Month: March 2022

1st Annual UYC Stocker Race – Thoughts by Linda Colgan, Pictures by UseppaGin – On March 19th of this year, the Useppa Yacht Club catboat fleet sailed in the 1st Annual Kurt and Kathleen Stocker Trophy Race. Eight boats raced three times round the island. The Stockers’ two children, Jennifer and Peter, gave the trophy in memory of their parents, to be given to the winner of the race and engraved with the names of both skipper and crew. Ed King was this year’s winning skipper sailing with Kim Lockhart. Fittingly, the day was one of Useppa’s finest, with fair winds and bright blue skies. Kurt and Kathleen would be happy. Enjoy pictures of the race and pictures taken over the years of Kurt and Kathleen.

Saint Patrick’s Day Island Style – Thoughts and Pictures by UseppaGin – Led by the Fire Department, decorated golf carts filled with friends, children, parents, and grandparents paraded up and down the beach. Other Islanders including Great-grandmother Keekee cheered them on. Judges were old time Useppans who once upon a time strutted and marched themselves. Their smiles were just as big handing out awards. The Grand Prize Winners were two carts… The Oseppa Man and The Oseppa Woman. Spirits of Useppa are still shaking their heads. It was a day filled with just the right amount of blarney and fun.

Brrrrrrr…Memories of Winter on Useppa – Pictures and Thoughts by UseppaGin – Cold days, some only in the 70’s. Stiff breezes that only experienced Catboat sailors could navigate. Lunch reservations needed on the Collier patio. Families together by the pool, walking the Pink Path, hellos and goodbyes said with hugs on the Marina dock. A new plaque in the Collier Garden honors modern Useppa steward Gar Beckstead. Winter on Useppa is a gift.

Firehouse Pancake Breakfast – Thoughts and Pictures by UseppaGin – Pancakes and Firemen. It doesn’t get any better (unless you ask the kids who also got to climb on the firetruck, fire off the big hose). Islanders – staff, homeowners, and guests all gathered for an early Wednesday morning Firehouse pancake breakfast. Even with mouths full, we couldn’t stop smiling. We were all together with Useppa’s new Fire Chief Robert McGilloway and his assistants Firemen Ricky and Joe. New Useppans were welcomed. Old Timers felt even more at home. Thank you to the Useppa Island Volunteer Fire Department. Thank you to those flipping pancakes. Thank you for old fashioned hospitality.

Cynthia Barnett and The Sound of the Sea on Useppa – Thoughts and Pictures by UseppaGin – Useppa shell mounds were built hundreds of years ago by Calusa Indians, lived on then and lived on now. Saturday night, February 26th, award winning environmental journalist Cynthia Barnett spoke to an intimate gathering at the Barbara Sumwalt Museum about her book The Sound of the Sea… seashells and the fate of the oceans. Shells have been collected for a hundred thousand years. “They were money before coins, jewelry before gems, art before canvas.” Barnett spoke with reverence, humor, and scientific knowledge about the shells we see everywhere on the island, about shells found worldwide.