Winter 2008 Newsletter

Winter still…Another three to five inches predicted for mid-coast Maine tonight. Snow and ice everywhere. “The Management,” as Roger Duncan calls it, has given us one heck of a winter. Summer is a distant memory for many of us, but these cold winter nights are the best time to begin thinking about summer on the Maine coast. For many of us the boating season never really ends. After our boats were hauled, the Society gathered in Portland in November for a very successful Annual Meeting. We shared stories of past Friendship Sloop gatherings. We enjoyed viewing many of Red Boutilier’s photos of Friendship Sloops that are now part of the permanent Penobscot Marine Museum Collec- tion. Many of us were able to identify people, places, and boats for curator Ben Fuller. We talked of ways to improve the races at the Rockland Homecoming. Together we ate a hearty meal, then relaxed and talked some more. Throughout this long Maine winter we’ve thought about the great times we had aboard Sazerac last summer: the long cruise to Cape Cod; discovering in Buzzards Bay that little more than a toothpick was left of the rudder post connecting our wheel and rudder; our return cruise to Maine, with a rendezvous in Boothbay Harbor with Banshee and Gaivota, and with Resolute off McGlathery and Round Islands (where past Commodores Charlie & Maria Burnham greeted Sazerac with a deafening cannon); racing in a fleet of twelve Friendships in the Southwest Harbor Race (hosted each year by Miff Lauriat and Marge Russakoff in what has to be the most beautiful sailboat race held anywhere); and best of all the Rockland Homecoming. Last year saw some changes in Rockland that the Executive Committee unanimously agreed worked well, and will be repeated this year. Everyone loved the classy new signs that identify each sloop, tied on the boats in plain sight for the public to see. The Parade of Sloops was moved out to the breakwater lighthouse, and our Sloop announcer extraordinaire, Penny Richards, was provided with a loudspeaker system so that the public (yes, there were numerous members of the public watch- ing!) could actually hear about each sloop as it sailed past the lighthouse. Of course we had terrific dinghy races — lots of laughing kids and constant chatter among folks on the rafted boats at the dock. We will again have the Awards Banquet on Saturday, following the final race. Last year it was a highlight of the weekend. It felt good to have members, families, guests and public all under the tent, sharing a fantastic meal and an entertaining awards presentation. What a wonderful way to end a great Homecoming. The Rockland Homecoming will be Thursday through Saturday, July 17-19. The Southwest Harbor Race will be on Saturday, July 12, the weekend before Rockland. Boats will rendezvous in Pulpit Harbor on North Haven on Tuesday evening, July 15. We’re looking into a rendezvous in Friendship, possibly on Sunday afternoon, July 20. Put these dates on your calendar. Now, while the days are still short and we are deep in snow, let’s dream of summer. Let’s plan for the time when we again feel the wind filling the sails, when we hear the laughter of kids on boats, the sounds of gulls, the softness of evening voices carried over the water. Come boating with the Society this summer and celebrate our enduring Friendships. Gail O’Donnell and Roger Lee 2008 Schedule of Events Spring Executive Committee Meeting Saturday, April 19th Best Western Merry Manor Inn South Portland, ME New London Rendezvous To Be Announced Southwest Harbor Rendezvous Saturday, July 12th Pulpit Harbor Rendezvous Tuesday, July 15th Homecoming Rendezvous & Races at Rockland Thursday, Friday, Saturday – July 17th to July 19th Marblehead Regatta August 10th Gloucester Schooner Festival Saturday, August 30th Fall Executive Board Meeting Saturday, October 4th Maine Maritime Museum Annual Meeting Saturday, November 15th Best Western Merry Manor Inn South Portland., ME Volume 20 Winter 2008 Issue 1 Friendships Newsletter of the Friendship Sloop Society Commodore’s Message

Friends and Fun on the Friendship Sloops The following article appeared in the July 25th edition of the Bar Harbor Times and was written by Laurie Schreiber: ROCKLAND — Friendship sloop enthusiasts showed up in force for the recent Southwest Harbor Rendezvous and Rockland’s three-day Homecoming Regatta, main events in the Friendship Sloop Society’s summer-long race series. As usual, they had a blast, even though the wind was exhibiting unblast-like behavior. Southwest Harbor’s race day was beautiful and sunny but pretty windless. “If you’re going to be becalmed, there’s no nicer place to be,” said Miff Lauriat of Southwest Harbor who, with his wife Marjory Russakoff, was sailing their Pemaquid 25-foot sloop Salatia, built by Jarvis Newman in 1969. There was a great turnout of a dozen boats. Tad Beck of Carvers Harbor on his Bruno and Stillman 30, Phoenix, built in 1970, was back on the circuit after a three-year hiatus and proceeded handily to win the race, leading the entire way. Attending Rockland’s regatta from Mount Desert Island were Salatia; the Ralph Stanley 33 Hieronymous, owned by Albert Neilson, who raced on Thursday and Friday; and the race committee on Ralph Stanley’s Seven Girls. In Rockland, Thursday’s race was abandoned due to lack of wind. Friday was foggy and rainy and the wind was slow. The fleet was given an extended time limit to finish the race when it became