New Boat 4 Sled

[Dazzler]

Black Soo (caution, long post)

Max,
Based on research and not prior knowledge (so wide open to correction) here's what I think is the story:
There is a very interesting series of posts by John Guzzwell (yes, THAT John Guzzwell) with comments by Greg N. on SailingAnarchy. What I understand is that Cornelius (Kees) Bruynzeel, later of Stormvogel fame (also designed by v/d Stadt and winner of the 1967 TransPac) commissioned van der Stadt in 1955 to design 'Zeeslang,' and only one boat was allowed to be built to the plans. About a year later (first name?) Prout [in Cape Town] persuaded van der Stadt to design a boat he named 'Black Soo,' apparently very similar to Zeeslang, but narrower and with a smaller transom. This Van de Stadt design became known in Cape Town as the RCOD (Royal Cape One Design) and elsewhere as the "Black Soo" class.

In another Internet post I found:
I have a 1982 edition of the Van De Stadt Design catalogue. The "Black Soo" is not featured as a design that they were then still selling but is mentioned in the introduction in the History section. In the section reference is made to the many hard chine designs from Ricus van De Stadt and his collaboration with Mr C Bruynzeel, who was one of the first producers of marine plywwood. Bruynzeel was also an ocean racing skipper and a winner of the Fastnet race.

The section has a photo of a yacht, sail No. 1042, clipping along on a broad reach, two people in the cockpit, one other in the companionway, a dinghy tied down on the foredeck and on the transom the name "Black Soo R.C.Y.C.". This presumeably stands for 'Royal Capetown Yacht Club. The caption of the photo is Black Soo - designed 1960. The page goes on to say:

"Many designs from these years have now been replaced by newer versions, but some of them are still popular, like Zeeslang or Black Soo, a 30 feet (9.-m) overall boat, nearly 7 ft (2.1 m) wide, long, slim and slippery indeed! Bruynzeel took this yacht over to South Africa and the Capetown race committee adopted her as a Royal Cape One Design. These RCOD's are still active at the Cape today. She is still the fastest boat in relation to it's price in the world."

So, it seems the "class name" comes from one of the early variants of the design. None of this is absolutely clear, but maybe between Greg N, Ben M. and Steve B. we can get the complete story.

I've enjoyed this bit of research and hope that it adds some clarity.

Tom

 

[sleddog]

I believe BLACK SOO's original owner was English, one Micheal Pruett, and he raced her in the 1957 Fastnet, one of the stormiest on record before 1979. In this Fastnet, 29 out of 41 entries retired, and the overall winner, Dick Nye's CARINA (USA) almost sank.

Nye used to encourage his crew by shouting at them, "Is every man a tiger?" They would answer back with a roar, "Grr...grr...grr..." At the end of this race he had more sympathy for them as they had pumped the yacht almost all the way round the 700 mile course. CARINA had fallen off a wave in the Needles Channel in Force 9 and cracked several frames to cause a severe leak. Once across the finishing line off the breakwater at Plymouth, Nye famously called out to his crew, "OK, boys, we're over now; let the damn boat sink!"

BLACK SOO's sail # was 1042. She was originally fractional rigged as shown in the photo to which Tom refers. But converted to mast head cutter by John Illingworth with a fully exposed upper batten, which qualified her for a gaff rigged handicap benefit. Illingworth's rig was derisively called a "gutter." In reality, this was an early version of the square top main.

The RCYC on BLACK SOO's transom likely refers to the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Cowes, I.O.W., England, out of which she raced and cruised. She has spent her entire life in British Waters and currently resides in Ireland.

There has been some attention to BLACK SOO's name. As BLACK SOO's owner in the 1970's, Gerry Murtaugh, wrote in the Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Assoc. Newsletter: "BLACK SOO is simply the Dutch spelling of the Dakota Indian Tribe which we pronounce in the same way, but spell as in the French 'Sioux.' "

So, apparently BLACK SOO was named after the Sioux Indian Tribe, famous for their long straight black hair and Custer's demise. It is interesting to note that BLACK SOO's near sister, Cornelius Bruynzeel's famous ZEESLANG, means "Sea Snake" in Dutch, while "Soo" in the native dialect of the Sioux Indians means "Little Snake." As clear as mud.

