A fire destroyed the Edgewood Yacht Clubhouse — home to the University's nationally ranked co-ed sailing team — but members of the team say they do not expect the fire to adversely affect their season.
While the team lost approximately $60,000 in equipment in the Jan. 12 fire, none of the boats were damaged, said Head Coach John Mollicone. Members of the team lost personal racing equipment, new lockers, uniforms, boat supplies and coaching equipment, along with the numerous trophies and All-American plaques it had collected over decades. Losing the trophies "is pretty heart breaking. We'll never be able to duplicate them," Mollicone said. "Luckily, we didn't lose anything we need to sail our boats."
The clubhouse, built over the Providence River in Cranston, had weathered the elements since 1908 before bursting into flames during a snowstorm. Lightning may have struck the building, Kevin Morris, Cranston's acting fire marshal told the Providence Journal Jan. 14. Firefighters succeeded in limiting the blaze to the clubhouse, sparing the surrounding docks and all but 10 feet of the catwalk leading out to the water, according to a statement released by Jeff Lamphear, Edgewood's commodore.
The loss of the building came as a shock to members of the Edgewood Yacht Club and the Brown Sailing Team, Mollicone said. The team rented two locker rooms and a classroom at Edgewood. Everything stored and displayed there was destroyed in the fire, he said.
Half of the team's boats were stored in the parking lot 200 feet away from the clubhouse, and the rest were flipped over on the docks, said Fred Strammer '11, a former captain of the team. After the fire, team members helped Mollicone shovel snow off the docks and take the powerboats for maintenance. Team member Colin Smith '13 said it was "pretty sad" to see the clubhouse burned down, but added, "(The fire) shouldn't affect us at all, really. All of our boats, our most important assets, are fine."
Mollicone said he is working with the Edgewood Yacht Club and the Athletics Department at Brown to find a temporary shelter for the sailing team so that it can continue to sail out of Edgewood's docks.
"Our immediate concern is to get Brown sailing back on the water," said Sue Toland, vice-commodore of Edgewood.
The sailing team will move into a 24-by-36 foot heated trailer on Edgewood's property and use it as a temporary classroom and changing area. "It's our base for now," Mollicone said. "It will be a minor inconvenience not having the setup we had, but we'll get through it." He said that the team wants to stay at Edgewood and support the yacht club.
Mollicone said he expects the team to be able to practice at Edgewood before their first race Feb. 26 and 27. He said the "overwhelming" support of parents and alumni helped ease the transition. "The school has been really great helping us get back on our feet," Mollicone added. "I don't think we're going to miss a beat."
Plans to host the Women's Brad Dellenbaugh Trophy in April remain unaffected even though the physical trophy melted in the fire. "We will make accommodations as best as we can," Toland said. "We really like having Brown (at Edgewood). They are real good, good kids."
The team has sailed out of Edgewood since 1974. "It was basically our home," Smith said. The clubhouse was added to the National Historic Register in 1989 and was the oldest yacht clubhouse in Rhode Island.
"It was an icon for Brown sailing for a very long time," Strammer said. "It is devastating to see it go."
Edgewood Yacht Club will work with the city of Cranston and the Coastal Resources Management Council to rebuild the boathouse. Toland said the first step will be to clear the site and reconnect the catwalk to the docks. "The pilings are there, we just need to make good use of them," she said. Their offices will relocate to a cottage the club owns on the same property.
"The building is gone, but the club is still here," said Toland. "It's the right group of people to steer that thing and get it done. It will take a lot of money and effort, but it will be totally worth it. We're highly optimistic."