apparent that the wind wasn’t really going to fill in at all. “It was a long and excruciating race,” said Mr. Lauriat. By the end of the day, Salatia had won first in Division I, while Jack and Mary Cronin’s Tannis — one the fleet’s largest and oldest boats at 38 feet and built in 1937 — topped the big boats. Saturday was cloudy but there was an adequate blow. Tannis came in first again, while Stephen Major’s Echo won Division I, followed by Salatia, which lost a few minutes in the mayhem of “handicap alley” — a gate and a series of marks that require faster-rated boats to traverse greater distances than their slower sisters. Salatia entered the alley early, but on the turn was required to give up right-of-way just as the larger boats were coming along and lost its advantage to Echo which, the fleet’s smallest boat at 22 feet, wasn’t handicapped. Tannis was the weekend’s top winner, taking home the State of Maine trophy for first-place overall and first place in Division II for the big boat class. Salatia took the Division I title. Salatia also successfully defended the Jarvis Newman Trophy for the third year, against rivals Celebration and Banshee. All three are Newman fiberglass 25-footers. Sazerac, a Wilbur A. Morse 35 built in 1913 and raced by the society’s commodore, Roger Lee of Islesboro, was awarded 1st place among the Class A original sloops. The society has many other cool awards that acknowl- edge contributions to the friendly spirit in many ways. There’s the Spirit of Friendship Award, given by the previous recipient to Wayne and Kirsten Cronin, who own Rights of Man, for (Continued to Page 3) Friendship Rendezvous Draws Record Fleet Written by Lauren Simmons and published in the July 20th, 2007 edition of the Mount Desert Islander. SOUTHWEST HARBOR — The mouth of the Western Way was peppered with Friendship Sloops of all sizes Saturday when a flukey 5-knot wind slowed the annual rendezvous race to a starfish’s pace. Still, “There are worse things than to be sitting on calm sea in a beautiful place,” said Miff Lauriat, a co-founder of the event whose 25-foot Pemaquid, Salatia, chased bigger boats without handicaps Saturday. The race, now in its 15th year, saw a record 12 partici- pants who sailed for nearly four hours to complete a loose circumnavigation of Greening Island. Phoenix, a 30-foot Bruno and Stillman skippered by Tad Beck of Los Angeles, took an early lead off the starting line located at the corner of Greening Island facing Fernald Point. Early into the race, the boats bobbed at the mouth of the Western Way. “Lunch was easily digestible and there was no sea sickness,” said Mr. Lauriat. Later, the sloops made slow progress by chasing a slight southerly breeze between Great Cranberry Island and Sutton Island on their way toward the Islesford Bell. Phoenix, passing her competitors on the return course, sailed into a dead spot off of Great Cranberry’s Spurling Cove where Mr. Beck sat in still air with luffing sails. “The weather did a good job of handicapping,” said Mr. Lauriat. Despite losing ground on a well-established lead, Mr. Beck managed to work Phoenix back onto the racecourse ahead of the second-place Alice E., the oldest Friendship Sloop in operation, first launched in 1899. Phoenix, the lonely leader, pressed ahead toward the Somes Sound finish line to claim first place. Alice E., captained by Karl Brunner and Kristin Ramos, trailed in second. Bill and Caroline Zuber sailed Gladiator, an Alexander McLain sloop built in 1902, into third place. Gladiator was followed by Betsey Holtzman’s Endeavor, built by Ralph W. Stanley in 1979, Sazerac, owned by Roger Lee and built by Wilbur A. Morse in 1913, and the Helen Brooks skippered by Aaron Graff. Chrissy, a 1912 Charles A. Morse owned by Harold and Kim Burnham, trailed in seventh place followed by Salatia, Resolute, built by Charles Burnham in 1973 and owned by Charlie and Maria Burnham, Eden, built by Coffin & Nash in 1971 and owned by Scott Martin, and Peregrine, a 1977 Ralph Stanley owned by Paul and Carol Lidstrom. Surprise, built by Philip Nichols in 1964, dropped out early in order to make it home to Bar Harbor in time for a scheduled charter. Although several of the boats raised pirate flags, the competitors were genial. “It was good fun … It’s about getting as many sloops as we can to go sailing on the same day,” said Mr. Lauriat. Several members of the fleet continued sailing down the coast to Rockland in order to participate in the Friendship Sloop Society’s regatta there, set for July 19, 20, and 21. – 2 –

Friends and Fun on the Friendship Sloops (Continued from Page 2) everything they do for the society. The Nickerson Award is given to the youngest crew member, and went to babe-in-arms Annika Spenser aboard Phoenix. The Chrissy Award goes to “the female spouse who holds everything together,” in this case, Kathy Whitney on Gaivota. The Cy Hamlin Award is a tongue-in-cheek trophy that stemmed from erroneous reports of the passing of Mr. Hamlin. The society promptly picked up on the joke, and now awards the trophy to someone who has been out of the loop for a while but makes a sudden return, in this case, Mr. Beck on Phoenix. Then there was last year’s disappearance of the Gladia- tor Trophy, which goes to the person who attends the homecom- ing regatta from the furthest distance. Last year, the lovely silver bowl, engraved with the names of each recipient, was given to a man who had come from Chile. Recipients are