It was Bruynzeel's ZEESLANG, designed by Van deStandt, that led to the formation of the Royal Cape One Design (RCOD) in South Africa.

 

[sleddog]

Hope to see you all at the Myron Spaulding Wooden Boat Center for an evening remembering Myron Spaulding's Legacy. I'll be sailing WILDFLOWER over from Berkeley Marina.

Proceeds go to the Wooden Boat Center, a really good cause. Saturday, Oct. 20 at 5 pm.

Highlights of the evening include: On-site cooked Paella, Margaritas, and other culinary treats "Jazz of the Sea," performed by the BOOKTET Quintet featuring trombone, and in homage to Myron Spaulding, violin

Guest of Honor and speaker, Commodore Tompkins

The premiere of John Korty's film "Myron Onward"

Silent auction of nautical treasures.

$75 Donation http://www.spauldingcenter.org/events/10-20-12.html

 

[sleddog]

With carbon fiber debris still washing ashore, the volume of speculation is only exceeded by the reported Apparent Wind Speed of 58 knots when ORACLE's crew went over the handlebars.

58 knots of wind, 3 knots of ebb, no way to reef, ease or windvane the sail past 45 degrees, a 131 foot mast, and their local tactician John Kostecki on the E. Coast, the outcome was very much foregone IMO.

To see the wreckage going past Pt.Bonita at sunset was sobering indeed.

Now ARTEMIS is broken again, and they weren't even sailing. The crew of New Zealand's "Tractor" are concentrating on not becoming over confident. But things are currently looking good for them.

Wishing you all a good weekend dancin' with your baby. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msvOqvBJLBw&feature=related

 

[sleddog]

Last evening was a fun and well attended fund raising dinner at Spaulding Wooden Boat Center in Sausalito. Many of Myron's designs were front and center, including NAUTIGAL and the stunning 28 footer ARETE, begun by Myron in 1958 and launched 48 years later.

The walls were oozing history. Tom and Sue from DAZZLER were at our table, and Tom reminisced about working for Myron, including the time the crane dropped the 45 footer ANNIE TOO. Myron was running the hoist, and somehow the controls got away. Luckily the boat dropped into the Bay, narrowly missing Tom on the dock.

Tom also explained the painted lines on the floor were from Myron's beautiful 45' yawl CHRYSOPYLE, and the angled hole in the floor under our table was a result of Myron's drilling CHRYSOPYLE's rudder post from under the shop back in 1961.

A highlight of the evening was seeing the oldest yacht on the West Coast, FREDA, rolled out. She just needs a lead keel cast, her rig restepped, some sails made, and she's good to go for another 127 years. Anyone wishing to donate to FREDA's restoration is urged to contact Andrea at the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center. It is a truly worthwhile project.

I'm sure Myron's and his many shop cats were in attendance last night, in spirit if not in body. As
Commodore said, Myron would have modestly wondered what all the fuss was about. But he would have been secretly tickled to see his shop filled with well wishers.

 

[sleddog]

I'd forgotten what a fleet of dreams rides at anchor in Richardson Bay. Likely a third of the boats are semi-derelict, and with 40 miles of fetch to the SE, seem ripe to break loose in a good winter storm. On the outlier of the fleet is the red AGE of RUSSIA, a 75 foot America's Cup boat that never got off the ground. Around the corner is HYDROPTERE anchored off Corinthian. We circled her, trying to imagine sailing to Hawaii at 30 knots while steering from the very much exposed ama.

I picked up good friend Kim Desenberg at Brickyard, and we cruised the main down the Santa Fe Channel of Richmond Inner Harbor. Berthed at the commercial wharf was OCTOPUS, Paul Allen's 414 foot mega-yacht, homeported out of some small Caribbean island post office box. OCTOPUS's 67 foot tender is bigger than any vessel in Berkeley Marina or Brickyard. Did I mention the basket ball court on the aft deck?

