On Labor Day, Narragansett Bay’s Snipe Fleet 17 scheduled a final Monday of racing with a fleet dinner afterward: the local version of our class motto, Serious Sailing, Serious Fun. Making the familiar commute, I found myself smiling. Because there is nothing—absolutely nothing—quite so satisfying as driving INTO Newport to go sailing when so many others are already driving OUT of town, their summers over.
I was also smiling because summer Mondays are now synonymous with Snipe sailing. After boisterous discussions at our May fleet social, we settled on a low-key rabbit start approach that kept our small but intense fleet close together and allowed us to complete 3–4 short races each night. 3-6 boats sailed most Monday evenings from mid-June to mid-August, and we made sure to get ashore in time for a sunset debrief. The flexible format (and excellent summer weather) both welcomed newcomers and challenged Snipe veterans, because we could all learn at our own pace. And though no race committee meant no scores recorded, no one seemed to mind.
We had perfect Snipe breeze all summer, but on that final afternoon (jokingly weighted at triple points toward a quite non-existent season trophy), clouds kept away Newport’s reliable seabreeze. Except for the occasional half-hearted puff, the harbor remained glassy.
So, after catching up with each other and watching hopefully for the forecasted breeze to fill, we hoisted an imaginary AP over A (done for the day) and moved up dinner by one hour; just another example of Controlling Our Own Destiny, which has become a fleet mantra. The biggest tactical decision of the day turned out to be the escape route out of Newport, and there was a clear winner—but again, no official scores were recorded.
Other fleets use their end-of-season dinner to recap of results and maybe award a trophy or three. Since we had consciously not kept track of scores, we had no official agenda—which meant no distractions from the eye candy and mouthwatering flavors of an excellent dessert. Dinner’s only serious moment stemmed from a joking request for a “speech,” which inspired one of our quieter members to share a few inspiring words about both fleet and class.
I did offer to create a fictitious recap of close-fought battles for a cash prize, but when I sat down to write I realized: I wouldn’t change a thing about our summer, even for entertainment purposes. Our reward was just showing up, Monday after Monday, to enjoy the in-person, in-the-moment camaraderie of regular local fleet racing. No cash prize could seem so worthwhile.
Many of us will travel to Snipe regattas over the winter, but I’m already looking forward to Monday nights in 2026; another chance to overlay our local theme of Controlling Our Own Destiny onto the international class motto of Serious Sailing, Serious Fun. We have a WhatsApp group, so send me an email if you’d like more information. And thanks to every single sailor who joined us; each of you helped make summer Mondays synonymous with Snipe sailing!