supposed to hold on to the trophy for a year, then return it for the next. Unfortu- nately, the society’s new Chilean friend never came back, so Bill and Caroline Zuber, who own Gladiator, created a new trophy, a sextant, which went to Roger Lee on Sazerac, who is making a point of attending each race on the circuit, thus logging the most miles. The lucky recipient of a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and a picnic basket full of goodies, which constitutes the award for placing seventh in the fleet, went to Echo. As it happened, because Rockland’s fleet this year numbered 13, Echo also won middle-of-the-pack award, called the Danforth Trophy, and created by Bill Danforth, who figured that, if there were going to be first-place and last-place trophies, they might as well recog- nize the middle finishers as well. The owner/builder trophy was awarded for a beautiful rebuild of the Sarah Mead in Muscongus Bay. Friendship sloop builder Ralph Stanley of Southwest Harbor also gives an award for the most beautifully maintained sloop, in this case Black Star, a 35-footer built in 1989 and owned by Ted Walsh of Rockland. There’s a trophy for the 1st-place bald-headed sloop in Division II, which went to Sazerac. The homecoming is rounded out by group picnic dinners, a Parade of Sloops, and rowboat racing, with the rower blindfolded and the passenger frantically shouting directions. After an initial collision, Miff Lauriat and Tad Beck handily won the competition. Thank You To all who attended the Rockland Regatta: Thank you for the flowers, cards, and greetings relayed to me from you by my family. I missed seeing ALL of you!!! Thank You!! Mary Cronin Dues Reminder If you haven’t mailed your annual dues in for 2008, please send them to: Caroline Phillips Sloop Society Secretary 164 Sturbridge Road Charlton, MA 01507 Friendship Memorial Scholarship Fund Bill and Caroline Zuber presented the following report to the members at the Annual Meeting: The Board of Trustees of the Beatrice Pendleton Memorial Scholarship Fund awarded scholarships in June, 2007 in the amount of $750 each ($4,500 total) for the second semes- ter to the following graduates of Medomak Valley High School: Alison Ann Bramhall Bruce Allen Cunningham Jasmine Paige Doughty (Valedictorian) Wesley John Ehle Hannah Marie Lash Brittany Elli Wotton The Board of Trustees has voted to become a “Desig- nated Scholarship Endowment Fund” of The Maine Commu- nity Foundation. This action required a change in the name of the Scholarship Fund from “The Beatrice Pendleton Memorial Scholarship Fund” to “The Friendship Memorial Scholarship Fund”, with its own Federal EIN. Joining with many other scholarship funds in the State of Maine under the non-profit foundation designation allows full IRS tax deductibility for any donations made to increase the endowment. The funds were transferred from the ownership of the Friendship Sloop Society, Inc. on August 27, 2007, fulfilling the wishes of the trustees of the original deed of trust executed in 1983 by the Friendship Sloop Society, revised in 2006. The change in the name reflects that funds in the Scholarship Endowment have been given in memory of many different persons over the years since Bill Pendleton and his first wife Beatrice proposed and worked hard to get this Scholarship Fund going for the young people of the town of Friendship. It is hoped that these changes will not change the strong relationship between current members of the Friendship Sloop Society and the awarding of scholarships to the young people of Friendship. The Scholarship Trust Fund will continue to grow due to the prudent and diversified management of the funds and the extremely low cost of that management through the Maine Community Foundation. Other than the change in the name, the selection of recipients and that process will remain as it has been. The biggest change is that now all donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. The Friendship Sloop Society has been instrumental in the founding and support of two very important assets in the town – The Friendship Museum and “Sloop Society Scholarship Fund”. We wish all of the members of the Sloop Society could have attended Friendship’s gala 200th birthday party on Febru- ary 27, 2007, as well as the other events throughout the summer. On Friendship Day, several people came up to us to remark “We haven’t had so many people in town since Sloop Days!” Although we no longer race in Muscongus Bay, today’s modern lobster boats race through the harbor with much the same excite- ment and pride. Friendship has a new Town Office, and the Friendship Museum has rotating displays in the lobby year ‘round. Come to Friendship any time of the year, and in the summer months visit the old brick schoolhouse that houses a wonderful collection of memorabilia of the town. As members of the Friendship Sloop Society, we can take credit for making a real difference with our support of these two efforts over the years. Thank you! – 3 –

FSS Financial Report The following financial report was presented by our treausrer, Greg Merrill at the annual meeting: The attached summary fiancial report shows the final financial statement for the October 1, 2006 thru September 30, 2007 fiscal year and the proposed budget for 2007-2008. The proposed budget was approved at the meeting. Here are some highlights of the report: Actual 2006-2007:
Membership dues were essentially the same as 2005-2006.
