees had hoped to make a mail solicitation to increase the amount in the Trust Funds during November 2001. The situation after September 11th and the problems with mail deliv- ery have delayed that effort until the early summer of 2002. Contributions at any time are very welcome, and can be sent to the treasurer, Rev. David Bell, 35 Pumpkin Cove Road, New Harbor, ME 04554. Acknowledgments for tax purposes will be sent upon receipt. Financial Report Balances in Trust Funds, Checking, & Savings Acc.: 12/31/00: $67,042.05 Balance on hand all accounts: 12/31/01: $71,175.24 Income: Dividends: $4,100.12 Interest: 23.65 Annual Meeting Auction: 480.00 Friendship Sloop Society: 500.00 Misc. Donations: 1,085.00 Bottle Returns: 5.00 Memorial Donations: 9,408.28 Total Income: $15,602.05 Scholarships Awarded: 4,800.00 Net: $10,802.05 Although we received a record amount of income during 2001, this was offset by the drop in the value of our invested funds due to the recession. The combined earnings on the balances of $71,175.24 at an estimated return of 6% are $4,270.51 for 2002. The only way to increase the amount of Scholarship funds avail- able is through the support and generosity of donors. In the 35 years since Bill Pendleton convinced the sloop owners gathered in Friendship to found a scholarship fund, nearly $100,000 in scholarships have been given to the young people of Friendship. We need your dollars to make the principal grow so that the earnings increase and we can award larger amounts. 100% of your donation is invested for this purpose. Please help in any amount that you can afford. Your donation will be acknowl- edged as a tax-deductible contribution to the maximum allowed under IRS rules. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me directly. Thank you for your interest. Bill Zuber, Chairman Trustees: David Bell, Treasurer Noel March Caroline Zuber, Secretary Constance Pratt Fay Bragan Betty Roberts Susan Campagna Betty Wofton Viola Davis Paul Haley, Commodore FSS Internet Site For all the latest happenings in the Society, sloops for sale, the Scuttlebutt Forum where you can enter questions or comments for response from other members, and other sloop related infor- mation, visit our website at: WWW.FSS.ORG If you have a photo of your sloop, and wish to have it posted in the sloop registry, please send it to newsletter@fss.org. If you do not have an online copy of the photo, you can send the picture to John Wojcik, 347 Lincoln St., Norwell, MA and he will scan the photo, post it to the registry, and return the photo to you. To date we have over 50 sloop photos in the registry. -2- Annual Report – Pendleton Memorial Scholarship Fund

Membership News Membership Chairman Doug Amsbary has sent the following information regarding our members: #257 Toddy B has been sold to Sam Nickerson. The sloop will be kept on Lake Lanier, GA. Heard from Paul Moorhead past owner of #107 Magic. He indicated that he had sold his sloop to Eric Applegarth of Clair- borne, MD. He went on to say that right after he sold it to Eric, it was hit by lightening and partially burned out. Eric is in the process of restoring Magic. Paul Collet informed us that #88 Apogee has been put up for sale with hopes of moving up to a schooner when the sloop sells. Past member William Davison wrote to us saying that his sloop #221 Seal has been sold to Pam Burke of East Boothbay, ME. The new homeport will be Boothbay Harbor, by the footbridge across the inner harbor. We received a membership application from the new owner of #243 Erin. Anne Del Boro from Boothbay Harbor has joined our ranks along with Robert Norwood Jr.. We would like to extend a warm welcome to these new members. We would also like to welcome Robert Strauss as a new member. He was on board Endeavor when it sank off the Rockland Breakwater. Robert has recently completed Navy boot camp (with honors!). We would like to welcome Capt. Norman & Dawna Smith of Harpswell, Me. Norman has been commissioned to build a model of Seafoam originally built in Bremen in 1895. Class A Birthdays There are a number of member Class A sloops that are celebrat- ing significant “birthdays” in 2002. Our congratulations to the owners and crews of the following “Senior” members of the fleet: 100 Years: #71 Gladiator Bill & Caroline Zuber, Friendship, ME #95 Westwind John & Diane Fassak, Mansfield, MA #242 Tecumseh David Frid, Oakville, Ontario 90 Years: #18 Chrissy Harold & Kim Burnham, Essex, MA #60 Old Salt Joe Calvanese, Plantsville, CT #82 Morning Star Paul Milani, Ashfield, MA 85 Years: #162 Irene Harold & Kim Burnham, Essex, MA 2002 Schedule of