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Around the World from West coast?

jamottep said:
It is already under offer :-)
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MatthewTurner 2.jpg

That's Bill Lee on the phone yesterday as we toured the brigatine MATTHEW TURNER in Sausalito. Bill is the broker for the SC-40 CAMELOT, listed above, and discussing results of the survey ....There weren't many SC-40's built, only 15, and I'll tell you possibly why in a moment. IMHO The SC-40 is a very good design, both comfortable and fast. It never achieved the popularity of the SC-50, another one of Bill's great successes.

The first SC-40 and the Olson 40 were launched within days of each other in the summer of 1982. There was great anticipation around Santa Cruz Harbor as to which was the better (faster) design. Both looked good as rigs were stepped and fitting out began....

The first head to head speed test of the SC-40 and Olson 40 came in a Wednesday Night Race two weeks after launching. It was really no contest. The Olson 40 finished at the Harbor Breakwater a mile ahead of the SC-40, and rumor began that the SC-40 was a dog and the O-40 a rocket ship. Whether this comparison helped George Olson sell 30 O-40's, I suspect it is true.

What I did see that Wednesday Night was that the SC-40 had been launched without bottom paint and in two weeks had accumulated significant growth that probably slowed the boat .25 knots in the 8-12 knots of wind. As well, the SC-40's skipper was the saleman, not a hotshot racing skipper ancd crew like was aboard the O-40 that evening. The coup de grace was the SC-40 getting lost in the fog and majorly overstanding Wharf Mark...losing several hundred yards in the "match race."

I sailed the 1983 Transpac on the Olson 40 PRIMETIME. It was a fast race, with dark nights, no moon, and continuous squalls. There were 8 Olson 40's and 4 SC-40's in that year's competitive race, all well sailed and crewed. A SC-40 MIMI-B was first of these 40 footers to Hono in 10 days, 19 hours (8.6 knots). But the Olson-40 REVENGE finished 3 hours later to correct out on the SC-40. All 12 boats finished boat for boat within 9 hours of each other...Incredible close racing not seen in 40 footers since the 15 Cal-40's of the 1967 Transpac.

My memory of that '83 race is both the SC-40's and Olson 40's were boat-for-boat even up in speed, regularly clicking off 205-215 mile daily runs. (8.75 knots). These were fully crewed boats (6 crew each) and not singlehanders. The dark nights and squalls took a toll on drivers, as vertigo and round ups were a common complaint.

SC-40.jpg olson40.jpg
 
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Back in the days of printed SSS newsletters and the San Leandro 1-2, Erik Schwartz raced his SC-40 Rusalka singlehanded. He used a sock on the masthead symmetric spinnaker, snuffing it part way to jibe. I remember Erik being patient and helpful as I struggled to start racing singlehanded with my J/33 Troubadour, which also carried a big masthead kite.

Erik broke Rusalka's mast near the deck during a Corinthian Race (which was then called, somewhat redundantly, the "In The Bay" race). Quickly rigging halyards as stays, he kept the mast upright and it was repaired. A year or two later Erik and his wife moved to Maine and the boat fell on hard times. It's still on the Bay but I can't remember her current name.

I always thought the SC-40 was a better-looking boat than the Olson 40, and it seemed more stable and predictable.

Sled, didn't you do a safety inspection on Camelot for a Windjammers or Spinnaker Cup?
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You would be wise to book a flight to Seattle today! Dan and Linda are first class + folks, first class + sailors, and Dan is about the best boat builder in the world. The boat is so "one of a kind" (okay, there's another, but not as outfitted) that you just have to take a close look. Don't wait; someone will snap it up.
 
Wylieguy said:
You would be wise to book a flight to Seattle today! Dan and Linda are first class + folks, first class + sailors, and Dan is about the best boat builder in the world. The boat is so "one of a kind" (okay, there's another, but not as outfitted) that you just have to take a close look. Don't wait; someone will snap it up.
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I remember looking at the boat around 1991 while he was building it. I stood at the bow, he stood at the stern and we picked up the deck. Easily. Think about that. The deck of a 37 foot boat weighed <175 pounds.

