Commodore’s Message We need a bigger tent for the Rockland homecoming. That was the decision at the January Executive Committee meeting. Attendance at Rockland is on the rise. We had about 25 boats last July (up considerably from 2005). The public’s interest in Friendship Sloops also seems to be on the rise Two wonderful magazine articles on the Sloops have appeared in the past year – in Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors, in March 2006, and in Soundings, in January 2007. The Maine Sunday Telegram, Maine’s largest Sunday paper, published a piece on Friendship Sloops at the time of the races last July. It was coverage in newspapers and magazines that helped build the public’s interest in Friendships back in the 1960s. I joined the Society long after the homecoming moved from Friendship, but I’ve heard many stories about those early years in Friendship, when the public was so interested in our boats, and thousands (well, at least hundreds) came to watch the races. Dare we dream of a return to those days, when there is growing interest in the Friendship Sloop, and in our homecoming and races? Could Rockland recapture the energy of Friendship? I like to think it could. We’ve returned to using handicap alley, which was a fixture in the Friendship races. We’ve moved the races back to the Thursday through Saturday time slot used in Friendship (July 19-21 this summer). Could we have 30 to 40 boats come to Rockland? Hundreds of onlookers at our races? I don’t know if we can, but I think we should work hard toward that goal. Plans were laid at the January Executive Committee meeting to increase publicity of our event. We’re looking into installing banners at strategic locations in Rockland, and putting up more posters than in past years. We’re planning improved signage on the town dock, to better explain the Sloops and Society (Tannis’s dockside sign has been an inspiration). Perhaps the biggest change is to promote the idea of having the public watch our races, and the parade of sail, from the Rockland breakwater. From there, one can see the whole race, and have a close-up view of the start and finish. It’s really a unique opportunity for the public to observe a sailboat race. We’ve also laid plans to make the Rockland homecoming even more attractive to sloop owners. We’re going to hold a catered awards dinner on Saturday night, rather than just an afternoon awards ceremony. We think this will add to the fun of coming to Rockland. We’re hoping to sign up some volunteer musicians to entertain us after dinner. Another idea we are working on for attracting more sloops to (Continued to Page 7) FSS at Rockland – 2006 A Total Success -or- “It Doesn’t Just Happen” By Dave Graham, FSS Race Committee Chairman By any stretch of the imagination, the new format at Rockland this year can only be deemed as nothing less than a huge success – – – more sloops, handicap alley, great weather on Thursday (to overcome the rain of Friday to say nothing of the fog and deluges of Saturday) and good all-around racing, were to prove an unbeatable combination toward the overall success of a great regatta. As the sole dissenter on the Executive Committee who voted against the shift to Thursday through Saturday, I freely admit that not making that vote unanimous was a mistake. From now on, my vote (if there is one) will be to retain the newly adopted format. Item #2 that is making a huge difference is the resump- tion of Handicap Alley, now in Year Two of its current operation. Here, we must give high praise to the dynamic father and son duo of Jack and Jeff Cronin, who do all the work of getting the alley properly set up. This not only includes the layout of the alley but in the actual construction of the alley marks and their transportation from/to home. From a personal viewpoint, my hat is tipped to these two fine gentlemen. From many years of experience of running races and setting marks, I can tell you that the majority of racing folks simply assume that the marks we use are “just there” – – – but as you and I know, “it just ain’t so”. Weather is a commodity over which we have absolutely no control, other than to not race on a foul-weather day. As a result, we learn to live with the conditions at hand. This is why starting and finishing our racing inside the breakwater at Rockland and largely inside Owl’s Head, has given us so many options we do not always have when racing out into Penobscot Bay – – – as events of a few years ago will so often remind us. It is with all this in mind that we firmly believe we have at long last struck ourselves into a winning combination. Of course, none of this would be possible without Seven Girls, Effie M. and Friendship Patrol. As a result, a strong vote of appreciation must be extended to Ralph Stanley, Jack Cronin and Bill Zuber, for without them the 2006 race program at Rockland, simply would not be possible. While extending appreciation, I must not overlook our own (Continued to Page 2) Volume 19 Winter 2007 FSS.ORG Issue 1 Friendships Newsletter of the Friendship Sloop Society

