I was scouting locations for a video Tuesday down at Historic Spanish Point near our offices, when I was magnetically drawn to the hard-chine sharpies gracing the waterfront. The one on the left is the Lizzie G, built by Spanish Points volunteers under the guidance of master shipwright Stan Lowe. Shes named after the wife of boatbuilder Frank Guptill, one of the original settlers in our area. If you ever do swing by Practical Sailors homeport in Sarasota, Fla., a trip to the 29-acre site along Little Sarasota Bay is highly recommended.
Ive been entranced by sharpies ever since I was a boy growing up across the Biscayne Bay from the Barnacle, where Commodore Ralph Munroe drew the lines for his famous round-bottom sharpies. Im not alone. It seems like every East Coast yacht designer at one time or another has tried to recapture the magic of Munroes renowned craft. Laser designer Bruce Kirby has his Norwalk Island Sharpies and now Rodger Martin has his version of Presto! one of the most famous of Munroes designs.
Presto! will be in nearby Pine Island Sound soon, and I hope to get a chance to sail her and write about her soon. That review will join others, such as our review of the Munroe-esque Shannon Shoalsailer 35, that are archived our Boat Reviews section of the website.