Dan made two of them. Frank Dinsmore's boat came up for sale maybe 6-7 years ago. I DO remember Pegasus as having kind of a nightmare rig with multiple running backstays, but that might have changed in the intervening years.
 
Pegasus - great vessel

jamottep said:
Pegasus XIV sounds like a good candidate: https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1992/custom-newland-368-3215077
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PJ, as others have said Pegasus is a really well thought out and quick vessel. For the solo sailor it was thought through from top to bottom. Assuming the structure is still solid, and knowing Knowland's attention to detail, it likely is, it would be a top candidate.

BTW - have you looked at any Andrews designs ? They are pretty lean but do have some comforts. A quick design.
 
AlanH said:
I remember looking at the boat around 1991 while he was building it. I stood at the bow, he stood at the stern and we picked up the deck. Easily. Think about that. The deck of a 37 foot boat weighed <175 pounds.

Dan made two of them. Frank Dinsmore's boat came up for sale maybe 6-7 years ago. I DO remember Pegasus as having kind of a nightmare rig with multiple running backstays, but that might have changed in the intervening years.
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As an aside, Pegasus has a HUGE cockpit, which is wide-open. That's great, en route to Hawaii. It's not so great in the Southern Ocean. Ditto for the SC 40.

I wonder if the modified SC50 "Sundowner" is around and for sale.
 
AlanH said:
As an aside, Pegasus has a HUGE cockpit, which is wide-open. That's great, en route to Hawaii. It's not so great in the Southern Ocean. Ditto for the SC 40.

I wonder if the modified SC50 "Sundowner" is around and for sale.
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Going West I won't sail much in the Southern Ocean, only when passing Cape Horn to starboard. And I really want to stick with <40 foot for budget/division reasons.

The broker for Pegasus xiv said he would get back to me on my request to speak with the owners.
 
Pegasus xiv, response from the owners:

They told me that the boat isn’t appropriate for a trip like yours unfortunately.
 
So far all builders I spoke to advised against using their boats for this trip. It started with the 52 foot Japanese boat in Oakland, then Wylie 39, then Farr 40, then Peagsus. I feel like I'm forgetting one ... Maybe I shouldn't ask. I wonder what Ericson would have said to Webb about taking an E37 in the Southern Ocean. Oh, yes, I never heard back from X-Yachts after multiple follow ups.

Only supportive builder: Pogo Structures. Just can't afford them.
 
jamottep said:
So far all builders I spoke to advised against using their boats for this trip.
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No surprise. If you succeed, not many people will even be aware of what you accomplished in their boat. A relatively small segment of the sailing community, at best. If you fail, the mainstream media picks it up and all the world gets to learn that their boat killed you, or nearly did so. And then word gets out that they encouraged you to use their boat for this? By contrast, if you fail but they can say "we told him not to use our boat", then the bad PR is all yours, not theirs.

Even if they know their boat is up to the challenge, and that you are perfectly capable of pulling it off, I suspect they are not going to say either of those things to you. Given no real upside to them if you succeed, and major downside to them if you don't, my guess is they really do wish you would do this in someone else's boat.

I could be very wrong on this, in which case I hope someone here jumps in and says so. This opinion is based on my experiences with how decisions are made by entrepreneurs, investors, banks, home builders, politicians, etc., etc., etc. Maybe designers/builders of sail boats value outcomes differently, and put a high enough intrinsic value on bold achievement that they would happily lose the PR war for a chance at a kind of glory only they and a handful recognize. Perhaps.

But if not I think their disapproval counts for very little.
 
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Yeah I get that ... But ... The French Pogo guys happily say that their boat is built for this stuff :-) They even got me to email with a reference. So either you're right, or these builders really meant it when they said "nope".
 
In fact we could give this another try. Would anyone have a contact for Terry Alsberg so I could ask his thoughts about taking an Express 37 for my trip?
 
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