FSS at Rockland – 2006 A Total Success (Continued from Front Page) Race Committee, consisting of Jerry Ross, who does our scoring; Gene Costanza at the visual signals; Leo Campbell, who keeps us all on the straight and narrow; our cannoneer, Dick Campbell (who somehow knows Leo) and Dick Salter, who oversees Leo’s efforts at keeping the Race Committee on-course. These fine gents put a lot of effort into our off-season planning effort that brings us all together in Rockland each July. As with the racing marks, “it doesn’t just happen”. Now for some of the top results: In Division I at the end of “Day Three”, there developed a three-way tie for first place, when Salatia, William M. Rand and Echo had each garnered a 7.75 point score (Handicap Alley does work). In turn, the tie was broken by the use of seconds per mile – – – and so it was that Salatia was first in her division, William M. Rand was the Division I first runner-up and Echo became second runner-up in Division I. With a low-point score of 2.25, Tannis was first in Division II, with Rights of Man taking first runner-up at 7.00 points and Chrissy in the position of second runner-up in Division II with 11.00 points. To close out the awards presentation under a tent that was being pelted by a deluge, the State of Maine Award was presented this year to Tannis and her skipper, Jeff Cronin. With the racing season nearly behind us, your Race Committee will soon begin another round of planning sessions that will culminate in another “Homecoming” in Rockland during July 19-21, 2007 – – – but again, “it doesn’t just happen”. Time and effort is the clue to pulling it all together. 2007 Schedule of Events Spring Executive Committee Meeting March 31st – Maine Maritime Museum New London Rendezvous June 29th to July 3rd Southwest Harbor Rendezvous July 14th Pulpit Harbor Rendezvous July 17th Homecoming Rendezvous & Races at Rockland July 19th to July 21st Marblehead Regatta August 11th Gloucester Schooner Festival September 1st Fall Executive Board Meeting September 29th – Maine Maritime Museum Annual Meeting November 17th Martin’s Manor, South Portland., ME Pendleton Memorial Scholarship Fund As of September 30, 2006 the principal value of the fund was $88,382.03. We will be disbursing $4,500 in scholarships on December 1st, to five Friendship high school graduates headed for the world of higher education. After many years of great service and guidance, David Bell found it necessary to retire as our treasurer. In the process of searching for a replacement for David, we not only found a willing retired math teacher here in town, but also increased the number of trustees to a total of 11. This is a very committed and active group representing a good cross section of knowledgeable town folks. At our last meeting the Trustees voted to pursue obtaining IRS status as a non-profit 501(c)-(3) organization. We have obtained some pro-bono legal help in doing so. On November 19, 1983 the original Deed of Trust was created. On November 7, 2006 this Deed of Trust was amended to include language that would allow this to happen. The other organization founded by the Friendship Sloop Society, the Friendship Museum, has been so recognized by the IRS. This has allowed the Museum to apply for and receive grants from corporations to preserve the heritage of the town of Friendship and the Friendship Sloop. The members of the Board of Trustees are determined to keep the Scholarship Fund growing and, as originally intended by the Society, to continue to help the kids of Friendship pursue greater opportunities. Bill Zuber, President Trustees: Fay Bragan Ken Keoughan Joanne Burns, Treasurer Rit Roberts Steven Burns Oren Robinson Viola C. Davis Betty Wotton Liga V. Jahnke Caroline Zuber, Secretary Membership News Membership Chairman Bob Monk, Jr. has submitted the following: To date there are three new members for 2007:  Brian Clough and Mary Uffutt of Little Deer Isle, Maine are the new owners of #13 Easting.  