[L16-usa] Mainely Luders

[Sturgis Haskins]

> MDI LUDERS CHANGES HANDS, PORTS
> 
> Gifford Combs is the proud new owner of WATERMELON, Northeast Harbor
> Luders # 3.  The sale was concluded recently in Dan Burt's London
> office while Combs was visiting that city.  This was comforting news
> to those of us who keep a watchful vigil over our local Luders fleet -
> hoping none will stray to far afield.  Indeed, WATERMELON, in one
> sense, comes closer to home as her anchorage moved from the surf-bound
> cliffs of Schooner Head, in Bar Harbor, to the more tranquil confines
> of Seal Harbor. Here she will join four other Luders there:
> 
> NEH #7, JULIE J, long owned by the Ford family
> NEH #16, CHINQUAPIN, kept by Jane Zirnkilton since about 1948
> NEH #25, GOLDEN ARROW, bought new in 1947 by Nelson Rockefeller and
> still beautifully kept by his widow.
> MDI #29, SEA BISCUIT, imported last year from the Chicago fleet by
> Bill Eacho (& handsomely refurbished)
> 
> We owe a note of appreciation to Dan Burt, both for the immaculate way
> in which he has kept WATERMELON maintained, but, too, for his
> participation in the revival of Mount Desert Luders racing in its
> first season in 2002.  It was the presence of WATERMELON on the
> starting line that lent considerable impetus to this effort.
> 
> Gifford Combs is an especially welcomed addition.  As a recent
> Commodore of the Seal Harbor Yacht Club he has been a conspicuous and
> welcoming presence for us there.  Few yacht clubs can offer such a
> handsome club house as this one and it is a source of some pride that
> Luders have established a firm presence in their anchorage.  The
> annual Seal Harbor regatta has been an event much enjoyed by our local
> fleet (notwithstanding Luders have won the last three!) and we look
> forward to even more interclub activity.
> 
> For those interested in such things, WATERMELON was bought new to
> Northeast Harbor in the original fleet in 1946. She was owned by Dr.
> Mathew T. Mellon, a descendant of the famous banking family.
> Interestingly, it seems to be the single Luders photographed by the
> late W.H. Ballard, a local photographer who specialized - in part - in
> marine subjects.  (On the other hand, he did a series of International
> One-Design photos in 1938 when those boats arrived.).  The two
> surviving negatives (in the MDI Historical Society) were among Mr.
> Ballard's 'plainest.' and seem to have been taken about 1946 when the
> boat was new.
> 
> WATERMELON disappeared from the Northeast Harbor Fleet lists in 1955.
> Whether she was simply not raced or sold away at this time to
> Greenwich, Connecticut (where she spent some years) is not known.  In
> the 1970's she was brought back to the area and kept on Petit Manan
> Point (largest undeveloped peninsular on the North Atlantic coast, by
> the way)  and in Hancock Point.  Still later, she was acquired by
> Ollie Spears, Jr., of Bar Harbor, who did a thorough restoration and
> subsequently sold her to Dan Burt who assured the boat's high level of
> maintenance.
> 
> Thank you to Dan Burt for his effort to keep WATERMELON in our fleet
> and to our newest members, the Gifford Combs family.
> Welcome indeed !!
> 
> 
> 
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