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New Boat 4 Sled

I talked to Laura @YRA a few days ago. They started releasing the renewal certificates last week - I received mine on Friday. But as a new registrant, yours probably has to be blessed by the PHRF Committee, which doesn't meet until Thursday, 1/26. Laura is well aware that SSS needs the new certificates for the 3BF two days later. She's dug some kind of electronic secret tunnel between her office and Rick's and they apparently have a plan.

Thanks, Bob! I figure January for YRA and PHRF is kind of like April for accountants.
 
Oh Dog of Sleds, you didn't happen to attend Stanford, did you?

"Family teams and rivalries have spiced the intercollegiate racing scene. The Merrill boys of the '50s were followed by the Twist brothers of the '60s. Tom Frost '58, was known for his battles against brother Pete when the latter sailed for Occidental against Stanford. Skip Allan of the current Stanford team competes against his brother Scott who heads the USC fleet."

http://web.stanford.edu/group/sailing/history.html

if one looks here - http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/stan/sports/c-sail/auto_pdf/SalingMediaGuide.pdf

it appears that one Robert "Skip" Allan, along with crew Kim Desenberg made up an All-American team in 1967.

http://www.collegesailing.org/hall-of-fame/all-american/1967-all-american-sailing-team

I see that Alan Andrews was an All-American in 1976.
 
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At high tide this morning, Capitola's Main Beach was underwater, and waves were breaking over the Esplanade seawall onto the street.

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Further west, a giant log, looking to measure about 35 feet long and 5 feet in diameter, was aground and bashing into the steps at Hooper's Beach.

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I would not want to collide with this obstruction on a dark night. It probably weighed several tons or more. Where it came from I do not know, but was probably washed to sea in the recent flooding of the local San Lorenzo River, and then drifted 4 miles south to Capitola.

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It reminded me of a similar sized log I had seen at the Victoria Maritime Museum in British Columbia. This cedar log had been hollowed out by First Nations people in the 19th Century and turned into a voyaging canoe for the Nootka tribe.

In 1901, this dugout log canoe was bought by a Canadian sailor named Capt. John Voss. Voss rigged his canoe with a rudder, cabin, and three masts, and set out to follow in the footsteps of Joshua Slocum by circumnavigating. Amazingly, Voss and the canoe survived, although one crew member did not (washed overboard). Voss did not complete his circumnavigation, but eventually reached London where he and his canoe were feted for their extended voyage in such an improbable craft.

The name of the canoe exhibited in Victoria apparently means "Friend" in native dialect. Can anyone tell us the name of this famous log canoe that crossed oceans under sail over a hundred years ago, and the name of the book written by Captain Voss?
 
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In 1901, this dugout log canoe was bought by a Canadian sailor named Capt. John Voss. Voss rigged his canoe with a rudder, cabin, and three masts, and set out to follow in the footsteps of Joshua Slocum by circumnavigating. Amazingly, Voss and the canoe survived, although one crew member did not (washed overboard). Voss did not complete his circumnavigation, but eventually reached London where he and his canoe were feted for their extended voyage in such an improbable craft.

The name of the canoe exhibited in Victoria apparently means "Friend" in native dialect. Can anyone tell us the name of this famous log canoe that crossed oceans under sail over a hundred years ago, and the name of the book written by Captain Voss?

Sled, Too easy!
THE VENTURESOME VOYAGES OF CAPTAIN VOSS, Around the World in the TILIKUM, 1901

And for extra points, what was his full name?
 

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Sled, Too easy!
THE VENTURESOME VOYAGES OF CAPTAIN VOSS, Around the World in the TILIKUM, 1901
And for extra points, what was his full name?

John Claus Voss reportedly died in San Francisco in 1922 while earning a living driving a bus. He left behind a legacy as an early promoter of a piece of equipment used to this day, mainly on small, ocean voyaging boats. That piece of equipment is A) the tiller extension B) a kick-up rudder C) braided line D) self bailing cockpit E) drag device F) vertical axis wind vane G) a live chicken for companionship
 
So your name is Robert? How did Robert transmogrify into Skip? That just doesn't seem ... logical. In case you are wondering, this is where sailboats come to freeze their little sterns off: what is the name of this frozen lake? Cheese curds to the winner
 

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John Claus Voss reportedly died in San Francisco in 1922 while earning a living driving a bus. He left behind a legacy as an early promoter of a piece of equipment used to this day, mainly on small, ocean voyaging boats. That piece of equipment is A) the tiller extension B) a kick-up rudder C) braided line D) self bailing cockpit E) drag device F) vertical axis wind vane G) a live chicken for companionship

Per the intro to my copy of THE VENTURESOME VOYAGES..., written by Commander Fredrick E. Grubb, Registrar & Librarian, Maritime Museum of British Columbia, Voss died February 27, 1922 in Tracy, California. He had arrived in Tracy in the spring of 1918.
"And here in Tracy, Voss took up, of all occupations, the driving of a 'Jitney.' This was a small passenger car that met the transportation needs of the town: Voss charged a fare of five cents."