William Anderson and Mary Aquith of Smithfield, Rhode Island are the new owners of #80 Downeast.  Victor Trodella and Rebecca Brown are the new owners of #94 Euphoria, formerly Diana. Your Sloop on a Postage Stamp The U.S. Postal Service has now made it possible to put a picture of your sloop on a 39 Cent postage stamp. There are a couple of ways to do it: through various websites such as stamps.com where you can download your picture, edit the picture, preview the stamp, then place the order. You can also visit your local photo processing center who may have the capability as well. A warning though, it isn’t cheap, about an additional 50 cents per stamp. – 2 –

Treasurer’s Report Greg Merrill, Society Treasurer, presented the following financial report and comments at the annual meeting for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006. Receipts: ’04-’05 ’05-’06 ’06-’07 Actual Actual Budget Membership 4,765 4,597 4,500 Chandlery 2,983 2,766 2,750 Regatta Events 550 420 500 Annual Meeting 1,349 1,631 1,600 Yearbook 6,980 5,920 6,060 Contributions 532 1,169 600 Interest 165 147 150 Total 17,324 16,649 16,060 Expenses: Chandlery 2,523 1,777 2,000 Regatta 3,301 3,831 4,180 Awards & Gifts 407 161 150 Annual Meeting 1,242 1,359 1,400 Yearbook 3,912 3,785 4,000 Communication 1,072 647 800 Donations 1,300 1,300 1,300 Secretary’s Comp 1,000 1,000 1,000 Insurance 495 495 500 Administration 1,016 1,405 1,335 Total Expenses 16,287 15,760 16,665 Cash & CD’s 9,374 10,263 9,658 Some highlights of the report are: Actual 2005-2006:  Total receipts exceeded expenditures by $889, so that the Society’s year-end cash reserves grew to $10,263.  The net “profit” (receipts – expenditures) for the chandlery was $989, which was $529 more than the previous year.  Contributors generously gave $637 more than last year.  Changing the regatta dates necessitated $706 in tent rental because we could not use a Lobster Festival tent.  The yearbook net was very good at $2,135, but it was down $933 from last year’s extraordinary results. Budget 2006-2007:  In general, the budget is based on the actual experience over the last two years. At this time, we don’t know of any changes that would have a significant impact on receipts or expenditures.  Projected expenditures exceed receipts by $605 with a resulting end-of-year cash reserve of $9,658.  The budgeted chandlery net of $750 is about mid-way between the results of the last two years while the yearbook net of $2,060 is approximately equal to last year.  We are not counting on contribution receipts as high as last year. They are approximately equal to 2004-2005.  Budget donations to the Pendleton Scholarship, Friendship Museum and Maine Maritime Museum are held constant. Rockland Homecoming 2006 Results State of Maine Trophy Best Overall Performance Tannis Division I Herald Jones Trophy Salatia Bruno & Stillman Trophy William M. Rand Lash Brothers Trophy Echo Division II Commodore’s Trophy Tannis Gordon Winslow Trophy Rights of Man Rockland Trophy Chrissy Class A Wilbur Morse Trophy Chrissy Charles Morse Trophy Gladiator Alexander McLain Trophy Sazerac Rum Line Trophy Sazerac Special Trophies Chrissy Trophy Julie Merrill Spirit of Friendship Rich & Beth Langton Gladiator Trophy Banshee / Gaivota Nickerson Trophy Ashleigh Cronin Owner/Builder Trophy Eden (Scott Martin) R.W. Stanley Cup Hieronymus Liberty Trophy Chrissy Jarvis Newman Trophy Salatia Cy Hamlin Trophy Osprey (Steve Hughes) Tannis Award Gladiator Danforth Trophy Heritage Thank You Richard Dudman, recipient of this year’s Bancroft Award, sent the following note to Jack Cronin, who chaired the selection committee: Dear Jack, Thank you for sending me the 2006 Bancroft Award trophy and for your warm accompanying letter. The trophy stands on my mantelpiece, opposite a fine picture of Freedom in the 2005 races, taken by Priscilla Harper, all sails flying and her lee rail almost under. The award (along with several others for placing at the midpoint in earlier races) will help me remember all the happy times I had with you folks in the 29 years I sailed Freedom. I had actually joined the society before Ralph Stanley had completed her in 1976. A friend from Washington High School in Portland, Oregon, Jimmy Stamps, had told me about the society and about Betty Roberts. That is what started me off in a determination to own and sail a Friendship sloop. I was able to make only the first race in my last Rockland regatta, in 2005, but, with the help of a good crew, we placed well for a change. And later that year, we beat almost all the big boats in the Retired Skippers Race at Castine and finished seventh out of 42 entries. Good luck and good sailing to you all in the future years. – 3 –

