John Rose - Snipe Sailor

John Rose started sailing Snipes in 1948 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. That was right after World War II and people were just beginning to think about what they could do for fun. Over the next 10 years the fleet exploded from 8 boats to over 50 and John started winning races and then regattas in the mid-West. John's always loved wooden Snipes and he saw the change coming when the fiberglass Snipe was introduced in 1954. It took 13 years of constant development before the first glass boat won a National Championship in 1967. His love of wooden boats is still there. He worked hard to make the Wooden Snipe Rally at this year's Snipe Masters a success. There were wooden boats there that had been lovingly restored to better than new condition with owners who could tell you just exactly what the pedigree of their boat was and the changes from the original construction made to it over the years.