vesper racing sailboat

The global authority in superyachting

• NEWSLETTERS
• Yachts Home
• The Superyacht Directory
• Yacht Reports
• Brokerage News
• The largest yachts in the world
• The Register
• Yacht Advice
• Yacht Design
• 12m to 24m yachts
• Monaco Yacht Show
• Builder Directory
• Designer Directory
• Interior Design Directory
• Naval Architect Directory
• Yachts for sale home
• Motor yachts
• Sailing yachts
• Explorer yachts
• Classic yachts
• Sale Broker Directory
• Charter Home
• Yachts for Charter
• Charter Destinations
• Charter Broker Directory
• Destinations Home
• Mediterranean
• South Pacific
• Rest of the World
• Boat Life Home
• Owners' Experiences
• Conservation and Philanthropy
• Interiors Suppliers
• Owners' Club
• Captains' Club
• BOAT Showcase
• Boat Presents
• Events Home
• World Superyacht Awards
• Superyacht Design Festival
• Design and Innovation Awards
• Young Designer of the Year Award
• Artistry and Craft Awards
• Explorer Yachts Summit
• Ocean Talks
• The Ocean Awards
• BOAT Connect
• Between the bays
• Golf Invitational
• BOATPro Home
• Superyacht Insight
• Global Order Book
• Premium Content
• Product Features
• Testimonials
• Pricing Plan
• Tenders & Equipment

Vesper wins Maxi class at Les Voiles de St Barth Richard Mille

After a two year hiatus, the 11th edition of Les Voiles de St Barth Richard Mille returned to the Caribbean island last week with the 22 metre Judel Vrolijk 72 sailing yacht Vesper winning the Maxi division.

Skippered by American Jim Swartz, five-time winner of Les Voiles de St Barth Richard Mille, Vesper claimed the Richard Mille Maxi Cup Trophy after winning all of her races with the exception of one, which was won by 26 metre first-timer Deep Blue finishing just 12 seconds ahead of Vesper under IRC corrected time. 

“It’s been a joy to be back racing and this is one of my favourite events,” said Swartz, who named the winning Maxi after James Bond’s true love, Vesper. “It was awesome – classic big wind St Barths; what you come here for," he added.

The yacht fought off competition from Hap Fauth’s Botin 84 Bella Mente and her all-star crew who took second in the Maxi class, as well as the Botin 85 Deep Blue and former regatta winner Rambler 88 , which both tied for third place.

High winds and an Atlantic swell made the start of the week challenging with breezes from the east blowing in excess of 20 knots, but conditions in St Barths became gradually lighter during the week dropping into the mid-to-high teens.

Vesper tactician Gavin Brady said it was a close competition between the six-strong Maxi fleet. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many lead changes in Maxi racing. They have happened every day, which you don’t see elsewhere. Maybe it’s the waves: They create huge opportunities: Two good waves can gain you 100 metres.”

Bella Mente ’s co-helmsman and crew boss, two time Volvo Ocean Race winner Mike Sanderson, agreed: “It is amazing - it almost feels like since the class has opened up, the racing has got closer.”

The first day of racing saw the Maxi class work its way around a 28-mile course with an easterly breeze sitting firmly in the low 20s and waves rolling in from the Atlantic. “We had a nice match with Bella Mente on the first beat - classic boat racing, which was really fun. Then we rounded the mark and under spinnaker downwind we were doing fine - they got ahead of us, but we were right with them,” said Swartz.

An unfortunate spinnaker drop followed for the team on board, but not all was lost as Bella Mente suffered a halyard issue. The other Maxis, competing in the CSA 3 class, raced a shorter 24-mile course positioned closer to the shore. Jim Madden’s Swan 601 Stark Raving Mad VII prevailed among the lower-rated maxis.

On day two, conditions remained largely the same with winds in excess of 20 knots. Vesper finished close enough to her Bella Mente to win under IRC corrected time. Meanwhile in the CSA 3 class Stark Raving Mad VII prevailed again, with Luigi Sala’s Vismara 62 Yoru second.

Despite the tough conditions, in both classes a match race for the lead took place. On the start line, Bella Mente was looking for maximum engagement, circling its competitors which made for entertaining spectating from Gustavia. This course took was set mostly on the leeward side of St Barths, but with a shorter loop up into the nature reserve northwest of the island and a longer beat at the top where the boats experienced the full brunt of the Atlantic swell.

The third day saw a 47-mile long course starting on the windward side of St Barths, with a long broad reach across to the island of Tintamarre off the coast of St Martin, before doubling back in the direction of Gustavia. Both Vesper and Bella Mente were tacking on one another with tacticians working overtime to get the upper hand – the battle between the two is unsurprising given the collective experience of the crew, many of them former America's Cup winners. 

The penultimate day welcomed more stable conditions with winds dropping to 10 knots. For the first time at this event, Wendy Schmidt’s Deep Blue came first place in the Maxi division and put an end to Vesper 's winning streak. 

On the final day, Bella Mente led the first half of the race before Vesper pulled out in front at the top mark. Bella Mente's tactician Terry Hutchinson said: "We didn’t make a lot of mistakes. But eventually they ran us over with speed and that is a hard thing to beat.”

Vesper ended the week on six points to Bella Mente ’s 12, giving her maximum points for the third event in the Caribbean Maxi Challenge. Speaking on the week's racing, Anthony Kotoun, tactician for CSA3 class winner Stark Raving Mad VII, said: “Your lead is never safe and if you are behind you are never out of it. It is everything you ever hoped for in a sail boat race.”

The regatta marked the third and penultimate race in the International Maxi Association’s inaugural Caribbean Maxi Challenge, consisting of the RORC Caribbean 600, St Maarten Heineken Regatta, Les Voiles de St Barth Richard Mille, and Antigua Sailing Week.

Sign up to BOAT Briefing email

Latest news, brokerage headlines and yacht exclusives, every weekday

By signing up for BOAT newsletters, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy .

More about this yacht

More stories, most popular, from our partners, sponsored listings.

• AROUND THE SAILING WORLD
• BOAT OF THE YEAR
• Email Newsletters
• America’s Cup
• St. Petersburg
• Caribbean Championship
• Boating Safety
• Ultimate Boat Giveaway

Team Vesper Best in St. Barth Maxi Showdown

• By Laura Muma
• April 25, 2022

While four classes mathematically had Les Voiles de St. Barth Richard Mille locked in after the penultimate day’s racing, no one missed the chance for one last 24- to 36-mile race around beautiful Saint Barthélemy. Vesper, Pata Negra, Mach Schnell and Crybaby in Maxi, CSA 5, Offshore Multihull and Diam 24 OD, respectively, thoroughly enjoyed the day while each claiming another win and their overall class titles. In winning the Maxi class, Vesper also claimed the Richard Mille Maxi Cup Trophy.