Sloops Race in the CYC Classic Wooden Boat Regatta By Dave Graham, FSS Race Committee Chairman On Saturday, August 12, 2006 a gathering of Titans occurred at Marblehead, when 24 classic wooden boats joined in a race of the same name. Included within the Marblehead regatta was the Friendship Sloops Division, its participants were to compete for the annual presentation of the Corinthian Yacht Club’s longtime Ridgway Trophy. Under nearly ideal conditions of fair weather and a 10-knot breeze, the race was started near the mouth of Marblehead Harbor, progressing into Salem Sound on a triangular course before returning to the finish line a few hours later where it all began. In the final analysis, Margaret M., Capt. Roy McCauley, was to win the position of Second Runner-Up to the Ridgway Trophy, while Chrissy, Capt. Billy Cronin, captured First Runner-Up. The grand prize, The Ridgway Trophy for Friend- ship Sloops, went to the 2006 winner, Tannis, with Capt. Jeff Cronin in command. Hearty congratulations are extended to all Friendship Sloop participants who competed in the 2006 running of the Corin- thian’s Classic Wooden Boat Regatta. For planning purposes, you may be interested on knowing that the 2007 version will likely be held on Saturday, August 11th. It is actually conducted as a series, with the Wooden Boat Regatta in Brooklin, ME of the week earlier and the Nantucket “Opera House” Race of the following week. Observing Friendship Sloops competing with other classics, is indeed a sight one should not miss. What’s Your Story?? This is the 47th year of the Sloop Society and the 47th year that we will publish a yearbook. The yearbook is a reflection of our membership, documenting our achievements and adventures over the course of the years. Many members of the Society have taken the time to contribute articles and we have published an amazing collection of tales describing sloop restorations, a sailing triumph or faux pas and personal tales that bind us all together as a Society. Not all of us are great sailors but we all share a love of Friendship Sloops and we all have some tale to tell. Some of us have been very good about recording our tales and sharing them through the Yearbook, but many of us have not put pen to paper. So, what is your story? You don’t have to be Stephen King to get published but we can’t publish the ghost of an article either! All you need to do is submit something in writing (hopefully electronically) to the Yearbook Editor (editor@fss.org) by, or around, the deadline of March 15th and you too can become a published author. Although we want the written word we are also looking for good pictures; pictures of sloops, people on sloops, people talking about sloops and sloop people just having a good time. If you are one of those people that go sailing with a camera in one hand and the tiller (yes, your editor’s boat has a tiller) in the other, share some of your work with us. Now that the Society has taken over the job of publishing we have more room to publish what we want. Contribute today!!! Member Letters Here are a few of the letters Caroline has received from our members during the last few months: From Glenda Armandi of Maine: Best to you and your family! We will surely miss being with everyone at the annual meeting! We were so disappointed that Conrad’s work schedule will not permit our being there. We are with you in thought though. Hope to see you in the summer again! Son Robbie is working as a first assistant engineer on a research ship in the Gulf of Mexico right now. His jobs have taken him first to Hawaii, then to Alaska, then to the Gulf of Mexico – all within one year! How’s that for “variety being the spice of life”? You take care and give our best regards to everyone! Sure wish we could be there. Sally Mosher of Kalamazoo, Michigan, who owns #205 Daystar with husband Richard wrote: The Moshers really wanted to be at the races this year but Richard had to stay home and recuperate from bypass surgery in April. But next year, Daystar is going back in the water and Richard (who is better than ever) will be there with Sally. From Noel March, owner of #5 Content: Thanks for all your good work year after year! Content #5 is in Bristol enjoying a nice refinishing of