Events Chesapeake Bay Regatta May 17th – 20th Chesapeake Maritime Museum St. Michaels, MD New London Regatta July 13th & 14th Southwest Harbor Rendezvous July 20th Homecoming Rendezvous & Races at Rockland July 22nd – 25th Friendship Days July 26th & 27th Marblehead Regatta August 10th – 11th Gloucester Schooner Festival August 31st – September 1st Annual Meeting November 9th New England Center University of New Hampshire Durham, NH Handicap Reminder The Society Measurer and Handicapper, Dick Salter, would like to remind all sloop owners that if you are planning to race in a Sloop Society sponsored event, you must have a current handi- cap sheet on file. A current handicap sheet is one that has been filed within the last five years, unless changes to the sloop and / or rigging has been made, then a refiling is necessary. Please submit your handicap form to Dick as soon as possible so that he can provide a handicap rating to the race committee in advance of the event. If you have any questions, need a form, or would like a set of instructions on how to measure your sloop, call or write Dick at: 151 Bridge Street Manchester, MA 01944 Tel: (978)-526-1004 Dues Reminder If you haven’t mailed your annual dues in for 2002, please send them to: Caroline Phillips, Society Secretary 164 Sturbridge Road Charlton, MA 01507 -3-

In many respects, I was fortunate, that when I was born, my parents chose to move to Scituate. Not the least among those respects was the opportunity to get to know the water, and, about sailing. At a somewhat tender age, I came to understand just what it meant to have a boat. Not just any boat, but, a wooden boat. Endless hours in the boat yard. Sometimes for days. Rain or shine. We were not alone in that boatyard in our struggle to seal the ever widening gaps between our boat’s planks. Another of that exclusive membership of WOODEN boat owners, appeared at the boat yard nearly as early in the spring as we did. And, weekend after weekend, he could be found engaged in the same onerous tasks, on a nearly identical boat. What was immediately reassuring about this, was that this person’s boat had even wider gaps between it’s planks than did ours. Eventually, I learned his name. Bernard MacKenzie. That was 1967. And Bernard was 46. My dad’s passion for the adventures of sailing was on a par with Bernard’s, and many were the times we found ourselves at the same rendezvous of Friendship Sloops in some distant harbor. As a young crewman, it was always reassuring to be in the company of other sloops from Scituate, and as Bernard had founded the Friendship Sloop Society, hailing from the same port bestowed upon me an immediate and almost tangible honor. But those who own their own boats do so partly to have things just so, and getting them just so left little time for socializing. So it was a long time later that I learned much more about Bernard. When I did, I was a grown man, with several years experience captaining my own boat – the same boat my dad and I had cared for for 26 years. I remember Bernard’s words when I mentioned I’d decided to find a buyer who cared to tend to the needs of a boat soon to turn 50. He said I couldn’t give up sailing – “It’s in your blood.” Living in Worcester, I had my doubts. The next summer, on the eve of my long anticipated 20th high school reunion, I got a call from Bernard. His crew for the annual Maine trip just couldn’t make it, and his backup crew was sick. Could I leave with him tomorrow morning for Maine, on the new sloop he’d spent 7 years building. Built with exotic woods only the crafts- man would seek. Built with the attention to proportion and perspective only an artist would give. Built so that every curve fit just as the body needed it. Built with varnish and polished brass practically everywhere you looked. Built with materials obtained from sources only the expert shipwright or marine architect could find. Spars, blocks and rigging from the best riggers in Nova Scotia. Stove, heater, brass oil lamps, brass water pump, and bronze portholes from Scotland. And at prices low enough to make a man laugh (which, often, he did). Of course I went. I found that Bernard knew how and when to share his vast knowledge of, and enthusiasm for sailing. On that trip I enjoyed learning many new things about the coastline, Friendship Sloops and the founding of the Society. I even learned how poorly salt air and polished brass get along, even on an easy voyage. And also that no surer cure for idleness can be found than a can of Never Dull. I quickly found an appreciation for just how much brass was actually on that boat. Again, a