Great Success for S&S to launch Downeast Race Week!

The famed Olin Stephens yawl Dorade, recently returned to the U.S. by a new owner, the recently launched Stormy Weather-tribute Anna, a host of NY32s and a gaggle of other S&S designs claimed silver in a number of classes in the events.

The early August series that marks the beginning of Down East Race Week comprised the Castine Classic Yacht Race to Camden, the Brooklin Feeder Race and the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta. Anna, inspired by the 1930’s S&S classic Stormy Weather, scored fourth in class in the Castine race, Dorade a third in class, Safari (a Loki-class yawl) a second in class, Siren (a NY32) a second in class and Fidelio (sistership to Finnesterre) a third in class.

  In the Brookin Feeder Race, Dorade won the Classic class and Anna topped the Sprit of Tradition class. Falcon, a NY32, placed second among the Classics.

Anna saved her best for the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta. She won the Sprit of Tradition class, the fastest S&S yacht on corrected and uncorrected time and the shortest elapsed time. Dorade placed third in the Vintage B class and Falcon won the Joel White Award for the fastest plank-on-frame yacht. She also won first overall.

“Penobscot Bay is one of the prettiest sailing grounds in the world,” said S&S Executive Vice President and Chief Designer Bruce Johnson. “It was amazing to see such a collection of wooden boats this large and varied racing together and it was wonderful to see S&S boats 70 years apart in vintage racing side by side, all equally competitive in their respective classes.”

The new Mitch Gibbons-Neff Trophy, created in memory of the late S&S president Mitch Gibbons-Neff, was awarded to Bob Scott of Falcon as the top NY32 in the series. Neff raced regularly on Falcon.

The Castine Yacht Club and S&S hosted a celebration in Castine of the launching of Anna and the return to the U.S. of Dorade. Dorade, the 52-foot yawl that launched the career of S&S co-founder Stephens, had been based in recent years in the Mediterranean where she competed in many classic yacht regattas. She was acquired last year by East Coast yachtsman Edgar Cato and brought back to the States. Anna, very similar to Stormy Weather above the waterline, was built by Maine’s Brooklin Boat Yard.

The Castine race drew more than 50 competitors. A lecture at Maine Maritime Academy on the restoration of Dorade and the construction of Anna drew such a large crowd, the event had to be moved to a larger lecture hall.

Located on New York’s Fifth Avenue, S&S was established in 1929 to engage in the practice of naval architecture and to conduct the business of yacht brokerage, charter and insurance. The company's founders, then-21-year-old yacht designer Olin J. Stephens II and yacht broker Drake Sparkman are towering names in the yachting industry. S&S remains one of the most enduring and venerated brands in yachting having delivered more than 2,700 commercial, military and pleasure craft designs throughout its storied history. Some of the company's best-known sailing yacht designs include Dorade, Stormy Weather, Finisterre, Running Tide, Bolero and Tenacious. It has also been heavily involved in the America's Cup, having designed successful defenders Ranger, Columbia, Intrepid, Courageous and Freedom. Notable recent S&S designs include the Grand Banks 44 and 59, the Morris M36 and M42 and the 112-foot sloop Zingaro.
S&S is unique in the yachting industry with its combination of design and brokerage services. The company is managed by Greg Matzat, President and Chief Naval Architect, and Bruce Johnson, Executive Vice President and Chief Designer. It employs 22 designers, brokers and staff, with offices in New York and Fort Lauderdale.