Les Regates Imperials - by Schweppes

Lots of great action in Corsica this past week at the Les Regates Imperials - by Schweppes. To visit their site, click on  the following site link. Did we say we LOVE Schweppes?

Sinking Fast

My Naval Architect (aka Sailing Architect Hubby) went into the workshop (aka the Dining Room) to pick up our new cast iron and porcelain Kohler sink for NOR'EASTER in order to measure for the  counter top template. Guess what? It's now too heavy and the Naval Architect has decided he just can't put 30lbs back on the boat via a sink we'll use 12 days a year. (Nevermind that we threw away 100 lbs of rotting paperbacks the day we signed the purchase agreement.) The shocker was that he caved and placed an online order for a near weightless stainless sink for no money.

It's been raining for the past 10 days, and the mega varnish job has ground to a halt, so I'll blame Mother Nature for this temporary insanity.

We had ruled out acrylic (too cheap looking) and copper (too expensive). We actually ruled out stainless first for being too modern and shiny.

The end result? After pulling my man back into 1926 reality, we're having a custom copper sink made to fit our exact dimensions and it'll be here in about 2 weeks. The photo below is more rustic than the sink will actually be, but you'll get the idea.

So much for the budget. Anyone need a perfect Kohler bar sink?



Out with the (brand new) Old!




In with the (old looking) New!



Ahoy Matey!

Now that we've broken our 1,000th hit across 37 countries since the launch of this blog in December, we'd like to hear from you.

For example, we have several on board luxuries: Frette linens and lots of champagne for cruising and post racing. What are yours?

The Phil Rhodes yawl INFANTA has pretty much sailed the world, while we tend to hug the New  England Coast. What is your longest and favorite cruising voyage?

We choose a silly 'food' for every cruise. One year it's OREO cookies. Another year, it's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. What silly food makes you smile while cruising?

Thank you for your positive feedback over these past few months and for sharing your comments. Drop us a line at classic.yachting@yahoo.com and let us know how your sailing plans are shaping up.

Friends hike for friends: Onboard the catboat KITTIE

Royal Lyminton Yacht Club - Gaffers & Classics Regatta

UPDATE: The results are in for the Gaffers and Classics Regatta. Congratulations to ALICE, STRENN and ROSENN along with all the other participants who contributed to a successful event.

For details visit:

Best of luck to the 20+ entrants in the 2-day Gaffers & Classics Regatta hosted by the Royal Lyminton Yacht Club. The sun is finally out in New England and we hope our Lymington sailors have the same fair skies with plenty of breeze.


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Click the above to reach the RLYC site.

Jay Heritage Center- A Founder's Home

It was a busy social week for us, and it was particularly fun in that most events related to yachting history. First, there was an excellent dinner in the NYYC Library with a guest speaker from the Jay Heritage Center. Second, was an intimate gathering in support of IYRS at Stamford Yacht Club. Finally, IHYC has voted to become a founding member of the National Sailing Hall of Fame and has completed it's submission of Frank Bowne Jones as a candidate for inclusion.

The Jay Heritage Center (JHC) in Rye, NY is a tribute to our nation's Founding Father of the same name. We don't think of him as a yachtsman and thankfully nation-building took precedence over recreation. His grandson, however, was John Clarkson Jay and he benefited from his grandfather's hard work and inspiring leadership. It was JCJ, who along with a group of like-minded men, established the New York Yacht Club. These were impressive, gutsy men who dreamed a dream and determined to make it come true.

The President of the JHC is the lively, intelligent and highly committed Suzanne Clary. Her presentation was as much about the homestead as it was about the Jay family and it was well-done. Suzanne covered the Jay family's involvement with the water as well as the the sailing passions of the subsequent owners of the Jay Homestead. Keep reading, but then visit their site via the pictures below:

John  Jay Homestead -  Rye, NY

One of the subsequent owner's of the home was a financier and yachtsman named Edgar Palmer. The Flicker photo stream of the JHC shows a wall of yacht photographs owned by Mr. Palmer. One of the boats was the winner of 1909 Kaiser's Cup and she was originally owned by future IHYC Commodore William Hamlin Childs. Today, JOYETTE's blunt transom hangs in IHYC's ballroom.