boat owner is happiest when things are just so. And Bernard was wonderfully hospitable to those who learned to help him keep things that way. You’re probably not surprised to learn that I didn’t make it to my 25th high school reunion either. Without my own boat, sailing with Bernard had become something not to be missed. His enthusiasm for life was contagious and his adherence to tradition, refreshing. Yes, there were times when sailing seemed like work. Like during some of the loveliest sailing, when some long postponed task in the grungiest region of the bilge would suddenly need to be finished before another minute passed. And, sure, right after you heard how lucky he was that the engine had lasted way beyond what anyone had any right to expect, you could count on it becoming cranky and demanding the next two hours of your attention. But it was all in the spirit of a great work – a great adventure, and when things were again just so, Bernard was immediately content, and enthusiastic about life and the people around him. Bernard had many remarkable aspects. He lived in the house in which he was born. He enjoyed a certain sort of glamour. He endured several serious injuries during the time I knew him, worked through them, and you never heard about them again. Every spring he worked himself into shape, spending countless hours day after day readying the boat, always confident in the outcome. He cut his own lawn. He memorized the operating menus of his boat’s GPS within days of receiving it. He never stopped doing surveys of boats. A couple months ago he was still typing up the latest one. He had a life to be proud of, and he loved it. He never lost his love for a precocious prank. More than a few of us have experienced temporary hearing loss from one of his favorites. For all these reasons it doesn’t seem possible that he could lose that life so readily. But we now understand that his heart condi- tion had continued to deteriorate, and might not have given him another season like the ones he was accustomed to. It was his decision to try all means to make every last one a season to remember. I’ll surely miss his greeting at the door, relaxing after a hard day’s work on the boat, and morning chats at the kitchen table – over coffee, english muffins and cereal – with bananas. As well as his cheery companionship aboard the boat. We all know that someone unique in our lives will no longer be where we often found him. But as we’re here to attest, within ourselves we can always find the love we carried for him. -4- A Triibute to Bernard MacKenzie Ben Rice, longtime friend of “Bernie” and whose family owned Retriever, presented this tribute to “Bernie” during his funeral service

Commodore Paul Haley called the business portion of the meeting to order. He began by introducing the executive board: John Rand – Vice Commodore, Caroline Phillips – Secretary, Jonathan Leavy – Treasurer, Doug Amsbary – Membership, John Wojcik – Newsletter and Website, David Graham – Race Committee Chairman, Roger Duncan – Yearbook Editor, Bill and Caroline Zuber – Pendleton Scholarship Fund and Friendship Days, Bob Monk – Publicity, Tom and Peggy Miller – Chandlery, Harold Burnham – Class A Sloop Historian. Paul then introduced new members and members attending the annual meeting for the first time: Brenna and Keith Herridge – new members; David and Debbie Monk – 1st timers; David Niebuhr – new member. Paul then introduced the past commodores present at the meeting: Jack Cronin, Dick Salter, Larry Plumer, John Wojcik, Bill Zuber, and Roger Duncan. Secretary’s Report – Caroline Phillips The membership for 2001 is as follows: Boatowners: 107 Full/Associates: 57 Cooperatives: 16 Honorary: 6 TOTAL: 186 Treasurer’s Report – Jonathan Leavy Jonathan stated that he would answer any questions regarding the financial statements after the business meeting. He then described each page and what it represented. Pendleton Scholarship Report – Bill Zuber Bill stated that the Trustees awarded 6 scholarships in the amount of $800.00 each. The Scholarship Fund was pleased to accept $7,823.28 from the Friendship Community Club in memory of John T. Harlor. It was given to the scholarship fund because the Community Club did not know how to deal with the money. One Scholarship each year will be given and named the John Harlor Scholarship. The trustees had planned to do a mail solicitation for donations at the end of the year, but because of the September 11th tragedy, they decided to postpone it. New London – Greg Roth & Joe Hliva This year’s turnout was a little less than past years. The main discussion