Across the remaining classes, two distinct groups emerged on the final race as the critical opportunity to capitalize and take an overall victory in CSA classes 1, 2 and CSA Multihulls; or it presented the opportunity to further solidify their top podium standing, as was the case in CSA 3, 4 and 6.

“It’s been a joy to be back racing, and this is one of my favorite events,” said Swartz, who named his green Maxi after James Bond’s true love, Vesper. “Full credit to the competitors for a great week of racing; it’s great to be back on the water and racing again. Saint Barth can’t be beat for delivering incredible conditions that challenge teams at every level.”

The reason I love this sport and I love it at this level is the camaraderie and the teamwork. It’s what attracted me to sailing,” said the former college football player.

The Santa Barbara, Calif.-based team on board the chartered Lombard 46 Pata Negra never relinquished its grip on first place throughout CSA 5’s six-race series. “The crew did a really great job all week, they don’t need me,” joked Bernie  Girod , who sailed for the first time today after injuring his back last Sunday before practice.

“I was happy to be back today driving and we won again. It’s a great team, we all get along so well. This is our second big victory in the last six months. We won six of seven races in the Big Boat Series (in San Francisco, California); and another six races here so we feel pretty good about that. We will certainly be having multiple celebrations,” said the 80-year-old team leader.

For CSA Racing Multihulls, Brieuc Maisonneuve, of France emerged victorious with Addictive Sailing. “It was a battle all the way with Team Arawak but also with Chaud Patate who came on very strong at the end,” Maisonneuve said. “It was really very exciting.”

This edition is the first time the boat raced at Les Voiles, and it was a new team that came together at the last moment. “We had never sailed together before the start,” Masionneuve said, admitting that today, just 10 meters before the finish line they almost capsized the TS5 multihull. “We all had fun racing together and it was incredible to sail with Lionel Péan, who is a monster of experience. Thanks to him, we all learned a lot of things on board.”

In CSA 1, the two 52s traded blows with Caro, the Botin 52 owned by Maximilian Klink, holding on to its overall lead over Peter Harrison’s TP 52 Jolt 3. In CSA 2, with the Cape 31 Arabella unable to race due to the previous day’s unfortunate dismasting (the result of a starting line collision), Lazy Dog, skippered by Sergio Sagramoso emerged victorious.

For St. Thomas-based Peter Corr and his Blitz team, this year’s CSA 4 victory is extra special given a three-year break since the last time racing in Saint Barth between the two-year pandemic hiatus, and when in 2019 the Summit 40 suffered an unexpected end to its Les Voiles regatta before it even had a chance to begin. During the delivery from St. Thomas to Saint Barth, the boat ran aground and severely damaged the hull in multiple places.

 “This is really sweet,” said Corrs, the nine-time Les Voiles de St. Barth Richard Mille veteran. “I’ve been waiting and waiting to come back. We were in a great class; everyone really raced well. We came in early to practice and I felt really good about everything coming into the event.”

The final day’s weather exceeded the light-wind forecast and delivered 18 knots from the northeast. Still, Corr said conditions varied significantly, depending upon where they were on the course. “We had big variations in the wind speed and angle. A lot of headers, and it was tough to make the calls when to take advantage of them or wait them out. Full credit to our tactician Darren Jones. I do what he says, when he says to do it,” laughed Corr.

In CSA 3, Jim Madden and the Swan 601 Stark Raving Mad VII knew they had to be “game on” today or else risk opening a window of opportunity to fellow Swan competitor, Shahid Hadid’s new Om II 58. “Kudos to Om II,” said Madden. “They absolutely deserved yesterday’s win, and sailed that boat great. We had to go out there and not make a mistake today. If we had gotten a DSQ or had broken something during the race, they would have won.”

• More: Racing , Sailboat Racing
• More Racing

Hot Summer Scrimmages In Barcelona

The Caribbean’s Hot One-Design Fleet

Cole Brauer’s Voyage of Influence

New Extremes On the Horizon

Smart Polars Are Here

The Skimming Superyacht

Improve Your Weeknight Race Results

Townie Showdown in the Harbor

• Digital Edition
• Customer Service
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Cruising World
• Sailing World
• Salt Water Sportsman
• Sport Fishing
• Wakeboarding

• Advertising
• Find the Magazine
• Good Jibes Podcast
• Boat In Dining
• Sailboat Charters
• Business News
• Working Waterfront
• Youth Sailing

• Current News

Visiting with Vesper and Dawn Riley in 112th Chicago-Mac

Chicago Yacht Club’s magical freshwater adventure to Mackinac Island returned for the 112th time. More than 326 yachts took part in what turned into three races for the price of one.

On July 16, a blustery Saturday afternoon with steady 12- to 14-knot breezes and up to 6-ft lake swells, 20 divisions started at 15-minute intervals just south of Chicago’s historic Navy Pier. The boats pointed their bows to the north in unison. A majority tacked over toward Michigan’s sandy beaches in groups of packrats, heading toward the Manitous in breezes they knew would die come nightfall.

This was a race with three Acts. The first was the healthy start and sprint north toward Ludington, MI, which lies south of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park’s Manitou Islands, a strategic center point for the skippers and their crews. The racers spent the second Act connecting the dots in a patchwork of light air as the fleet separated into the groups that captured a little bit of breeze and those that didn’t. For all the teams, it was an agonizing night of trying to stay ahead of your competitors while swatting away the hordes of mosquitoes and flies. (Never a bat around when you need one — or many.) This led to Act 3, beautiful spinnaker finishes in a nice southwesterly under the Mackinac Bridge (which closed briefly on Sunday for a bomb threat) and onto the Straits to the finish line off Windermere Point on Mackinac Island.

It wasn’t the fastest Race to Mackinac in history, but after last year’s COVID hiatus it was a welcome relief.

Mackinac has a unique charm and character all of its own. The island, which lies on Lake Huron sandwiched between Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas, is home to majestic Victorian-era hotels, lots of fudge — and no automobiles!

