Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
Last week I drove up to the very top of Skyline Drive at the invitation of Ed Ruszel, a longtime SSSer who no longer races with us. Ed says he almost got hit so many times by doublehanders that he decided to quit racing with the Singlehanded Sailing Society until it is a singlehanded racing club again. Ed still owns the J 32 Flicka, keeps her in Brickyard Cove.
Before we started talking boats we walked his property, which also serves as Ed’s de facto millworks, Fish Ranch Millworks. When the local forest service cuts down trees for defensible space, they bring Ed specimens and he “mills” them to create the most beautiful boards and bits. Beautiful and incredibly aromatic. It was a sensuous experience up there, what with the view to the Farallones and the smells of eucalyptus and cedar. Mmmmmm.
Ostensibly the purpose of my visit was to collect a huge trove of SSS memorabilia, which Ed would like to transfer from his closet to my closet. I arrived to find that he had laid out newsletters and programs, photos and race results in a wide semi circle in a front room where floor to ceiling windows surrounded them. From there we went into a closet where he unearthed dozens of tshirts from the 80’s and 90’s, when Ed was active in the club and participated in the 1992 Transpacific Yacht Race on Chelonia, a 30’ Yankee.
We also talked about the Singlehanded Sailing Society, past and present, its history and current circumstances. I was at Ed’s house a long time ;-)
Ed gave me this photo of the thirteen sailors who registered for the 1992 Singlehanded Transpacific Yacht Race
And a photo of the seven who finished, including Ed. He says there was an eighth person, but somehow he didn’t make the photo of the seven of eight who finished
I was hoping that Ed would make it to the Cruise-Down in Brisbane this past weekend, but he didn’t. He woulda totally won the t-shirt contest, like this from an old BAMA race, offering the sailor a chance to recall the course by simply looking down.
Here’s a photo of Ed telling the story behind this trophy. A prize to the person who remembers it.
Before we started talking boats we walked his property, which also serves as Ed’s de facto millworks, Fish Ranch Millworks. When the local forest service cuts down trees for defensible space, they bring Ed specimens and he “mills” them to create the most beautiful boards and bits. Beautiful and incredibly aromatic. It was a sensuous experience up there, what with the view to the Farallones and the smells of eucalyptus and cedar. Mmmmmm.
Ostensibly the purpose of my visit was to collect a huge trove of SSS memorabilia, which Ed would like to transfer from his closet to my closet. I arrived to find that he had laid out newsletters and programs, photos and race results in a wide semi circle in a front room where floor to ceiling windows surrounded them. From there we went into a closet where he unearthed dozens of tshirts from the 80’s and 90’s, when Ed was active in the club and participated in the 1992 Transpacific Yacht Race on Chelonia, a 30’ Yankee.
We also talked about the Singlehanded Sailing Society, past and present, its history and current circumstances. I was at Ed’s house a long time ;-)
Ed gave me this photo of the thirteen sailors who registered for the 1992 Singlehanded Transpacific Yacht Race
And a photo of the seven who finished, including Ed. He says there was an eighth person, but somehow he didn’t make the photo of the seven of eight who finished
I was hoping that Ed would make it to the Cruise-Down in Brisbane this past weekend, but he didn’t. He woulda totally won the t-shirt contest, like this from an old BAMA race, offering the sailor a chance to recall the course by simply looking down.
Here’s a photo of Ed telling the story behind this trophy. A prize to the person who remembers it.
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