was the new venue that the sloops are now operating from – the new pier facilities in the downtown area of New London near the custom house. This appeared to work very well, and should get better in the future as the city continues to improve the area and provide additional services to the visiting boaters. Southwest Harbor – Miff Lauriat Miff invited anyone that could make it to come race a no handi- cap, no awards, just for fun race. It is the weekend before the Rockland Races. Miff contends that Phoenix is always the boat to beat, not Salatia. Rockland Homecoming – Dick Salter Dick stated that there would be some mandatory changes after the July 24th sinking of Endeavor. The Race Committee has proposed: ! First – every vessel is to have a hardwired VHF instead of a hand-held radio. VHF hand-held radios will be accepted only for non-primary back-ups. ! Second – there will be a communications briefing as part of the skipper’s meeting. ! Third – there will be random vessel safety checks each day by the race committee to make sure each vessel is equipped with proper safety equipment. ! Finally, each boat is to have a designated radio operator to man the VHF. The Race Committee also stated that if adverse weather is predicted, the races will be held inside the breakwater. The Race Committee has appointed Marcia Morang as a member of the race committee with her responsibilities being the FSS Trophy organizer. Also, Penny Richards was appointed as the Secretary to the Race Committee with her responsibilities being providing regatta results for press and local publications and trophy record keeping. Cruising Class – Ruy Gutierrez Ruy began by stating that he wanted to expand the cruising class and welcomed any new ideas. He then went on about the weather and events of July 24th. He feels that the society and the skippers of the Friendship sloops should pay closer attention to the weather conditions so as to not put anyone else in jeopardy. Marblehead – David Graham was not present due to illness Gloucester – Jack Cronin Gloucester was windy and rough which meant the Tannis stayed on the mooring. As usual, everyone had a good time and the schooner races were fun to watch. Yearbook Editor – Roger Duncan Roger stated that the bulletin board was available again for people to sign up. The same rules apply for the 2002 yearbook. The Society needs to get a certain number of pages in ads to get the book for free. The more ads we get, the more pages we get to print on. He is looking for good (condensed) articles for the 2002 yearbook. He is also looking for a good color picture for the cover. Newsletter Editor – John Wojcik John thanked all the people who have contributed to the newslet- ter. He states that he is always looking for articles for the newsletter and welcomes new ideas for the newsletter. If you have a suggestion please contact John. Website – John Wojcik John stated that the website has had many hits on it. It is a (Continued to Page 6) -5- 41st Annual Meeting Report FSS Secretary Caroline Phillips provided the following report of the Annual Meeting held November 10th at the University of New Hampshire’s New England Center.

Annual Meeting Report (Continued from Page 5) good source for people to get answers to their questions. If you have any ideas for the website, please contact John. 2001 Donations Voted unanimously to give the following donations: Maine Maritime Museum $400.00 Friendship Museum $400.00 Scholarship Fund $500.00 Awards: Bancroft Award: Harold Burnham Bill Hadlock Award: John Rand and Family Morang Award: Craig Collemer Omaha Award: Gregory Roth Geny Ross won the 50/50 Raffle The children of the society donated $10.67 from pictures they drew and sold to the members. With no further items to be discussed, the meeting was adjourned for the auction. Yearbook Reminder Roger Duncan has started to assemble the stories for the 2002 yearbook, but he needs your support to complete this task. First, Roger is in need of stories and pictures relating to Friendship Sloops to include in the book. This is part of the Society’s mission: to preserve and foster the tradition of the Friendship Sloop. Experiences, lessons learned, historical facts, construc- tion details, anything that preserves and makes better known the tradition and the mystique of the Friendship Sloop. If you have a story, please send it to Roger by the April 15th deadline. We also need your support to keep the yearbook going. For the last few years, we have guaranteed the publisher a certain amount of advertising from our members and bulletin board notices in order to defray the expense