On approach one cannot mistake the elegant and historic Grand Hotel, which hovers majestically over the island. The hotel plays host to the infamous Porch Party, which for the elegant women of the yacht club and their fanciful hats has become the Kentucky Derby of yacht racing.

Checking in with Dawn Riley

The fleet included a dozen Great Lakes (Santa Cruz) 70s, six of the blazingly fast TP52s in one of the more competitive divisions, and OC 86 (ex- Windquest), the Frers 80 skippered by Dawn Riley and crewed by students from the Oakcliff Sailing Academy . For Riley, recently named to the National Sailing Hall of Fame class of 2021 and originally from Michigan, it wasn’t her first Chicago-Mac, but for her ‘kids’, about half the crew, it was! In many respects, Riley was not only the skipper but the ‘camp’ director and counselor too.

“We started off really well; it was maximum for this boat because it is so powerful,” said Riley. “We kept it safe.” She noted that the Academy kids were her rock-star grinding team. “They spent a lot of time practicing jumping on and off the grinders. When the winds died, we drifted sideways over toward Wisconsin a bit. I have never seen it so close! That allowed everyone to catch up to us.”

We’re planning a longer interview with the former America’s Cup skipper; look for that in the August issue of Latitude 38 .

Visiting Vesper

California sailors raced on several boats, none more so than on Vesper (TP52), which has several Rolex Big Boat Series to its credit. The name pays homage to one of 007’s gorgeous girls. Unfortunately, her engine failed to start after the finish, which led to an admonishment from the race committee and a stiff penalty for the safety infraction.

Vesper’s owner David Team hails from Newport Beach, California, as does most of the crew. “It was a great race until we finished!” said Team. Their closest TP52 competitor was Natalie J . “We went to the outside [of the Manitous], and there were a couple of holes on the weather side of both islands. They stayed outside much farther. Once we finally got inside them, they were much farther ahead as they went out toward Beaver Island. We were both becalmed for a couple of hours. This morning they got the wind first and scooted away from us. Natalie J did a great job!

It was Matt Reynolds’ second Mac race. He’s from San Diego. “It was a bit light,” said Reynolds. “But, there are different aspects of the race, and you have to be on your toes the entire time. It rewards you when you do it right!”

Vesper’s watch captain and tactician Morgan Larson is from Santa Cruz. He also sails in the TP52 Super Series in Europe on Bronenosec Gazprom from the St. Petersburg YC in Russia. “It was a great race with plenty of opportunities,” said Larson. “We had a little bit of luck in the middle of the race and extended to a nice lead until this morning [Monday], when we ran out of wind and Natalie J sailed up to us. We drifted with them for a few hours and eventually they got away.

“We had a little dispute with them because they used a masthead jib they were not rated for in order to get out to the wind line,” said Larson, who added that they probably weren’t going to protest them. “They hoisted a staysail up from the bowsprit to capture the higher wind, which wasn’t legal to their rating certificate. But, they sailed an amazing race anyway!”

Most of sailing’s rock stars have at least one Mac Race on their résumé, if not more. Larry Ellison brought Sayonara here in 1998 for the 100th anniversary and almost broke the record set by Roy Disney on Pyewacket of 23 hours and 30 minutes on the 289.4-mile course. This year’s race was a bit more pedestrian. Riley and her student contingent brought OC 86 in at 45 hours and 47 minutes.

The largest boat in the fleet was Whitehall, a 104-ft ketch. The smallest was Nemo, a Seascape 27. The oldest sailor was 93 and the youngest 14, with plenty of ‘old goats’ (minimum 25 races) in between.

See the full results and more at www.cycracetomackinac.com .

I am surprised that your publication would quote a paid sailor on a competing boat accusing another of not following the rules. Let’s set the record straight, Natalie J sailed in full compliance with their rating certificate. The paid professional should have checked his facts before making wild accusations. Shame on you Mark Reid.

I’d like to set the record straight: Phil Oneill, Bora Gulari and the entire team of Natalie J are great sailors but more than that they are of the highest integrity. My comment to Latitude’s reporter was expressing our congratulations on beating us. I mentioned it was “our opinion” that we didn’t think they used a sail properly to their rating. The rating office has been behind in reporting certificates and it’s likely we had not seen the current one. Regardless if my comments were taken out of context or not I owe the team an apology as they were the better boat/team and earned their victory fair and square.

With respect. It is not “shame on me”. I did not make the accusation. I interviewed a sailor who I quoted and as with all my interviews, recorded. It did not seem like a wild accusation and certainly plausible. I guess my observation would be: prove that it didn’t happen and that particular sail wasn’t used in the way that was it was potentially observed.

Morgan Larson is correct. In making his comments to me about observations on Natalie J, he went above and beyond to congratulate the team on their victory. As did Vesper’s owner and other crew members. I look forward to following up with Natalie J to discuss their tactics and perhaps why the “opinions” were noted in my story.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment.

When You Need to MacGyver an Entire Bow Seawind Catamaran Collides with UFO During Pacific Crossing Whatever was floating in 'JollyDogs' path that evening left a large hole in the vessel's starboard bow.

International Dinghy Racing Returns to San Francisco Bay Lasers Battle for North American Titles Last week, in what turned out to be a fitting tribute to designer Bruce Kirby, 124 Lasers gathered at the St. Francis Yacht Club.

Sponsored Post Swiftsure Yachts: Serving the West Coast Swiftsure serves the West Coast from Seattle and four other waterfronts.

Chicks Need Homes Too Birds Take Line Honors in Non-Sailing Day Excuses Despite our initial skepticism, it seems birds are quite adept at keeping sailors at the docks.

• AMERICA'S CUP
• CLASSIFIEDS
• NEWSLETTERS
• SUBMIT NEWS

Vesper leads maxi fleet home on Rolex Capri Sailing Week’s penultimate day

Related Articles

Upcoming Events

• News Archive

Vesper Hangs Tough to Claim Overall ORC Win in 170th Annual Regatta

16 June 2024, Newport, R.I., USA  — On a light-air, four-race day, the final standings in a top-flight competitive fleet are as likely to come down to the mistakes you avoid as the things you do right. That was the case in ORC B at the 170th Annual Regatta . David Team ’s Vesper squad fought all day with rival Fox , skippered by Victor Wild , doing most everything as right as can be expected on a very challenging day. “We felt in the first two races, when it was really light, 6 knots and under, that we had a click of pace on people,” says Team . “But then the wind shifts come into play with that light of a breeze. The first race we got it called right, the second race we were on the wrong side of the shift, but our speed was still good all day.” As the sea breeze filled for Races 3 and 4, Fox found its groove. Going into the leeward mark rounding of the final race, it appeared everything was going the way of Wild’s crew, which had a two-point lead in the standings and was ahead in the race. “Fox was leading, we were trying to do our best to figure out how to pass them,” says Team. “They fouled [a boat from another fleet] and they did the right thing, a 360, and that kind of just reshuffled the race.”