all her topsides, bright work and spars, new rigging and green sailcov- ers. We should have her “shipshape” once more and sailing in Rockland Harbor by Memorial Day, 2007. Keep your fingers crossed! Plus, Laurie and I (and 3 ½ year old daughter Chloe) expect a baby boy in January, 2007…. isn’t there a trophy for youngest crew? Perhaps the only trophy Content will ever win! Part of a letter from Walter Foster, President of the Friendship Museum, to our Commodore Roger Lee: We understand that the relationship between the Friendship Sloop Society and the Friendship Museum goes back to the founding of both. We do not, however, take for granted the continued support the Society has given the Museum, and we are very grateful for its donation of $400 this year. Your contribu- tion helps provide the financial capacity that is essential for our ongoing operations. Member Websites Do you have a website about your sloop? If you do, the Sloop Society would like to know about it, and so would your fellow members. We currently have links to four of our member sites and we’d like to add a link to your site on the Society’s web page as well. If interested, please send a note to webmaster@fss.org and we’ll include your site for everyone to see! Dues Reminder If you haven’t mailed your annual dues in for 2007, please send them to: Caroline Phillips Society Secretary 164 Sturbridge Road Charlton, MA 01507 – 4 –

SOUTHWEST HARBOR — Miff Lauriat and Salatia have never won the Southwest Harbor Rendezvous, the Friendship Sloop race Mr. Lauriat developed and has organized for the past 14 years. With no handicapping, Mr. Lauriat’s 25-foot sloop has little chance against big dogs like the 32-foot Gladiator and 30-foot Helen Brooks. But for a while in Saturday’s 14th annual rendezvous, there was Salatia, leading the pack of eight sloops on the first leg, southeast toward Great Cranberry Island, in the counter- clockwise circumnavigation of Greening Island. “We were actually ahead for a little while,” Mr. Lauriat said. “Gladiator passed us by before we passed the first mark.” Salatia did not give up without a fight, however, and neither did Mr. Lauriat and his crew of four family members and friends. They pelted Gladiator’s 14 crewmen – all children and grand- children of the sloop’s owners, Bill and Caroline Zuber, who watched the proceedings while dining alfresco at the nearby Claremont Hotel – with water balloons as they passed. “They didn’t have any ammo,” Mr. Lauriat laughed. The balloons did little to forestall the inevitable. Gladiator blew by Salatia and was soon followed by Karl Brunner and Kristen Ramos’ Helen Brooks, which was skippered by Aaron Graff. “The Helen Brooks and Gladiator were duking it out,” Mr. Lauriat said. Salatia, meanwhile, got caught in an airless hole, quickly turning from competitor to spectator. “There was a parade of sloops passing us,” Mr. Lauriat said. Salatia was not the only boat to get caught in the doldrums, however. The rest of the fleet hit the stills near Sutton Island, off the southwest corner of Greening. Things would only get worse. A roughly one-knot tide rushing through Eastern Way all but negated the gentle 5-8 knot wind to the Bear Island buoy. The Alice E, sailed by owners Mr. Brunner and Ms. Ramos, was the first around the mark. “Gladiator and Helen Brooks were there as well,” Mr. Lauriat said. “They were pretty bunched up.” The 31-foot Alice E was built before 1900, making her the oldest sloop registered by the Friendship Sloop Society. She continued to hold the lead for a stretch, but nothing could fend off the Helen Brooks. “From Bear Island to the Narrows, the Helen Brooks passed everybody,” Mr. Lauriat said. But Gladiator had one last charge in her, which she saved for the last leg to the start/finish line on the western side of Greening. The sloop caught the Helen Brooks about two feet from the finish line, on a reach, and took home first place by half a bowsprit. “I don’t know how she did it, but she came back and ran over the Helen Brooks,” Mr. Lauriat marveled. “Gladiator wins again.” Despite carrying the inordinate weight of 14 crewmen, Gladiator sailed away with its second-straight rendezvous victory and third in four years. The third through seventh spots were nearly as close, as the next five boats – the Alice E, Salatia, the 27-foot Peregrine (built and owned by Ralph Stanley), Scott and Dee Dunipace’s 29-foot Heritage, and the 33-foot Surprise – crossed the finish line with less than 30 feet of separation. “It