of producing the yearbook. This has resulted in the yearbook being published at no cost to the Society. We have included as an insert in this edition of the newsletter, the rate sheet for advertising. Please consider asking your local boatyard, marine supplier, or other businesses to advertise in the booklet. Each page of advertising provides another page to the Society for our use for our members’ stories. The more ads, the more pages of stories and pictures. It’s that simple! The other side of the advertising rate sheet is a form to complete if you wish to take a spot on the bulletin board page. Please fill out your message on that sheet and send it with a check for $20 to Roger. Your continued support of the yearbook is much appreciated. Race Committee Acquires New Computer Through the efforts of that very elusive character, Waldo Burrow, the Race Committee now has a new (to the committee) laptop computer and a brand-new printer. These will be used for the scoring program at Rockland this coming July. While on the subject of Rockland, plans have been on-going throughout the winter months for the upcoming season and as of this writing, the committee is working on the 2002 version of the Sailing Instruc- tions – – – nothing earth-shaking but as we get into the next issue of the FSS Newsletter, we will be able to provide you with some of the details. Email List Caroline is continuing to put together an email list for the Sloop Society. There are times when we need to spread the word quickly and this is the best way to do that. You will still get all the regular mailings. To get onto the email list…just send Caroline an email to SECRETARY@FSS.ORG indicating that you would like to be added to the list. Also, if your Email address has changed, please send Caroline an e-mail to inform her of the change. 2002 T-Shirt Design Last year’s T-Shirt was a real winner. The back of the shirt was a silhouette of a Friendship Sloop depicting the various parts of the sloop. It is the nomenclature of a Friendship. For this year’s design, Tom & Peg are asking for help from the member- ship in coming up with a design. If you have an idea for this year’s T-Shirt, please contact: Tom & Peg Miller 77 Bedford Road New Boston, NH 03070 603-487-3883 chandlery@fss.org Help Wanted – Membership Chair- man After many years as Membership Chairman, Doug Amsbary is stepping down from that position. Doug has done a great job for the FSS tracking sloops and changes in ownership, maintaining the sloops for sale list, reporting on the doings of many of our members, writing letters to interested people all around the world who may have an interest in our sloops, or wanted to join. The Executive Board is looking for a member who would be interested in taking over the duties of Membership Chairman. If interested, please contact Commodore Paul Haley at 781-631- 3883 or Commodore@FSS.ORG. -6-

From the time I was 5 months old I began being infected by the common salt water malady “Boatius Nuttius.” The patriarch of the family succeeded in firmly implanting it in my bloodstream, after suffering himself with it through the course of some 30-odd vessels, crab cars, lobster floats, oyster wagons and other float- ing debris. So it was a natural thing for me, thus weakened by exposure to the disease, to graduate from college and come home to run father’s boatyard for him. Thus he was freed to romp the warm waters of the Caribbean in yet another manifesta- tion of the prevailing infection. My wife and I decided that no known cure existed, so to make the treatment as pleasant as possible we began to build a Friend- ship sloop. The gestation period for boats must be fantastic because after three years of hard, sporadic labor, the hull is finished. After two years of turning a deaf ear to repeated remarks such as “When are the animals coming, Noah?” we were understandably anxious to escape the boatyard as often as possi- ble. Especially on rainy spring Sundays when you live on the premises and your door is constantly rapped upon by do-it- yourselfers wanting to know if you think it is dry enough to paint in the cabin, while dripping water all over the living-room rug. We mopped up and left precipitately for Stu and Dot Hancock’s peaceful abode away from the boatyard. While sitting in Dot’s kitchen by the perpetually lit-off coffee pot it wasn’t long before the germs began floating around and the conversation turned to boats. “A fella was telling me that there’s a mast just about right for the Friendship over at Carver’s Boat Works,” I said. “What are we sitting here for?” says Dot. We piled into Stu’s wagon