Sss history

[Philpott]

Does anybody have old "stuff" from the days before 1996? I know, I know: ask Skip. Well, of course I will do that. Aside from rich oral histories, how about written materials? Does anybody have that? It would probably be saved on those old square hard discs since flash drives were a gleam in the eye of techies. Collectors' items, all. Please let me know. We should start to save and organize all that for our children's children (I know, I know. I can't get my son on a boat, either). Please let me know and give it up.

 

[BobJ]

In the early days of the SH TransPac, SSS did printed programs for the race with photos and bios of the skippers, etc. There were several of those programs in the package of SHTP stuff I passed along to Rob/LD and which is now with either George or Lucie. Some of the photos were pretty funny - think late 70's BIG HAIR on a couple of present (and much older) SSS vets.

 

[Critter]

"Those old square hard discs"? I'm thinking they might more likely be on those old 8 1/2 x 11 rectangular floppy discs.

 

[Philpott]

"Those old square hard discs"? I'm thinking they might more likely be on those old 8 1/2 x 11 rectangular floppy discs.

Yikes, Max! You're right. I bought my first IBM computer in 1986. It came with a 4" thick book on DOS. hahaha. As if I would read all that.

 

[pogen]

"Those old square hard discs"? I'm thinking they might more likely be on those old 8 1/2 x 11 rectangular floppy discs.

We have the old archive, but no one can remember the proper toggle switch settings to boot the PDP-11.


Srsly, if someone has a stack of hardcopy material, we have a very fancy scanner at my work, I can very quickly scan it and get it up on the new website, and return the originals to whomever.

 

[Philpott]

I just ran into Paul Kamen at the Berkeley marina. He says he has slides of boats sailing in that first singlehanded Farallones race in 1978. He will try to find them for us.

 

[AlanH]

I just ran into Paul Kamen at the Berkeley marina. He says he has slides of boats sailing in that first singlehanded Farallones race in 1978. He will try to find them for us.

I happen to have SHTP posters, the ones the Jim DeWitt did, from 1990, 1994 and 1998. They were up in my work offices for years and served as motivators for me for a very long time. I would be willing to donate them to an SSS archive.

The 1990 one is of, I THINK is Bill Stange on the Olson 30 "Intense".

The 1994 one is of Dan Newlands next boat, the Newland 368, Pegasus

The 1998 one is Bruce Schwab's Rumbleseat

The 1990 poster is rather water-stained, but intact. The other two are really pretty pristine.

AND of course I have the 2008 poster, signed by most of the skippers and also Synthia, who was on RC that year, but I ain't parting with that one for a while!!

 

[AlanH]

I also have a 1992 Singlehanded Farallones sweatshirt. That was my first Farallones race, ever. I think I also have a 1994 race t-shirt. It was the only one ever printed, that I know of, with glow-in-the-dark ink. Honest!

Somewhere out there, from 1996 I think, there are a very, very few SSS "Hanalei 1-2" t-shirts. There's a bit of memorabilia for you. That was the year that Terry McKelvey did the SHTP.

 

[AlanH]

Peter Hogg did a bunch of races in the 80's and early 90's, he might have a bundle of memorabilia. Dan Newland won a bucketload of races...monohulls...at the same time and he might also have memorabilia. I think Dan has won more SHTP's than anybody else.

This web page is interesting, though I don't know the person who wrote it, at all. He didn't actually do the 1980 race..

http://www.oocities.org/thetropics/5471/crossing.htm

 

[AlanH]

As an aside...

http://cmgm.stanford.edu/~ahebert/SHTP/shtp.html

 

[pogen]

I also have a 1992 Singlehanded Farallones sweatshirt. That was my first Farallones race, ever. I think I also have a 1994 race t-shirt. It was the only one ever printed, that I know of, with glow-in-the-dark ink. Honest!

Somewhere out there, from 1996 I think, there are a very, very few SSS "Hanalei 1-2" t-shirts. There's a bit of memorabilia for you. That was the year that Terry McKelvey did the SHTP.

Hi Alan, if you could take some high resolution pics of your materials and make them available, that would be super awesome. Probably more important that the posters themselves, to share on the website. Thanks!

 

[AlanH]

Hi Alan, if you could take some high resolution pics of your materials and make them available, that would be super awesome. Probably more important that the posters themselves, to share on the website. Thanks!

