The End of an Era - Scorpio is For Sale

After 13 fantastic years of owning and racing Scorpio, John and Joy Siegel have decided to retire from big boat racing and sell Scorpio to another owner who'd be interested in continuing the successful program we've enjoyed so much.  Team Scorpio has amassed an amazing race record finishing second and third in nearly countless events, and finishing first in nearly all major Northern California regattas.  The team has earned first place finishes in four Rolex Big Boat Series capturing the Keefe-Kilborn, Atlantic, Richard Rheem, and City of San Francisco perpetual trophies with matching Rolex watches.  In addition the team finished first in the Aldo Alessio Perpetual Trophy Regatta, the Ano Nuevo Race, the 2004 Waikiki Offshore Championship, the SCYC Commodore's Regatta, the Stone Cup, the SFYC Leukemia Cup, the SCYC Big Boat Regatta and the SFYC/MPYC Spinnaker Cup.  Scorpio participated in the Singlehanded Farallones, Doublehanded Farallones, Crewed Farallones, and three Pacific Cup races to Hawaii.

Scorpio is a all-out racing machine and has been professionally maintained and upgraded over the years.  For more information about the yacht and her equipment, see Scorpio For Sale Details.

As John Siegel indicated in his message to Scorpio crew and alumni, it's time to focus on other sailing adventures and get more serious about Moore 24 racing.  The excitement and experiences were wonderful, the trophies were great, but the important memories come from the many lifelong friends we made and the camaraderie we enjoyed over the years.  Team Scorpio was truly a team effort!  Some comments from Scorpio crew members in response to this announcement:

John, Sorry to hear this. I had a fantastic time doing the BBS with you all!  Why not make a total change and give the Etchells world a try?? NAs are in San Diego this year and the Worlds next...  Best of luck with whatever keeps you on the water. Say hello to Joy for me.  Jim Gregory

John, Sorry to hear that she's retiring. Scorpio was one of my favorite boats to race.  Matt Soldo

John, Thanks for including me on the Scorpio team.  I have some great pictures, memories, and a few ‘no shit, there I was’ stories to tell.  Yes it has been a great ride. 

Sorry to see the boat go, but that’s the way it is.  Hope all is well with you and Joy. 

Malcolm Brown

No surprise John, but the thanks go to both of you for five (?) fantastic years campaigning in the bay area. We feel lucky to have been part of a great team and will cherish many excellent memories. To say nothing of the friends we have picked up along the way.

Mahalo nui loa, Marcy

John,

You don't have to retire--I know where you can get a great deal on a slightly-used TP65.....

Don & Katie--from warm and sunny Trinidad

John, Joy and all the crew of the yacht Scorpio,

I sense the end of an era. 

When I think about sailing in the last decade certainly the placeholder for me is Big Boat Series Racing on Scorpio in September.  It doesn't get much better than that.  I know for a fact that many other good boats over the years have measured their success by how well they could hang with us.  Rating grumblings aside, we made our competitors earn any success they had against us.  That is the most we can hope to achieve from competing.  We may not have always been the best, but we were always hard to beat!

John and Joy, I can only guess at the effort that was required to maintain Scorpio and keep a good crew intact.  You have done a stellar job over the years and I for one have enjoyed sailing with everyone who has come on board.  Thanks for the pleasure of all your company.  There has been a lot of talent and a lot of great people that have passed through.  Good on you for setting the gold standard for a yacht racing program.  Needless to say, if you find yourselves with a boat in need of a crew, I hope you won't hesitate to call.

Best of luck to all, and if there is anything I can do help, please let me know.  Bren

Hi John and Joy,
I'm sorry to hear this news. It's the end of a great era and I'm sure it was a difficult decision. You've run an excellent program for many, many years and I've sincerely enjoyed and appreciated being part of it - especially the midnight to three watches during Pac Cup squalls. It's amazing to think about everything you've done and all that you've accomplished with Scorpio. Thank you for countless miles of great racing and countless memories that will last a lifetime.
Let's drink a toast to Scorpio sometime soon.

Thanks again, Geoff McDonald

John, I know that must be a bittersweet feeling after so many memories.  Congrats on reaching that decision. It was a great ride.

