Who Bought Per Buch's Sails?

I love the folkboat class because of the cool people you meet... it's like having a classic Volkswagon, but way cooler. I posted Per's sails for sale and got a call from Scott up in Vancouver, B.C. and we started talking about his new to him boat... what a story!
He is now the proud owner of F D 55. By all accounts it's the 55th Nordic Folkboat Built in Denmark. We talked on the phone making arrangements and he told me this epic tale of the history of this boat and also sent me these pictures.
I thought I had it good where I get to sail....
Imagine dropping an ankor here and making a little dinner and drink... not bad Scott, not bad.










This is Scott standing up against the brand new mast that was constructed by a local woodsmith.
Check out the track and the wood blocks! Stylish.
I can see why he is so anxious to get a decent set of sails for her.


















Her name is Trio, but Scott is sure that this not the original name. But by the looks of this shot someone has taken very good care of this boat built in 1949.
Scott, we have to talk about this cover... Please, please please tell me you have a decent cover for all that varnish!
Beautiful details all the way around. Hardly a flaw to be found. Scott tells me the keel bolts were recently replaced as well... maybe we should learn to trailor our boats and take them up to B.C. for the first ever USA/CAN team racing regatta... could be fun. Maybe we could make it a cruise instead and make having all the cool camping accessories the competition?
The following text is from an email Scott sent me:

I don't believe she was origonally named "TRIO" until she arrived in Canada in 1958. As far as who shipped her over, his name remains a mystery although I have been told he was running a smuggling operation by filling Spidsgatters and folkboats up to the headliner with cheeze and pickled herring, sealing them off and sneaking it past canadian customs. I believe he was caught... It was officially registered as Trio, the papers say it was built in Copenhagen Denmark in 1949. I have a set of heavy canvas sails with the numbers FD 55 on them, no jib, just the main, the bag the sail is in says 1952... They still sail well although some would say slow. I purchased her from the third owner, a gentlemen who has owned the boat for 6 of the 18 years he has known the boat. He has maintained her since he caught the previous owner crying at the dock as the girl she hired to do some brightwork had sanded and then coated before cleaning anything at all... Since then Troy has sailed her very little but has maintained her to the highest standard. I got her in amazing condition as far as old wooden boats go. I looked at a folkboat earlier this year that was fresh water for the last eight... put my fist through the Keelson like it was butter. I (being somewhat retarded) wake up and get out of bed and go on the internet and look for two things, 1. my friends dingy that I borrowed that was stolen and 2. Folkboats. I have various sites that I look at, mostly local buy sell.. and happened upon an add one fated thursday morning in regards to a 1949 Nordic Folkboat. I emailed him, nervous about the small unassuming pricetag, comparable to a really nice Taylor acoustic or a decent Toyota Pickup truck. I again expected to be knocking rust off Keelbolts and picking away at mushy spots... alas it was not to be this way... as Troy had replaced them two years ago, he said he yanked the old bolts out and the old floors popped out by hand. Stuff kept showing up, new mast with Vhf and masthead light wires built into the mast, "oh yeah, those are the original winches, I rebuilt them last year," "Hey, do you want a GPS?" "a Handheld" "A Dingy?" Needless to say I was pretty much ready to sell the farm... so I did... I have a 16 month old, my wife is in school full time, I do brightwork for a living, now I have a Folkboat. Life is good. Scott.

2007 San Francisco Cup Retrospective

So I borrowed some pictures from Ditte (http://picasaweb.google.dk/ditteand/SFCup07) to make my first entry about the 2007 SF Cup. I thought it fitting to start with a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge. Our European guests always talk about how it's a dream of theirs to sail under the bridge, but the racing and busy schedule doesn't make time for this. So, after the races I had to take USA 116 and my boat back to SF. Ditte and Jonas volunteered to help. Since we didn't have any time pressures, we sailed out under the bridge together in 5-10 knots of breeze and beautiful skies... amazingly, no fog.
The opening ceremonies with national anthems and flag raising took place on the same day as the boat draw... these things always seem to make me cry... some sort of silly national pride. That's why I were sunglasses at these things. Yes, the boat draw makes me cry too. Especially if you are from Sweden.



I'm happy to find this picture to study the shape of John Wulff's main sail.
I love this shot... it's a classic perspective.


Boats entering the harbor after a fun day of racing. I love this yacht club location... it's so protected. It can be blowing 20 + knots and cold out on the bay and at The SFYC it will be 20 degrees warmer and much calmer.


All the Folkboats safely docked...
My boat looking sharp with Per at the helm.

I got to keep the Danish flag too!






So what do the Danes do in their spare time when they are here?
Of course! Go wine tasting up in the Napa Valley... good idea.

They went for hike at one of our tourist traps... Muir Woods. If you're going to do this go very early in the morning to get a parking spot and avoid the large crowds! Next time ask me to take you for a real hike up on Tam... I've spent my whole life exploring this mountain.
Have a nice trip? See you next Fall... 2 years from now.

The Swedes invited the Danes over to the Madison's to make them dinner. They dispelled the myths that the Swedes and Danes don't get along... turns out they just don't know each other very well.
I happened to call as they were making dinner and persuaded Bjorn not to put arsenic in the Danes food. He looks guilty of something, doesn't he? Probably guilty of having too much fun.

