SCIRA Emblems and Insignias

The first drawing of a Snipe sailboat, in 1931, included a wheel as a sail emblem because it was designed to comply with the rules for the “Florida Trailer Class”. But that emblem never made it onto any real boat.

Bill Crosby soon designed the Snipe silhouette, which is now a trademark of SCIRA, and it became the official class insignia, published in the rulebooks.

In 1956, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the class, Executive Secretary Birney Mills asked for submissions for a SCIRA logo. These three are in the archives:

But Snipe insignias for display on clothing were not adopted until May 1957, when a design was published in the Snipe Bulletin for a patch with a bright red Snipe embroidered on dark blue felt, surrounded by yellow braid.

The emblem was 2 ½ inches x 1 ½ inches and suitable for wear by all class members on caps, pockets of blazers, jackets, sweaters, etc.

In 1958, official SCIRA rank flags were flown for the first time, at the U.S. National Championship hosted by Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club. The burgees were made of silk. They were rectangular, described in the Snipe Bulletin as: blue with a red Snipe and three white stars for the Commodore; red with a blue Snipe and two white stars for the Vice Commodore; and white with a blue Snipe and one blue star for the Rear Commodore.

These officer´s rank flags were followed by rank patches for pockets of blazers, with the Commodore wearing three stars and the Executive Secretary wearing two stars.

Though there have been some minor changes in designs over the years, SCIRA now has five rank patches. Each is the traditional emblem, with the words EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR for the executive director; BOARD for board members; three gold stars for the Commodore; two gold stars for the Vice Commodore; and three silver stars for the Past Commodore.

A New Emblem

In 1964, it was decided that an official emblem should be adopted. At the request of the commodore A.F. Hook, a contest was opened.

The contest committee was formed by Paul Zent, David Caperton, Robert L. Randall and John Call Jr., all from Indianapolis, Indiana.

As explained in the August 1966 “Snipe Bulletin”, the top three drawings selected were taken to the 1965 World Championship in Las Palmas, Spain, and displayed for comment and criticism. After some discussions, Aarno Walli, National Secretary of Finland (and a famous musician, by the way) offered to have his brother, Osmo Walli, a professional graphic designer, submit a design that reflected sailor input. After the new design met with universal favor, it passed into the hands of Marcia Schroeder, a very talented artist from Indianapolis, who scaled and refined the drawing and recommended colors for the final design.

When Snipe sailors arrived at the Trophy Room of the Hook’s Drug Service Center of Indianapolis in November 1965 for the Annual Meeting of the International Snipe Class, there was a large colored form behind the head table. It was received with pleasure and applause when it was unveiled as the final official emblem of the International Snipe Class.

The emblem was published in the August 1966 Snipe Bulletin

The new emblem was inmediately available for all class members to use on pocket patches, bottle caps, matches, and all types of merchandise.

Member were soon using the emblem widely.

Dress protocol for officers was published in 1979 by Commodore Bruce H. Colyer that included the patch in point 1: “Always have a dark blue blazer with your appropiate officer’s patch.”