Increased yearbook mailing costs were partially off-set by bulletin board income so that the net yearbook revenue was still very strong at $1,945.
The net profit from the chandlery set a new high at $1,150.
Regatta expenses were up primarily due to spending about $600 more for the larger tent.
The Rockland dinner was slightly positive despite the low cost to the members.
Total receipts exceeded expenditures by $581, so that the Society’s year-end cash reserves grew to $10,844. 2007-2008 Budget:
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 and expenditures.
Budgeted donations to the Pendleton Scholarship and Friendship Museum are held constant. The donation to the Maine Maritime Museum has been reduced by $100, and donations to the Rockland Lighthouse for $100 and to the Penobscot Bay Museum for $200 have been approved.
A balanced budget is projected. 10,844 10,844 10,263 Ending Balance 0 581 889 Net Gain or (Loss) 0 -33 -137 Dinners -35 -35 -35 State Fees -100 -100 -100 US Sailing Membership -160 -112 -357 Awards & Gifts -495 -495 -495 Insurance Premium -1,000 -1,000 -1,000 Secretary Comp. -1,190 -1,213 -969 Communications -1,500 -1,300 -1,300 Donations -4,280 -3,923 -3,415 Regatta 200 201 147 Bank Interest 150 159 139 50/50 Raffle 380 393 270 Silent Auction 900 880 1,169 Contributions 1,100 1,150 989 Chandlery 1,900 1,945 2,135 Yearbook 4,130 4,064 3,849 Membership Net Results ‘07-’08 Budget ‘06-’07 Actual ‘05-’06 Actual Rockland Homecoming 2007 Results State of Maine Trophy Best Overall Performance Tannis Division I Herald Jones Trophy Salatia Bruno & Stillman Trophy Echo Lash Brothers Trophy Celebration Division II Commodore’s Trophy Tannis Gordon Winslow Trophy Rights of Man Rockland Trophy Phoenix Class A Wilbur Morse Trophy Sazerac Charles Morse Trophy Gladiator Alexander McLain Trophy Not Awarded Rum Line Trophy Gladiator Special Trophies Chrissy Trophy Kathy Whitney Spirit of Friendship Wayne & Kirsten Cronin Gladiator Trophy Sazerac Nickerson Trophy Arnica Spencer Owner/Builder Trophy Sarah Mead (Nate Jones) R.W. Stanley Cup Black Star Liberty Trophy Sazerac Jarvis Newman Trophy Salatia Cy Hamlin Trophy Tad Beck Tannis Award Echo Danforth Trophy Echo Chandlery News Thank you for a very good year! New for this winter – we added long sleeve blue polo shirts for $40, and green nylon 1/4 zipper windbreaker jackets also $40. We are purchasing Friendship Sloop pins (approximately 1″ peak to keel X 1″ bow sprit to boom end). A great gift for anyone on the crew. The chandlery also has more of the canvas totes with the double silhouette of the Friendship sloops, FSS automobile stickers, and green rubber Friendship Sloop Society bracelets. Let us know if you need anything. You can contact us: Bill & Kathy Whitney 75 Kingsbury Street Needham, MA 02192 781-449-2063 Class A Birthdays There are a number of member Class A sloops that are celebrat- ing significant “birthdays” in 2008. Our congratulations to the owners and crews of the following “Senior” members of the fleet: 105 Years: #97 Integrity – Brian & Christine Wedge, Harpswell, ME 100 Years: #275 Viking – Cordell & Janine Hutchins, Cape Porpoise, ME 95 Years: #44 Sazerac – Roger Lee, Belfast, ME – 4 –

Membership News Membership Chairman Penny Richards has sent the following: Here is a recap of activity from the Membership Deck (since the report in the Spring newsletter) New member, sloop owner:
James Salmon of Center Conway, NH, owner of Kumatage, joined us in November. Kumatage, (formerly the Granuaile, #206) is a 30-foot Dictator class built by Jarvis Newman in 1980. Her home port is Falmouth, ME.
John Moran of Tiverton, RI is the proud owner of #142 Audrey II. The sloop is 21′ long and her homeport will be Tiverton.