We're not sure how the boat went from Commodore Child's to Mr. Palmer and back to Indian Harbor, but we'll try to piece that together. In the meantime, we've invited Suzanne Clary to come visit us so she can see the boat for herself. It's a small world!



JOYETTE - the American entry and winner of the KAISER'S CUP



Short Tacks


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CADENZA - A Herreshoff Rozinante


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Ghosting along following a tranquil afternoon sail

Do you have a suggestion for a Short Tack? Pls let us know via classic.yachting@yahoo.com

It's Here! - Classic Yacht online

We sometimes count time in terms of layers of varnish (currently, we're in the dark ages). Other times, it's great to have Mr. Prince's US-centric e-zine, which is delivered every other month. In case you have not received the latest link, it is: www.classicyachtmag.com/currentissue. 

Pls leave a comment to Mr. Prince that our site led you to his and come back soon.

-Quartermaster

Breaking News: Name that Yacht

Her name is SOPHIA. And, she is currently on the dock at L'Escale in Greenwich, just up the road from IHYC.

As this was an unexpected find, I only have reality pics. While I did push my trusty iPhone to the limit as the sun was setting, well, it has its limits. I even played humble admirer as much as I know that professional crew rarely have time to chit-chat and they certainly have a responsibility not to give anything away. Mr. and Mrs. Owner of SOPHIA - your crew was tight lipped.

All I got was that she was delivered from Maine via Newport. When I asked if she was built by a certain yard, I got a serious 'no'. We did learn that she is not new and that she has a faux painted titanium rig. How sweet is that?

So, she's a gorgeous 80ft+ Spirit of Tradition sailing beauty with a Sumurun-esque dog-house and a brightly finished hull. Her tender is also brightly finished. As I was delivering N'E to our mooring tonight, the tender - a Chris-Craft - was speeding up the channel somewhat faster than the 5-mph limit. Still, she was adorable. And, if they only knew that IHYC won the American Power Boat Association Championship four times since the early 20s, we might have had a nice conversation afterall.

p.s. - we've taken a few more daylight shots, but the boat stands as she is- gorgeous, although we are still perplexed about the American Chris-Craft tender for such an elegant sailboat. Someone's romantic choice?

Galley Time - A Faucet to Sink For....

Progress.

The first section of the galley is in the works. We've also chosen a new bronze faucet and sink. Still, it's slow going as every decision results in more choices that then need to be thought through.

NOR'EASTER is only 8 1/2 feet at her widest. It was important that the galley be a multi-tasking space, but it couldn't overwhelm the narrow salon. We dummied up the height and depth of the cabinetry a few times to be sure we had enough depth to hold a chart book, but to also ensure we had maximum open space so the boat didn't look crowded. The front to back depth is 22 inches and the icebox will be big enough for cruising without having to fully replenish every 3 days. Goodbye cooler bags!

We were conflicted on  the use of the old bronze faucet, which is a wonderful piece of early 20th century plumbing. Ultimately, we decided on a new ROHL bronze finished faucet that is in scale with the rest of the boat. After falling hard for it, but not the luxury price tag, in our local high-end fixture shop, we found a new one via Ebay at a far more affordable price. (Thank you Joan from 'For the Love of a House' blog for the tip).

Here is the new faucet, to which we will add a water filtration system:

Given that our travels put us onshore most evenings, we decided against the weight, expense and complication of warm water.

The sink was a harder decision because the appeal of a lightweight acrylic sink was strong, but in the end we opted for a simple cast iron bar sink just large enough to wash a 10 1/2 inch dinner plate. At 30lbs in weight, it has a true 1926 feel. The budget didn't allow for a copper one and we were concerned about how it might age since there is no circa 1926 hired hand to keep it polished. Thank you Kohler - it wasn't easy to find one the size we needed. Here is the white sink on our dinig room floor (aka the boat locker) waiting for it's turn to be installed:

(NB: Mr. Hubby, panicked about the weight, ordered a stainless version today. Will report back soon on the outcome of this new decision. )

However, after these two decisions, we we were on a roll. We chose Italian tableware by MATCH, which is handmade and rimmed in pewter. Apparently, the budget is flexible in the right moments :-). It's a good blend of rustic elegance, like the boat, and we hope it will stand up to the serious heel NOR'EASTER achieves when she has a bone in here teeth. Here it is:

Dinner Plate



Mug




They also make a perfectly versatile bowl, therefore, we only need three pieces for proper, elegant summer evening service.


