Rick Casali

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  • 21 posts

Motor Yacht "Dolphin" – A 65-foot Fast Commuter Yacht

It is hard to imagine that a 65-foot yacht has been owned by the same family since 1929. Motor Yacht (MY) Dolphin is such a vessel . . .

Volume 19, Issue 11, November 2024
Rick Casali

R.M.S. Titanic and the Thousand Islands

You might ask what the "R.M.S. Titanic" and the Thousand Islands have in common?

Volume 19, Issue 7, July 2024
Rick Casali

Women Who Build and Race Boats

Traditionally, the boating industry has been dominated by men . . . This article will focus on a few women who have been pioneers in boat building and racing in the Thousand Islands.

Volume 19, Issue 5, May 2024
Rick Casali

Ice Boats of the Thousand Islands

The frozen St. Lawrence River has been a means for safely transiting from island to island in winter . . .The ice also gave birth to iceboats as a means to safely cross the frozen body of water.

Volume 19, Issue 3, March 2024
Rick Casali

“Miss Scarlett” - a 1929 52-Foot Motor Yacht from the Roaring 20’s

For two years, I have wanted to write an article for my column on the 52-foot motor yacht "Miss Scarlett". Thanks to owner Rob Reddick, my bucket list wish came true last fall.

Volume 19, Issue 2, February 2024
Rick Casali

"SS Delphine" – A 257-foot Steam Yacht

History of the "SS Delphine" built in 1921 for Horace Dodge Sr. co-founder of the Dodge Brothers Automobile Company.

Volume 18, Issue 12, December 2023
Rick Casali

1953 Chris Craft 28 Express “Muskie”

In the Thousand Islands, boats and boating families are fiercely connected. One such wooden classic is a 1953 Chris Craft 28 Express named “Muskie”.

Volume 18, Issue 10, October 2023
Rick Casali

"La Duchesse"

The Antique Boat Museum (ABM) in Clayton, NY, has many interesting and varied vessels in their extensive collection. Perhaps the most unusual, and the largest, is "La Duchesse" . .

Volume 18, Issue 6, June 2023
Rick Casali

Vaino Anderson – River Boatman and Boatbuilder

One of my fondest memories of an island resident is Vaino Anderson. Captain Anderson lived on Grindstone Island from 1945 until his passing in 1970 . . .

Volume 18, Issue 5, May 2023
Rick Casali

"Night Rider" - 1910 Leyare 28-Foot Number Boat

What is Number 18?? It is hull number 18 of the 20 boats built from 1910 to 1911 in Ogdensburg, NY. "Night Rider" was the 18th of the so-called Number Boats . . .

Volume 18, Issue 3, March 2023
Rick Casali

Antique Boat Expert and Cheerleader for our River – Peter Mellon

Peter Mellon was the go-to expert on antique and classic boats going back to the late 1990’s, when he founded Antique Boat America and Canada, which lists and brokers these vessels.

Volume 18, Issue 1, January 2023
Rick Casali

"OL BOY" – 1938 Chris Craft 25 Sportsman

Joe Cardamone was a serious fisherman from Utica who owned a 21-foot utility. He fished out of Dingman Point, and wanted a slightly larger boat for the St. Lawrence River . . .

Volume 17, Issue 12, December 2022
Rick Casali

"Riptide IV - 1948 Chris Craft 25 Utility

In the post-WW II era, Chris Craft began to make their boat designs more elegant and, to my eye, classier. Riptide IV, owned by Jane and Kevin Heffron, is one of the nicest examples of this post-war shift at Chris Craft.

Volume 17, Issue 11, November 2022
Rick Casali

FIASCO was held on Wellesley Island

The regatta is known as FIASCO, which is the acronym for Famous International Annual Skiffing Competitive Occurrence.

Volume 17, Issue 10, October 2022
Rick Casali

Queen Elizabeth II & HMY "Britannia"

Lynn McElfresh and Rick Casali's past articles are remembered. Also, Robert and John Street share a lovely movie of the Queen's passage through the Thousand Islands.

Volume 17, Issue 9, September 2022
Lynn E. McElfresh

Wild Goose – a 1915 40-foot Hutchinson Commuter

The Wild Goose served the Dodge’s as a source of beauty, great pleasure, and practical River transport for over 80 years, and carried members of the family and their guests to many events ranging from births and weddings, to picnics, river tours, and funerals . . .

Volume 16, Issue 8, August 2021
Rick Casali

“Zipper” - A Classic Express Commuter

Zipper was donated to the Antique Boat Museum by the family that owned and operated the Stroh Brewery. She was donated on the condition that Zipper be commissioned and cruised, and not sit inside the museum among the various collections that the ABM exhibits.

Volume 16, Issue 6, June 2021
Rick Casali

"The Orchards" on Grindstone Island

My family was fortunate to have owned "The Orchards" on Grindstone Island.

Volume 15, Issue 11, November 2020
Rick Casali