It is interesting to remember that SF Bay was once connected to San Pablo Bay through Richmond. Point Richmond was an island until the marshes and sloughs east of the Chevron refinery were filled.

We threaded our way through no less than 50 Laser Radials, Optis, and El Toros being sailed by kids at Richmond Yacht Club. Even though the wind was light, everyone looked to be having fun. Certainly more smiles than across the Bay at Pier 80, Oracle's home base.

 

[sleddog]

On our Sunday sailby up Richmond Inner Harbor, it was sad to hear from Kim that the big blue yawl ESCAPADE, for many years in storage at KKMI, would soon be chainsawed.

ESCAPADE, 75 years old this year, was a 72'6" yawl designed by Phil Rhodes and deemed "Queen of the Great Lakes" in her heyday before coming to the West Coast. At that time (1937), 73' was the max LOA allowed by CCA, and ESCAPADE, with a foretriangle base of 32', was truly a "maxi."
http://www.syescapade.com/

Her blue hull was so very pretty, and when ESCAPADE was matched up against the black hulled BARUNA and the blue hulled ORIENT, I'm sure even God stopped to watch.

These three beauties were entered in the 1955 TransPac. As a 10 year old spectator, my eyes were glued to the fleet from aboard our L-36. At the Transpac start, ESCAPADE short tacked up the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Near Portuguese Bend she came to an abrupt stop when her big bronze centerboard found an uncharted rock and was unhinged. (ESCAPADE drew 14 feet with the board down.)

To the crew's credit, they cut ESCAPADE's centerboard free and continued the race. We motored to the West End of Catalina to watch them come around. The 72 foot BARUNA was all business, her jet black S&S hull marching upwind in the fresh afternoon Westerly. ORIENT was a mile behind on port tack when a williwaw came down the Catalina hills just west of Arrow Point. With an audible crack, her varnished mast came down.

Without a centerboard for balance, ESCAPADE suffered in that TransPac, eventually stripping her steering gear. Even so, she finished only a hour behind BARUNA.

As a kid, these were impressionable times. It is fun to replay in mind's eye as if it was yesterday. Long live ESCAPADE.

 

[sleddog]

The staff at Berkeley Marina, WILDFLOWER's current temporary base, have been most friendly and accommodating.

But when I tried to pay for next month, I had an unexpected encounter at the front desk. Cheryl said, "you're a Live Aboard, aren't you?" I said, "No, not at the moment. Only spending weekends aboard." "Why do you ask?"

Cheryl said, "because you have a spice rack, and only Live Aboards would have a spice rack."

I scratched my head over that.

 

[BobJ]

That's post #222 for you Skip, so time for a couple of remembrances . . .

Seeing her for the first time at Marina Village, and how comfortable you looked on that big cushion (a beanbag now that I think about it) in the back corner of her cockpit where you'd spent thousands of hours and miles.

After those first 2-3 days of the 2008 race, seeing you off to port. I thought "I must be going the right way" but then realized if I could see you that far into the race, I was kinda screwed (on corrected time).

Seeing you hiking out on the rail while single-handed. That set an example for me and I got an AP remote so I could do that.

Did she have a spice rack?

 

[sleddog]

When I launched WILDFLOWER back in 1975, I bought an old Cal 28 main for $25. The sail was too long on the boom, so we cut off about 2 feet of leach from clew to head. That removed the 18 from the sail number 18222, and 222 became the boat's (lucky) number.

That original main was built of yarn temper dacron cloth, which was golden brown. Blackaller, who was working for North Sails at the time, sees my main and shouts in his unique high pitched voice, "Where did you get the kevlar main?? How did you do that??" (Kevlar mains were just coming on the scene back in those days, very expensive, and looked golden with a sun backdrop.) I played coy, letting him think we had something special and "hi-tech." It was always fun to psyche Tom.

