Wirth Middleton Munroe (November 29, 1902 – October 21, 1968) was a North American yacht designer and son of Ralph Middleton Munroe.
Munroe was born at the Barnacle, now the Barnacle Historic State Park. In 1933 he married Mary Kimball Poore of Coral Gables and they had two children (William Middleton Munroe and Charles Poore Munroe). He was Commodore of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club 1946–1947, a member of the North American Yacht Racing Union (NAYRU) 1936–1966, and the Cruising Club of America as well as Vice-Commodore of the Miami Proa Club. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Historical Association of Southern Florida (HASF) 1943–1966, and served as President of HASF in 1945.
Boat Designing
Wirth Munroe began designing boats at an early age. Some of his designs, for example the Sea Sailer class were put into mass production. Below is a list of some of the many boats he designed with the earliest known boat name and earliest known owner indicated.
Production boats
Sea Sailer 30' Boats
| Boat Name | Alternative Name/s | Official Number | Earliest Known Owner | Builder/s | Where Built | Launch Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beadacious | Blue Moon | Robin Fung | Hong Kong, B.C.C. | |||
| Blue Moon | Robin Fung | Hong Kong, B.C.C. | ||||
| Encore | Robin Fung | Hong Kong, B.C.C. | ||||
| Fortune Cookie | Puffin Three, B.C.C. | Robin Fung | Hong Kong, B.C.C. | |||
| KYP | KIP, North Star | Robin Fung | Hong Kong, B.C.C. |
OffShore 30 Boats
| Boat Name | Alternative Name/s | Official Number | Earliest Known Owner | Builder/s | Where Built | Launch Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maroa | 202 | Joseph Racicot | Robin Fung | Hong Kong, B.C.C | 1964 | |
| Vellela | Wirth M. Munroe | Robin Fung | Hong Kong, B.C.C. | 1964 |
Other Boats Designed by Wirth Munroe
| Boat Name | Alternative Name/s) | Official Number | Earliest Known Owner | Builder/s | Where Built | Launch | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baloo | Bravo (1973) | 508466 | R.B. Bobo | Arco, Inc. | Miami | 1959 | 33' |
| Blue Stream III | Decision III (1960), Aquarius | Dr. John T.MacDonald, M.Jack Rinehart, Sr. | Richard Richard | Miami | 1948 | 39'11" | |
| Bonnie Doon | Blanche ME Whitlock | Glassco, Inc. | Miami | 1960 | 33'1" | ||
| Cheeta | 295309 | Robery P Brake | Dooley Glander | Perrine, FL | 1964 | 33' | |
| Chere | 128158 | Peter C. Keenan & Richard Walters | Crystalliner S.E. Corp | Miami Beach | 1959 | 33- | |
| Comanche | Jack Price | Warren Bailey | Miami | 1956 | 39'6" | ||
| Daisy | 30' | ||||||
| Delphinus | 505797 | Rear Admiral Robert J. Archer | Robin Fung, Ltd. | Hong Kong, B.C.C. | 1966 | 29'10" | |
| Gaviota | Consolidated | 65' | |||||
| Gaviota II | My Destiny (1960), Mogu | John William Shillain | Symonette Shipyard | Nassau, Bahamas | 1939 | 59' | |
| Island Belle | Virginia Bell, Rebel | 242440 | Gingras Boat Works | Cocoa, FL | 1942 | 60' | |
| Jesting | Glass Marine Ind. Inc. | Costa Mesa, CA | 1964 | 33'1" | |||
| Ketch A Rainbow | Mary B., Rainbow (1973) | Carlos A. Capriles | Miami S.B. Corp. | Miami | 1957 | 46' | |
| Laughing Gull | Samuel A. Gayley | Wirth M. Munroe | Miami | 1933 | 27'6" | ||
| Patience | Scott Rosen | ||||||
| Pirouette | Ralph Ryder, McKenna(?) of Philadelphia | ||||||
| Romany | 276271 | Andrew J. Lavoie | Miami S.B. Corp. | Miami | 1958 | 46' | |
| Sanctuary | 1966 | ||||||
| Sea Itch | Fantail, Holiday | Richardson | Columbia | 33'1" | |||
| Sprite | H.M.Sinclair | Wirth Munroe | 1959 | 27'6" | |||
| Starlight | 281400 | Robert E. Russell | Glassco, Inc | Miami | 1960 | 33'1" | |
| Surprise | Gene Steffens | Bast Boat Builders | Okinawa | 1960 | |||
| Tabasco | John W. Nixon | Glassco, Inc. | Miami Beach | 1959 | |||
| Tern | Benjamin W. Guy, II | Glassco, Inc. | Miami | 1960 | 33'1" | ||
| The Golden Fleece | Douglas & Martha Sager | Glassco, Inc. | Miami | 1960 | 33'1" | ||
| Tobi | Wirth Munroe and Townsend Ludington | Wirth Munroe | Coconut Grove, FL | 1937 | 25' | ||
| Tonga | Errol Flynn | 75' | |||||
| Tranquility | Southwind (1973) | Carleton H. Endemann | Robin Fung Ltd. | Hong Kong, B.C.C. | 1969 | 29'10" | |
| Traveler | Arthur W. Crimmins | Arthur W. Crimmins | Miami | 1950 | 29'11" | ||
| Tropical Disturbance | Wirth Munroe, Walter Croft, Sr. & Robert Lewis | ||||||
| Vincere | J. Afred Grow, Jr. | Arthur W. Crimmins | 1959 | 33'1" | |||
| Un-Named | Carrington Gramling (Attorney) |
References
Data in charts is derived from Lloyd's Register of American Yachts. All other data is derived from interviews with his children, and his father's biography, The Commodore's Story.
- ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2019). "Arco 33 sailboat". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
- ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2019). "Columbia 33 Caribbean sailboat". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2019). "Columbia 34 sailboat". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2019.