was quite exciting,” Mr. Lauriat said. “We had a lot of fun.” The fleet sailed back out to meet Scott Martin’s 25-foot Eden, which was making its rendezvous return after a three-year absence. The eight-boat field was among the largest ever to race in the rendezvous. Many of the same boats, including Salatia, headed west on Sunday to take part in Homecoming Rendezvous and Races, which are scheduled for today (Thursday), through Satur- day in Rockland. “Eight’s pretty good,” Mr. Lauriat said. “We’ve never broken into double figures that I can recall.” The nearly ideal weather was certainly a draw. While tempera- tures soared into the high 80s on land, the conditions were as ideal as Mr. Lauriat has come to expect for the rendezvous. “We could have stood a little more wind,” he said. “I dare say we were the only people in the state of Maine shivering [Satur- day]. It was delightfully cool out there. This is the 14th running and I’m content the weather gods were with us again.” Member Letters Alice Ingraham, who has hosted the FSS rendezvous in Friend- ship at her home on Friendship Long Island for a number of years sent the following: To one and all who have visited Friendship Long Island – I am moving (sadly) off the island to a lovely waterfront home on Cousins Island (Yarmouth). I’m maintaining my “islander” status but am pleased that this new location can be reached via a bridge – no more frigid, damp January trips across the water for supplies or hauling same up the long lawn via toboggan, through the snow, to the house! I can drive right into a garage – what a luxury! My address is: Alice W. Ingraham 3 Atlantic Reach Cousins Island Yarmouth, ME 04096 aislandart@adelphia.net Joe Maslan of Seattle, WA, owner of #278 Cygnus wrote: Cygnus is on the hard undergoing repairs not found during the purchase survey. I’ve also found several people out here who recognize her as a Friendship Sloop. I’m considering a name change but undecided. – 5 – Gladiator Comes From Behind to Win Second Rendezvous This article, written by Craig Crosby, was published in the Mount Desert Islander

The 46th annual meeting of the Friendship Sloop Society was held on Saturday, November 18th at the Best Western Merry Manor Inn, South Portland, Maine. Commodore Charlie Burnham called the business meeting to order at 3:30 PM and welcomed everyone to the meeting. The following reports of the various officers and committees were presented: Secretary’s Report: Caroline Phillips Caroline reported the total membership for 2006 as follows: Boat Owners: 104 Full / Associates: 56 Cooperative: 22 Honorary: 4 Due to the good work of Bob Monk, Jr. there were 14 new members for 2006. Caroline then read letters from the member- ship, some of which are included in this edition of the newsletter. Treasurer’s Report: Greg Merrill Greg stated that we took in more money than we spent. The cost of the tent at Rockland was $700 for 2006, and profit from the yearbook was $2,125. The 2007 budget shows that the Society will spend a little more than we will take in but not much. The budget was voted in unanimously by the membership. The treas- urer’s report is on page 3. Membership Report: Bob Monk, Jr. (Not Present) Charlie stated that Bob has submitted his letter of resignation, but Bob would stay on for a while until a replacement is found. Chandlery Report: Colin and Kathy Whitney Bill stated that Kathy and her friends have recycled the old size 3XXX denim shirts into pillows, bags, teddy bears, little girls dresses, etc. which were for sale at the chandlery table. The chandlery is looking for suggestions and designs for 2007. Yearbook: Richard Langton Richard stated that they made a little over $2,000 on the yearbook ads. As always, he is looking for articles, photos, etc. Even if someone has one-liners, Rich can place them throughout the yearbook. Rich is also looking for ideas for the yearbook dedication. Rich had a bulletin board poster which he passed around the meeting room so members could sign up for the yearbook’s bulletin board page. Newsletter Editor: John Wojcik The next newsletter will be going out around February 4, 2007. The next following edition will be mailed in June. John then thanked those who contributed to the editions published in 2006. Website: John Wojcik John listed some of the statistics from the website: 7,800 visits to the website in October, 2005 vs. 13,000 visits in October, 2006; 4,200 different people visited the website in October, 2005 compared to 5,000 different