SAILFISH

SAILFISH

What is a sailfish. You can call it a sailing surf board. The difference being that a surfboard bow will stay above water while the sailfish bow will dive

into the water throwing torrents of water over it's crew. It is an inexpensive , $340, sporty boat, easy to handle, almost unsinkable, and low upkeep. In 1963 there were no sailfish in Lewes. Then , in three summers, Lewes developed one of the largest sailfish fleets on the east coast.

The very first sailfish in Lewes was bought by T. Rowland Marshall,

then commodore of the local yacht club and his neighbor, Bill Dosey

Soon the Lewes sailing enthusiasts were buying, building, andd

bargaining for sailfish right and left and it was not long before on any sunny

Sunday afternoon dozens of bright red, white, blue, yellow, green, or orange

sails were spotted along the Lewes Delaware Bay beach.

There was no harness to the enthusiasm , even in poor weather, after

they had become accustomed to their boats, the Lewes sailor would take to the rough waters of the bay and breakwaters.

Sixty per cant of the sailfish are sailed by youngsters who can 'right' them

in a matter of seconds.

Rodney Evans is one of Lewes' sailfish devotees ho has built seventeen of them. The yacht club has fourteen races , on Sundays, and the competition

leaders are Carlton Young, William Poulter and Rodney Evans.

Source: Wilmington Morning News, Saturday August 24, 1957