• Ahoy and Welcome to the New SSS Forum!!

    As you can see, we have migrated our old forums to new software. All your old posts, threads, attachments, and messages should be here. If you see anything out of place or have any questions, please click Contact Us and leave a note with as much detail as possible.

    You should be able to login with your old credentials. If you have any issues, try resetting your password before clicking the Contact Us link.

    Cheers
    - SSS Technical Infrastructure

New Boat 4 Sled

Call me old fashioned. Today's practice of calling sails by letters and numbers, ie; "Hey guys, wanna hoist the A3, maybe the A2, the S4, or the "Code," is funky.

Colorful sail names are fading fast. Some of us remember the "Mule," that heavy, short hoist jib that got us to windward in breeze. In the 70's the "Mule", with a longer luff and shorter foot became the "#3", aka "the Blade." Thanks, Butch Ulmer for this new and improved sail. New names sells technology, and sailmakers were busy inventing.

For the 1947 Alden schooner MAYAN, Ullman sails recently got a significant order. MAYAN's sails were decades old. Colorful, but rotten. See the first photo below. The square sail up high is the "Fisherman" or "Fisherman topsail." The jib out front is the "flying jib."

In order to power MAYAN up in light winds, Beau's order included an "Advance" staysail, a giant sail, which took up all the floor space at Dave Hodges' Ullman loft here in Santa Cruz earlier this year. The "Advance" is named after the Starling Burgess, 88' schooner ADVANCE, which first used this sail in 1926. It was a breakthrough sail design then, and may still be.

The second photo is MAYAN, looking good this last weekend while winning the Otter Cup. That's the new Advance staysail between the masts. Why is it called a "staysail?" It has four corners. I don't know why.

Then there is the "Gollywobbler." Amongst schoonermen, it is called just the "Golly." It's so big it blocks the sun. The Golly is used broad reaching. That's the schooner SERENA below, with her Golly.

Unless you're racing in the Singlehanded Farallones, you'll see some of these crazy named sails this coming Saturday in the Master Mariners Regatta, with staggered starts off the St. Francis YC between noon and 1 pm.

If spectating the Master Mariners stay clear. Visibility and manuverability is limited at best, especially by the older schooners. One of their racing rules for the schooners in the Master Mariners is: if you can't get around a mark, you can throw a potato at the mark and consider it rounded.

I'll be on schooner MARTHA, 108 years old. She scoons pretty good. Potatoes at the ready.
 

Attachments

  • Crosby Mayan.jpg
    Crosby Mayan.jpg
    50.2 KB · Views: 1,007
  • Advance Staysail.jpg
    Advance Staysail.jpg
    83.9 KB · Views: 1,375
  • Serena.jpg
    Serena.jpg
    97.9 KB · Views: 1,160
A special day, Saturday, when two, big, wooden classics match raced on San Francisco Bay in Division Marconi I in the Master Mariners Regatta.

The schooner MARTHA, 84' sparred length, was built 108 years ago at Stone Boat Works in San Francisco to serve as flagship for the Commodore of San Francisco Yacht Club, JR Hanify. Hanify named MARTHA for his wife, Martha Fitzmaurice Hanify.

PURSUIT is the beautiful 83' M class sloop, built in 1929 by Abeking and Rasmussen in Germany. PURSUIT has, for more than five decades, graced the Sausalito waterfront under Ron MacAnnan's ownership. During all these years, Ron has tirelessly worked on PURSUIT "six and a half days a week."

Light winds, a strong flood tide, and predominantly upwind course favored PURSUIT for the first two legs of the Master Mariners. From the start off St Francis, we trimmed MARTHA for the close reach to Little Harding. Then went on the wind back to Blackaller Buoy off Crissy Field.

At Little Harding, MARTHA was 12 minutes ahead of PURSUIT, who had started 10 minutes later. We tacked MARTHA to starboard for relief from the flood tide current on the City Front. PURSUIT's skipper, wily Hank Easom, held port tack for the Sausalito shore.