people in October, 2006. The most popular item on the website was the 2006 yearbook which 613 people downloaded, followed by the Maine Boats, Homes, and Harbors article on Gladiator, and then sloops for sale page. John then stated that the Scuttlebutt forum page had been shut down in August because of inappropriate postings, but it was reactivated in November. Publicity Report: Miff Lauriat & Marge Russakoff Miff read the report that is on Page 7. Pendleton Scholarship Fund: Bill & Caroline Zuber Bill read the report which is included on Page 2. REGATTA REPORTS New London: Greg Roth Greg stated that they had nice weather and a great time. They had six sloops present. They moved from a race format to a destination race with a rendezvous in New London followed by a “cruise – race” to Essex, Connecticut where they were guests of the Connecticut River Museum. 2007 will be the 20th year of the rendezvous in New London. Tentative plans for 2007 are a rendezvous in New London followed by a cruise to Dutch Harbor in Rhode Island. Southwest Harbor: Miff Lauriat Miff stated that there were newspaper articles about the South- west Harbor race on display in the meeting room. Gladiator won the race for a second time. Miff has heard from Tad Beck, owner of Phoenix – he will be back next year to compete in the race. Miff stated that he has never won the Southwest Harbor race. Rockland Regatta & Marblehead: David Graham (not present) John Wojcik presented David’s report: The Rockland Regatta was a huge success and David wanted to thank Jack & Jeff Cronin for setting up handicap alley; thanked his race committee for all their hard work throughout the year as well as Ralph Stanley for the use of his boat Seven Girls; Jack Cronin and his boat Effie M, and Bill Zuber of Friendship Sloop Patrol. Overall winner of the Rockland regatta was #7 Tannis skippered by Jeff Cronin. Tannis was also the winner of the Ridgeway Trophy in Marblehead. Gloucester Schooner Festival: Jack Cronin Jack stated that there was no race due to bad weather. 2005 Donations Maine Maritime Museum $400 Friendship Museum $400 Pendleton Scholarship Fund $400 Nominating Committee: Colin Whitney Commodore: Roger Lee Vice Commodore Wayne Cronin Secretary Caroline Phillips Treasurer Greg Merrill The slate of officers was voted unanimously by the membership with one vote cast by the secretary for the slate of officers. Recognition of Past Commodores – Charlie Burnham asked that all past commodores stand and be recognized. AWARDS Morang Award: Penny Richards & Marcia Morang This award is given to the person with the best article in the yearbook for the previous year. The award went to Michael Gordon for his article titled: The Memories They Left With Me which recounts his experiences at Friendship Sloop Days in 1965. (Continued to Page 7) – 6 – 46th Annual Meeting The following minutes of the annual meeting were submitted by Caroline Phillips, Society Secretary.

46th Annual Meeting (Continued from Page 6) Hadlock Award: Sara Beck (for Barbara Hadlock) Sara presented this year’s Hadlock Award to Bill Cronin. Bancroft Award: Jack Cronin This year the award went to Richard Dudman. Omaha Award: Penny Richards (for Don Huston) The award was presented to Wayne and Kirsten Cronin. Messing About Trophy: Dick Salter Dick announced that the award winner is Roger and Mary Duncan. Dick Salter then thanked the society for dedicating the 2006 yearbook to him. He was completely surprised when he opened the yearbook to see his name in the dedication. The gavel then was presented by Charlie Burnham to Roger Lee, the incoming Commodore. Discussion of Rockland Rendezvous Roger Lee opened the floor for discussion on Rockland. Miff Lauriat would like to see the start of the races later, such as after noontime and therefore have some morning activities. There was a motion to start the races at 12:30 PM which was voted unanimously. There was a discussion to keep the length of the race to 4 hours rather than 5 hours, but no vote was taken. Miff stated that he did not want crews staying out on the race course because of no wind – the rendezvous is about having fun. He believed that we should conclude the races by 4:30 – 5:00 PM and get the sloops in. The executive board and the race commit- tee will take these suggestions under advisement. With no further discussion, the meeting was adjourned. Class A Birthdays There are a number of member Class A sloops that are celebrat- ing significant “birthdays” in 2007. Congratulations to