Alden and Perry Burnham are now the owners of #127 Maria, built by their grandfather Charlie Burnham in 1971. New members, Friends of Friendships:
Robert Ashley of Watertown, CT,
Ned Cooke of Atlantic Heights, NJ Other correspondence of interest: Ed Callahan and Gladiator: I received a letter in August from Ed Callahan of Maryland, who found a photo of the Zuber family’s Gladiator in a magazine while vacationing in Camden in the summer of 2006. Mr. Calla- han’s family owned Gladiator, then the Nancy Jean, in the 1940’s. He sent me a photocopied picture taken in Spa Creek, Anapolis, that shows large numbers painted at the bow. He explained that during World War II, the Coast Guard required all pleasure boats to display large numbers on their bow for identifi- cation purposes. Many private boats were called on to join Coast Guard and Navy patrols to detect enemy submarines; Mr. Calla- han didn’t think Gladiator took part in any of those exercises. Both Bob and Bill Zuber have been in touch with Mr. Callahan, who has their warm invitation to sail with them in 2008. Charles Zusman, John Wojcik & a roadside sloop for sale: Charles Zusman is a columnist for The Star Ledger of New Jersey, and writes a blog about boating in New Jersey (http://blog.nj.com/boating/welcome/) He came across a boat badly in need of TLC somewhere in Maine and wondered if it is a Friendship. I wrote to him and then shared his inquiry with members of the Society Executive Committee in hopes someone might have details on this mystery ship. Sure enough – someone did. John Wojcik replied and said: “I came across the pictured vessel in my travels a few months ago; it is located in Kennebunkport on the road between Biddeford Pool and Kennebunkport. It is schooner rigged, done so since the owner, who built the boat with his father, wanted an easier rig to handle. The owner said the vessel is not registered with the Society, even though the lines are those of the Estella A of Mystic Seaport. The boat was built in 1991, pine on oak, and is named Allegiance. The owner’s father, who was the carpenter on the project, claims to have known both Alexander McLain (the builder of the Estella A), and Wilbur Morse. The trail boards were carved by the owner’s father, and the tiller, which is made of teak, was built from a piece of the teak decking of the battleship USS Massachusetts.” I shared all of this with Mr. Zusman and extended an invitation to join us for any of our upcoming events. ed note: Later research indicates that there is a sloop in Kennebunkport named Allegiance (#86 built in 1970). We’re trying to determine if they are one and the same. Support Your Yearbook Remember: Two things are due on April 15th!!! Your Taxes and your article (and/or photos) for the yearbook. Rich Langton is always looking for an interesting article for the yearbook. Rich is also looking for photos, especially a photo for the cover of this year’s book. Please support your yearbook either through soliciting advertising or through the Bulletin Board. Bulletin Board Notices cost $20 and people should send their notice and check to: Rich Langton 868 Cross Point Road Edgecomb, ME 04556. Four lines maximum….some people have written a book and we don’t have space to publish long messages. We did pretty well in getting people signed up at the annual meeting but are still far short of last years listings….so lets hear it from the Bulletin Board supporters. If you want to send you message electronically then send it to: editor@fss.org. The advertising rate sheet is included in this newsletter and is also available at the website: FSS.ORG/2008ADSHEET.PDF. Print it out and take it to your local boatyard and see if they are interested in taking an ad. Please remember, advertisements have to be sent by April 1st to: Kirsten & Wayne Cronin 525 Main Street Thomaston, ME 04861 Volunteers Needed for the Race Committee The Race Committee is looking for volunteers to assist in the administration of the Homecoming Races in Rockland. While the Race Committee will be more than willing to train any new members, the basic requirements we seek are:
A willingness to serve aboard Seven Girls for several hours each race day at Rockland.
An ability to meet occasionally with the Race Committee during the “off-season”.
