Team East Greenwich/Upper Bay RI - Bill Demos, Skipper

Team Renegade has seen many faces come and go, but its strong Demos family base has made this group a success. The Renegade team is comprised always of a winning competitive spirit, with unified camaraderie, and an enduring respect for the sport and admiration for those we sail with. Harry Hawker and Evan Salvo are two essential members of the team as they help put us on the right side of the course with Harry finding the wind and Evan keeping us all on an even keel.

Two generations of sailors are the foundation of the team, and although there have been many confrontations throughout the years, the arrangement has survived. Two brothers, Greg and Tim Demos, are now grown up with lives and careers of their own, but still manage to make time for sailing. Through high school and college, both Greg and Tim taught and coached sailing at various local yacht clubs. Bill Demos, AKA the Renegade, developed his passion for sailing later in life. Bill's love for this sport began with the purchase of a Snark, which for those of you who have never heard of such a craft, is/was a fifteen-foot molded Styrofoam boat with a main and jib. Bill kept his pride and joy on the beach just down the road from where the family lived in Connecticut and at every opportunity he would straight-line race his buddy who owned a Force Five. Tiring of the Snark in one season, Bill purchased a Venture 25 and tried his hand at cruising. Sue, Bill's wife was terrified of the way her husband would drive the boat, thus the name Renegade. This, combined with the lack of wind in Long Island Sound and Bill's inability to actually reach a destination, led to the failure of Bill's cruising career.

In the meantime the family relocated to Buzzards Bay and Bill thought he'd try his hand at organized racing. One race was all it took. Long after the second to last place boat had finished, the race committee came out to greet team Renegade, roughly at the half-way-point. The race committee's message was unforgettable; "your time has expired." Bill knew that the boat was to blame, which was not entirely accurate, so he set out to buy a racing machine. A Tartan Ten was the weapon of choice, by no means a fast boat today, but it was a screamer back then. A few more years went by, the family relocated to Narragansett, RI, and the boys grew up. Dinner table discussion always centered on past races and for years, their little sister, Katy, thought that the fleet was another name for salt and the weather mark was synonymous with the pepper shaker.

For fifteen years the team sailed that Tartan Ten. There were no great victories only a few individual races here and there but enough to keep captain and crew involved. Of course any poor showings were blamed on the boat, so once again a new vessel was the remedy. This time a B-32 was the result. Three winning seasons have passed for the Renegade B-32 and in this most recent season the crew took a first place in the Champion of Champion's Regatta. This victory prompted the invite to the Hospice Nationals. The Renegade crew is extremely honored by this recognition and looks forward to being a part of this prestigious national event.

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