SAIL AREA: 130 SQUARE FEET. LENGTH OVER ALL: 16 FEET. BEAM: 5 FEET.
 
The history of the Comet Class begins down on the Chesapeake Bay during that area's darker days of sailing. In the early Thirties, interest in sailboat racing had hit a record low. Because of the depression, big-boat sailing had waned very sharply and there was little or no competitive racing. Except for a few Stars, there were no one-design boats as we know them today.

Oh, yes, there were small boats, but each of them was different from the other. In reality, sailing had nearly disappeared from the scene. If ever sailing needed a shot in the arm, this was the time.

Over on the Eastern Shore, a fellow named C. Lowndes Johnson, of Easton, Md., not only lamented the unhappy racing situation, he did something about it. A 1932 Yachting magazine showed a plan he had drawn up for a 16-footer. This boat was to come to the sailors' rescue and was to be called the Comet. His design was along the lines of the Chesapeake crabbing skiff and the Star. She was a Marconi-rigged center-boarder. Her short mast and long boom gave her an old-style appearance. A boat from this design was built the following year for Mrs. Elliot Wheeler, of Easton, Md.

Meanwhile, the magazine article had fostered a lot of interest at Stone Harbor, N. J., and in Washington. Both of these sailing towns were racing Comets by 1934. As the class began to catch on, new fleets were added at Perth Amboy, N. J.; Key-port, N. J.; Staten Island, N. Y.; and Med-ford, Mass. A national organization was formed and Dr. John Eiman, of Stone Harbor, became the first president of this group, which was called the Comet Class Yacht Racing Association.

Newark News Photo

Elmer Heinel and Bob Thompson of the Red Dragon Canoe Club in their Hi-Fly after winning the 1949 Red Grant series at the Raritan Yacht Club.

A close finish at Lake Hopatcong, N. J. Comets should be sailed at minimum angles of heel at all times. They will plane on downwind courses.

Photo by H. M. Raymond, Jr.

The following year, the Comets were invited to take part in their first open regatta, which was held at St. Michaels on the Chesapeake. That September, the first "Nationals" were staged at Perth Amboy on Raritan Bay. Roger Wilcox, of Staten Island, won the class honors.

Thereafter, the class expanded rapidly with fleets mushrooming throughout Central New York, along the Jersey Coast, in the Lake Erie section of Ohio, on Chesapeake Bay, and out on Long Island. By 1940, over 1,600 boats had been built. Today, the class is about twice that size. The 110 active fleets are still pretty much concentrated in the above-mentioned areas. The rivers, bays, and lakes of New Jersey are home waters for 24 of these fleets.

About one third of the boats in commission are home-built products. Folks with only a moderate knowledge of woodworking have not only built their Comets at substantial savings, but invariably have created beautiful and fast boats. Such craftsmanship is a source of great personal pride. Generally speaking, the boat is built along a combination of straight lines, so that the amateur will not come up against any unsurpassable obstacles. Lightweight red cedar has proved to be the most popular construction material.

There are a number of good builders of the Comet. The price of a complete boat without sails ranges from about $600 to $1,000. Sails will add from $90 to $135 more to the cost of the boat. Among the better builders are Oxford Boats, Oxford, Md.; Thompson Bros., Cortland, N. Y.; More-house Boat Co., Seneca Falls, N. Y.; David Beaton, Mantaloking, N. J.; and Lippincott Boat Works, Riverton, N. J.

The class personnel is made up largely of fellows ranging in age from their early teens to late thirties. Of course, there are a number of darn good gal sailors as well as youngsters in their sixties. They are all folks who like boats for both pleasure-sailing and racing.

Competitively speaking, the Comet is just about tops among the one-design classes. The ease of hauling these boats out of the water has had a wonderful effect on the class. It has meant the development of the regatta circuit. Weighing between 310 and 350 pounds complete, the 16-ft. Comet is readily packed on a two-wheel trailer and raced wherever a club will hold a regatta. With the strong concentration of fleets in the east and middle west, it is not a question of "where can I go this weekend?" but "which regatta shall I choose?" This interfleet competition has done wonders in helping both the novices and the experienced skippers to improve their techniques to a far greater degree than would be possible under limited local racing.

The cream of the Comet skippers has regularly come from the Delaware River fleets of the Red Dragon Canoe Club and the Riverton Yacht Club. But as we have implied, the masters have taught the pupils so well that the line of demarcation between them is now slim. Such outstanding skippers as Jim Merrill, Howard Lippin-cott, and Phil Somervell, who collectively have won seven National Championships, now find themselves very hard pressed to finish up in the silverware. Practice, strict attention to details, and a naming competitive spirit are the most obvious reasons for their success.—Dave Brett

Just alter rounding the windward mark. Leading boat is Red Wagon with Dave Brett at the helm and Tom Walter fussing with the whisker pole.

Red Wagon, foreground, is leading in this shot taken during Lake Hopatcong's 1951 Open Regatta. The downwind buoy is out of sight at the right.

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