There was no relief on the City Front for MARTHA. Hank and his crew of 25 mostly Etchells sailors nosed PURSUIT into a freshening westerly breeze under the North Tower of the Golden Gate and came across the strong flood without having to tack. MARTHA, her 35 tons massively slow tacking up the City Front, rounded Blackaller 4 minutes behind PURSUIT.

It was then I learned a new sailing word. As MARTHA's mainsheet trimmer, and furthest aft of the 18 crew, I heard MARTHA's skipper, Robert d'Arcy, call out, "OK, let her rumble." "Rumble?" I thought. This should be good.

Robert's wife, Holly, was in charge of the foredeck crew. Up went the spinnaker, down came the fisherman, and up went the massive gollywobbler. We jibed to port, running towards Alcatraz. It was soon evident we were reeling in PURSUIT. The Gollywobbler ripped, and had to be doused. But MARTHA was indeed rumbling in the freshening breeze. 4 more jibes and we'd almost caught PURSUIT at Blossom Rock.

Both boats jibed to port for the reach to Southampton Shoals, MARTHA five lengths behind. PURSUIT was carrying her double head rig, and MARTHA her spinnaker, forestaysail, fisherman, main staysail, and main. MARTHA overhauled PURSUIT and we tried to reach over the top. Of course Hank wasn't going to let MARTHA rumble by to windward, and carried us up. And up.

Finally we broke off and steered down for Southampton. Hank steered PURSUIT down also. There was no way for the faster MARTHA to break through to leeward, in PURSUIT's wind shadow. Both boats stayed overlapped for almost two miles, the tip of PURSUIT's boom just to windward of MARTHA's port side rigging.

Friendly discussions ensued between the two crews as to "Proper Course." Hank wanted to come down. We wanted to go straight. Everyone was civil, and no contact occurred. At the Southampton Tower, MARTHA had the inside overlap, and we turned to round, a 180 degree buttonhook.

Hank took PURSUIT wide, cut behind MARTHA by 15 feet, and nosed inside.

As they say, "that was the ball game." On the two mile beat up to R4 Buoy, PURSUIT showed us her weatherly ability, and opened 10 lengths to windward on MARTHA.

It was a reach to the finish off the eastern shore of Treasure Island. MARTHA was again "rumbling" at 11 knots. Too late. A well deserved win for PURSUIT, her owner Ron MacAnnan, Hank Easom, and crew.

Thanks to Christine and Jonathan for the lovely photo of MARTHA here: http://www.norcalsailing.com/
 

Attachments

  • IMGP0002-005.jpg
    IMGP0002-005.jpg
    58.4 KB · Views: 1,069
Last edited:
Skip:

Great posts. I have a feeling that MARTHA and MAYAN will make schoonermen of a number of sailors before they're done. You'll need to make the rounds and sail aboard Terry's BRIGADOON and John's YANKEE. Look out, San Francisco, you're becoming Schooner Country.

I love the term "Rumble" and we shall purloin it for use aboard MAYAN. "Let her Rumble" will be included with "Hoist the Gollywobbler" as one of those phrases that one rarely hears on a TP-52 ;)

Thanks for sailing with us - and the mainsheet winch for MAYAN is in a box in Santa Cruz.

Beau
 
I saw MARTHA and a few other big schooners race at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat festival a few years ago, a perfect day and a wonderful show. The fleet passes very close to shore, quite a spectacle.


Here's MARTHA and ALCEONE


20070908153307.jpg
 
Roxanne has many MMM photos on the SYC Race Website. <sausalitoyachtclub.org> <race> <racing galleries> The SYC provides the Race Committee for the MMM.
 
Our 77 year old neighbor at Berkeley Marina recently had a sobering experience in the Friday Night races on his Merit 25. He was steering from the weather rail with his tiller extension when a larger than normal wave (wind was approx. 20 knots) knocked him from his perch. He fell into the cockpit, breaking off the extension and cracking the tiller.

