Hickling, Dalmasses Win Atwater Trophy Races of SS Class Association

The Atwater Trophy of the SS Class Association is named after William C. Atwater, who is very much thought of locally as the “father of the SS Class,” having commissioned the building of the one-design sloop sail boats in 1908.

Atwater’s history is well documented in the book, “The Magic Boat and the People Who Sailed It 1908-2008,” written by local author Meredith Murray for the SS Class centennial in 2008. Atwater, a native of Pittsburgh, where he ran a coal company in his name, summered with his wife and four children on 10 acres off Quantuck Bay in Westhampton Beach, and eventually became commodore of the Westhampton Yacht Squadron. As the story goes, Atwater sought out boat maker Benjamin Hallock based in Center Moriches to design and create the SS boats to be smaller children’s versions of the sloops raced by adults at that time.

Hallock created the first nine boats of the class in 1908 — the boats came fully rigged for a whopping $125 — designed specifically to be able to go in and out of the shoals off the South Shore and were perfect to teach children how to sail on local bays. A year later, in 1909, the first racing season of the SS Class commenced, and in 1924, 20 more boats were added to the fleet.

Racing of the SS Class of course continues today. The Atwater Trophy was originally going to be sailed for on July 29 at the Westhampton Yacht Squadron in Remsenburg, but due to the weather, which included gale-force winds, the regatta was postponed 24 hours. When sailors returned to the dock at the club that Sunday, they were greeted with near-perfect sailing conditions with winds out of the northwest at 5-10 knots, which made for three separate races.

At the end of the day, it was SS 153 Perseides, skippered by Luke Hickling with crew Canute and Deb Dalmasse, as winners of this year’s Atwater Trophy, winning the first two races and taking a second place in the third and final race to finish with four points. SS 81 Dreamer, skippered by Luke Camery and crew Brent Camery, placed second with six points. SS 102 Tradewinds, skippered by Fred Scopinich and crew Michael Boone, who won the season’s opening Smith Point Races last month, placed third with eight points.

Hickling, who owns Moriches Island Sailing out of East Moriches, almost didn’t race on Sunday. He had taken that Saturday morning and afternoon off to participate in the original races that were set that day. He had a client set up for that following Sunday morning but that person canceled, allowing him to take part in the races.

“We got out there and we had a good first race, did well on the start,” Hickling explained. “We weren’t ahead that whole race, but managed to pull ahead by the time we crossed the finish line. My cousin Canute has had some time to take sailing lessons with me this summer, and he was very excited to get out there and he did well on the spinnaker.”

After winning the first two races, Hickling had to leave for a client meeting in East Moriches set for noon, so his mother, Deb Dalmasse, helmed the boat and was able to clinch first overall with a second-place finish.

With a busy end of the summer coming up with his business that provides sailing lessons and other opportunities out on the water, Hickling said that will most likely do it for him in terms of the SS Class. The Atwater Trophy Races were the first to factor into the standings for the fabled three-handled mug. Next up are the Horton Trophy Races on August 19 at Shinnecock Yacht Club in Quogue, followed by the Dudley Trophy Races, back at Westhampton Yacht Squadron, on September 2. The boat with the least amount of points after all races will claim the three-handled mug, the prize of the SS Class Association.