There is a photo in my book of Voss beside the car at Tracy about 1920. The Jitney was a Ford touring car, an early "T" Model.

And, since I have Voss' book, I must recuse myself from your quiz.
 
In case you are wondering, this is where sailboats come to freeze their little sterns off: what is the name of this frozen lake? Cheese curds to the winner

Lake Mendota, Madison, Wisconsin.

And, about those patterns on the ice. It gives a whole new meaning to 'reading the water.'
 
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So your name is Robert? what is the name of this frozen lake? Cheese curds to the winner

Negatory, Breaker. Never knew a "Robert." It's been "sleddog" since early days of the internet, when someone named "Max Ebb" and I were the only denizens of a sailing newsgroup called altboats.rec. As for Jackie's mystery lake in Wisconsin, next week is scheduled the DN Iceboat World's Championships at Madison. Without further acknowledgement, we can only assume she will be racing on "hard water."

50 knots and no brakes. That's wind chilling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD9Taf5BU2A
 
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John Claus Voss reportedly died in San Francisco in 1922 while earning a living driving a bus. He left behind a legacy as an early promoter of a piece of equipment used to this day, mainly on small, ocean voyaging boats. That piece of equipment is A) the tiller extension B) a kick-up rudder C) braided line D) self bailing cockpit E) drag device F) vertical axis wind vane G) a live chicken for companionship

Since he devotes nearly the entire Appendix to sea anchors and related equipment, I'll go with E.

Ruben owns G. As an aside, I think that's why Sparky's skipper doesn't participate in these quizzes: the prize is always a chicken dinner.

The other aside: I would pay big bucks to watch Philpott race an ice boat. I'm not suggesting she couldn't do it - I'd just pay big bucks to watch.
 
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Oh Dog of Sleds, you didn't happen to attend Stanford, did you?

Stanford (LSJU) and its Cross-Bay Rival Cal Berkeley have had a long sailing relationship. Many outstanding sailors, world's champions, Americas Cup skippers, Olympic medalists, ocean voyagers, and others have attended these two schools.

For LSJU, until recently, a problem existed: there was no access to water on which to sail. Lake Lagunita, on campus, was small to begin with, didn't fill with water until January, and by May was weed choked with an exotic species found only in this large pond, and of which the Biology Department was fiercely protective.

Other sites were explored: Lake Vasona in Los Gatos, Palo Alto Harbor (shoaled); Redwood City (no facilities). Even Crystal Springs Reservoir was a possibility until the City of SF put their foot down, saying it was their drinking water we'd be sailing on.

It wasn't only lack of water that presented a challenge to LSJU students. The University administration and Athletic Department decided sailing was unworthy of recognition and might impinge on the more news and financial worthy sports of football and basketball.

With a lot of hard work, in the 1960's, things began to change. SSA (Stanford Sailing Assoc.) was donated a fleet of 6 Flying Juniors, and 3 Shields. Docks were built on Lake Lagunita, and afternoon sailing lessons and practices were scheduled. Much to the chagrin of the Administration, SSA grew to be the largest student club on campus, with more than 400 members.

Things really began to shift about 1967, when the Stanford Sailing Team flew East to the Naval Academy at Annapolis and won the National Inter-Collegiate Sailing Championship, the Kennedy Cup, over favorites Navy, Tufts, and USC. The victorious Stanford crew had borrowed red blazers from the Stanford Band and showed up at the prize giving, attended by admirals and Kennedy family members, looking like the class act they were. When two team members, Skip Allan and Kim Desenberg, were named to the All-American Intercollegiate Sailing Hall of Fame, the LSJU Administration finally woke up and realized they had an asset on their hands. Here is the victorious 1967 LSJU Kennedy Cup Team

1967_LSJU_Ken_Cup_S.jpg

Flash ahead 50 years. A lot changed. LSJU abandoned their Indian mascot, and much to the Administration and Alumni's chagrin, the student body unanimously voted in their new mascot, the "Robber Barons." Bowing to Alumni protest, the Administration nixed the "Robber Barons" and chose the "Cardinal," a non-controversial color. That certainly did not go over well with students, and though Cardinal remains, the student body is represented at sports events by a dancing redwood tree.

Today, Stanford Sailing has a fine facility at Redwood City Harbor, a well maintained fleet of boats to sail, coaches, and a nationally ranked team and individual sailors of both men and women.

Here's a trivia for today: Back in the mid-late 1960's, Stanford sailors, using a single industrial sewing machine, made their own FJ sails. The skill with which these sails were made, and their racing record, became known through-out SF Bay. Soon after, a small sail loft was opened which exists to this day, having made great sails now for nigh on 50 years. What is the name of this sail loft, a SF Bay institution?
 
