Trip To The Jersey Shore

Old books, old sailing books!

I enjoyed John MacGregor's "The Voyage Alone in the Yawl Rob Roy". It's an old book, 1880's, by the pioneer of recreational canoeing, kayaking and small boat sailing. MacGregor did his own illustrations, here's one of the "Rob Roy".

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Next, "The Riddle of the Sands" by Erskine Childers, 1903. Great fictional account of sailing in the tricky tides and sand bars of Germany's North Sea coast coupled with a ripping yarn spy adventure. Most of the action takes place aboard the yawl Dulcibella, pictured below. Erskine Childers lead an interesting life. It was ended by his execution during the Irish Civil War, 1922-23, by the Free State's crack down on Sinn Féin. Before his execution, in a spirit of reconciliation, Childers shook hands with each of the firing squad. His last words, spoken to them, were (characteristically) in the nature of a joke: "Take a step or two forward, lads. It will be easier that way."

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I've had some correspondence with the owner of the sister ship to the Rhodes R24 in my charge. Here's his boat, sailing in the Virgin Islands, where it's based. His mast is the correct height.

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Missed a compartment when cleaning out the Rhodes 24. What I found today in it was a set of blueprints for the vessel. Gently unfolded the damp sheets of the plans and laid them out flat on the vee berth cushions to dry. I even have a sheet for the spars and rigging. Here's the cabin plan sheet, it's in the worst condition of the set.

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Sailing the Ariel, that's my boom at the top of the picture, this morning and spied this huge crane slowing being towed up the channel from the Throggs neck.

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Oh no, another season of S-Boat racing is about to begin with this weekend's Memorial Day Regatta. I helped out in the stepping of Eaglet's mast this past week.

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Kirsty, Eaglet's skipper and fellow Wayfarer alumnus, is hosted aloft to straighten out her mast's spreaders.

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Discovered the work of the illustrator Edward A. Wilson recently. He was a wonderful practitioner of the woodblock print revival in the first half of the 20th century.

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Here's a shot of a pretty Herreshoff 12 1/2 that was being launched as I was up in Mamaroneck doing repairs to an S-Boat. Isn't this all one really needs?

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This is the award to the annual winner of the Western Long Island Sound S-Boat Fleet. This hangs on a wall next to the bar at the ye olde Larchmont Yacht Club. I think the rope border is really cool. And don't make the mistake of polishing off the clear coat on your brass name plaque. In fifty years it will turn black and people will have a hard time reading your name.

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Ben

Fell off the sailing book bandwagon and started reading murder mysteries again. But fear not, soon some poor soul will surely sell their nautical library to the Strand Bookstore and I will once again be sailing the seven seas from the comfort of my bed.

Visited my dear wife's family out in Colorado once again. While hiking in my mother in-law's parched "backyard" found this bit of color by my feet. There was a little rain the night before.

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Here's two clips of S-Boats heading off to the races. The first is of Aeolus and the second Eaglet with Kandahar in the distance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83DbSk-u_74


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VFC_Sc2_xg&feature=plcp

My old friend Hans "won" this vintage 1960 cedar planked Lightning sailboat on EBay during a moment of unbridled nostalgia. He dragged the boat up from Maryland to City Island behind a U-haul. Now after several months of fitful restorations she goes sailing, great fun. Wearing perhaps her original set of sails, stained and yellowed but in good shape.

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Farley Mowat is a great Canadian writer and conservationist. "The Grey Seas Under" is the story of the adventures of the ocean salvage tug SS Foundation Franklin before and during WW2. A fascinating and gripping saga!

"It was a hair-raising exploit and, as the salvage arbitrator in London later wrote, "it was accomplished by a display of courage that only escaped foolhardiness by virture of the skill with which it was performed.""

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He also wrote "The Boat Who wouldn't Float" (entertaining read) and "Never Cry Wolf" (haven't read the book but it's one of my all-time favorite movies). Good author!

These pictures are from the Indian Harbor Classic Yacht Regatta. We raced the S-Boats up there this past weekend and had a very nice time.

First two pictures are of Francis Herreshoff's Ticonderoga, I'd say his most famous design. And in the final picture the two boats tied together are the dark hulled Nor'easter, an Alden Q-Boat, and the 8 meter Angelita.

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Every time I see wooden boats like those
my faith in humanity revives.


Murder mysteries?

Haven't read one of the best writers in the genre, J.D.McDonald...in a long time.
Have at least one copy of every novel he wrote.
Always believed that reading the Travis McGee 'color' mysteries saved my life
during a very difficult transition from marriage to divorce.

For some reason these stories didn't translate to the movie theater.
[Have never forgiven Sam Eliott (voice in Coors & Dodge Ram ads) for his
incredibly stupid and unfeeling portrayal of Travis in 'Empty Copper Sea' 1963.
Movie also stands as an example of the worst translation possible of one genre
to another. So bad, imco it killed all interest in bringing the series into film.]

The series could now be revived for TV, set in the weird 60s time period they were written in...
and make for a revisit of the best all round sane independant hero ever invented.
It would take a producer with the guts of McGee (& smarts of Meyer) to stay true to the spirit
of the writing. McDonald needs to be restored to us. McGee ("salvage consultant")
has been borrowed from for all our problem solving detectives in the art form.
But none compares to the great original
Travis McGee.

Ebb, Travis McGee is a favorite of my friend Hans. He "won" a box load of J.D.McDonald paperbacks recently on EBay. The writer John Burdett is another his favorites with his Thai detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep.

The spars of my exciting though slow moving S-Boat project "Tern" were brought down to Brewer's in Mamaroneck from their long slumbering storage in a barn upstate.

The Rig

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The Hounds

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The Outhaul

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Certainly, THE most amazing hounds!

Wonder why so much support was deemed necessary.
Or do S boats slip their soft eyes if resting on a more tidy thumb cleat?

......the work and skill involved is amazing.
At first they look made of thick leather - which would be easier to shape and carve.

Been reading "The Last Grain Race" by Eric Newby, his story of sailing on the four masted ship the Moshulu from Europe to Australia and back in 1939.

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Here are some shot of the S-Boat Kandahar during the testing this past Saturday of our new class spinnaker design. That's me on fore deck.

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With hurricane Sandy approaching, the wife and I decided to go argue about home furnishings this morning at the IKEA in Red Hook Brooklyn. In the Erie Basin, right behind the IKEA store, the fleet of New York's working vessels are bedding down for the duration.

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Pensively Emily scans the Eric Basin while dreaming of closet organization solutions. Another crane picture!

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