Owner’s Description
The Friendship Sloop Society is a non-profit organization incorporated in the State of Maine in 1961. The purpose of the Society is to encourage the building and sailing of Friendship sloops and to provide a forum for owners and friends to meet and enjoy each other around a common interest. There are 285 sloops registered with the Society including the oldest wooden original built in 1899 (…and still sailing!) and the ‘newer’ fleet of fiberglass models developed by Jarvis Newman in the 1970’s.
Friendship sloops were designed and built in Maine, served as one of the state’s first lobster and fishing boats, and are now revered as a classic Maine pleasure-craft.
In 2022, the Society will be celebrating its 61st Homecoming Regatta in Rockland, Maine from Thursday July 21st through Saturday July 23rd. For the last twenty-seven years, Society members have gathered in Rockland Harbor to race, swap stories, and have an all-around good time. Previously the regattas were held in Friendship and Boothbay Harbor. Although the venue for the regatta has changed over time, the camaraderie and spirit of friendship remains the same. Please join us as we share our love of sailing and commemorate the sloops’ distinct place in Maine’s maritime history!
The sloops will be located at the Rockland Public Landing at 1 Harbor Drive. There are typically fifteen to twenty sloops for this three-day racing celebration that also features a Parade of Sloops.
The best place for viewing the races is on the Rockland breakwater. The parade can also be viewed from the Rockland Public Landing.
Race length is weather and wind dependent, typically lasts a few hours, and utilizes a three-mark triangular course including a handicap alley, to accommodate sloops of all sizes. At the end of each race, sloops can be viewed at the Rockland Public Landing and may be boarded with permission.
Feel free to stop by the Society’s chandlery where you can purchase your commemorative tee-shirt, fleece, burgee or other memorabilia. The chandlery will be located under the big white tent near the Rockland Harbor Master building.
We hope you will join us in celebrating sixty-one years of Friendship Sloop Society racing and learn more about these Maine-built classic boats.
For more information please visit our website at www.fss.org. You can also find more information on the Friendship Sloop Society Facebook page, or on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/friendship_sloop_society/).
Photo courtesy of William Finch
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