In the five-boat ORC B, with a preponderance of professional sailors across the fleet, one small mistake can make a huge difference. In this case, it dropped Fox from first to fourth in the race, and from first to second in the regatta. Team has actively raced his 52-foot Vesper for four-plus years. While he’s based on the West Coast, his sailing has been concentrated further east, Florida in the winter and then splitting his summer regattas between the Great Lakes 52 circuit in the Midwest and Newport. This year, with the ORC World Championship scheduled for early fall, is a Newport summer, and the Annual Regatta is one key step on the way toward contending for a world championship in the fall.

“It’s a process,” Team says. “We think we’re on the path to where we hope to be. We still have some things to accomplish. We’ve got a couple of very strong competitors that we are trying to beat. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t. We’re all trying to get better for September/October.”

While Team has his eyes squarely set on ORC competition, that’s definitely not the case for Drew Freides . A devoted one-design skipper, Freides entered his Cape 31 Pacific Yankee in the Annual Regatta hoping that enough of his fellow Cape 31 owners would follow suit and he would enjoy some one-design racing in the up-and-coming class. When the class fell short of what’s required for a one-design start, the Pacific Yankee team and three other Cape 31s were moved to ORC D. “It definitely had us on two wheels a little bit,” says Freides , a former world champion in the Melges 24 and Melges 20 classes. “We weren’t prepared for handicap racing, so we had to adjust our sailing. We wanted to beat our fleet [of Cape 31s]. But the boat is pretty competitive under ORC. We changed our expectations after we got off to a good start and started racing against the rest of the fleet as well.”

Freides and his team were super consistent through three races, taking two seconds and a third, winning the class by 3 points. As the smallest and lightest boat in the fleet, successfully racing the Cape 31 required some strategic concessions. “Tactically, it made you think differently,” says Freides. “We couldn’t put ourselves in spots that could compromise us because the bigger boats were faster upwind. Once we turned the corner, we could sail away from them pretty easily.” In second and third in the overall standings were two other Cape 31 teams, which is somewhat of a surprise given that handicap rules have traditionally not been kind to lighter, smaller, faster boats.

“I haven’t done a lot of homework on the ORC rating of the Cape 31,” says Freides . “But these boats seem to rate really well under ORC. [Cape 31 designer] Mark Mills has done a fabulous job. I’m surprised more people haven’t bought these boats because they’re just a lot of fun.”

ORC A (One Design - 4 Boats) 1. Proteus, US60722, George Sakellaris - 1 -1 -2 ; 4 2. Vesper, CAY007, Jim Swartz - 3 -2 -1 ; 6 3. Temptation/Oakcliff JV66, USA119, Art Santry Oakcliff - 2 -3 -3 ; 8 4. FOGGY, USA2829, Richard Cohen / Jay Cross - 4 -4 -4 ; 12

ORC B (One Design - 5 Boats) 1. Vesper, USA52007, David Team - 1 -3 -2 -1 ; 7 2. FOX, USA55052, Victor Wild - 2 -1 -1 -4 ; 8 3. Prospector, USA52052, Larry Landry Paul McDowell - 3 -2 -3 -2 ; 10 4. Azulito, USA4501, Wendy Schmidt - 4 -4 -4 -3 ; 15 5. Summer Storm 52, USA520, Andrew Berdon - 6 -6 -6 -6 ; 24

ORC C (One Design - 13 Boats) 1. Vamoose, Uni52443, Bob Manchester - 1 -3 -1 ; 5 2. Entropy, USA4235, Patricia Young - 4 -6 -2 ; 12 3. Jax, USA 2022, Øivind Lorentzen - 2 -4 -7 ; 13 4. Settler, USA8668, Thomas Rich - 6 -2 -5 ; 13 5. Impetuous, USA4206, Paul Zabetakis - 3 -7 -3 ; 13

ORC D (One Design - 14 Boats) 1. PACIFIC YANKEE, USA31062, Drew Freides - 2 -2 -3 ; 7 2. Cool Breeze, USA31072, John Cooper - 7 -1 -2 ; 10 3. Dingbat, USA70, Miles Julien - 6 -5 -1 ; 12 4. The ROCC, 64, Al Minella - 3 -6 -4 ; 13 5. Rima98, USA8198, John Brim - 1 -7 -7 ; 15

Related articles

Offshore racing congress partners.

Log in to ORC Sailor services using email and password

ORC Sailor Services allows you access to ORC Database of all ORC certificates issued worldwide such as accessing speed guides, target speeds and do test runs on any certificate.

ORC Sailor Services - Password reminder

Please enter the e-mail address registered for the ORC Sailor Services to receive your password

ORC Sailor Services

With an ORC Certificate you are getting more than just a rating. ORC Sailor Services allows you access to the ORC Database of all ORC certificates issued worldwide.

• AMERICA'S CUP
• CLASSIFIEDS
• NEWSLETTERS
• SUBMIT NEWS

Vesper hangs tough for Overall ORC win at 170th New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta

Related Articles

Caribbean Sailing Association

Vesper Is Back – Les Voiles De St. Barth

Ambassador of Les Voiles in 2013, Jim Swartz has not participated in the regatta since 2016, but the American owner will be back next year with his new boat, the Maxi 72 Vesper. This Judel/Vrolijk built by Persico Marine is the former Maxi 72 World Champion, Momo.

“We still have a lot to learn on Vesper 72, since we have only had the boat for several months,” explains Jim Swartz. “She is a proven thoroughbred but of course things move on and we are still learning what adjustments we need to make to keep her fresh and current. And St. Barth will be the first time we have sailed her in the big waves…hang on! It’s a race with a wonderful ambiance of the island, fun times on and off the water, beautiful sailing in a mixture of soft and stiff winds, big waves occasionally, challenging courses and terrific competition!”

Some members of the Vesper 72 crew have already sailed in St Barth… Notable sailors on the crew include former America’s Cup champion Gavin Brady at the helm of the boat, as well as Jamie Gale and Ken Keefe. Swartz has sailed with them for at least 15 years: “Without question, the crew and our fun together are the reason we do this year in and year out!” he explains.

