Morris Yachts 35th Anniversary
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Morris Yachts 35th Celebration a Triumph! Two hundred owners and guests and 30 plus boats joined in the celebration. It’s All About Sailing! August 17-19 2007 |
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Our 35th Anniversary weekend wrapped up with a group photo and awards breakfast at our Northeast Harbor yard on Sunday, August 19th. The three-day event drew owners as far away as Japan, Texas, Michigan and of course the East Coast. The celebration kicked off Friday with a yard tour of the Trenton Boatbuilding facility. School buses were hired to get the group there. One owner commented that it was the first time he had been on a school bus. After the tours the buses brought folks back to NE Harbor in time for Morris Yacht’s yacht designers - Ocean Series designer Chuck Paine and M-Series designer and President of Sparkman & Stephens Greg Matzat to give a talk on their designs for MorrisYachts. Both these videos will be available on line soon. |
The boats were awarded the following by the esteemed judges: Greg Matzat, President S&S;Chuck Paine, Chuck Paine Yacht Design, Onne van der Wal, photographer, Martha Coolidge, designer and Steve Mullane, Production Manager. After the judging, everyone changed into their glad rags and boarded buses to Bass Harbor for the gala dinner dance.
It was truly a special evening for all who attended. Toasts, tales and kudos were given by owners to the Morris family. Cuyler shared some wonderful remarks and he and his wife Cindy presented a fantastic video presentation of the past 35 years as a boatbuilding family. Will Ratcliff, our GM, then surprised Tom and Cuyler with a video that had been produced for the occasion. Little white lies were told so that Tom and Cuyler would participate – to see video click here.
The 8-piece band Radiance waited patiently for the fireworks presentation to end before launching into the first dance set! The night was clear, star lit and magical for all who attended!
Cuyler Morris and Peter Smith set a course for a start off Greening Island. The fleet of 19 beat up Somes Sound then a reached back with the finish in Norwood Cove where we hoped to form a sunflower raft. Alas it was a day for some great racing but not for rafting up. After the finish, all boats headed back to Northeast Harbor for a lobster bake. Maine Lobster Direct donated some 200 lobsters for the affair! Thank you Lee! And to Steve Cough and his crew at Downeast Lobster Bake for preparing everything to perfection.
At the Awards Breakfast the following morning Cuyler Morris was proud to start a new tradition – the Morris Perpetual Cup was awarded this year to the Morris 45 owned by Andrew von Hirsch. The Cup is a Morris family heirloom. Like all great sporting cups the Morris Cup will be kept at headquarters in Bass Harbor, a plaque with the owner’s name, boat name will be added. Congratulations to Andrew and his team!
Race Results:
1st von Hirsch/Poppea
2nd Stringos/Bluebird
3rd Dingman/Hope
4th Jackson/Journey
5th Harris/Halcyon
6th Roos/Risky Business
7th Kline/Serenity
8th Cameron/M36
9th Cook/Polaris
10th Lannon/Loon
11th Ellman/Next Boat
15th Engelskichen/Fiscal Stray
16th Noyes/Moon Reach
17th – MacKenzie/Salty Spouse
18th – Marchant/Summer Isle
19th Manischewitz/Sheila III
Onne van der Wal and Paul Cronin were on hand to document the day! See the attached link for awesome shots and Paul’s footage is being edited and will be added soon! http://www.vanderwal.com/vanderwal_regattas_travels.aspx
"Welcome! What a glorious day it has been…..look up….thank the heavens!
Its great to see all your smiling faces and we hope you’ve enjoyed your first day of the Morris Yachts 35th anniversary, hard to believe it has been 5 years since we last gathered here in Bass Harbor. When we set the planning wheels in motion over a year ago we had one goal in mind: to create an event that would treat our customers and company to the kind of party we deserve, an unforgettable evening! With this weather, we certainly are off on the right course!
I want to talk briefly about what we believe makes working for and buying a boat from a family owned boatbuilding business such a rewarding experience. As you know Morris Yachts is a family owned company, we believe family owned is the way it should be because family values instill the right kind of principles for guiding a business successfully.
Those principles we value are: care and respect towards our employees and our customers; understanding and support in times of need or sorrow and celebration in times of joy. We are firm when certain situations dictate a strong hand and trusting. Always and above all else we value safety and health for all. These principles are the foundations of successful families and they have been the guiding principles for Morris Yachts over the last 35 and for many years to come.
How do these principles guide us on a daily basis at Morris yachts? In business we need to remain 100% focused and committed to providing outstanding customer service by staying focused and exceeding expectations. Our success depends on the customers and employee satisfaction. Your satisfaction. We must stay focused because if you are happy then you will encourage others to visit Morris Yachts. At the end of the day, customer and employee pride and satisfaction are the keys to Morris’s success. You are all part of this achievement and when these synergies are successfully combined it creates something much bigger than the sum of its parts, something much bigger than what just any company can achieve.
So, tonight is a time for celebration and thoughtful reflection, I urge all of us to step back and look back on all the great moments that we have shared together as family, friends, customers and employees that have brought us to this point, 35 years on! These indelible moments in time have provided the platform for our success; these experiences and the many more to come… will shape Morris Yachts for future generations. …and the boats to come.
In closing I’d simply like to say: Thank you…… to all of my family…. to all of you who build and service our boats…… those who’ve done an incredible job planning this party……. And finally a big thank you to all of our customers for building your dreams with Morris yachts!
Let’s raise a glass to celebrate our joy, our health and our happiness this evening!