The skipper's weight against the tiller tacked the boat, and with the jib aback, the mast went nearly horizontal. He was launched over the side (the cockpit area has no lifelines), where his PFD inflated. Somehow, he hung onto the mainsheet, and his crew member was able to retrieve him.

He did say three boats in the vicinity stood by to assist. In those conditions, I'm not sure what the outcome would have been. Though he played it down, it sounded like a near thing.

Which reminded me of a recommendation for SSS sailors and others who go offshore. If wearing a harness tether in the cockpit, and there are breaking waves like in the recent Singlehanded Farallones Race, keep slack out of the tether by taking wraps around a windward winch or using a short tether to a padeye to windward. Jacklines stretch, particularly when wet. SSS has lost too many dear friends over the leeward lifelines, even when wearing a harness and tether.

In Memory of SSS Member, Long Pac, and 2008 Singlehanded Transpac competitor Thomas Kirschbaum, who was clipped in, wearing a PFD, harness and tether. But it didn't save him.

https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/magazine/in_memory/1974/thomaskirschbaum
 
Last edited:
Yesterday's start of the Race 2 Alaska was the initial qualifier leg from Port Townsend to Victoria Inner Harbor in BC. With westerly winds against a 3 knot west flowing ebb, conditions in the Eastern end of the Straits of Juan de Fuca provided challenging conditions, At least 13 contenders have withdrawn, one multi-hull capsized, several teams took shelter on nearby islands, and the new Bieker proa, Team WILD And PURE, began filling with water.

The multihulls had a field day, crossing the 34 nm miles to Victoria in fast times of three hours and change. All competitors had to drop sail and enter the last mile into Victoria Harbor under human power: rowing, paddling, pedal flippers. This lead to close encounters inside Victoria Inner Harbor. The finish line was a crew member jumping ashore and ringing a bronze bell on the dock in front of the Empress Hotel.

SSS's first winner of the Singlehanded Transpac in 1978, Norton Smith, is competing in the R2AK aboard a Hobie 20 catamaran, Team HEXAGRAM. Norton has always marched to the beat of a different drummer, and his soft spoken voice belies his grit and determination.

There's a good bunch of photos the R2AK fleet arriving at Victoria here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/angusadventures/sets/72157653630525278
Norton Smith can be seen pedaling and paddling to the R2AK finish bell in photos #4290 thru "4312. He's the grizzled veteran in blue foulies.

Good luck to all in tomorrow's start from Victoria 750 miles north to Ketchikan. The Race 2 Alaska is run to promote a "bring what ya got" and encourage new generations to design and build low cost watercraft. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/06/us/a-race-to-alaska-no-motors-but-no-limits-on-imagination.html
 
Last edited:
That looks like a blast if you chose your craft wisely. In a beach cat or strictly rowing boat, not so much.

WILDFLOWER would be a good candidate with an effective manual propulsion setup:
 
Al Hughes (3x SHTP veteran) and his mates on ELSIE PIDDOCK are already through Seymour Narrows! No one else is even close. GO ELSIE PIDDOCK - She skips in her sleep!

Race to AK tracking page
 
Last edited:
2145 our time. Looks like ELSIE's sleeping rather than skipping. Anchored? They have time for a dark night snooze.

I know someone who's addicted to TV "reality" shows - the ones where they cast several "goof-balls" "two left footers" "fat old guys" who "Think They Can Dance" or become an "Idol" or whatever. They're good for a few weeks, get laughed off, and usually someone with real talent wins. The writer-producers are already writing scripts for next season with different set of wanna be's scheduled. If I didn't know better - and suspiciously maybe I don't - I'd accuse the AK folks of the same. A paddle board for 750 miles? A klutzy row boat? A clobbered together thing with a pointy end and a sail? A proven production trimaran with a semi-pro team? Who would have guessed? Maybe the glib PR hype in the descriptions of the "teams" says it all? Can anyone see a potential reality TV show coming out of this race? Or am I just jaded?
 