Sevenstar Yacht Racing

For the third consecutive year, Les Voiles de St. Barth Richard Mille is working with transporter Sevenstar Yacht Racing Logistics to provide all of the participants with professional assistance to transport their boats from the United States, Europe, Australia, or Asia to Caribbean. Sevenstar also proposes personalized solutions to obtain replacement parts, sea containers, or ship packages via air cargo.

For the past 25 years Sevenstar also offers a complete service for regattas such as Les Voiles, with a staff available to solve all problems!

List of confirmed shipping dates:

– Southampton (UK) / Caribbean – January 5-20 Genoa to Palma, Mallorca – Genoa to Palma, Mallorca – March 5-25 Loading in Palm Beach for St Thomas – Caribbean / Newport – May 5-25 St Thomas and Antigua to Newport – Caribbean / North-West Europe – May 5-25 St Thomas and Antigua to Southampton – Caribbean / Mediterranean – May 5-25 St Thomas to Palma and Genoa

Contact: [email protected]

Competition In Every Class

As in prior years, Les Voiles de St. Barth Richard Mille expects a very international, high-level roster, with a mix of professionals and amateurs who will meet on the magnificent turquoise waters surrounding St. Barthélemy.

As in 2019, there will be rating rules for all classes. The Maxis will race under the IRC rating rule, in order to standardize their circuit. For multi-hulls, last year Les Voiles de St Barth Richard Mille adapted the CSA Multi and ORC Multi ratings, to please as many boats as possible…

And finally, the Spinnaker classes will compete under the CSA rating rule.

Registration is already open for every class!

To participate in the 11th edition, click here

Free Concierge Service

We encourage you to take advantage of our free concierge service for everything from transportation to onsite logistics and accommodations. You can also enjoy preferred rates for car rentals via our partners Budget, Avis, and Top Loc.

For additional information: [email protected]

RELATED POSTS

Announcing the VX ONE CARIBBEAN CUP 2025 St. Thomas International Regatta & BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival to Host

SSCA Partners with Hope Fleet to Support Hurricane Beryl Relief Efforts

Sint Maarten Yacht Club is thrilled to Host 2024 CSA Caribbean Dinghy Championship.

Notice of Race and Registration Open

• Privacy Overview
• Strictly Necessary Cookies
• 3rd Party Cookies

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!

• Stock SeaDek®
• Get a Quote
• SeaDek® Colors
• SeaDek® Textures
• SeaDek® Thicknesses
• SeaDek® Routing
• All Custom Options
• SeaDek Material Selector
• SeaDek® FAQ
• Customer Reviews
• Mac Designs

VESPER MAXI 72

Vesper Maxi 72 couldn't possibly go through an entire hull graphic and paint refit without getting completely outfitted in SeaDek! This install speaks for itself with 3mm embossed Storm Gray for the main and 3mm embossed Cool Gray for the inlay logo. Make sure to watch the video below and check out the install shots!

Hear The Boat Sing

This website covers all aspects of the rich history of rowing, as a sport, culture phenomena, a life style, and a necessary element to keep your wit and stay sane., 1974: vesper/potomac goes on a european tour.

10 September 2020  

By Bill Miller

After reading Chris Dodd’s recent article about the Brits going to the 1974 Mannheim Regatta, Bill Miller remembers Vesper/Potomac’s trip to Mannheim and some other European regattas in 1974.

In June 1974, Vesper Boat Club organized a pre-Worlds tour. Eight rowers plus coxswain were selected from a group of Vesper and Potomac Boat Clubs veterans. Some were former U.S. team members from “small boats” (pairs and coxless fours). The group trained and raced in pairs to be selected for the trip but had never rowed together in an eight. Dietrich Rose was the coach and organizer of the excursion. The scheduled regattas were Mannheim, Ratzeburg, Nottingham and Henley. The Vesper contingent flew from Philadelphia to Mannheim two days before the regatta.

Leo Wolloner, the Empacher manager, delivered a brand new Empacher (wood) eight to the team. Perhaps you read a recent story in the Rowing News magazine about the Martini Achter 1973 . There’s more to the story that is interesting to reveal.

The Prize First, to recap part of the story about the International Heidelberg Regatta described in Rowing News . The 1973 U.S. eight had a very disappointing performance in the final at the Moscow European Championship. Dietrich Rose coached the “small boats” in Moscow and suggested that the eight stay on in Europe for another week to race in Heidelberg where the victorious crew would win a new Empacher eight. The regatta was sponsored by Martini International and the new eight would be named Martini Achter 1973 . Two of us from the Moscow eight had to return to the States, so two recruits took over our seats. The U.S. won the championship eight and would receive the new boat for the next season.

The 1974 Tour Begins The next season was 1974 and the first crew from the U.S. to race in Europe was a Vesper group beginning their campaign in Mannheim. The group included coach Dietrich Rose, coxswain Bob Jaugstetter, Jim Moroney, Mark Borchelt, Terry Adams, Hugh Stevenson, me, Bill Jurgens, Jack St Clare and Tony Brooks. The brand new Empacher was delivered to Mannheim on Friday of the regatta weekend. The Saturday/Sunday regatta was run as two separate series of races. On Saturday, we raced in a coxed four and coxless four. Neither race on Saturday was noteworthy. On Sunday, we would race in the international eight event.

The Empacher Eight Dietrich Rose and Wolloner rigged the new eight a day or so before our Sunday race. We carried the Martini Achter 1973 down the embankment for its first meeting with the water. From the first practice stroke, the boat seemed to be alive ready to spring out like an eager racehorse chomping at the bit. Satisfied with the rigging, we put the boat back on the rack and waited to launch for the race.

Mannheim Race Course The race course was a shipping canal just off the Rhine in an industrial site with high walls and 1800 meters long. A solid wall greeted the crews a short distance after the finish line. Crews launched from a graded embankment near the finish line. It wasn’t a pretty place like Lucerne, but we weren’t there to sightsee.

The Race The entries for the race were Vesper/Potomac, ARA-Leander/Thames Tradesmen (GB national team), the West German “Konstanz & Company”, and two other German crews. The Konstanz crew was impressive. Sitting in the boat were the Bulls of Konstanz (the 1972 Olympic coxed four champions) and three more seats were manned by what would become the 1976 Olympic bronze coxed four. In the remaining seat sat a newcomer, Peter-Michael Kolbe, the future multi-year world singles champion. This was a very impressive eight.