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Here's a trivia for today: Back in the mid-late 1960's, Stanford sailors, using a single industrial sewing machine, made their own FJ sails. The skill with which these sails were made, and their racing record, became known through-out SF Bay. Soon after, a small sail loft was opened which exists to this day, having made great sails now for nigh on 50 years. What is the name of this sail loft, a SF Bay institution?

In light of the comment about "age divisions," I'm not going to answer this one. I know the answer and will add to the quiz: What other sailboat is closely related to the FJ, and why? And, who was the builder?
 
What other sailboat is closely related to the FJ, and why? And, who was the builder?
Flying Dutchman? Why: because the FJ was designed as a smaller version of the FD. At least, that's what my dad told me when he bought an FJ. As to the builder, no idea.

Digression: When I was 13, our family of 5 (including an older sister and younger brother) trailered the FJ to Anacortes and took a boat camping trip. We beached it one night on Orcas Island. The next day we had torrential rain and wind and pulled in to a farmhouse on the shore, where the owners took pity on us, let us sleep in their barn, and gave us an onion to cook. One onion. Not knowing any better, I assumed an FJ was suitable for such a trip. Soon my dad bought a Day Sailer, far more appropriate.

Edit: Maybe there was more than one onion. The memory is hazy.
 
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Skip: Do you know if Tom McCarthy shifted to racing cars? In my SCCA days (1970s-80s) one of our regional officers was a Tom McCarthy, and he looked believably similar to your teammate. But I'm sure there are many Tom McCarthys.
 
I'm pretty sure I know the sail loft because we had a similar quiz awhile back. For the FJ question I'll guess the Banshee. I recall the Banshee hull was taken from another boat and was "lowered" to have a lot less sheer and lighter weight. The builder was Banshee International (owned by Barry ? in Palo Alto ?). Later on, North Coast Yachts (Kim Desenberg's company on Clement in Alameda) started building them.

From the Banshee mold, a dozen-ish boats were built using carbon fiber. They were, needless to say, a lot lighter than the already-light Banshee (which only weighed 115#); so light that they were hard to tack in much breeze. For stale chicken gizzards, what were these boats called?
 
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Not being as knowledgeable as you guys, I'm going to guess that the sail loft started out as Richards and VanHeekeren (spelling??) and it's now Pineapple sails.

Do I get a chicken dinner?
 
In light of the comment about "age divisions," I'm not going to answer this one. I know the answer and will add to the quiz: What other sailboat is closely related to the FJ, and why? And, who was the builder?

A family of 5 cruising a 13 foot FJ in the San Juan Islands? WTF Max, that's about the best story I've heard. Subsisting on a donated onion in a rain storm takes the cake.

In answer to DAZZLER's question above, it was Dick Reid and his fledging company "Plastics International" that built Stanford's early FJ's. Reid then took the FJ mold and cut off a bunch of freeboard, rerigged as a catboat (one sail) and started building what he called the Banshee.

Barry Bruch took over the project and called his company Banshee International. Buzz Ballenger built a bunch of Banshees in Santa Cruz. In fact, there were more Banshees built in Santa Cruz than any other fiberglas sailboat.

Somebody then decided to build an even lighter Banshee out of carbon fiber. For BobJ's chicken gizzard, I'm gonna guess this class was called the "Griffon." Not many were built (15?) because the boats were so light they blew backwards when tacking.

I think we've run out of chicken parts. AlanH wins what's left by identifying Pineapple Sails as the fledgling sail loft begun in a barn behind Stanford University. My roommate, Jake Van Heeckeren, had the sailmaking skills and sewing machine. Kame Richards used to come around to use the machine.

Jake was a bit of a mad scientist. I came home one evening to hear Jake calling for help. He was standing in a waste basket filled with hardened plaster of paris. Both his feet were stuck. I asked what was going on. Jake sheeplishly admitted he was making a mold for building experimental fiberglas ski boots, and forgotten to shave his ankles. (This was back when ski boots were leather.)

I had to get a hammer to break Jake out of the waste basket. (and he eventually did make the fiberglas ski boots.)
 
Skip: Do you know if Tom McCarthy shifted to racing cars? In my SCCA days (1970s-80s) one of our regional officers was a Tom McCarthy, and he looked believably similar to your teammate. But I'm sure there are many Tom McCarthys.

Sorry, Max, I don't think it was the same Tom McCarthy. Tom studied medicine and became Chief of Staff at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. There was another good sailor of the time, named Tom, that took up car racing. I believe his last name was Blackaller.

Blackaller died at the wheel while practicing at Sears Point in 1989 ...he didn't crash, but suffered a heart attack.
 
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