"Victura" – 1932 Wianno Sr. Sloop
* * * * * *
Specifications:
• Length on deck: 25 feet
• 17.5 feet on waterline
• 8-foot beam
• 4,100 lb displacement
• Gaff rig sloop
• Cuddy cabin
• “Victura” = Latin for about to conquer
• Centerboard design
• Tiller steering
• Spars made of Sitka spruce
• Early hulls: old-growth cypress over white oak frames
• 72 sq ft jib
• 294 sq ft mainsail
• Ballast: Iron keel of 600 lbs + 600 lbs of pig iron lead stored inside the bilge
• Builder: Crosby Yacht Yard, Osterville, Mass
Straying from the Waters of the Thousand Islands
This article will stray from the waters of the Thousand Islands and go east to Nantucket Sound and Cape Cod. My focus is the Wianno Sr, a one-design gaff-rigged 25-foot sailboat. Over 200 of these wood knockabouts were built and 120 are known to survive today. The Wianno Sr. sloops were built by the Crosby Yacht Yard in Osterville, MA. They were designed by H. Manley Crosby, who was the son of the yard owner.
In 1913, fourteen members of the Wianno Yacht Club placed orders with Crosby for the new design, in order to start a racing fleet. The wood sloops were built with centerboards for the shoal waters of Nantucket Sound, which is known for its many sand bars. The spars are solid Sitka spruce, and the sailing rig has a very large mainsail of 294 square feet, and a relatively small jib of 72 square feet. This is a very traditional sail design, with the gaff on the top of the mainsail. Spinnakers are flown for downwind sailing.
When sailed hard, the seams on the planks of the hull were known to open up. So, hand pumping sea water out of the bilge was necessary. Victura was especially prone to taking on water due to her age and condition. Wianno Seniors are no longer in production. There were some fiberglass copies of the one-design, but my research indicates that these are no longer available. There is no auxiliary power in these boats, so owners must be adept at sailing on and off docks and moorings. Sadly, 21 classic Seniors were destroyed in a devastating fire at the Crosby Yard in 2003.
I am not aware of any Wianno Sr. sloops in the Thousand Islands. But, I have to believe that with our wooden boat heritage, there must be at least one Wianno Sr. somewhere on the St. Lawrence River. The late Marty Zonnenberg of Grindstone Island owned a Stuart Knockabout, which is similar to, yet different from, a Wianno. Wianno Srs have a small cuddy cabin with a v-berth, while the Stuart Knockabout is strictly a daysailer. If this story reaches a River Rat with knowledge of a Wianno Sr. in the Thousand Islands, please contact me.
What sparked my interest in the Wianno Sr. design was a book by James W. Graham, entitled Victura – The Kennedys, A Sailboat and the Sea, which was released in 2014. The book traces the history of the Kennedy family of Hyannis Port, MA, through their love of the Wianno Sr. named Victura (hull number 94). It is a wonderfully written account of how this small, wooden sloop impacted the lives of the Kennedy family for generations.
I first read the book about ten years ago, and just recently re-read Victura as the book-of-the-month for our men’s book club at Mariner Sands Country Club. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this read and the insights into one of the nation’s most famous political families. The Kennedy’s purchased several more Wianno Sr. sloops over the years, to be enjoyed by the children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren of Joesph and Rose Kennedy. Today, Victura sits outside the John F. Kennedy Library, in a section of Boston.
About four years ago, Anne and I toured the Osterville Historical Museum in Osterville, MA. There you will find a Wianno Sr., a Wianno Jr., and the lovely catboat that the yard built. This museum is a great place to learn more about the Crosby Yard and the boats that were built and raced on Cape Cod. While we were there, a farmer’s market was being held on the grounds of the museum. It was a lovely afternoon.
Joesph Sr. instilled the competitive goal to win with his children—to a fault. If Joe Jr, Jack, Bobby, Kit, Eunice, or Teddy did not win a sailboat race, their father would lecture them at length over dinner. To win was very important to Joe Sr., who had been the Ambassador to the Court of St. James (England) and owner of the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. It seems that the Kennedy family was denied membership at two country clubs in the Boston area because of their Irish Catholic heritage.
Therefore, Joe Sr. gained membership at several yacht and sailing clubs where his children could compete. So, from a very young age all of the Kennedy offspring were expected to sail competitively and bring home the silver. And win they did, over the years. In fact, Joe Jr. and Jack won the MacMillan cup while at Harvard.
When the Kennedys were running for elected office, as well as delivering speeches in the Senate, the White House, and around the world, they used many metaphors about the sea, sailing, and boats. The references to these metaphors are many in the book. And when Jack married Jackie, her love of poetry brought more quotes into their speeches. It’s very interesting to see how life on the water influenced the Kennedys and still does to this day. I highly recommend “Victura” to my readers as a wonderful literary treat. The many tragedies and setbacks of the family are explored throughout the book. And even in the face of tremendous loss, the family would often return to the sea and their sailboats to seek peace, privacy, and understanding. From the highs to the lows, you would find the Kennedys sailing, swimming, racing, and cruising. There are lots of anecdotes about their adventures racing or just having fun in the waters of Nantucket Sound.
It’s interesting that despite considerable wealth, the Kennedy family continued to race and sail a vintage 25-foot gaff-rigged sailboat, built in 1932. So loved was Victura by many generations of Kennedys, that when Ted’s daughter Kara was married, a candy replica of the Wianno Sr. Victura was on top of her seven-layer wedding cake. The love of this boat was just as strong as their love for one another.
The cover of the book has a famous black & white photo of Jack and Jackie Kennedy on the foredeck of Victura while under sail and with the rail under water. The photo was taken by Hy Peskin for Life magazine – Jack in his bare feet, his sailing shorts wet from sea spray, and Jackie’s hair frizzy and wind-blown. This famous photo put the young Kennedys and Victura in the spotlight in America in the early 1960’s.
You can find Victura on Amazon or perhaps at your local library. I hope that you enjoy this unique book for your armchair sailing. And as I said above, I hope you will hunt for a Wianno Sr. in the Thousand Islands, please contact me.
And now it is April I say, Happy Spring, as the boating season in the Thousand Islands is calling!
By Rick A. Casali
Rick Casali is a resident of Wellesley Island. During his youth, from 1947 to 1976, his parents had a cottage on Grindstone Island named The Orchards. Rick now splits his time between Stuart, FL, and the River. He worked for Columbia Gas System for 29 years and ran their Washington, DC office. Then in 2000, he started brokering boats and yachts, and he continues as a broker with North Point Yacht Sales. Rick and his wife Anne cruise the River in a recently purchased a 1968 Chris Craft 31 Commander which they named "Foxtrot". They also have the Seaway 24 named "Miss Annie".
Be sure to see more of Rick Casali's tributes and reviews. He has now written 24 articles for TI Life, and they are not only interesting but also provides an important historical review of River life.