Compatibility with the existing Race Committee members. If you meet these basic requirements and hold an interest in becoming a member of “the team”, please do not hesitate to contact Dave Graham at your earliest convenience. Dave’s e-mail address is: dwg@shore.net or you can contact Dave via postal mail at: David W. Graham 7 Batchelder Drive Marblehead, MA 01945 Trophy Engraving Reminder Please remember, before you return the trophy you won at the Rockland Homecoming to the Race Committee, it is your responsibility to have the trophy engraved with your name or the name of your sloop and the year. -5 –

The 47th Annual Meeting of the Friendship Sloop Society was held on Saturday, November 17th at the Best Western – Merry Manor Hotel in Portland, Maine. Commodore Roger Lee began the meeting by welcoming everyone to the annual meeting. He stated that in his first year as commodore the society saw some changes such as the new start times for races, new and more signs and banners advertising the rendezvous, the parade of sail being held at the Rockland breakwater, and the Saturday night dinner-awards banquet which was a HUGE SUCCESS!!. Secretary’s Report: Caroline Phillips Membership totals for 2007: Boat Owners: 100 Full/Associate: 50 Cooperative: 27 Honorary: 4 TOTAL: 181 Since mailing 2008 applications, 7 people have paid for 2007 or rejoined in 2008 to bring the total to 188. Treasurer’s Report: Greg Merrill (see page 4 for the summary report) We are solvent and actually gained $581.00 for 2006-7 fiscal year. With the cost of decals reduced to $250, $200 was to be donated to Penobscot Museum, $100 to the Lighthouse Museum, and the contribution to the Maine Maritime Museum was reduced to $300. The 2008 budget was then seconded and was unanimously accepted. Membership Chair: Penny Richards (see the Membership Report on Page 5) Penny read the names of the new members, who bought boats, etc. She then talked about an entry in a boating blog on the web about a sloop for sale on the side of the road in Maine. Publicity Chairs: Miff and Marge Lauriat Miff stated that they had e-mailed letters to publications and got the calendar of events into Yankee Magazine and Downeast Magazine. Marge talked about the TV station that was suppose to be in Rockland, but never showed up. They then announced their resignation as Publicity chairs as they want to work harder on the Southwest Rendezvous. Chandlery: Bill and Kathy Whitney Bill stated that prices and pictures of items for sale have been updated on the website. 2007 was a great year and money was made. They are constantly looking for new ideas for items to sell. Please contact them with any ideas you may have for new items. Yearbook Editors: Richard and Beth Langton Rich stated that it was another successful year for the yearbook. This year he needs a cover photo as well as a dedication for the 2008 yearbook. And as always, he needs articles and photo- graphs. There were 5000 books printed and distributed. In 2008, we will need to distribute them better. Yearbook Advertisements: Wayne and Kirsten Cronin Rich Langton spoke for Wayne and Kirsten. He stated that the rates for 2008 would remain the same. Kirsten will send out letters earlier to get advertisers from last year so there would be less work in March. Ad forms will be available on the website. Newsletter and Website: John Wojcik Website: John stated that there were major changes to the website including the homepage and scuttlebutt page. On the scuttlebutt page, he is using a new program to ensure that no inappropriate language and sites pop up and he was wondering if the scuttlebutt page was harder to use. Please let John know if it is. Newsletter: John stated that in past years the society printed 2 newsletters. However, in 2008 the society hopes to go back to 3 newsletters so that information given to members will be more up to date and accurate. Registrar’s Report: John Wojcik Most recent numbers issued to boats were: 277 – Sara Lee 278 – Sigmus 279 – Hand of Friendship John stated that he received a letter from Peter Sellers stating that #276 Lucy Bell was not intended to be a friendship sloop and asked that his number #276 be removed. John will look into this matter further. John stated that he went through and found addresses for 83 boats that were not members. (15 came back undeliverable, 2 came back with corrections, 4 came back stating that the boat was up for sale, 4 came back stating the boat had been sold but didn’t know where the boat was. John also stated after looking at homeports that there are 84 sloops in Maine – so we need to get these boats to Rockland. Pendleton Scholarship Fund: Bill and Caroline Zuber (See report on page 3) Bill stated that the fund awarded scholarships in the amount of $4,500 to students in June. The enclosed report describes how the Scholarship fund was transferred to another type of organiza- tion for legal tax purposes and to get a better return on the money. Bill also stated that the Friendship Museum and the Scholarship are doing well and thanked the society for their support. Rendezvous – Regattas: New London: Greg Roth Greg stated that in 2007 the committee decided to sail to a desti- nation rather than race and decided to sail from New London to Narragansett Bay and to Dutch Harbor. Dutch Harbor has a small family-run marina. There were eight boats that attended. Next year the event will be the end of June. Southwest Harbor: Bill Zuber and Miff Lauriat 2007 was a great time and the Best Turnout ever!! Miff thanked Ralph Stanley for being the race committee. 2008 will be held the Saturday before Rockland. Rockland Regatta: David Graham David stated that the Saturday night dinner was wonderful and the parade of sail at the breakwater was great. The race commit- tee was considering a new starting sequence, but decided against that, which means the sailing instructions will not change for 2008. Rockland in 2008 is July 17-19th. David stated that we need more participants!!! He thanked Bill Zuber, Jack and Jeff Cronin (for setting up handicap alley and the use of Effie M) and Ralph Stanley with Seven Girls. (Continued to Page 8) – 6 – 47th Annual Meeting Sloop Society secretary, Caroline Phillips, has submitted the minutes of the annual meeting:

Letters from the Membership The following letters were received by the FSS Secretary, Caroline Phillips, and read at the Annual Meeting: From Andy Zuber, who has been serving with the National Guard in Egypt: Dear Sloopers – I have been stationed in the Sinai near Sham el Sheik since January, 2007 and will “hopefully” be on my way back to the states by Valentines Day. After 2-3 weeks of demobilization, I will be returning home to Maine. I have been able to do some short “tourist trips” and on one of them got to sail a Felucca on the Nile! Not quite the Gladiator, but at least it was a sailboat! I have also become a certified scuba diver and a certified instruc- tor for EMT’s. I have eleven medics in my command. I look out my quarters windows across the gravel “beach” to the Red Sea. It isn’t all that bad. Miss all of you, and am looking forward to sailing again and being HOME. From Victor Trodella, owner of #94, Euphoria: Euphoria has been refinished throughout and new sails were made for her by Nathaniel Wilson. Vic & Becky have fallen in love with her and bought a house on the water with a deep water mooring and dock so that we can sail her and see her more. We are extremely grateful to Eben & Diane Gay who had her built and who took such marvelous care of her. Also we are grateful to the Gay’s for their gracious support for our learning curve. We are proud to have Euphoria and look forward to sailing her for the rest of our lives. Thanks also to the FSS for welcoming us into the family! From Fred Perone, owner of #96, Voyager: Voyager sailed with a crew of nine with the 50th anniversary sailing of the Mayflower. Voyager also participated in the Duxbury Bay Maritime School in the water boat show. With the freshening up of some gold leaf on her trailboards she commanded a lot of attention as the only Friendship Sloop in Plymouth Harbor. We went for the final sail of the season on Monday, October 22nd. She was hauled a week later on the 29th. Publicity Chairman Needed The FSS is in need of a volunteer to serve as the publicity chair- man. The duties of the publicity chairman include:
Develop and maintain a current mailing list of appropriate publicity sources and closing dates for material.
