Richard Dorsey Owings
April 16th, 1950 - November 25th, 2009

Richard Dorsey Owings, of Millington, Md., a lifelong farmer and sailor, died Nov. 25 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. His family was at his side at the time of his passing. He was 59.

Born in Baltimore’s Union Memorial Hospital, the son of Mary Francis and Meredith Dorsey Owings, Dorsey moved to Maryland’s Eastern Shore with his family in 1962 following a year’s adventure aboard a 40-foot sailboat between Annapolis and the Bahamas. That trip, which included competition in the Southern Ocean Racing Circuit with his father, instilled a love of sailing that Dorsey enjoyed throughout his life. He reached the peak of his sailing prowess in 1997 when he and his Seabiscuit team won the J30 national championship staged at Newport Rhode Island. Dorsey and Seabiscuit team won a second J30 National Championship in 2000.

Following the family’s move to the Eastern Shore, Mr. Owings worked side-by-side with his father and sons growing corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa, tomatoes, spinach and hogs on several Kent and Queen Anne county farms. When he wasn’t planting, harvesting or sailing, Mr. Owings enjoyed hunting, fishing and crabbing on the Chester River and being with his friends and family.

Mr. Owings was widely recognized for his invention of the Seabiscuit cocktail, named for his boat, a vodka and tonic drink flavored with a slice of cucumber.

He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Gail Webb Owings; two sons, Marshall Dorsey Owings of Chestertown, Md., and Casey Clinton Owings and his wife Megan of Centreville, Md; his father, Meredith Dorsey Owings of Millington; two sisters, Rebecca Owings Forney and her husband, Dennis, of Lewes, Del., and Elizabeth Howard Owings of Chestertown; a brother, Samuel Sheridan Owings of Church Hill, Md; and his beloved hound dog Rosie.

A memorial service for Mr. Owings will be held 1P. M. Saturday, Dec. 5, at Shrewsbury Parrish Hall, Kennedyville, MD. Donations may be made to Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, or the Chester River Association.
(Reprinted from http://www.fhnfuneralhome.com/)

Dorsey and I first met in the mid 80's at the summer Oxford,Md regatta. He had a J/24 at the time. He asked me if he could call me and talk about J/30's. I had Wooly Bear Hull #2 at the time. He called me at a Dorsey hour of 5:30 am. He later told me he knew I would be home. We became great freinds and after the time came that I sold my boat, I teamed up with him on the J/30 for a short time and then on to the Farr/Mumm 30. Some of you may not know that Dorsey and Gail had purchased another Sea Biscuit, a beautiful trawler on which they were going to cruise during their retirement. Life can be so cruel. To Gail as you know, I have some idea of the problems that face you, I hope that the strength of your family and friends, gets you past this loss. Dorsey's legacy will live forever

I'm having trouble finding a high resolution photo of Dorsey Owings for January's SpinSheet. I only have two days left until we go to print. Does anyone have the originals from the photos above? Thank you!!

you can send photos to molly@spinsheet.com

Terry Rapp, past J/30 Class President wrote a nice article about sailing Seabiscuit at the 2010 Annapolis NOODs in honor of Dorsey. Please see the class website front page to read it. A permanent link is provided here for future reference.