Attached photo from my 1978 SHTP Log shows that original main and sail #222 on WILDFLOWER. The photo was taken by Norton Smith, winner of the first SHTP. I kept a detailed log then (and now) as all navigation was DR and celestial and I had nothing but a Walker taffrail log and sextant. Big fish ate all my Walker log bronze spinners, so I'd estimate my speed for every 2 hour log entry.

At the time, WILDFLOWER had minimum electronics, but a big old ZENITH High Seas all band radio. It took 9 C cell batteries to operate, and the handle became the extendable antenna, telescoping to six feet. That radio lived in a 6" x 14" Bruynzeel plywood box bolted on the aft bulkhead above my bunk. In the '78 SHTP it picked up KGO and Iowa Christian radio stations real good. But that was about all. I didn't know if I was winning or losing until I came around the corner at Hanalei and saw only one racer's mast: Norton Smith's SC-27 SOLITAIRE.

When the radio died, that box became the spice rack over the galley, and held all the yummies including the jar of P-nut butter and pickle relish. Sorry for the longwinded explanation, but BobJ asked. I'm a story teller at heart.

 

[sleddog]

One of the Matson captains called on the radio one day to make sure I knew he was there. When I responded he asked if it was "THAT Ragtime." I sheepishly said "no."

BTW, some of those Matson guys raced many TransPacs in their day and get a kick out of what we're doing out there. One of the benefits of the SHTP is you get to chat with them once in awhile.

BobJ mentioned "the Matson guys." I might add that many of Matson's captains and crew, past and present, are small boat sailors, graduates of Cal Maritime Academy in Vallejo, and have carved grooves in the Pacific between the W. Coast and Hawaii. We are talking hundreds of thousands of miles of ocean experience.

The Matson crews and the SF Bar Pilots are friends of SSS (most recently the evacuation of BELA BARTOK by the MOKIHANA). These guys are pros, know their stuff, and deserve thanks for their support over the years. I'm guessing some of them visit here. If you have any questions or comments about what it's like doing multiple "Transpacs" aboard a Matson ship, would suggest you post in the blind here, and some Matson veteran or Bar Pilot will likely come up.

 

[sleddog]

End of the season Great Pumpkin Regatta at Richmond YC was a fun and well attended affair with 23 classes on three separate start lines, Saturday's weather was exceptional, clear with SW winds 6 knots, building to 16-18, for the third race.

I crewed on the WylieCat 30 DAZZLER with Tom and Sue. With nine WylieCats on the line, jockeying for position upwind and down highlighted the short windward/leeward/windward courses. It was a learning experience for me. The WylieCats have powerful mains, capable of being tweeked to optimum shape. The mains are more like genoas, and you sheet the wishbone over the transom corner.

The WylieCats all have slightly different configurations. Outboards, inboards, no engines. Folding props, feathering props. Dacron mains, carbon mains, square top mains. Dry sailed, wet sailed. Though it was clear SILKYE and UNO are the bench marks of the class, the boats are very similar in speed and time afloat "shifting gears" is a key ingredient in getting up to speed.

Through the whole afternoon I had much fun, with two memorable moments. The first was seeing BANDICOOT going upwind and crossing tacks with UNO, with Al sailing singlehanded and steering BANDICOOT from the cockpit seat. UNO had four big boys on the rail. Gotta love that.

The other visual was being in the middle of seven WylieCats coming into the leeward mark together during the second race. The wind was 15 knots, and with 24' wishbone booms, the side to side "footprint" of these boats is about 40' from port jibe to starboard. Being on the outside at the turn definitely puts you in the slow lane. There was some animated discussion, some creative boat handling. But in the end everyone got around the pinwheel with no contact.

Thanks, Tom and Sue, for a memorable afternoon!

 

[AlanH]

On our Sunday sailby up Richmond Inner Harbor, it was sad to hear from Kim that the big blue yawl ESCAPADE, for many years in storage at KKMI, would soon be chainsawed.

