Published: Friday, January 16, 2004 at:8:28 PM




A Tribute
The Mighty Rhodes 19



When I first arrived at Bitter End in 1986, my sailing background was modest to say the least. Growing up in Montreal, the annual sailing season ran from May to September. Sailing days amounted to windsurfing on chilly lakes or a few weekends with Dad on a Tanzer 22 in light shifty wind.

Hired as a sailing and windsurfing instructor, I was expected to hone my teaching skills. The Rhodes 19 became my floating classroom. The Rhodes 19 has been the backbone of the sailing fleet and the primary teaching boat for the fledgling Nick Trotter Sailing School, established in 1987. Sailing 101-102 prepped students for their first sailing experience. Many seasoned sailors began their careers at Bitter End guiding the Rhodes19 around North Sound. My wife Nathalie and I would take this little boat everywhere — The Baths, the Dogs and even Peter Island were just a few of the destinations we discovered aboard this brave little day sailor. (We broke a few rules!)

Sunday is race day at Bitter End, and the Rhodes 19’s have always played and integral role. On any given Sunday, you can see sailing school graduates facing off against America’s Cup veterans—Bitter End is just that kind of place—and despite being considered a tame day sailor, skippers often make these boats perform like serious race machines. In the early days, the boats did not have names, making it hard to track which boat was really “the fastest.” In 1988, sailing school head instructor Sandy Graves worked with fellow instructors to name the Rhodes fleet: Rhode Town, Rhode Runner, High Rhode, Lo-Rhode, Rhodeo and Rhodent were the original six. (Honorable mentions included Rhode Hard and put Away Wet, Rhode Kill and Rhodes Scholar.)

In 1990, Watersports boss Nick Trotter placed an order for a new Rhodes 19 to be piggyback shipped to St. Croix. My job was to figure out how to get it to Bitter End. I determined that it would cost just over $1,000 to get the boat to Bitter End.

“Well, it’s a sailboat isn’t? Why don’t you just sail it up?” was Mr Hokin’s response. There was no arguing with Mr. H, and so I assigned a fresh Watersports recruit, Jason Meeuwig, to join me on this adventure. Jason had even less sailing experience than I did when I arrived, and the prospect of a sailing odyssey was too much to resist. (Ignorance is Bliss!) After a short flight to St.Croix, we assisted in launching the boat. We left the following morning, enjoying sunny skies and light breezes. We were looking forward to a few beers and a great sail. What we got was 10 foot swells, 18 knots of breeze and a very soggy crew. 14 hours and 60 miles later, we arrived at Bitter End aboard our sturdy little boat we proudly dubbed the Rhode Warrior, and she remains my favorite to this day.

Long time Bitter Enders will remember our Saturday evening Champagne sails aboard the Rhodes, aka “The Love Boats.” Romantic couples would be sailed around the Sound “gondola style” by one of the sailing staff, complete with a goodly supply of “Johnny Rocket” champagne. Each sail included the requisite toast, and so you can bet the sailing staff on duty were feeling no pain by the end of the evening. (I can still feel the headache.)

Our fleet of Rhodes 19’s have been through several hurricanes, hundreds of fender benders and multiple groundings, and despite all of this, they have stood the test of time.

It may not be the sexiest boat. It may not be the fastest boat. But I can say without reservation that it is the toughest boat in our fleet. I would not hesitate to sail a Rhodes 19 to Puerto Rico. Maybe I’ll ask Nathalie if she wants to break some more rules.