and shortly arrived at Carver’s. The mast was exactly the right dimensions and thoroughly rotted. “I think I saw two Friend- ships around the corner at Johnson Brothers the other day,” said I, “let’s have a look. Maybe we can get some ideas.” We pulled up to the end of the dock and sure enough, there were two Friendships laying side by side, which is a rather unusual sight in Central Jersey. Stu and I walked down the dock in the rain. “Look at that! Both are named Downeaster! Sort of appropri- ate,” said Stu. I whistled to the girls to come have a look at the extraordinary find. One of the two vessels was obviously older than the other and we noticed on the trailboards of the younger, “Lash Bros. 1963.” Whoever had owned her had neglected her rather badly. As we turned our attention to the other older boat we noticed the companionway was not locked. I remarked that her construction showed some similarity to that of an icebreaker, and that it appeared she might be an original. Not being able to restrain ourselves we all went aboard to have a closer look. We went below and noted ample accommodations for four, full standing headroom, large galley, exceptional storage, a little rot here and there, and more rain dripping below than topside. The ladies soon become disenchanted with the waterfall effect on their hairdos, and disembarked. As I poked around for further clues to the boat’s possible origin I noticed some digits crudely carved into a deck beam in the after partition in the head. “Look here!” I said to Stu. “There are some numbers carved in here that are probably from some previous documentation. I’m sure she must be an original!” We prowled around some more below and then went topside to inspect her rig like antique collectors in the Smithsonian. I looked down over the bow and saw a “For Sale” sign and a telephone number. Well, the old delirium and was really beginning to work on me, and Stu’s eyes looked a little glazed. Completely forgotten were the half- finished Friendship hull, finances, the 30-ft. Tancook Schooner the bank and I owned, – “What do you say we go in together and buy her?” I blurted. “Write down the phone number,” said Stu, “just for the hell of it.” We returned to the Hancock residence. Conversation consisted of scattered phrases; “She really has character.” “Y’think she really could be an original?” “What about all that iron in the bilge?” “Iron! What about the concrete?” “Think the engine runs?” “You guys aren’t thinking something stupid!” “He’d better not be! We already own one boat and are building another!” “Think you could sail that one, Daddy?” The “Boatius Nuttius” virus being what it is, and helped along by a few whiskey sours, I became the owner of one-half of an original(?) Friendship Sloop named Downeaster. Which half is mine varies, depending on which half is in the most danger or in the worst shape so my boatyard can fix it. And fix it we did, because we had also decided to sail her back to Friendship for Homecoming in July. This was the year (1967) of the rain and fog, even in New Jersey, and trying to repair the leaks topside took many sun dances, for as soon as we thought it was fixed so it wouldn’t leak, it rained again, and it leaked again -always in a new and more inaccessible spot. Finally time ran out, and ready or not, supplies were stowed aboard with numerous back-up systems in case of disaster. The crew – Stu, Stu, Jr., a power- boat owner friend and myself – gathered on the dock in the early summer morning mist. The newly-painted waterline loomed murkily under three inches of water, as the supplies weighed more than anticipated. Three five-gallon jugs of emergency rations for the gasoline engine were lashed securely in the wooden sailing dinghy, which floated merrily behind on a long painter. With fond farewells ringing in our ears we motored down to the sea, set all sails in a brisk south-easterly non-wind of about 2 knots, and drifted out Manasquan Inlet with the tide. The first entry in the log reads: ‘”All hands on deck! Dinghy sinking! Rescued dinghy and gasoline and stowed dinghy aft against gallows.” From that point on we (Continued to Page 8) -7- The Devious Sojourn of the “Gladiator” This article,.by Bill Zuber, current owner of Gladiator, was written for the 1969 FSS yearbook. The Zuber family and the Hancocks, purchased the sloop in 1966, and sailed her from New Jersey to Friendship for the 1967 Homecoming. This long voyage was the basis for the Gladiator Trophy, donated by the Zubers and presented to the sloop traveling the furthest to Homecoming. Gladiator was launched 100 years ago this year.