I can do that!

 

[AlanH]

While ago a member on Sailing Anarchy...his handle is Billy Bob, wrote that he'd done the 1980 SHTP on a Moore 24. He's currently living in New Zealand. I'm not really active on Sailing Anarchy, but I know some folks on our forum, are. I will message him, and perhaps others can, as well. It would be great to have him write up a story about the 1980 race and share some memorabilia.

 

[Philpott]

Hi Alan, if you could take some high resolution pics of your materials and make them available, that would be super awesome. Probably more important that the posters themselves, to share on the website. Thanks!

Hi, Alan, I think it's GREAT that you have all that stuff. The fact that lots of information has been lost because there are no hard copies is a wake-up call. For instance, it's great to have the online biographies but if someone hadn't saved these old programs that history would not be available to share. I don't know that any online Club history is available prior to 1998, although I'd love to be proven wrong. Paul Kamen is still digging around for the photos of the first Farallones. I have PM'd you (that means sent you a private message).

 

[sleddog]

Luckily no one died in the first SSS Farallones Race, 4/09/77, or SSS may well have sunk before crossing the starting line. What the hell the El Toro KATIDID was doing on the race track was beyond comprehension. "What's it rate?" Don't ask.

A recap of the race, below, garnered a half page in the SF Chronicle Sports Section. Wowza. Paul Kamen on the Santana 22 MAMBO was last to finish at 6:20 a.m. but won his division.

MERLIN started the race with a double reef and storm jib, same rig she finished with. Bill Lee, sailing MERLIN solo in her maiden race, ran 27 miles back from the Farallones in 2 hours, 04 minutes.

In a freak accident, a member of the RC dislocated his knee cap and suffered a fracture aboard the committee boat.

Be careful out there.

 

[AlanH]

Skip, I just left a phone message for Mike Pyzel, whom you'll probably remember from the '78 SHTP. Mike is a surveyor in Santa Barbara.

Ms Philpott, I'm thinking we might be able to get 3-4 guys from that first race together and videotape the ensuing hilarity. At the very least we should be able to get Mike Pyzel, Skip, and Paul Kamen around a beer or two with a camera rolling...

I'm also making inquiries around to see if I can locate Mike Kane, who did the '82 race and I think still lives in Newport Beach.

 

[AlanH]

http://www.latitude38.com/letters/199806.htm

Amy Boyers address isn't functional any more but I'll see if I can track her down. I just messaged the Heli-Skiing outfit she used to work for.

 

[AlanH]

From this Latitude 38 archive - http://www.latitude38.com/letters/200607.htm


PERHAPS THE BEST 19 DAYS OF MY LIFE

Now that I'm well into my 80th year, I seem to look backward more than forward. In that looking backward, one adventure was particularly outstanding - the 1980 Singlehanded TransPac that I did with my Columbia 29 Ariel.

I'd always planned to do another Singlehanded TransPac, but time slipped by.

The purpose of my letter is to encourage sailors to seriously consider entering this event. It's too late for this year, of course, as the fleet set sail late last month. But as it takes nearly two years to get yourself and your boat ready for such an endeavour, now is the perfect time to get started for the next Singlehanded TransPac.

I was lucky enough to enjoy many sailing adventures in my life, but take it from an 80-year-old, the Singlehanded TransPac stands out for its impact on me as a person and my personal sense of achievement.

I was, of course, told that I was crazy to enter such a race, so be prepared for criticisms.

As a further enticement, I have attached a photo I took out a port of my boat while anchored in Hanalei Bay after the race. Back then, the girls seemed to have an aversion to wearing clothes while on boats.

John Hill
Ariel, Columbia 29
Belmont

John - As inspiring as the photo you sent might be, it's a little too raw for even Latitude.