Lots of sleeping going on - not like the SHTP! But ELSIE was underway early and is moving on out. It looks like POR FAVOR, Hobie 33 and recent Pac Cupper will be the next boat to attempt Seymour Narrows:

Tides and Currents at Seymour Narrows, BC

Pat, yes jaded. (I've seen very little of the reality shows and what I saw was quite enough.) I really thought the PURE AND WILD proa was the purpose-built, semi-pro ringer in this race but they dropped out early and sailed home. I'd really like to hear the story.
_____________________________

Update on PURE AND WILD: I'm not sure who to credit but this is from 48 Degrees North Magazine/sponsorship by OCENS: "The only team that’s had to pull out that I’ve been able to talk to directly is Team Pure & Wild on the Bieker Proa. Dalton said, 'We’re mentally and physically ok. We just realized that we weren’t ready for the conditions that we were going to be facing going up there. This morning, it wasn’t even that windy, 10-12 knots and sea conditions of 2’-3’, and we couldn’t deal with it very well.' "

"I inquired as to whether the biggest problem was buoyancy in the symmetrical bows, which had sounded like a pretty big concern after some of their initial sail tests. Joe didn’t say that was necessarily it, but told me, 'There are a fair number of payload issues and comfort issues, and the combination made it obvious that we weren’t going to be able to get any rest. Therefore we wouldn’t be able to handle the conditions that we needed to be able to withstand in order to make a go of it. Neither of us slept last night. The open water was tough.' "
 
Last edited:
Bob, I don't want to hijack Sled's Sagery (is that a word?). How how about moving our comments to a new thread? I'm doing just that. Pat
 
So far, ELSIE PIDDOCK has sailed a near perfect race. Their stop last evening at Otter Cover, under the lee of Chatham Point, was a good call. Going upwind in Johnstone Straits on a pitch black night in 30 knots of wind would have been risky at best.

Traversing Johnstone Straits is rarely easy, and sometimes dangerous. Wind against tide in this section will challenge everyone who gets past Chatham Point. It's about 60 miles directly upwind to the beginning of Queen Charlotte Straits, where conditions will begin to moderate. It looks like ELSIE PIDDOCK is through the worst of it, where for a time this morning they were making only three knots into the teeth of near gale conditions.

I have no problem with anyone commenting here on the R2AK. I know JB and the crew behind the organization of the R2AK. They ain't gonna let it turn into reality TV.
 
I did not know until RAGTIME! recently pointed it out that Al Hughes is ELSIE PIDDOCK's skipper. Good Grief, he's one of us. I met Al before and after the 2008 SHTP when he was sailing his all aluminum 60 footer DOGBARK and was first to finish. Al is a serious student of the game, and has great determination.
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2006/10/23/story19.html?page=all

Meanwhile, one of the favorites in the R2AK, Team Golden Oldies, the powerful 38' Crowther Cat with a highly experienced 6 man crew, has apparently thrown in the towel and sailed back south through Seymour Narrows. Johnstone Straits is currently snitting, with gale warnings. POR FAVOR, the Hobie 33, is in second place, making 2 knots upwind into 35 knots Amazingly, PF is the only boat which has not stopped since the R2AK start.
 
Last edited:
From R2AK Race HQ via Faceplant: "Okay, tracker junkies: Golden Oldies did in fact part a halyard and is headed back to Saturna to attempt a fix. Race Boss is in touch with the team. Stay tuned!"

Here are Al "Dogbark" Hughes, Mark "Alchera" Deppe, Bob "Ragtime!" Johnston and Rob "Tiger Beetle" MacFarlane after the 2006 SHTP (photo by LaDonna Bubak@Latitude 38)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top