We launched the Martini Achter 1973 and headed to the starting line. Again, the shell slid along very nicely. After a couple of racing starts, the crews were called to the line. We lined up with the Konstanz eight on our port side and the GB crew a few lanes to our starboard.

The starting command, “Partez!”, was shouted and the Konstanz boat shot ahead. After a dozen or so strokes, the crew next to us commanded a half-length lead, but then we started to feel the speed of the Empacher. Konstanz could not build on their half-length lead. Now, both crews were moving out on the other three boats. It became a two-boat race, each attacking the other with power moves. The Empacher was flying. The Konstanz crew was throwing everything into their effort, trying to hold their slim lead. The two crews crossed the finish with the same margin as was established off the start. Both crews went under the course record.

The reputation of the Martini Achter 1973 began that day in Mannheim.

The Vesper/Potomac crew was scheduled to race next in the Ratzeburg Regatta. Deitrich scurried around to find rides in cars travelling north toward Ratzeburg. He arranged to have Bob Jaugstetter and me sit in the back seat of a BMW 2002, which was pulling the shell trailer to Hamburg, Martini Achter 1973 on top. Sitting in the front seats were two of the West German coaches who chatted (in German) as we travelled north.

We stopped for dinner along the highway. Walking toward the restaurant, Bob whispered to me “Do you know what they were saying?” I didn’t understand German, so said “No”. Bob understood German and he explained that they were dumbfounded that a makeshift crew just off the plane, not practicing in the eight, rowing a freshly rigged boat, could be so close to the Konstanz crew. We didn’t know it at the time, but that freshly rigged boat was fast and all we had to do was not slow it down.

Ratzeburg We had an enjoyable training period in Ratzeburg with nothing to do but row, eat, joke around and rest. We were a very compatible group.

The regatta, as in all the European regattas, had separate events on two days. We rowed small boats in the Saturday events and like Mannheim, there were no noteworthy results. On Sunday, we were to race the eight again. As we arrived at the Ratzeburg Ruder Club, we were handed a flyer. I looked at it and saw a drawing on an eight with the label “Mannheim Achter” and chopping through the eight was drawn a hatchet labeled “DRV” (Deutscher Ruderverband).

My jaw dropped when I realized that the DRV, the West German national governing body, had forbidden the Konstanz eight from racing again. I asked why, and a woman answered: “They were deemed to be slow because they barely beat Vesper in Mannheim.” Yikes!  

The Mannheim race resulted in a drastic move by the DRV administrators.

The lesson I learned was how a governing body sometimes gets too wrapped up trying to control circumstances that should be left to a much more organic process. To this day, I believe the Konstanz eight would have won a medal at the World Championships in Lucerne later that summer. Instead West Germany was well off the medal stand.

In Ratzeburg, the eights’ race was exciting. The ARA crew arrived to Ratzeburg for another go. We led most of the way, but the ARA caught us in the last few strokes to win by a few feet. West Germany was well behind. It showed that GB was tenacious and had great speed in the last 500.

Vesper went on to race at the Nottingham Regatta, placing again second, after the USSR, followed by the East German crew while the ARA-GB eight was fourth. Next was Henley where we drew the Russian crew in the semi-final.

While sitting at the starting line, we looked over and saw the Russian Trud Club in the Martini Achter 1972 and we sat in the Martini Achter 1973 . The official Henley report shows Vesper a canvas behind after ¼ mile, one-length down at the Barrier, ½ length behind at Fawley and a canvas down at the Mile post. The verdict at the finish was Trud by ¼ length.

The Martini Achter 1973 flew down the Mannheim race course and the three following regattas that we entered that June would confirm that the boat was magical.

Epilog The U.S. won the World Championship in Lucerne rowing the Martini Achter 1973 and the GB eight won the silver medal. Only one Vesper rower was selected for the U.S. eight, Hugh Stevenson. Seven others were on the U.S. team in small boats.

Share this:

Leave a comment cancel reply.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

In Maine, a Father-Daughter Team Wins a Lobster Boat Race

Jeremy Beal, a boat builder and lobsterman, had a simple strategy: “Point it and punch it!” His 14-year-old daughter took it from there.

By Steven Kurutz

Reporting from Long Island, Maine.

Dozens of boats zipped across Casco Bay during the Maine Lobster Boat Races on Saturday. Only one had a purple bottom.

That boat, a 32-footer with a powerful diesel engine, belonged to Jeremy Beal, 45, a large, soft-spoken man who comes from a long line of boat builders and lobstermen.

“See, I grew up right in it,” he said between drags of a cigarette while leaning against the rail of his boat on the evening before the big race.

For decades, Mr. Beal’s father, Wayne Beal, and an uncle, Calvin Beal, have built boats used by commercial fishers up and down the Maine coast. After years spent learning the family trade, Jeremy took over his dad’s business, Wayne Beal’s Boat Shop, in Jonesport, a seaside town more than 200 miles northeast of Portland.

“I bought the boat off my father,” Mr. Beal said. “It was his last power boat. He’s retired out of the boat shop. I won’t sell the boat unless I have to. Just for the fact that it was my dad’s.”

To pay off the boat, Mr. Beal has returned part-time to lobster fishing, something he first started doing at age 6. This summer he has been helped by his 14-year-old daughter, Mariena Beal, who will enter ninth grade at Jonesport-Beals High School next month.

Together, father and daughter have been dropping 250 traps into the Gulf of Maine to catch thousands of the large lobsters prized around the world for their meat. They split whatever money is left after paying for the bait (herring, mostly), fuel and the monthly boat bill.

Mr. Beal said he hoped the experience would teach his daughter both financial responsibility and the family’s way of life on the water. But Mariena didn’t quite get her way when it came to the color of the boat.

“She wanted a pink bottom, but I wouldn’t let that fly,” he said.

The pair hit on purple as a compromise. And Mariena got to name the boat — My Turn, she called it.

When they are not hauling up traps, Mr. Beal and his daughter have been competing on the lobster boat racing circuit, an annual series of summertime competitions along the Maine coast. The events, run by the Maine Lobster Boat Racing Association, are essentially drag races — the fastest boat wins.

“I’ve always been a competitor,” Mr. Beal said.

He summarized his racing strategy: “Point it and punch it!”