Provide appropriate print, radio and TV media sources with timely information and photographs on the activities of the Society, particularly the annual regattas and the annual meeting. The objective of the publicity is to increase general familiarity with Friendship Sloops and their role in the maritime history of New England. If you are interested, please contact Roger Lee at commodore@fss.org or: Rober Lee 26 Park Street Belfast, ME 04915 The Lure of an Old Friendship By Steve Cartwright (ed. note: Steve is following the rebuilding of #53 Eagle and will be writing a story of the effort.) If you acquire a 93-year-old wooden boat, you better have some serious time and money on your hands, plus a hefty supply of patience. A little luck won’t hurt, either. Dick Rapalyea is finding out these things in the two years since he bought a 32-foot Friendship Sloop, the Eagle, built by Wilbur Morse of Friendship in 1915. He found Eagle’s spruce planking on steamed oak frames is pretty sound, but deck beams are rotten. You pull out a weak board and you uncover some other problem. More rot. Rusted fastenings, for example, and the wood around them gets punky — he calls it “nail sick.” Yet he eagerly calls Eagle “a beautiful boat,” a sloop that displays the classic lines of what began as a working fishing boat without benefit of engine. Eagle is now a yacht with diesel auxiliary. But Eagle maintains its workboat appearance. There is no shiny varnish or gleaming brass. Friendships are easily distinguished by their clipper bow, gaff rig and beamy hull. Some carry tops’ls on their wooden spars, and Rapalyea – who has sailed a Friendship — says they can practically self-steer. That was an important feature back when they were used for lobstering. A local carpenter is helping with Eagle’s restoration. The boat has long been listed in the register of the Friendship Sloop Society, and Rapalyea has joined that group. The society holds an annual regatta in Rockland. Rapalyea admits to some discouraging moments but hangs onto the dream of sailing a classic boat that cost him just $15,000. The previous owner, Don Huston of Nahant, Massa- chusetts, rebuilt the vessel many decades ago and spent 40 years sailing Eagle whenever he could. “Old boats are by far the most fabulous buy on the market if you’re willing to do the work yourself,” Rapalyea said. He thought he’d be sailing Eagle by last summer. Now he thinks he’ll be lucky to launch it next summer. He juggles his work on the boat with a three-day-per- week job at Sage Market in Rockland. Weather can play havoc with boat work, just as it does with sailing. He and his wife Diane retired from horticultural sales work in Pennsylvania where they lived before buying a 1785 waterfront home in Thomaston, with views of the St.George River from nearly every window. One of their Thomaston neighbors is Wayne Cronin, whose Friendship Sloop, Rights of Man, is stored for the winter beside his house. Diane, who prefers staying on shore, works at Anderson Farms, a greenhouse in Edgecomb. At Spruce Head, Eagle stands on jacks across the yard from another ancient Friendship Sloop, the 35-foot Omaha, owned by Adrian Hooydonk of Spruce Head. Built in 1901 by Norris Carter, it’s one of oldest Friendships still around. Speaking of friendship, Hooydonk is an old sailing buddy of Huston’s, and the two of them have cruised aboard Eagle. – 7 –

It was a dark and stormy night. Oops!..Wrong story. It was a beautiful, clear and sunny day last July 1st. But the story starts actually a couple of days before on Friday, June 29th. Everything was in place at Thames Yacht Club for sloops that wanted to arrive early on Friday. Moorings were available, the launch operators were apprised of our plans, and the weather gods were reminded of their duties to provide fair winds and calm seas for a few days. It worked! The 20th anniversary of Jack Vibber’s experiment to bring sloops to a Windezvous in New London was going to be an event! The format may have changed but not the camaraderie. Friday, 29 June, Gaivota and Banshee were swinging securely on their moorings at Thames Yacht Club, not too far from Fiddlehead. By the next day, Natanya had arrived to join them. Commodore Roger Lee was making way on Sazerac from Maine while Lisa K was resting idly up the Mystic River. Selkie was planning on coming to the event this year but had to change plans. She didn’t get to the water. I Got Wings will join the fleet later. Although Sazerac unfortunately had lost steering and had to put in at Cuttyhunk for repairs, Roger made the connec- tions to get to New