Thank you to our Vendors for Sponsoring the Morris 35th!
To Greg Matzat and his crew at Sparkman & Stephens, David Eldridge with Machais Savings, Lee Judd with Marsh Insurance, Tim Taylor with Awlgrip, Dave Winskowicz with Mack Boring, Lucas Dunbar with West Marine, Tom Peelan with Forespar/ Leisure Furl, Eric Goetz and John Boone from Goetz Boats, Steve Cruse with North Sails, Charles Daneko with Winslow Liferaft and also to Raymarine, Chubb Insurance, Mike Jones with Bernier, Beatham & Culprit, and three cheers for Cleave Horton with Seafrost for stocking the Bar and keeping it cold and to Lee Kressbach and Maine Lobster Direct http://www.mainelobsterdirect.com for all the lobster we will enjoy tomorrow!
Your support is greatly appreciated and with out it we would not be able to throw the kind of party we all deserve! Thank you!
I’d also like to thank all the editors attending this event! Mark Pillsbury of Cruising World; Sail Magazine’s Peter Nielsen; Ken Textor of Offshore Magazine, John Hanson at Maine Boats Homes & Harbors Magazine and George Day with Blue Water Sailing."
Schedule of Events
Here is the complete schedule of events
Thursday, August 16th
Check in Bass Harbor and Northeast Harbor 9-4pm
Friday, August 17th
9-4pm – Check in Bass Harbor and Northeast Harbor All day
Northeast Harbor Morris Boat Show, Vendors, lectures and presentations.
10am – Trenton Yard Tours – transportation to be provided.
2pm – Morris Concours d’Elegance – Judging of Morris Yachts
Theme: What Makes Your Morris So Special? Entries must be received by August 1st.
Prizes awarded to every entrant.
Bass Harbor
5:30-7pm – cocktails
7- Midnight – Dinner, Dancing, Fireworks
First Course:
Baby Greens with chevre cheese, toasted pine nuts, Maine cranberries with Balsamic vinaigrette
Buffet:
Northeast Family Farms free range chicken, roasted Provencal style
Maine Atlantic poached salmon with sauce verte Lower case pasta
Fresh Pasta primavera with young vegetables
Roasted new crop small red and white potatoes
Grilled aubergine, zucchini, caramelized carrots, sweet red peppers and summer scallions
Dessert:
35th Anniversary Cakes Coffee and Tea
Transportation to and from Bass Harbor from Northeast Harbor will be provided.
Saturday, August 18
Bass Harbor and Northeast Harbor
Continental Breakfast
Skippers Meeting
Racing and Fleet Review – Everyone attending will be onboard a Morris Yacht. So don’t worry about if you are unable to bring your boat. Raft up Norwood Cove Lobster Bake to be served to Sunflower Raft Menu: 1 ¼ lb steamed Maine lobster, Mussels, corn on the cob, coleslaw, roll and blueberry cake Break up raft before sundown.
Breakup Raft before sundown
Sunday, August 19th
Bass Harbor and Northeast Harbor
Continental Breakfast
A Brief History
1972-1985
Morris Yachts, Inc. has been in business since 1972, when it started as “Thomas D.C. Morris, Yacht Builder”. In 1974, the business moved from Mr. Morris’ home, to a purchased parcel of land in Southwest Harbor, Maine, where the business remained for close to 30 successful years. 1974 was also the year that Morris Yachts began its long affiliation with renowned yacht designer Chuck Paine, of Camden, Maine. This relationship is still in existence today.
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1988 Southwest Harbor. The entire Morris Crew and winter's work.
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The Morris crew poses for a Christmas card on board Concert, a Morris 40
launched fall 1994. |
1986
We were one of approximately 20 boat builders featured in “The World’s Best Sailboats” book by Ferenc Mate. We were also included in the new version of the book in 2003.
1998
Growth in the service business led to the purchase of 14 acres in Bass Harbor, where 4 boat storage buildings were erected.
1999
The former Bass Harbor Marine facility was purchased, and the service and main offices moved from Southwest Harbor. A charter and a brokerage business were also started.
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Morris Yachts at Bass Harbor
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The Trenton production facility
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April 2000
The assets of Trenton Marine were purchased by Morris Yachts to allow us the needed room to expand the boat building operation. The Production shop was moved from Southwest Harbor to Trenton over the course of the next year, and Morris Yachts proceeded to renovate the Trenton buildings, putting approximately $650,000 into the improvement project.
2004-2006
We launched a new line of sailing yachts, the M36 Daysailer, designed by world renowned firm Sparkman & Stephens design. The M36 caused considerable interest in the marketplace, and to date Morris Yachts has sold 33 of these yachts. The interest in the M36 caused us to step up our introduction of the M42, the M36’s big sister, 7 have been sold to date. In 2006, we introduced the new design of the new M52, a full size cruising boat designed by Sparkman & Stephens.
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The M36 and M42
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The M36 at the Dusseldorf Boat Show
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January 2007
Half of the sales team headed west to exhibit the M36 for the first time at the Seattle Boat Show. The other half headed east to Boot Dusseldorf, the world’s largest boat show, again for the first time, introducing the M36 to the world wide audience.
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Sponsors
Morris Yachts would like to extend a tremendous thanks to our partners for
all of their support.
Sponsors
Gifts in Kind:
Chase and Levitt
Donna Lawson Interiors
Maine Boats Homes & Harbors Magazine
M. Pettegrow and Sons