Two days before the recent race, Mr. Beal unloaded the buckets of herring he keeps on deck. He lugged out the lobster crates and the 55-gallon plastic drums that store the catch. Finally, he took a scrub brush and washed down the deck with Dawn dish soap.

On Friday morning, after waking early and packing sandwiches for lunch, Mr. Beal charted a scenic southwesterly course south from Jonesport. Alone on deck, he took in the sight of the rocky coastline and marine life, including porpoises. His wife and daughters, including Mariena, drove the 200 miles separately in a car.

It took Mr. Beal just under five hours to sail to Long Island, one of Maine’s Casco Bay islands that lie a few miles from Portland. Many of its 230 residents work on boats or own one.

A crowd had gathered for a cookout at the old boathouse on Wharf Street when Mr. Beal moored his vessel. Men and women were eating hamburgers, drinking beer and lining up to buy race merchandise from Lisa Kimball, an islander who co-chairs the race. The proceeds were going toward a scholarship fund for children on the island.

Mr. Beal made the rounds. Several of the partygoers had bought their boats from him or his father. The price of lobsters was solid this year, everyone agreed, though the catch varied from “good” to “horrible,” depending on who you asked.

Adam Kimball, Ms. Kimball’s husband, planned to race the next day. He works on an oil tanker in Alaska, but you don’t need a commercial fishing license to compete — so long as you have a typical lobster boat, which he does.

“It’s a lot of money to spend for not a lot of return,” Mr. Kimball, 46, said with a laugh.

He was referring to the modest prize money, usually a few hundred dollars, and to the way some boat owners invest thousands to gain horsepower and perhaps a knot or two in speed.

“They call it ‘gooning up’ the engine,” Mr. Kimball said. “There are some risks to that. Like you blow it up.”

Mr. Beal spotted one of the modern legends of the lobster boat racing.

“Stevie Johnson,” he said. “Now there’s a real character.”

Mr. Johnson, the proprietor of Johnson’s Boatyard on Long Island, is known for building unusual boats , some with automobiles mounted on the hulls. One of them, the “Vette-Boat,” features a 1984 Corvette on a 28-foot hull. Mr. Johnson has won his share of races on his tricked-out vessels over the years, but their main purpose is “to cause a scene,” he likes to say.

Dressed in a blue Hawaiian-print shirt, blue board shorts and Crocs, and nursing Canadian Club whiskey and ginger ale in a red plastic cup, Mr. Johnson, who is in his 70s, was trailed by a small entourage at the cookout.

It was getting late. Mr. Beal untied his boat and sailed over to Portland, where a friend was letting him dock while in town.

Mariena had missed the cookout — she was at the Maine Mall, the largest shopping plaza in the state, doing some back-to-school shopping with her mother. The next day, she would be at the wheel of My Turn.

“She’s like me,” Mr. Beal said. “She likes to go fast.”

And the Winner Is …

She also likes to shop. Mariena and her family members missed the noonish start time of the races on Saturday because they had gotten stuck in traffic after spending the morning back at the mall.

Mr. Beal stood at the wheel of My Turn, engine idling, listening to an announcer call the first few races over a marine radio.

At quarter to one, Mariena came bounding down the dock and onto the boat. She wore black shorts, a white North Face long-sleeved top and leather sandals. Her toenails were painted purple, matching the color of her nose ring and the bottom of My Turn.

Like her father, Mariena was reserved. Asked what she liked about racing lobster boats, she replied, “Everything.”

She was joined on the boat by her mother, Maria Beal; her boyfriend, Caleb Geel; her older sister, Caitlin Childers; and Caitlin’s boyfriend, Nick Guptill.

Mr. Beal gunned the throttle and sped toward Long Island. By now, dozens of pleasure crafts and lobster boats were on the water. A crowd of spectators stood at the ferry dock.

Mr. Beal pulled up to the large boat where officials kept watch over the day’s races through binoculars. His passengers disembarked, leaving My Turn for the so-called committee boat.

Then Mr. Beal and Mariena motored toward the starting line, which was nearly a mile north. Once they were among the other boats in their race category — the G classification race, for boats from 28 to 35 feet in length with diesel engines — Mariena took the wheel.

The committee boat was like a floating party, with coolers of food and drinks. Jon Johansen, the bearded president of Maine Lobster Racing, and the publisher of Maine Coastal News , which covers the races, used a telephoto lens to call out the action.

On board, Maria Beal told a story.

Well into the time she was pregnant with Mariena, she said, she had done a lot of lobstering with her husband. That meant hauling up heavy traps to the point that she ruptured her placenta. The doctors thought she would lose the baby.

”But I went to bed for two weeks and it healed up,” Maria said. “And that’s why we named her Mariena — it means ‘lover of the sea.’”

It was now time for the G classification race.

The lead boat was a speck on the water. As it came closer, you could make out its purple bottom leaving a white-capped wake and all the other boats behind it.

Mariena had won, easily. The Beal contingent whooped and cheered.

“She doesn’t have much fear,” her mother said. “Never has. She’s been looking for speed since she was born.”

My Turn sidled up to the committee boat. Amy Tierney, a race co-chair, handed over an envelope of prize money. Mariena was $200 richer.

What did she plan to do with her winnings?

She smiled.

Steven Kurutz covers cultural trends, social media and the world of design for The Times. More about Steven Kurutz

Explore Our Style Coverage

The latest in fashion, trends, love and more..

The Most Wanted ‘Girl’ in Fashion: How did Miu Miu become fashion’s biggest success story  — halfway to $1 billion in sales for 2024?

Hairstyle Heat Relief: On a hot day, getting hair off the back of your neck  is often the simplest way to start cooling down. The sweeping movement is instinctual, but it is also deeply personal.

Putting the Fun in Funerals: Modern, even hip, mortuaries around the world are hoping to answer one question: How do we commemorate death in 2024 ?

A Shoe That Goes 65 M.P.H.: Our reporter and photographer hit the road for a trip from Maine to Massachusetts in L.L. Bean’s Bootmobile , a promotional vehicle that takes the shape of the company’s duck boot.

The Harris-Walz ‘Visual Age’ Gap: They’re the same age, but pundits and voters can’t stop talking about how much older Governor Tim Walz looks  than Vice President Kamala Harris. It’s not the only way he seems to be absorbing some of the scrutiny usually heaped on female candidates.

Find anything, super fast.

• Destinations
• Documentaries

We don't have any additional photos of this yacht. Do you?

Vesper is a custom sailing yacht launched in 2006 by Yachting Developments.

