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SPECIAL NEWS

PHILIP L RHODES HALL OF FAME NEWS

 January

29, 2005
Dear Philip Rhodes enthusiast,

I am contacting you because you now own or previously owned a sailboat
designed by Philip Rhodes (as do I).  Whether we have a 7 foot Dyer Dink, a
Rhode 19, a 40, 50, 60, or 70 footer,   we all appreciate that one of the
reasons our boats give such joy is that Philip Rhodes was a great designer.

So you will as pleased as I am that Philip Rhodes is being honored as an
initial inductee (along with Olin Stephens) into the North American Boat
Designers Hall of Fame.  The ceremony will take place in Miami, Thursday,
Feb. 17, 5:30 PM.  As an owner or former owner, you are invited to
attend.  You can get more information from the Westlawn Institute which is
sponsoring the event (along with some other organization).  Email:
westlawn@abycinc.org   I can also send you a PDF file with an semi-formal
invitation and directions to the location.

Since there is no Rhodes office now, the actual award will be housed at the
Mystic Seaport Museum (Mystic CT).  As you probably know, Rhodes donated
all his yacht drawings to the Seaport's Ship Plans Collection, so the fact
is that the Seaport has been the actual physical home of the Rhodes legacy
for many years.

I hope that the Seaport will take advantage of this situation to create a
special Rhodes Alcove or Display in one of the public display areas.  I
would expect that the Seaport, like any well-managed non-profit
institution, would take advantage of such a project to do some special fund
raising, and I also expect that many of us owners of Rhodes-designed boats
will want to contribute.  So I'll let you know about this as I learn
more.  (I personally feel that the Mystic Seaport is a wonderful facility,
and I am happy to help them, regardless of the specific purpose.)
http://www.mysticseaport.org

I also can imagine that there would be a special ceremony to dedicate and
open the Rhodes Alcove, and that event could possibly become an opportunity
for an all-Rhodes boat rendezvous in Mystic in July 2006 or 2007.  Needless
to say, this would make sense only if a goodly number of owners wanted to
participate.

You will also be interested that the Philip Rhodes website, which I manage,
continues to grow.  I am continually delighted as I get more information
and photos of more boats, including many beautifully restored classic
wooden boats.  If you haven't visited the website recently, check it you;
you'll be surprised at how it has grown. Of course, please email me with
updates, corrections, etc.
http://astro.temple.edu/%7Ebstavis/pr/rhodes.htm

Best wishes,

Ben Stavis
ben.stavis@verizon.net

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