16' Fireball Class Sloop (1965) - FLEETWIND II

My father built this boat for my brother and I in the winter of 1965. We launched it in the spring of 1966 and I went on to win the Canadian National Championships in her in 1967,68 and 69. I continued to race her hard for the next 41 years and she performed well and was fast. She survived dismasting twice and a road accident as well as a complete rebuilding by me in 1986. During periods when I raced other boats she was revarnished and stored away, waiting patiently. So she was ready in 2017 when I dusted her off and sailed her to the Fireball National Championship exactly 50 years after she had won it for the first time. She acquitted herself well, better than her aging skipper, and we had a marvellous regatta. This year she comes up again on the varnishing roster and I hope to sail her many more times.