the owners & crews of the following “Senior” members of the fleet: 105 Years: #71 Gladiator Bill & Caroline Zuber, Friendship, ME #95 Westwind John & Diane Fassak, Mansfield, MA #242 Tecumseh David Frid, Oakville, Ontario 95 Years: #18 Chrissy Harold Burnham, Essex, MA #82 Morning Star Paul Milani, Ashfield, MA 90 Years: #162 Irene Harold Burnham, Essex, MA Help Wanted – Membership Chairman After many years as Membership Chairman, Bob Monk, Jr. is stepping down from that position. Bob 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 Roger Lee at 207-338- 6837 or Commodore@FSS.ORG. Commodore’s Message (Continued From Front Page) Rockland is organizing multi-day cruises that follow an announced schedule on their path to Rockland. For example, as Banshee, Gaviota, Tannis, Flying Jib, and others work their way from harbor to harbor on their way downeast from Massa- chusetts, other sloops, knowing when they will arrive in a particular harbor, can join them, perhaps only for a day or two, but we hope some will sail with them all the way to Rockland. Maybe the fleet could steer up Muscongus Bay and pass through Friendship on its way to Rockland. And Salatia is planning to repeat its role as Pied Piper leading Sloops from Southwest Harbor to Rockland, following the Southwest Harbor race on July 14. Those of you who have said you prefer cruising to racing, may have your opportunity to join fleets of Friendships sailing to the homecoming. And, yes, we are getting a bigger tent. Roger Lee & Gail O’Donnell Publicity Committee Report Miff Lauriat and Marge Russakoff presented the following report at the annual meeting:  In the pre-season, we sent notices of the summer events to over 20 publications and 6 Chambers of Commerce. We also posted listings on several online calendars including Yankee Magazine.  We made ourselves available for interviews and extended stories throughout the year.  Deidre Fleming’s article (July 9, Portland Sunday Telegram) is particularly noteworthy.  For the first time in Rockland, there was a local reporter at the races which resulted in a great write-up by Laurie Shreiber in the Bar Harbor Times, which is a paper affiliated with the Courier Gazette in Rockland.  Bill and Caroline Zuber were interviewed by Janet Mendel- sohn of Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors. That great article appears in the May, 2006 edition.  And as recently as November 13th, we discovered a wonderful online listing in DovetailsWordpress.com, complete with a photo of sloops rafted up at the Rockland Town Dock.  Miff made extensive efforts to get TV coverage of the sloops’ arrival in Rockland last July. His arrangement with Channel 5 WABI-TV Bangor was unfortunately thwarted at the last minute due to bad weather and lack of staffing at WABI.  Miff had considered arranging for Governor Baldacci to award the State of Maine trophy, but since it was an election year we decided not to bring politics into the Society. If the membership is interested, Miff will work on this for next summer. We know that an appearance by Governor Baldacci will generate state-wide publicity.  For the second year, we continued Charlie Burnham’s idea of placing sandwich signs on downtown Rockland streets to direct people toward the dock. Judging by numerous spectators at the Parade of Sloops, we think they are effective. – 7 –

Coming Aboard By Ted Walsh Getting aboard our sloop from the tender used to be a challenge. I tried variations on a Jacob’s ladder but was unsatisfied with the results. Then, three seasons ago, I made a landing grating. It is a simple project, but it has made a big difference coming aboard. This is just a narrow grating that hangs about ten inches off the water on the starboard side. Ours is 36” long, 9” deep, and 1 1/2” thick, which makes a big enough step to be stable when coming along side, but is small enough to stow in the starboard cockpit compartment. The outside edge has a shallow gutter going around the perimeter, into which is set a 1” rope fender. It hooks, with bronze hooks, to pad-eyes on the deck, making it easy to set and strike. I used a piece of teak that I had been saving for just such a project, but Douglas fir would work just as well and be less expensive. We have found that this has not only been a great improvement in getting aboard, but it doubles as a swim platform, and as a fender for the dinghy. Construct the grate with the teeth of the long pieces facing up. The grate should hang about 8”or 10” off the water. – 8 –