Yachting Developments is an international award-winning builder and refitter of both performance sail and motor composite superyachts. A genuine shipbuilding leader in the South Pacific, the privately-owned company is driven by passion and perfection to create vessels tailor-made to each individual client.

Vesper measures 28.8 feet in length, with a max draft of 3.5 feet and a beam of 6.6 feet.

Her exterior design, naval architecture and interior design is by Yachting Developments.

Performance and Capabilities

Vesper has a fuel capacity of 5,860 litres, and a water capacity of 2,630 litres.

• Yacht Builder Yachting Developments No profile available
• Naval Architect Yachting Developments No profile available
• Exterior Designer Yachting Developments No profile available
• Interior Designer Yachting Developments No profile available

Yacht Specs

Other yachting developments yachts.

Surfer injured in boat explosion recounts ordeal to get medical treatment in remote Indonesia

ABC Radio Perth

Topic: Maritime Accidents and Incidents

Jensen Kirby sustained severe burns in Indonesia after petrol fumes on the boat he was travelling on exploded.

It took several days to travel from the remote islands to Kuala Lumpur for initial treatment.

What's next?

His burns are healing but it will be years before he fully recovers from his injuries.

Nineteen-year-old Perth surfer Jensen Kirby was headed for the trip of lifetime, two months in the waves off northern Sumatra, when an accident caused burns to 13 per cent of his body.

To get to the resorts that host surfers on the Telo Islands requires flying first to Padang in western Sumatra then taking a speedboat transfer to get to the islands.

It was on one of those speedboats that Mr Kirby's trip went dramatically wrong.

"The mechanic was putting the battery on, and he plugged the negative to the positive and the positive to the negative," Kirby told Jo Trilling on ABC Radio Perth.

"As soon as it clicked, it sparked and then just ignited the petrol fumes that were in the boat. All I saw was the spark.

"Then next moment, I just saw the flames around me. I was just in the middle of this fire."

His first instinct was to jump into the water.

"I just turned around and jumped straight into the water because I was so scared and then just got away as far away as I could just in case there was another explosion," he said.

As soon as he got out of the water he knew he was injured, describing a feeling on his skin like "sunburn times a hundred".

"I hit the sand and [skin on my leg] just tore off like someone just peeled paper off a stack of paper sheets."

Getting to a hospital

Jensen Kirby travelled to a remote part of Sumatra to surf. ( Supplied: Jensen Kirby )

His next step was to call his mum and try to figure out how to get to a place where he could get the medical care he urgently needed.

Between his mother and the boat skipper a place on a small aircraft leaving from one of the nearby resorts was found, which took him back to Padang.

"I got all the bandages that they had and wrapped them around me and then hopped on this boat to the airport, which is on another island," he said.

He then boarded another flight to Kuala Lumpur, where his mother met him and took him to a hospital.

"If mum wasn't there I couldn't have been able to get treatment because they made her put a $10,000 deposit down, and I don't have that kind of money," he said.

After receiving initial treatment in Malaysia the pair then flew back to Perth, with relief, to get further treatment at home.

Surfer Jensen Kirby was seriously injured in a boat explosion in Indonesia. ( ABC Radio Perth: Joshua Cahill )

Mr Kirby is now well on the way to recovering from his burns and is keen to get back in the water in the future.

But he remembers the ordeal as terrifying.

"I was sitting on the boat on the way to the hospital at the start and I was like 'I don't know if I'm going to live'," he said.

"I don't know if they're going to have to chop limbs off because I'm going to get infected.

"I didn't even know if I was going to get out of there."

Doctors have told him it will be years before his skin recovers.

"I'm going to have to be so cautious about the skin and the sun. It's going to be really tough," he said.

"I'm going to have to wear big bucket hats and long sleeves everywhere, and when I go surfing, I'm going to have to chuck a heap of zinc on and all that kind of stuff."

ABC Perth in your inbox

• 10 Kelly Drive Philadelphia PA 19130
• [email protected]
• (215) 769 9615
• Vesper History
• MJ Wilson and Elizabeth Martin Win Silver
• Doc Riggall Boat Christening
• Notifications – Vesper Captain
• Vesper Boat Club Rules of Conduct
• Newsletters & Signup

Membership Renewal

Member Info Update

• Bluetooth Keys
• 2024 Masters Sculling Camp @ Vesper
• River Conditions & Weather
• Masters Racing
• Vesper Boat Club Launch Policy
• Equipment Use
• Vesper Adult Liability Waiver
• Vesper High School Student Athlete Waiver
• Racing Team
• Event Rentals
• Fundraising

Vesper Membership

Joining vesper 2024.

Vesper welcomes new member applications. We look for people to join us who have a love of rowing, want to enjoy the racing, community, fulfillment and excitement that our sport offers.

To begin the new member process, please click HERE and select membership to reach out to our Membership Chair.

We offer many different membership categories to allow for wide variety of being part of our community. The following membership categories allow for a varied level of individual, family and social only membership levels.

• Full, age 31+: $660
• Full, age 19-30: $550
• Family: $858 (includes spouse and children under 19 years of age, 2 votes)
• Social: $198 (no rowing or voting)
• Associate: $319 (restricted to those who have been full or family members for 5+ years, and now live 100+ miles away from Vesper; requires approval)
• Limited: $330 (3 month, no voting)

Current Members

To renew your membership please click below and follow the process. If you have any questions please contact the Membership Chair by clicking HERE .

Locker Rooms

Members wishing to request a locker may contact:

• Tom Simon , men's lockers
• Sally Scott , women's lockers

Our locker room policies are meant for a healthy, clean, and equitable use of our facilities by everyone. Member's utilizing our locker rooms must abide by these policies.

Men's Locker Room Policy

Women's Locker Room Policy

iCrew Mobile App - On Water Logs & Boat Reservations

We have transitioned to using the iCrew mobile app for all club boat reservations, on water logging, and during COVID19, any access or use of the club's facilities whatsoever.

Please click below for information about downloading, installing and using the iCrew app.

Information Update

We request that each member update their information to the club so that we can provide the best information, equipment and activities to our club as possible

Mobile App Electronic Key Access

The Vesper Club house has controlled access, only members in good standing, and authorized personnel are permitted entry. Please click below for directions on downloading and using the mobile electronic key map to access the club

Electronic Key Mobile App

Membership Forms

New Member Application

General Liability & Waiver

Vesper High School Waiver

USRowing SafeSport Program

Membership Documents

Welcome Packet