SCIRA

The Snipe Class International Racing Association (SCIRA) is the governing body for the Snipe class in the sport of sailing, recognized as an international class by World Sailing.

Snipe Class International Racing Association

Sport	Sailing
Abbreviation	SCIRA
Founded	1932; 93 years ago (1932)
Affiliation	World Sailing
Headquarters	2812 Canon Street, San Diego, CA 92106
Other key staff	Jerelyn Biehl (executive director)
Commodore	Martín Bermúdez de la Puente
Official website
www.snipe.org

History

SCIRA was established in November 1932, and Hub E. Isaacks of Snipe fleet number 1 at Dallas Sailing Club was the first commodore.^[1] In March 1933, SCIRA chartered fleet number 8 to the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club in Dover Harbour, Kent, becoming the first fleet established outside the United States.^[2] By 1936, the Snipe class became the world's largest racing class.^[3]

Board officers

Jerelyn Biehl, the paid, full-time executive firector, runs the class association office.^[4]

The SCIRA Board of Governors holds bi-annual meetings, usually during the World Championship.

Board of governors
Voting members
Officer	Name	Tenure	Period
Commodore	Martín Bermúdez de la Puente	2 years	2025–26
Vice commodore	Paola Prada	2 years	2025–26
Secretary	Taylor Scheuermann	2 years	2025–26
Treasurer	Yannick Laumans	4 years	2023–26
Rules chairman	Antonio Bari	4 years	2023–26
General secretary – Europe	Manuel Stichini Vilela	2 years	2025–26
General secretary – WH&O	Alberto Prieto	2 years	2025–26
Non-voting members
Officer	Name	Tenure	Period
Chief measurer	Luis González Álvarez	3 years	2025–28
Chief information officer	Don Bedford	No limit	2013–
Vice Rules chairman		No limit
Executive director	Jerelyn Biehl	No limit	1993–
Legal counsel	Leigh Savage	No limit

Past commodores

Former SCIRA commodores:^[5]

Period Commodore 1933   Hub E. Isaacks 1934   M. J. Davis 1935   A. H. Bosworth 1936   M. S. A. Reichner 1937   Harry Lund 1938   G. Q. McGown, Jr. 1939   Taver Bayly 1940   H. R. Schuette 1941   Perry Bass 1942–43   C. R. Miller 1944   W. G. Green 1945   George Becker 1946   Charles Heinzerling 1947–48   Donald R. Simonds 1949   Harold Griffith 1950   Roy T. Hurley 1951   John T. Hayward 1952   Owen E. Duffy 1953   Carl Zimmerman 1954   Ted A. Wells 1955   Eddie Williams 1956   Harold L. Gilreath 1957   Terry Whittemore 1958   Fred Schenck 1959   Alan Levinson 1960   Edward Garfield 1961   F. V. G. Penman 1962   Sam W. Norwood 1963   Floyd E. Hughes 1964–65   A. F. Hook

Period Commodore 1966–67   Basil Kelly 1968–69   Robert Schaeffer 1970   Ángel Riveras 1971   William M. Kilpatrick 1972   Richard L. Tillman 1973–74   Ralph M. Swanson 1975   Stuart L. Griffing 1976   Svend Rantil 1977   Dan Williams 1978   Bruce Colyer 1979   Flavio Caiuby 1980   Gonzalo E. Diaz Sr. 1981   Paul F. Festersen 1982   Arturo Delgado 1983   Douglas DeSouza 1984   Eugene T. Tragus 1985   Roberto J. Salvat 1986–87   Wayne Soares 1988   Jerry Thompson 1989   Per Ole Holm 1990   Peter Fenner 1991   R. Means Davis 1992   Fujiya Matsumoto 1993   Terry Timm 1994   Horacio Garcia Pastori 1995   Jimmie Lowe 1996   Giorgio Brezich 1997   Gonzalo Diaz Jr. 1998   Akibumi Shinoda 1999   Lee Griffith

Period Commodore 2000   Id Crook 2001   Bertel Bojlesen 2002   Birger Jansen 2003   Brainard Cooper 2004   Jiro Yamamoto 2005   Henrique Motta 2006–07   Robert Dunkley 2008–09   Pedro Garra 2010–11   Luis Pessanha 2012–13   Don Bedford 2014–15   Ricardo Lobato 2016–17   Gweneth Crook 2018–19   Pietro Fantoni 2020–22   Luis Soubié 2023–24   Zbigniew Rakocy

•  
  Ted Wells, 1954 commodore.
•  
  Birger Jansen, 2002 commodore.
•  
  Pietro Fantoni, 2018-19 commodore.

References

1. "International Snipe Class". Snipe Sailing in Texas.
2. "80th Anniversary celebration of Dover Snipe Fleet No 8". Yachts & Yachting.
3. "Scuttlebutt" (PDF). Atlanta Yacht Club.
4. "Class Officers, Board Members and Executive Director". Snipe.org.
5. Past Commodores