Association 

Sparkman & Stephens Finland Association

The Sparkman & Stephens Association is a global community formed by the owners and admirers of the Sparkman & Stephens yachts designed in New York. The association was established in England at the Cowes Classic Rally in 1993 and quickly expanded to several countries. Members have a common interest in fast, seaworthy and beautiful Sparkman & Stephens boats. The annual meeting of the association is usually held in the nearby area of Europe. In Finland, Sparkman & Stephens Association has operated for nearly 20 years.

Our mission is to promote the visibility and sailing of the magnificent S&S boats, as well as the owners’ cooperation in sailing and boat maintenance. The aim is also to get all S&S boats sailing in Finland and their owners as members to complete the international register. We hold a beautiful flag of the association under the starboard’s spreader. There are about 300 members in Europe, Australia, USA and Japan. Finland is well represented: Sparkman & Stephens yachts registered in the association are sailing nearly 90 in our waters.

In Finland, most of the boats belonging to the association are the so-called Classic Swans which are designed by the Sparkman & Stephens and built by Nautor in 1967-1982, S&S 6.6 and Antilla boats built by Eino “Eikka” Antintoja. The fleet includes also IW 31 boats, S&S 34 and 40 boats which are built in Sweden. And also Blue Bird 25s built by Sandell & Mäntymäki and several custom-built boats. Many of these are real pearls of design and construction.

The community of the Finnish Sparkman & Stephens Association is very active so members have an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences on sailing and boat maintenance. The Finnish Association meets three times a year: a Renovation Meeting in November, a Travel Sailing Meeting in March and the Eikka’s Beat Race in August.