never looked back – mainly because we couldn’t see aft past the dinghy. Four days later, on a beautiful clear morning (the second day that month with no fog), we sailed into Friendship harbor, returning Downeaster to her presumed birthplace. Assorted wives and children met us at the wharf and great plans were formulated for the first race the next day. Thursday morning, the handicap list was posted and Downeaster drew handicap No. 26 out of 29. Having sailed the boat only five times prior to sailing her to Friendship, and having no racing experience whatsoever, we finally decided that we weren’t in too good a position. Being placed in the replica category because we had no proof that she was an original contributed to our handicap. But we gave our first race the old college try, and managed to beat the Coast Guard back into the harbor. The next day the fog closed in and the race scheduled for that day was canceled. We decided to try to track down the origins of Downeaster and prove our suspicions that she might be an origi- nal. We drove to the nearest customs house, which was in Rockland, armed with the number we had found carved in the beam in the head. The customs agent, Mr. G. A. Boulier, was most helpful, but not too encouraging. He explained that unless Downeaster was the original name it would be almost impossi- ble to trace her by numbers. The numbers in the documented vessel listing are not in numerical order, but in alphabetical order according to the original name. He offered us the use of the attic at the customs house, where all the old books by year were stored on rather dusty shelves. We each took a volume and soon determined that Downeaster was not the original name, if she were indeed an original. But we also discovered that by some coincidence that many numbers very similar to ours were located in the “G” section of various volumes. Time was fast running out as Mr. Boulier had to go down to the harbor and check in a cargo. As a last effort I grabbed the book for the year 1902 and turned to the “Gs.” I could scarcely believe my eyes when I found the number we had all been searching for, but there was the entry: Official No. 86611 – Rig Slp Name of Vessel, “Gladiator” Gross Tonnage, 7 – Net Tonnage, 7 Length 28.5 – Breadth, 5.3 When built, 1902 Where built, Bremen, Maine Home port, Waldoboro, Maine. We all were so excited that even Mr. Boulier seemed to catch our enthusiasm. He took the time to copy the entry on official stationery and certify that such an entry existed in the “List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, 1902 Edition.” He signed the letter with a flourish, and we dustily bade him goodby. We drove madly back to Friendship, down to Betty and Al Roberts’ wharf, and ran noisily up her stairs. We waved the paper at her and finally made enough sense to let her realize that we had indeed brought another original back home to Friendship and the Friendship Sloop Society. The committee came out to inspect the now-famous numbers 86611 carved indelibly in our lowly head. The head on the Gladiator (ex. Downeaster) was the most popular spot in the harbor for the next few hours. The next day dawned bright and foggy, and we managed to find our way in the parade of sloops past the crowded wharves of Friendship out to the starting line. After two postponements, the race finally began but it soon became apparent to us that one island looks pretty much like another in the fog, when all that’s visible of it are lobster buoys, a few rocks, and trees looming through the mist. Not being natives of the area we declined to risk our now-venerable original and returned to the relatively clear weather of the harbor. Dot had wisely declined to join us on this adventure, and had been busy trying to find a native of Friendship old enough to possibly remember Gladiator in her youth. When we rowed ashore we found that Dot had located a Mrs. Dwight Stanley who thought that her father, Mr. Charlie Murphy, might possibly remember back to 1902. We had to wait patiently two wharves down for Mr. Murphy to come in from lobstering – he still kept busy although well past his 90th birthday. The news had traveled through mysterious channels that we were looking for him, for when he stepped ashore he said, “I hear you’re looking for me. What can I do for you?” Dot asked him, “Do you remember a boat named Gladiator?” He recollected that she was about 34 ft., built for Dan Simmons about 60 years ago by “Bugs” McLain over Waldoboro way. These facts later proved accurate when we located the original fisheries license issued in 1902 to Daniel Simmons of Waldo- boro. “Bugs” McLain was Alexander McLain, one of the family of father and brothers who built Friendship sloops on Bremen Long Island, and Gladiator’s bill of sale showed her cost to be $450.00. Thus with a great deal of luck, the remarkable memory of a Maine native, and much help from many of those notori- ously cantankerous “Mainiacs” we had a wealth of information about a wandering daughter of Friendship who had come home. Commodore’s Message (Continued from Front Page) I have talked to the Harbormaster in Rockland. It looks like this will be a busy year. The WoodenBoat show is there from July 12 – 14. This is followed by the Blues Festival and than the Friendship Homecoming. After that is the Lobster Festival. He and his staff are looking forward to our return. He says that they enjoy our stay and that we are a good group to have. So put Rockland on you schedule. For those that are not interested in racing there will be other events for you to enjoy. Happy Painting. -8- The Devious Sojourn of the “Gladiator” (Continued from Page 7)