June 2022 Papoose Article

Only one month to go before the summer sailing classes begin! Our April Papoose article featured the Sunfish sailboat, and this month we are highlighting the other sailboat we teach with – the Snipe. Peter Roos, our Snipe Fleet Captain, writes the following to inform and entice you to enjoy this 15-foot sloop which was the first racing class sailboat on Lake Mohawk. Peter saved this charming picture of him (the kid in the life jacket) and his dad with their Snipe on the day of the Roos Cup (read on...) He is now the proud owner of Snipe # 27000 – also pictured here, on a beautiful day at Lake Mohawk. Enjoy the ride!

“Many of us have a story about a Snipe sailboat, one that we owned or someone we know owned years ago. The Snipe was the brainchild of yacht designer Bill Crosby; he penned it in March 1931 for Rudder Magazine. In the early part of the 20th century, there were two magazines dedicated to boating, The Rudder, which served a journeyman readership, and Yachting for the gilded class.

Designed to be built at home in wood with regular tools and, most importantly, to be affordable. The first Snipe was built by a 12-year-old boy (Jimmy Brown) and his father in the summer of 1931. Jimmy named his boat "Adelaide." In September 1931, Jimmy's boat was issued hull number 1 - within a year, there were 150 boats. By the end of 1932, there were 250 boats. By 1936, it was the largest one-design class in the world. Today there are over 33000 Snipes. Boat #1 still exists and was restored a few years ago and is now in the collection of the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York.

-- The class motto is "Serious Sailing, Serious Fun” --

The Lake Mohawk Yacht Club is home to one of the oldest Snipe fleets in the world, Fleet No 10, granted its charter in January of 1934. Today, there are over 900 Snipe Fleets chartered all over the world. The Snipe fleet pre-dates the yacht club by four years. The club was formed in 1938 but was conceived at a dinner party in New York City in April 1935 by six Snipe Fleet members: Morgan Reicher, Patrick Douris, Frank J. Redfern, John J. Redfern, John Nelles, and Robert T. Crane.

Fleet 10 has a history of being quite active in the Snipe world, sponsoring the Snipe District 1 Championship with the "Lake Mohawk Trophy" and The New Jersey State Championship with the Crane Bowl. Snipe records show that both trophies were often taken home by club members. The 1938 World Champion Snipe sailor Charles Gabor also called The Lake Mohawk Yacht Club his home. The club sponsors an annual open regatta in his name, to be held this year on June 5. The Snipe is a classic boat, still popular worldwide – just visit www.snipe.org to see all that’s happening in the class today.

As I said, we all have a Snipe story, so here is mine. Around 1968, both my father and uncle had small day sailors, which of course, led to a brotherly disagreement as to who was the better yachtsman. A race was needed. After some discussion and debate, a date and course were set and agreed upon for the inaugural Roos Cup. Said cup being a somewhat tarnished martini shaker that my uncle had found at a garage sale. Now, my father had a Snipe, a racing boat, and my uncle, a Luger, which is a family day sailor - this is a bit like racing a Corvette and a Buick.

Snipes benefit significantly from a whisker pole, which holds the jib out when running downwind. Modern Snipes (like my # 27000) have a pole launching mechanism that allows you to deploy the pole from the comfort of the cockpit. Neither the launching mechanism nor a pole was found on my father's boat, built circa 1955. This will be important in a bit.

A whisker pole was needed for the Snipe. This is not something you trot down to the local marina and purchase. You need to get the parts - a long aluminum pole, two fittings to go on the ends, one to hook on the sail and the other to the mast, and build one. My father was not a person to take a project lightly. Where most would get the pole, pop in the fittings and call it good, my father somehow managed to take a few weeks to lovingly craft his pole (seen in the picture, pointing upward).

The Snipe led throughout the race. Near the end of the last run, my father went forward and onto the deck to take down the pole. I was at the tiller as we came around the mark. My uncle tacked, I covered his tack, which somehow seemed important in my seven-year-old mind. Now, when a sailboat tacks, the sails go quickly and forcibly from one side of the boat to the other, and the boat will heel (tilt) to the lee side (the direction the wind is going in). My father's lovingly crafted pole went overboard, with him holding on to it. My uncle turned around to get him, as I was heading towards the finish line and felt the boat was much faster without his added weight. My dad claimed victory, and my uncle thought the win was his as our Snipe finished without the entire crew. They argued about it for the next 45 years. I imagine they still do.

Serious Sailing, Serious fun! Snipes are an excellent boat for families or couples. Our club has a fleet of Snipes available for members to use and race. If you prefer to own, a new one can be had for far less money than a car; used ones that are still competitive can be had for short money. The Lake Mohawk Yacht Club also has Lightnings, Lasers, and Sunfish at the line on race days. Interested? Come down on any Sunday now to mid-October and find out more.”

Our racing season started mid-May, and our first Regatta – the Gabor Cup - open to all LMCC members with a sailboat is scheduled for Sunday, June 5 with registration at noon. We offer Adult sailing lessons on Saturdays, and our summer Junior Sailing Program for students age 10 and up starts July 5. To sign up, please call 973.729.5283 soon - spots are limited. Write us or check our website for current information: Email: LakeMohawkSailing@gmail.com Website: www.LakeMohawkSailing.org .

Until next month, Smooth Sailing and God bless America!

Submitted by Gail Miner