Having a bottle of champagne on the way back into the harbor... good call.
Monday's dinner at Tom and Leann's now a regatta must do.

John drinks another beer. Slow down, brother. Try to pace yourself.
... more to come, too many pictures to organize!!!

It Wouldn't Be A Regatta Without...

... a few broken parts. Let's start with Ditte's broken boom. She's helping make a case for the aluminium booms... send me an email if you're interested. I have a connection with a guy who has brought two over already and has 8 more arriving soon.



Sometimes even your favorite boom just gets old and needs replacing... to find out just go sailing in 40 knots to see what parts need replacing.
...Rudders take a beating also, but with a strategically located slab on wood, it'll get you through until the winter repair season really begins.
Wood is wonderful. I love the wood look on a folkboat. But now that I'm a father and precious little time for varnish, I prefer the low maintenance of paint and aluminum.
There's something missing here...

... oh yeah, the rest of the boat!

Folkboaters take a tip from NASCAR

How many people can you put on the stern of a Folkboat before it submerges? By my count, 10 seems to be the number.
Why are these people doing this? Is this some sort of silly traditional internationals game to pass time between races?





Is it cheating to use the winches to pull the bow out of the water and up onto the dock?







...And if this were a competition which country would win?






Well, the answer is... some boats need a little love. Especially after the 40+ knots we had during racing on Wednesday.
The Dutch had their hands and buckets full, but they were still so fast!
They drew US 95, a season champion in her prime and every race there they were up at the front vying for #1.


The stem seemed to have a small leak and little special underwater epoxy later, she was ready for action.






Folkboat repair specialist Peter Jeal worked his magic and made this repair work for the rest of the regatta.





We all knew this boat was fast and a good draw, the Dutch might think otherwise having to pump every downwind leg. Didn't seem to matter much, they came in 1st in one race and if not for the last day they would have been in the top 5.

STARBOARD!!! ....damn it.

I didn't take these pictures or write this entry. I found it on yachtingworld.com and thought it relevent to post on this blog. Story and credits below.

















So! taking the brunt of a port/starboard incident during the first race of the Folkboat national championship in Poole Harbour last Friday. According to Mike Shepherd (Advertising Manager at Practical Boat Owner/Yachting Monthly magazines), who was middleman aboard So! at the time of the incident, the race committee wisely decided to keep the fleet in the harbour due to the excessively strong winds out in the bay. Shepherd told the story: "We'd just started the second round and it was still blowing hard. We were on the beat and just put in a tack onto starboard. We called 'starboard' on the boat [Tak] coming down on us on port but they didn't seem to bear away. The next thing we knew was Tak had launched itself like a killerwhale on our deck missing us [the crew] by inches. We were incredibly lucky it didn't bring the rig down too."Fortunately no one was injured during the incident and although there was a fair amount of damage to the yacht So! There was nothing that couldn't be fixed to enable the team to be out on the water the next day. Shephard continued: "Obviously there's a fair amount of damage that will need fixing properly now the event's finished but we were amazed at how little damage there was. It just goes to show exactly how tough and strong the Folkboats are."Thanks to David Harding of sailingscenes.co.ukwho supplied yachtingworld.com with the photos.

Web Cam on DEN 816 / USA 122

So, I get a call from Mike G. telling me he sees someone on my boat and he thinks its Brock. But he's not sure it's him because he's with this beautiful woman. ;-)
I call Brock on my cell phone and ask him, "What do you think you're doing on my boat?" He asks, "How did you know I was there?" "Web Cam." I tell him and he falls for it. He wants to know where it is... I should have strung him along, huh? I didn't really care he was on my boat. Heck, I've been on his boat to spy as well. He was kind enough to pass on his spy photos so I thought I'd just post them and give you all a peek at how the backstay was put together on DEN 816.

Annika Takes a Nap with Daddy

Annika said she was tired and wanted to take a nap with me, so I obliged her. She grabbed my thumb and crashed out. Later, we changed her diaper... we seem to do that a lot. Then, we fed her... she seems to do that a lot also.

She really likes the cd we got her with the sounds of waves gently crashing on the shore... she likes to listen to that track over and over again... so do I. It reminds me of sailing and being down below on a folkboat so naturally it puts me to sleep also.

Annika Goes Out for Sushi

16 days into the project and Annika tells me she wants to go out for sushi. A bit odd for such a young lass, but she's got me wrapped around her long little finger and off we went to Sushi Ran in Sausalito. She was chillin' in the car seat right next to me, but I think the sounds and smells were a little more than she bargained for, so she persuaded her way up into my arms and she dozed off just before the food arrived. You only need one hand for sushi anyway. I felt bad, but a little after dinner, when she was getting hers, we found a little row in her collar. My dad was right... eat over your plate.

Annika Goes Down to the Boat

What a georgous day! It was actually uncomforably hot in SF today. But, 11 days into her life we took her down to the boat to get a feel for what it will be like to be crew... minus the yelling. We put this line in her hands and she didn't take it... She slept the whole time. This either means the gentle swaying and glug, glug of the water on the hull relaxes her to sleep... or she was sea sick.