ESCAPADE, 75 years old this year, was a 72'6" yawl designed by Phil Rhodes and deemed "Queen of the Great Lakes" in her heyday before coming to the West Coast. At that time (1937), 73' was the max LOA allowed by CCA, and ESCAPADE, with a foretriangle base of 32', was truly a "maxi."
http://www.syescapade.com/

Her blue hull was so very pretty, and when ESCAPADE was matched up against the black hulled BARUNA and the blue hulled ORIENT, I'm sure even God stopped to watch.

These three beauties were entered in the 1955 TransPac. As a 10 year old spectator, my eyes were glued to the fleet from aboard our L-36. At the Transpac start, ESCAPADE short tacked up the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Near Portuguese Bend she came to an abrupt stop when her big bronze centerboard found an uncharted rock and was unhinged. (ESCAPADE drew 14 feet with the board down.)

To the crew's credit, they cut ESCAPADE's centerboard free and continued the race. We motored to the West End of Catalina to watch them come around. The 72 foot BARUNA was all business, her jet black S&S hull marching upwind in the fresh afternoon Westerly. ORIENT was a mile behind on port tack when a williwaw came down the Catalina hills just west of Arrow Point. With an audible crack, her varnished mast came down.

Without a centerboard for balance, ESCAPADE suffered in that TransPac, eventually stripping her steering gear. Even so, she finished only a hour behind BARUNA.

As a kid, these were impressionable times. It is fun to replay in mind's eye as if it was yesterday. Long live ESCAPADE.

Great Story, Skip....

 

[AlanH]

When I launched WILDFLOWER back in 1975, I bought an old Cal 28 main for $25. The sail was too long on the boom, so we cut off about 2 feet of leach from clew to head. That removed the 18 from the sail number 18222, and 222 became the boat's (lucky) number.

That original main was built of yarn temper dacron cloth, which was golden brown. Blackaller, who was working for North Sails at the time, sees my main and shouts in his unique high pitched voice, "Where did you get the kevlar main?? How did you do that??" (Kevlar mains were just coming on the scene back in those days, very expensive, and looked golden with a sun backdrop.) I played coy, letting him think we had something special and "hi-tech." It was always fun to psyche Tom.

Attached photo from my 1978 SHTP Log shows that original main and sail #222 on WILDFLOWER. The photo was taken by Norton Smith, winner of the first SHTP. I kept a detailed log then (and now) as all navigation was DR and celestial and I had nothing but a Walker taffrail log and sextant. Big fish ate all my Walker log bronze spinners, so I'd estimate my speed for every 2 hour log entry.

At the time, WILDFLOWER had minimum electronics, but a big old ZENITH High Seas all band radio. It took 9 C cell batteries to operate, and the handle became the extendable antenna, telescoping to six feet. That radio lived in a 6" x 14" Bruynzeel plywood box bolted on the aft bulkhead above my bunk. In the '78 SHTP it picked up KGO and Iowa Christian radio stations real good. But that was about all. I didn't know if I was winning or losing until I came around the corner at Hanalei and saw only one racer's mast: Norton Smith's SC-27 SOLITAIRE.

When the radio died, that box became the spice rack over the galley, and held all the yummies including the jar of P-nut butter and pickle relish. Sorry for the longwinded explanation, but BobJ asked. I'm a story teller at heart.

Love it! ...feel free to write more like this, any time!

 

[sleddog]

In 1961 Myron Spaulding launched a 45 foot yawl of his design for Dean Morrison. She was called "CHRYSOPYLE."
I always wondered what that meant (kris-sop-i-lee).

According to legend, the original name of the Golden Gate was "Yulupa," the Coast Miwok Indian name for the sparkle of sun on water.

Also according to legend, one late afternoon in 1846, John C. Fremont climbed the East Bay hills. Gazing to the west, this early California explorer and promoter saw the setting sun turn the Bay entrance to gold and named it "Chrysopylae" which means "Golden Gate" in Greek. Thanks to Fremont "Chrysopylae" appeared on official government maps, beginning in 1848.

The name became prophetic and iconic. Within three years, a flood of humanity was pouring through Fremont's "Golden Gate", lured by the promise of gold. The Gold Rush added another layer of meaning to the straits approaching San Francisco Bay.

