March 7, 2009. Your webmaster had notes referring to this boat but no details. Mark Steinhilber (Rascal) got in touch recently and mentioned this boat as being instrumental in getting his father to buy a Dolphin. Here is Mark's reference (edited)

"My Dad had been racing on a Morgan 24 in Off Soundings when our next door neighbor (Dave Stewart) bought her Ladyship, a Green Dolphin from a mooring right across from Mystic Seaport.  We helped him sail her to Niantic, and this led to my Dad chartering her for the Spring and Fall Off Soundings the next year, I think maybe 1971 or 1972.  I'd have to find the Fourth place trophy to figure out the year"

Mark told us that this was a Lunn built boat. Hopefully, these clues will lead to more information about this boat.

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March 9, 2009. Andy Anderson, Tigress, tells an interesting story about this boat. The US Navy has a major submarine base on the Thames River in Groton, across from New London, CT. Electric Boat, the major builder of subs is a bit down river. The British Navy maintains a station here normally headed up by a sub commander whose tour of duty is usually 3 years. In the mid 1960's a Commander Larkin was stationed here with his family, and rented a house in Mystic on the river across from Mystic Seaport. There were Dolphins around doing well racing, including Tigress, and he decided he wanted one. He bought this green** Dolphin, named her Her Ladyship, and raced her locally. At the end of his tour he sold her to Dave Stewart.

We are still looking for this boat.

**Webmaster Note: Was the boat green when Commander Larkin bought her? Or did he paint her?

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April 13, 2012. Well, we think we found her. With the help of our staff (Mark Steinhilber who has sailed on this boat) we have determined that Her Ladyship is now Jim Oppy's WISP. We will not drag the reader through all the muddy detail but we had already traced WISP back to Tom Cimini's Cynosure, Herman Jessup's boat (name?), Milt Holdridge's Enticement and Ed Smith's Wisp.

Ed Smith bought a green Dolphin that was on a mooring in the Thames River, painted her white, named her WISP and eventually sold her to the Holdridges. Where did he get that green hull Dolphin? Dave Stewart bought Her Ladyship from Commander Larkin, a British officer, and Dave kept her on a mooring on the Thames River. She had a green hull.

We are talking 40+ years ago, and memories are being strained. We still have a couple of t's to cross and i's to dot but we are just about there. We still have no idea where Commander Larkin bought his green Dolphin.

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April 14, 2012. Ed Purcell (Just Friends), responding to an inquiry about Commander Larkin and where he might have acquired Her Ladyship advised that Commander Larkin raced out of Ram Island YC in Noank, CT where they had a special membership class for Naval officers temporarily assigned to the nearby US Navy submarine base on the Thames River.

He also offered that perhaps Commander Larkin painted his 'new' boat green, so we might actually be looking for a boat that initially had a different hulll color. Those familiar with the local Dolphin scene in the '60s and '70s know that these boats were often painted and repainted (Help!!)

Stay tuned

April 17, 2012. We know one person who sailed on Commander Larkin's boat - he helped Dave Stewart sail her home when Dave bought her. We'll wait and see if that person confirms Her Ladyship was dark green. And he did!

Yes. I knew Jim Brooks (Ceili) from when he co-owned or raced with Bob Cullen green QA 17 (Quincy Adams 17) against my dad at Thames,
Sent from my Windows Phone - Mark Steinhilber (Rascal)

We had to solve a bit of a mystery here involving green Dolphins on moorings in the Thames River. Go to Ceili to check this out.

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