More soon - the blockbuster varnish job is making good progress.

Calanques Classiques - Marseilles, France

Thirty yachts registered for this weekend's Calanques Classiques, which is the first classic yacht regatta of the season in the Med. The race course takes the fleet from Marseilles to the port of Cassis. It's not a long race, but it does signal the end of the rainy season in southern France and gives everyone a chance to shakedown their gear and reclaim their sea legs.

To have a successful classic yacht regatta, you don't need a huge fleet. You just need one filled with beautiful boats that are well-raced by sailors who are as dedicated to preserving history and building community as they are to winning silver. The Calanques Classiques has clearly figured this out given the exceptional quality of the fleet.


For results, click the last photo.

THE BLUE PETER - 1931 Alfred Mylne - named The Blue Peter for luck, after the 'P' flag, which is used as the preparatory signal before starting a race.

EILIDH - 1931 Alfred Mylne



MOONBEAM III - 1903 William Fife

The Fleet



Short Tacks

NOR'EASTER's Lewmar bow hatch when we purchased her:

NOR'EASTER's bow hatch today:

A cleaner bow.

This photo was taken Saturday before we left our winter berth. We have a lot varnishing to do this year, but all-in-all progress is being made. Notice that we also ditched the roller furling and metal spinnaker pole. Good riddance!

Galley Time

It's taken us five years to get up the courage to design a new galley. But we've finally decided what we need, which is not much. We kept debating on size, appliances, finishes, etc...., but in the end we have settled on a raised panel design that is in keeping with a 1926 day racer. We don't need to bake, but we do need to make a great gin and tonic after a day on the race course. Therefore, we will have a small portable Kenyon stove with one burner to boil water for French Press coffee in the  mornings, a large icebox for the few short weeks of cruising we do each year, and a sink with a bronze faucet.

In 1926, the boat required one hired hand who managed service from a galley stuffed forward of the mast meaning it had headroom of about 5 feet. At some point, the galley and starboard side settees were ripped out and re-muddled. The then 'new' galley was placed just inside the cabin door for easy access and maximum headroom. In addition to ignoring any sense of historical esthetique, the main problem was that the two opposing settees no longer aligned. Therefore, there was no semblance of a salon to relax in after a day of racing. Did I mention the naugahide (no clue how to spell that) cushion covers?

I don't have a good before picture of what we ripped out, but while it was functional, it was pretty awful. Here is a picture of the old vinyl cushions, offset settees and the galley near the companion way door.

Port side looking aft in a photo from the original listing

Starboard looking aft - we quickly threw away every bit of clutter.

The new galley will be mid ship opposite the head and just aft of the mast to allow for decent headroom. This also allows for the two settees to be returned to their original alignment. Here are the drawings thanks to my hubby the architect:



Overhead view shows the sink next to the ie box cover with shallow upper storage





A close-up of the new galley: four upper bays for storage, fridge and sink and one bay of drawers below





Drawer design and function



The mahogany has been chosen for the raised paneling and our cabinet maker is beginning to build the first section as we speak!

Let the Season Begin

Commissioning is not until next week, but we motored Nor'easter from Stamford to Greenwich on Saturday afternoon, which was sparkling.

While only a few boats have been launched - it is still a bit early here - there was a small amount of activity on the water. As we passed by Stamford Yacht Club, we were pleased to see the Concordia PRAXILLA, owned by our friend Dom. Dom is always well organized and PRAXILLA is always in perfect order. It seems Dom brought her down from Pilots Point that morning.

As we turned west towards Greenwich, we could see a few of the super fast racing machines returning from the first day of American Yacht Club's Spring Series. It was a fine day to fly a chute and the boats looked slippery fast.

Here are a few pics:



Ahoy, PRAXILLA




Returning from American YC's Spring Series



Not IHYC but inside Captain's Harbor



E.C. Benedict's 1896 home designed by Carrere & Hastings overlooking our mooring field




Home! For Nor'easter and us