London for the traditional gathering of Friendship Sloopers, crew and guests for dinner. Imagine eight- een of us seated at a row of tables in the middle of a busy water- front restaurant on a Saturday night. Yes, we were invited back. Sunday morning dawned clear and bright on July 1st.. There would be favorable wind throughout the day but the oncoming tide would challenge the sail east. The sloops cleared the mooring field by 0730, made the short passage down the Thames River and set sail through Fisher’s Island Sound en route to Watch Hill, Point Judith, and ultimately up Narragansett Bay to Dutch Harbor on the western side of Conanicut Island. Jamestown is on the eastern shore just across the bay from Newport. The mooring field at Dutch Harbor looked very good after a full day of transit. Once we had all found our moorings and were swinging on our pennants, the crews met onshore at the marina facilities to descend on picturesque Jamestown in the quest of a place to eat. Suffice it to say that we ended up at the local pizza/sandwich “restaurant,” which we invaded en masse, much to their surprised delight. By the time we got back to our sloops to settle in for the night, the wind had died and the harbor was calm. Sleep was easy. Monday’s water taxi ride to Fort Adams and then to Bannister Wharf gave the group quick and easy access to Newport proper. We passed the cruise ship ms Maasdam anchored off Fort Adams. She was impressive at anchor and seemed quite at home nestled in the bay. After a day of explor- ing Newport’s nooks and crannies and sharing the walkways with the usual hordes of summer tourists, having checked out classic boats ashore and bookstores as well, following a good lunch, the adventurous crews returned to Jamestown via the water taxi and trekked westward through town to the marina. The best things in life are often the simplest and most spontaneous. What turned out to be the signature event of the rendezvous was the impromptu picnic at Dutch Harbor. Crossing the island back to the western shore, the group spied a supermarket which prompted a collective cry: “Hot Dogs!” Yeah. And some other fare necessary to a cookout. The marina provided a grill. A few cement blocks and some planking from around the yard were readily arranged into a make shift picnic table. Someone procured a cover, supplies and utensils from boat galleys were gathered, as well as some of the more appro- priate “picnic beverages.” Now, just imagine how delicious the food was en plein air. As luck would have it this year, Heidi Lee, one of our bigger Friendships, had been hauled out for some maintenance over on the R.I. mainland. But, just in time for dessert – yes, we even had post-picnic sweets! – Gabrilowitz came by with his children to touch base with the visiting group. Friendship and belonging is the Society’s hallmark, after all. To follow up on just that, the entire group ended up aboard Lisa K for a couple of hours on that last night. Good stories, good laughs, and good people! Talk was that we consider a similar rendezvous program in 2008, perhaps going further east to Sakonnet or maybe Cuttyhunk. We’ll check out facilities at Point Judith, RI, too. Meanwhile, it certainly is a warm moment in the middle of winter to think about the great view seeing our “fleet” sailing together and the possibilities for the coming summer. 47th Annual Meeting (Continued from Page 6) Marblehead: David Graham The race was held and the Ridgeway trophy went to Tannis (Jeff Cronin). Next year the race will be August 10, 2008. 2007 Donations: Scholarship Fund: $500. Friendship Museum: $400. Maine Maritime Museum: $300. Penobscot Bay Museum: $200. Lighthouse Museum / Rockland Breakwater: $100. Awards:
Morang Award presented by Penny Richards, and was awarded to Scott Martin for his very touching story in this year’s yearbook.
Bancroft Award presented by Jack Cronin to Steve Dunipace for the restoration of Heritage
Omaha Award presented by Wayne and Kirsten Cronin to David Graham
Hadlock Award presented by Bill Cronin to Miff Lauriat
Messing About trophy presented by Dick Salter to Bill and Caroline Zuber Open Discussion: A discussion on the handicap system and considering re-instituting the handicap penalties to the top placing boats: 1st 3%; 2nd 2%, and 3rd 1%. With some discussion, it was voted to instruct the race committee to look into the feasibility of imple- menting a penalty system.. With no further discussion, motion was made and seconded and voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting. – 8 – New London Rendezvous/Cruise 2007 By Greg Roth