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Snipe Fleet 24, Santa Monica Bay


 

Snipe Fleet 24 is one of the earlier Snipe Fleets, as the fleet number suggests, dating back to the 1930’s.

Fleet 24 was first recorded in 1934 as fleet number 21, Santa Monica Sailing Club. In the early days of the Snipe Class, fleet numbers had not completely settled and our fleet number kept changing until we finally arrived at number 24 in 1937, which we still hold today. Boats where launched from the beach into Santa Monica Bay, at the long gone Santa Monica Marina and stored under the Santa Monica Pier.

The Santa Monica Sailing Club eventually merged with the South Coast Corinthian Yacht Club and Snipe activity continued until it slowed in the 50’s and 60’s. The latest record, before fleet reactivation, is the Scira Yearbook entry from 1968 – 1969. By that time the fleet had also assumed a new name, and was now called Fleet 24, Santa Monica Bay.

The fleet was reactivated in 2012 with a group of three classic, wooden Snipes. All of the boats who participated in the reactivation had originally been sailed in local Snipe fleets. Two came from Fleet 2, Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club and one from Fleet 94, Newport Beach; the boats where built in 1936, 1939 and 1963 and could have well raced in the old Fleet 24. Records indicate that the two boats built in the 30’s might have raced each other in the internationals in 1939 in Los Angeles Harbor.

The most interesting aspect about the wooden classic Snipes is the fact that they are all unique boats, each one individual handcrafted with distinct differences, the signature of the individual craftsmen, tailored to an individual sailors liking.

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