Nonetheless, we were in Hanalei for the finish of that biggest Singlehanded TransPac ever, and remember it well. As such, we decided to dig up a list of the participants from 26 years ago, and wonder in print how many are still alive, and how many are still sailing. The entries were:

Bob Counts, Sanderling, Golden Gate 25
Bob Boyes, Saltshaker, Moore 24
Amy Boyer, Little Rascal, Wilderness 21
Lester Robertson, Legs, Moore 24
John Carson, Argonaut, Cal 40
Don Keenan, Hanalei Flyer, Olson 30
Rod Park, Panach, Bill Lee 40
Charles Hawley, Slim, Moore 24
Michael Harting, Challenge, Custom 37
Ronald Haynes, Whither Thou, Norwest 33
Dick Mitchell, Blithe Spirit, Pearson 36
Buzz Sanders, Red Boat, Cal 29
Harold Upham, Joshua H., Columbia 8.7
Ian Kiernan, Maris, Tasman 38
Dan Byrne, Fantas, Valiant 40
John Hill, Ariel, Columbia 29
Greg Booth, Wavelength, Cal 40
Hans Vielhauer, Mach Schnell, Scampi 30
Douglas Fryer, Night Runner, Custom 42
David Briggs, Gandalf, Irwin 34
Leland Flint, Luana Iki, Farallon 30
Sam Vahey, Odysseus, Ranger 37
Frank Dinsmore, Carina, Islander 28
Linda Weber-Rettie (Newland), Rough & Rettie, Yamaha 33
Samuel Crabtree, Catch The Wind, Cal 39
Michael Herz, Kunu, Ericson 35
Judson Zenzic, Catch 22, Custom 20
Jerry Cotter, Errant Prince, Custom 40
John Waite, Stormalong II, Ericson 35
Hal Holbrook, Yankee Tar, Gulf 40
Ted Holland, Solaris ,Columbia 36
Donald Eldridge, Skol, Valiant 32
Thurman Smithey, Venture, Rawson 30
Kathy Senelly, Erasmus, Cal 25
Michael Olsen, Hale Maka, Chrysler 26
Philip Good, Catspaw, Catalina 30
Frank Shirley, Osiris, Willard 36

Just for fun, we went into the archives and dug out the above black and white photos of some of the participants. Anybody else know where the others are?

 

[AlanH]

http://www.latitude38.com/letters/200611.htm


SEVENTEEN MILES INTO THE 1980 SSS TRANSPAC

Thurman Smithey of the Rawson 30 Venture reporting in. I am one of the Class of '80 Singlehanded TransPac, although my trip ended 17 miles from the start - I could still see the Golden Gate Bridge - when my backstay gave way and the mast broke at the spreaders. The lower part of the mast remained standing, supported by the lower shrouds. The upper part bent over until it rested on the lifelines, with the masthead nearly in the water.

Within half an hour, I had retrieved all of the wiring and other stuff that was in the water, had started the engine, and had used the emergency VHF antenna we were all wisely required to have to make contact with the Coast Guard. It was agreed that I didn't require assistance, although I could keep in periodic contact with them.

At that point I rigged my Ham radio backup antenna and called a Ham friend in San Diego. He promptly patched me through to the (now) San Diego Union-Tribune sailing reporter Bill Center, who had been following the efforts of Kathy Senelly of the Cal 25 Eramus and myself, the two San Diego entrants in the race.

I spent the rest of the summer of '80 motoring around the Delta awaiting a new mast, then singlehanded back to San Diego.

In '81 I sailed with crew from San Diego to Fanning Island, then I singlehanded home. I was ready to do the '82 TransPac, but declined to enter - in part because of what I remember to be an eight-fold increase in the entrance fee. So I just singlehanded from San Diego to Hawaii by myself. It wasn't a quick trip, but it was without incident.

I kept Venture for 32 years, but I parted with the boat in 2000 after she was doing more sitting than sailing.

I am presently 85 years old, and am looking forward to her new owner, Walt Shannon, taking me on one last sail he has promised on Venture. He presently has the boat in a yard in Sacramento where he is giving her a lot of the TLC that she needed. But who knows, maybe Walt will have a go at the Singlehanded TransPac himself with Venture.

Thurman Smithey
Chula Vista

Thurman - Well done!

When some folks whine that they can't go cruising because boats are too expensive, we like to point to folks such as yourself who have made long and successful ocean passages with modest, inexpensive boats. For example, there's a Rawson 30 in Napa for sale right now for $9,500 - and we suspect the owner might be open to offers. Assuming the boat would check out reasonably well, a sailor could have a ball cruising a boat such as that in Mexico and beyond. It obviously wouldn't have a glamorous interior, but it could do the job.

------------

Looks like Kathy Senelly might be in San Diego...

 

[AlanH]

Hans Vielhauer has also done a bunch of SHTP's. I *THINK* I bought a solar panel from him in '96. He was living in Half Moon Bay at the time.