Over FIFTY years ago! ... 1957

It was a collaborative effort between Charley Morgan and Charlie Hunt that the two dreamer, shipmate, sailing buddies conjured up and built their design of BRISOTE, ... the 32', plywood, "mix & match", yawl that won her way into offshore racing history during 1957, ... winning silver in the famous ocean race from St. Petersburg, Fl to the finish line at the famous, El MORO Castle at Havana, Cuba. BRISOTE'S winning ways effectively launched the yacht designing careers of the two young men and, ... the eventual founding of The MORGAN YACHT Corporation.

Here, BRISOTE is shown stretching her legs on her very first sail as she streaks, just in time, to the start of the 1957 race to Cuba finishing at the fabled, El Moro's Light at the entrance to Havana's Harbor.

The eerie picture above shows the late Charlie Hunt and Charley Morgan hard at work on the design of BRISOTE. The two sailing chums had made a model that they towed at night in Lake Wales so the flash would give good contrast to show the wave pattern.

Eleanor Hunt picked up the camera forgetting to advance the film got this candid double exposure shot yielding a dream-like photo of the soon to be infamous little Yawl.

BRISOTE'S crew members were:

Upper row: Bill McElmuray and Charles M. Hunt, Jr.
Middle row: Edwin Richards and Spencer McCourtney (Owner)
Lower row: Harold S, Balcom and Charles E. (Charley) Morgan, Jr.
*Here, BRISOTE is shown stretching her legs on her very first sail as she streaks, just in time, to the start of the 1957 race to Cuba finishing at the fabled, El Moro's Light at the entrance to Havana's Harbor.


Edwin Richards, Charley Morgan, Owner, Spencer McCourtney, Lula Richards and the late Charlie Hunt live it up at the Trophy Presentation at the Havana Yacht Club.

BRISOTE sailed on in many offshore races on Florida's west coast winning more laurels to the consternation of the "old guard" ocean racing "establishment", doing so in all kinds of weather and conditions. Collaborative design efforts of Hunt and Morgan did not end here, later joint efforts of the two brought more success with Hunt forming Small Craft Corporation and his MELODY series of yachts that won the Chicago Mackinaw races two or three times and the Lake Michigan "Boat of the Year" award. Watch the CHANTYMAN for a more detailed story about BRISOTE, the impudent little yawl that had begun events leading to Charley Morgan's design of PAPER TIGER and later, together with his grammar school buddy and sailing chum, Bruce Bidwell, their founding of the Morgan Yacht Corporation in what was to become and exciting and rewarding adventure.


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