When the Golden Gate Bridge was completed in 1937, she was painted International Orange, as close to gold as you can get in a paint formulated to protect the Bridge from rusting in local fog.

 

[sleddog]

It is hard to not be saddened by the loss of the tallship BOUNTY with probable loss of two lives including her captain. That the Coast Guard was able to rescue 14 crew is dramatic and heroic.

I followed the BOUNTY, ever since sneaking aboard one night in the mid-60's, climbing her rigging, and walking her deserted decks. She was then a tourist attraction in St.Pete, FLA after actor Marlon Brando had saved her from being torched by MGM in filming the final scene of Mutiny On The Bounty.

BOUNTY had many lives. Friends served aboard her. The son of one had his hand blown off firing one of her cannons. Another remembers " My trip up the coast on the BOUNTY in 1990 didn't inspire a lot of confidence in her weatherly abilities. Heck, we couldn't get around Cape Blanco in the afternoon North Westerly's, even with the hammer down on both Cat diesels. Port Orford became a harbor of refuge overnight & we left early AM with the fish boats. I had Fletcher Christian's stateroom & could feel the vibes...! The steering wheel was from the Clark Gable/Charles Laughton movie..."

Tall ships are becoming fewer and fewer. BOUNTY's epitaph was eloquently penned yesterday by Jake Beattie, Executive Director of the NW Maritime Center. Jake wrote:

"The Bounty that sank yesterday was my first ship. In '98 and '99 I was a $50 a week deckhand turned engineer, turned first mate. I was the last First Mate before the Bounty left Fall River, and the last time the Bounty tried to sink off of Hatteras I was in the engine room up to my chest in bilge water, rebuilding pumps to buy us time until the Coast Guard arrived. We were luckier that day."

"I was there for the '99 season, the Bad News Bears season, full of some of the best people I have ever met. I fell in love, fell in love again, and in the end fell in love with power of the sea as a way to educate people, transform them into the confident and capable people they always were. What I do today I do because of what I was a part of on Bounty, because Robin Walbridge helped me see it. I’m not alone. People from the '99 crew- just one year of many Robin helped along- have become captains and pilots, USCG officers, educators and executives. And even though doing the math I am shocked to learn that it was 14 years ago when I stepped aboard I still feel closer to that crew than most other folks I have met since."

"When I Ieft Bounty we were out of money for payroll, out of money for Bondo and duct tape. After downrigging the lowers with a skeleton crew of 4 people too stubborn to leave, the last thing I did in the winter of '99 was to put the bilge pumps on a timer, install a lock on the companionway, and walk away with tears in my eyes. I’ve got them again. Rest in peace Bounty."

 

[Bob Buell]

BobJ/Ragtime needs to hear from me, as I'm one of Matson skippers who sailed many Transpacs, and my last one was on the famous "Ragtime" in 1983, as navigator.
It was the 64 ft sled that started it all in SoCal as the ultra-lite from NZ. We hit speed of 29 kts on speedo surfing off Molokai in that race, and had 2 America's Cup sailors on crew,
but then broke the steering cable on next wave, and did a Chinese gybe, over 90 degress with pole in water, not good way to finish my last Transpac race !!
Got that fixed with spare cable and reset kite for the Molokai Channel and finish line...

My Matson career had many Diamond Head finishes, as that is where we take "arrival" on the ships, and start slowing to Maneuvering speeds off Waikiki for the pilot to board.
Thru the years I've spoke with many racers, incl "Haulback" while he was winning the SHTP. I sailed with Matson for 35 yrs, and now retired on N Shore of Oahu.
I met Skip "Sleddog" Allan in Hanalei in '78 after he got 2nd in inaugural race, we were anchored next to him on our L-36, as we lived on Oahu and cruised to Hanalei often.
Skip has remained a close friend, and we have passed himtoo at sea when he was taking his Wildflower back from Hanalei once, we always kept a Ham radio sked daily.

