Flying Cloud #22

"Flying Cloud" was commissioned in 1932 by A. Johnson Grimes. Mr. Grimes wanted a canoe that could be the super canoe "Jay Dee", so he hired John B. Harrison, the builder of "Jay Dee", to build a new canoe. Mr. Harrison built the "Flying Cloud" similar to "Jay Dee" - 5 logs, 35 feet on deck, with a square stern. When "Flying Cloud" was declared ineligible for the Governor's Cup because of the square stern, Mr. Grimes had John D. Harrison "sharpen" her stern to conform with the ruling. She won the Governor's Cup in 1934.

In the 1940's the once proud sailing rig of the "Flying Cloud" was drastically reduced, and she was converted into a pleasure day-sailer. She was outfitted with an engine and a cuddy cabin and cruised and southern Chesapeake until 1952, when she was purchased by the prominent marine artist, John Noble.

Mr. Noble kept her in Bayonne Harbor near his home in Staten Island, New York. He and his family, including his sons John and Allen, used "Flying Cloud" as a day-sailer in trips up and down the Hudson River and around New York Harbor. In 1975 John and Allen Noble brought the "Flying Cloud" back to the Chesapeake, re-rigged her as a racing canoe and continue to race her today.

 

---