Take care, Scott Sellers

John, I am not surprised by the news ... but it's still a bit sad.  It was a privilege to sail on Scorpio and wonderful to be with such a great team.  Thanks again for some wonderful sailing experiences. 

Nancy Blum

John and Joy and Everybody,

Bren is right, it is the end of an era.  In this age of throw-away Farr 40s and paid professionals,  it is all the more impressive.  Here comes the Scorpio program, a second-hand boat, not built for racing, donated once to charity, with sails off a Chinese junk, electric winches (shudda kept ‘em, says Scott Easom), and at least an 80-pound stove, and John starts in, building the program one crew member at a time, one sail at a time, one new idea here, one gadget there, until he has a house-full of trophies and a million fantastic memories.

If someone told me to take the Scorpio program and boil it down to one single word, one word that captures what Scorpio is and what it means to me, it would be “Timeless”.   Starting with Tom Wylie’s genius, the boat just kept getting better and better, no matter what the competition or the handicap rules threw at us.  We won BBS and other major events under PHRF, St. Francis modified PHRF, IMS, AmeriCap, and IRC (correct me if I left something out.)  Five rules and over ten years of racing.  You might get a lucky rating once, but every time the rule changed, we didn’t reconfigure the boat, we just sailed harder and found another way to win.

Best memory, the 2004 Waikiki Cup.  They INVENTED that for Scorpio’s pure pleasure.

Worst memory, seeing (another) photographer climb aboard to film our BBS practice and wondering what was going to fail/blow up/shrimp/explode/meltdown now.

What I asked for for Christmas;  a gift card (I got two) to Aaron Brothers frame shop in SF so I could mount more Scorpio pictures in order to keep “Timeless” going even longer.

Fair Winds and Following Seas, Scorpio, where ever the tide takes you next.  Toby

Oh brother!  It won't be the same not sailing with you or against you!  You will certainly be missed! 

I hope it all plays out for the best for you.  It will still be nice seeing you at the Fiasco, the Ditch run, Huntington, etc.  Did you hear?  We're getting new downwind ratings for the Ditch Run.  I think it's the right idea, we'll see how they treat us all.  I'm sure my response will be to complain loudly and have fun. 

Hi to Joy, 

Kim Desenberg

Well ... Scorpio will always have a special place in my heart. good times, good crew and great ownership.

John having watched programs come and go, I will always be proud of being a part of the Scorpio crew and have great respect for the effort you and Joy put into making it a great program.

I will have to gather my thoughts more, am a little shocked at the news. 

John Buchanan

John and all - thanks for having me out back in 2008.  It was an education and fun to be part of such a well run program and sail with such nice people.  I'm sure I'll see you out in the Moore fleet.  Speaking of which, good luck in the 3BF. 

 Erik Menzel

John; We sailed Transpacs together, the potato boat (Hawkfarm) in the early days and your trend with Scorpio and the Moore.  Although not part of your regular buoy crew on Scorpio we sailed hard over the past twenty plus years; you putting together the optimum team and positioning yourself as a well respected and accomplished sailor. Thanks for having me on the 1998 Pacific Cup.  My hats off to you for becoming one of the acknowledged sailors here in northern California within the big boat fleet as well as a respected m-24 sailor. Its great to watch as one surpassed most of us in becoming somewhat of an icon. Your skill and knowledge is well recognized. I truly respect your accomplishments and savoir the memory of the 40+ knots Doublehanded Farallones race years ago; wondering if we should go back or continue as gear started to fail; thanks for finishing that race, it was for the record books. Sideways in the middle of the night, spinnaker in the water somewhere between here and Hawaii and monitoring your progress as you charged forward with the aluminum castaway boat built for a different era. Your tenacity, skill and perseverance is your legacy. Great job and I trust the Scorpio will continue to pound the waters of the Pacific for years to come. My good friend, great job, great sailor and I look forward to sailing with you this year.   

Darrel Louis

Thanks for having me along.

So who's boat are we going to "borrow" for spin cup?  

Sean

It seems trite and yet... and or This won't be ur eulogy...
 

Thank you to all that participated while I was along for the ride.  John, despite our differences towards the end, knowingly or not launched-my career in to G2Marine as my first official client.  I doubt, that regardless of the fact I'm employed on power boats - I would be in this position today... Captain of a 100' Motor Yacht., as the participant in a bonefide/multi-venue program comes up more often than you'd think...

