CELIA

Model: Chesapeake 40

Design #: 894

Year: 1950

Builder: John Trumpy Shipyard

Celia is a Sparkman & Stephens designed sloop built in 1950 at the John Trumpy Shipyard in Annapolis, Maryland. She was meant to be the first in a fleet of one-design racers for Chesapeake Bay, but alas she was the only boat built to her design. John Trumpy kept her as his own personal sailboat in Annapolis, where she sailed as “Sea Call IV”.

In 1952 Mr. Trumpy sold her to Richard Rachals, who renamed her Lyra and sailed her out of the Manhasset Bay Yacht Club on Long Island. Mr. Rachals raced her successfully in the 1954 Bermuda Race. His son Richard, being 14 at the time, helped with the return trip, which he describes as "interesting"... the presumption being that it was quite the heavy weather trip, which the boat stood up to well. After a number of years, Mr. Rachals sold her to Johnson Stoddard, who also kept her on Long Island Sound and sailed her as Staral.

In 1969 Arnie and Betty Wight bought her and moved her to New Hampshire, where they renamed her Melita and cruised her extensively on the Maine coast. Finally, Betty sold her to Don Saunders who kept the name Melita and sailed her out of Castine, Maine until 2016.

I bought Melita in June of 2022 after she had been in storage at Front Street Shipyard for six years. Renaming her Celia, we moved her to Artisan Boatworks in Rockport, Maine, where she received a complete "makeover". We restored her to the original S&S design, which involved rebuilding the cockpit and cabin house. She was also re-powered, re-bolted below the waterline, given a new suit of sails, and repainted from stem to stern.

Celia is racing in the CYOC Classic Class and sailed as a single or short-handed daysailer/weekender. Now back on her old mooring, Celia adds well to the other vintage S&S sloops that dot Castine Harbor.