I was never a Singlehander, but sailed and raced yachts my entire life, my dad died while singlehanding his Santana 22, so I stuck with crewed boats...Aloha, Capt Bob/Haleiwa

 

[AlanH]

Good to hear from you, Capt. Bob! If you're allergic to singlehanding, I bet anything we can find a boat you can double-up on, for a few of our local races, though!

 

[sleddog]

Somedays we are blessed to look in the rear view mirror and see we are being overtaken by the future. Sunday aboard the Islander 36 MOON PEARL was such a day. At 2:30 pm, as we were sailing close-hauled from Alcatraz towards Sausalito, out from under Belvedere Peninsula came an apparition: the French foiling trimaran L'HYDROPTERE.

HYDROPTERE was being towed towards Yellow Bluff for takeoff. I guessed she'd aim for Aquatic Park on starboard tack. We set up MOON PEARL on a starboard reach, north of St.FYC, west of Alcatraz.

HYDROPTERE's monster main was set and trimmed when she bore off and unfurled the jib. Holy Batman, errr Mon Dieu! At 30 seconds, like a giant water walker insect, she began to emerge from the water onto her foils. At one minute, her main aka (hull) became fully airborne.

At about 1 minute, 30 seconds she passed 50 yards to leeward, close enough to imagine her crew grinning. How fast? Hard to guess, but the True Wind was 17-18 knots and HYDROPTERE's website says she goes 2x the windspeed. 35 knots? Pedestrian to HYDROPTERE. She has already hit 56 knots.

Three things were apparent as she blew by to leeward. leaving a wake of aerated spume. The boat is much wider (79') than she is long (60'). When she is up on foils, her crew riding the windward crossbeam and ama (windward hull) are high above the water, maybe 12-15'. And she leaves little wake.

It took HYDROPTERE seemingly less than two minutes to go from half mile astern to half mile ahead. I wasn't watching my watch. Just an amazing sailing machine, the fastest sailing boat in the world.
http://hydroptere.com/en/home/

 

[sleddog]

Me thinks SPARKY has talent beyond belief creating videos that capture the essence of the subject at hand. If you haven't joined Ruben aboard the Moore24 RUSHMORE in this summer's SHTP, grab a cold drink and go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9iPLKpwPyo

Equally to the point is Ruben's video of the gang descending on Bill's Ericson 35 ERGO for an afternoon of boat cleaning fun. I about fell off the dock laughing when, after we had unloaded ERGO, BobJ says to Bill on the speaker phone, "Uh, Bill? Your boat was an Islander 36 wasn't it?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS_RJS8tt3g

Sailing SF Bay is always a treat, because there are so many variables to consider. The tide books are often wrong, the wind more or less than planned, the changing vistas spectacular. Yesterday, except for a few sails in the distance and a couple of high speed ferries, the Bay was deserted, much like Ayala must have seen in August, 1775 (give or take a skyscraper or two.) ;-)

WILDFLOWER was meant to be sailing, not tied to the dock. We shoved off about 1 pm for a cool off. With high pressure overhead and offshore gradient, November heat records were being broken in many places.

The surprise was finding a nice 5-10 knot northerly blowing down the San Pablo Channel from the Richmond/San Raphael Bridge towards the Bay Bridge. Under main and genoa, we starboared tack reached from Berkeley Marina towards Raccoon Straits, doing a flyby into Ayala Cove. All was quiet there with only half a dozen boats tied up.

From Ayala it was a the flat water reach over towards Tiburon. We did a couple of circles around L'HYDROPTERE moored off CYC. On close inspection it looked like her foils retract and were "stowed" horizontally under the cross beams.

The warm wind was blowing out of Richardson Bay. The starboard tack reach continued to the GG Bridge, where we jibed ship for the port tack reach home back to Berkeley. We were going 6-8 knots and got to the breakwater as the East Bay hills came alight with windows reflecting the sun, setting astern over the Golden Gate. I dialed Maui 940 AM "All Traditional Hawaiian All The Time" and Gabby Pahanui's voice came from the speakers. http://www.am940hawaii.com/

It isn't Hanalei. It's SF Bay, and can be a pretty nice place to sail in November.
.