Marcy, Toby, Bren, Nancy, Geoff, Don, Tom and others were new "friends" developed via this program. 

Marcy has was/been instrumental in the success at Waikiki Off Shores, and subsequent regattas in the key position of pit. - Thank you Marcy for traveling 2000+miles (each way) to each event to join us!  You're a super star!
Many great memories over thousands of great miles - like when Toby said "they found the secret to Scorpio's speed... ten year old  Sobstad sails cracked off upwind or tales of a great seamonster chasing us (referencing return trips from Hawaii) .  Or representing Area G at US Sailing Offshore Championship in Annapolis. 

Through every person that participated, John's openness to accept everyone for their individual strengths is what generates that team strength and spirit.   Always open to new ways & ideas, willing to commit the fiscal dollars from theory to practice... That transforms the individual to greater heights.    

 GW

Bye Bye Scorpio! The bay will miss her!
So glad I got to be a tiny part of it - Chris Sidner

Hey John,

You and Scorpio had a good run...nothing wrong with moving on.

See you next weekend for the Three Bridge. 

Tom Conerly

John & Joy, I figure it's time that I weighed in.  You guys may not realize it, but I really had a great time sailing with you out west.  If I hadn't met you, who knows what chump ride I might have found.  I believe that it was Toby who said that you set the gold standard in how a program should be run, and he's absolutely correct.

When I first heard that you were planning to end your Scorpio program, the first thing I did was copy the Team Scorpio website so I could always have a list of results, race reviews, pictures, etc.                                             

I fondly remember my few short years in San Francisco, and it has an awful lot to do with racing with you guys on Scorpio and Moorigami.  From crew to boat preparation to off-the-water activities, you guys really know how to sail fast and have fun.  To this day I compare Scorpio's program to other programs here in the northeast, and none have measured up.  Scorpio's results certainly prove that the way the program was managed worked exceptionally well.  The little things really added up - the fid at the bow, the dehumidifier to keep everything dry, Joy banding and packing those wet chutes to make it easy for me up on the bow, flaking the jib on the run to make the next headsail selection painless, crew planning and logistics, GW's pole topping-lift line extension to allow easy clearing of the topping lift without having to go up on the bow, the jib hanks before they became popular...  I even asked John for some pictures a few years ago so I could replicate some of Scorpio's systems on boats I'm racing in the northeast.

I learned an incredible amount, and I'm thrilled to have been able to sail with the Scorpio team.  I had such a good time racing on the Bay that I chartered a boat and proposed to my wife on the water so that she could [somewhat] experience what I did.




Best memories:

• Helping on the mark boat with John at some St. Francis regatta after recovering from my motorcycle accident.  It's how I got my "in" to sail with the team.  Racing on Moorigami followed - where are the lifelines?
• My baptism by fire on Scorpio in Santa Cruz.  In particularly rough conditions for this Long Island Sound east coast sailor, I recall heading to the bow for a spinnaker jibe in about 25 knots of breeze.  The bow was digging in, and everyone was yelling for me to return aft as the water washed down the deck.
• 2002 Big Boat Series, while racing under Americap.  This was a regatta where I really got to see high-caliber racing and what the great teams did to excel.  We fought for 1st with a Sydney 38 and a Farr 395, both brand-new hot boats at the time.  My memory grows foggy, but I believe we lost the regatta on a tiebreaker with the Farr after a contested race (with lots of reaching) where we finished ahead of the Farr by 2 minutes but they somehow corrected out over us.
• 2003 SFYC/MPYC Spinnaker Cup - my then-fiancée Katie and I rented a room at a local B&B for a quiet weekend in Monterey.  I thought we'd be in Monterey by about 8 pm.  Katie was waiting for me at the dock when we ghosted across the finish line at 12:30/1 am the following morning.  Fortunately, the crew allowed me to leave before the boat was fully put away for the evening...
• The delivery from San Francisco back down to Santa Cruz with John & Jillian - easy downwind sailing, reeling off the miles.
• Keeping up with the Santa Cruz 50s upwind in waves and breeze.  Of course, it was a different story once they started to head downwind...
• Watching Scorpio charge out of SF Bay at the start of the 2002 Pac Cup after issues before the start with the ?main halyard?.