Wirth Munroe Explained

Wirth Middleton Munroe (November 29, 1902 – October 21, 1968) was a North American yacht designer and son of Ralph Middleton Munroe.

Munroe was born at the Barnacle, now the Barnacle Historic State Park. In 1933 he married Mary Kimball Poore of Coral Gables and they had two children (William Middleton Munroe and Charles Poore Munroe). He was Commodore of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club 1946–1947, a member of the North American Yacht Racing Union (NAYRU) 1936–1966, and the Cruising Club of America as well as Vice-Commodore of the Miami Proa Club. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Historical Association of Southern Florida (HASF) 1943–1966, and served as President of HASF in 1945.

Boat Designing

Wirth Munroe began designing boats at an early age. Some of his designs, for example the Sea Sailer class were put into mass production. Below is a list of some of the many boats he designed with the earliest known boat name and earliest known owner indicated.

Production boats

Sea Sailer 30' Boats

Boat NameAlternative Name/sOfficial NumberEarliest Known OwnerBuilder/sWhere BuiltLaunch Date
BeadaciousBlue MoonRobin FungHong Kong, B.C.C.
Blue MoonRobin FungHong Kong, B.C.C.
EncoreRobin FungHong Kong, B.C.C.
Fortune CookiePuffin Three, B.C.C.Robin FungHong Kong, B.C.C.
KYPKIP, North StarRobin FungHong Kong, B.C.C.

OffShore 30 Boats

Boat Name Alternative Name/sOfficial NumberEarliest Known OwnerBuilder/sWhere BuiltLaunch Date
Maroa202Joseph RacicotRobin FungHong Kong, B.C.C1964
VellelaWirth M. Munroe Robin FungHong Kong, B.C.C. 1964

Other Boats Designed by Wirth Munroe

Boat NameAlternative Name/s)Official NumberEarliest Known Owner Builder/sWhere BuiltLaunchLength
BalooBravo (1973)508466R.B. BoboArco, Inc. Miami195933'
Blue Stream IIIDecision III (1960), AquariusDr. John T.MacDonald, M.Jack Rinehart, Sr.Richard RichardMiami194839'11"
Bonnie DoonBlanche ME WhitlockGlassco, Inc.Miami196033'1"
Cheeta295309Robery P BrakeDooley GlanderPerrine, FL196433'
Chere128158Peter C. Keenan & Richard WaltersCrystalliner S.E. CorpMiami Beach195933-
ComancheJack PriceWarren BaileyMiami195639'6"
Daisy30'
Delphinus505797Rear Admiral Robert J. ArcherRobin Fung, Ltd.Hong Kong, B.C.C.196629'10"
GaviotaConsolidated65'
Gaviota IIMy Destiny (1960), MoguJohn William ShillainSymonette ShipyardNassau, Bahamas193959'
Island BelleVirginia Bell, Rebel242440Gingras Boat WorksCocoa, FL194260'
JestingGlass Marine Ind. Inc. Costa Mesa, CA196433'1"
Ketch A RainbowMary B., Rainbow (1973)Carlos A. CaprilesMiami S.B. Corp.Miami195746'
Laughing GullSamuel A. GayleyWirth M. MunroeMiami193327'6"
PatienceScott Rosen
PirouetteRalph Ryder, McKenna(?) of Philadelphia
Romany276271Andrew J. LavoieMiami S.B. Corp.Miami195846'
Sanctuary1966
Sea ItchFantail, HolidayRichardsonColumbia33'1"
SpriteH.M.SinclairWirth Munroe195927'6"
Starlight281400Robert E. RussellGlassco, IncMiami196033'1"
SurpriseGene Steffens Bast Boat BuildersOkinawa1960
TabascoJohn W. NixonGlassco, Inc.Miami Beach1959
TernBenjamin W. Guy, IIGlassco, Inc.Miami196033'1"
The Golden FleeceDouglas & Martha SagerGlassco, Inc.Miami196033'1"
TobiWirth Munroe and Townsend LudingtonWirth Munroe Coconut Grove, FL193725'
TongaErrol Flynn75'
TranquilitySouthwind (1973)Carleton H. EndemannRobin Fung Ltd.Hong Kong, B.C.C.196929'10"
TravelerArthur W. CrimminsArthur W. CrimminsMiami195029'11"
Tropical DisturbanceWirth Munroe, Walter Croft, Sr. & Robert Lewis
VincereJ. Afred Grow, Jr.Arthur W. Crimmins195933'1"
Un-NamedCarrington Gramling (Attorney)

The Barnacle Historic State Park

References

Data in charts is derived from Lloyd's Register of American Yachts. All other data is derived from interviews with his children, and his father's biography, The Commodore's Story.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Arco 33 sailboat. 29 November 2019. McArthur. Bruce . sailboatdata.com. 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20181125231724/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/arco-33. 25 November 2018.
  2. Web site: Columbia 33 Caribbean sailboat . 30 November 2019. McArthur. Bruce . sailboatdata.com. 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20181125231742/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/columbia-33-caribbean. 25 November 2018.
  3. Web site: Columbia 34 sailboat . 29 November 2019. McArthur. Bruce . sailboatdata.com. 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20181125231739/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/columbia-34 . 25 November 2018.