It Was Over Before It Began - Gold Cup 2009

For GER 656: Fritz Schaarschmid, Bjoerge Dehn and Martin Lewin the Gold Cup was over before it began. During the tune up race sailing well (about 5th place) in 6 foot swells and good wind their regatta ended... without even a collision.
This gives me and others reason for concern. As you can see, the mast broke at the point where the screws attach for the vang attachment. Not all boats are equipped this way, but most are. Most don't think about how the screws weaken the wood... especially if they are longer than the diameter of the wood or in a straight line/plane across the mast. These don't look any bigger than the ones I have in the same location on my mast.
This was a two year old mast that can be repaired, but does make getting an aluminum mast appealing.
Quite unsettling that without so much as a bump from another boat the mast just failed. But, whenever a breakdown such as this happens there is really only one clear course of action: crack open a beer or three...
... load the boat on the trailer....
... crack open a few more beers...
Designate a driver...
.. and head back home. In this case, Germany. Sorry guys... If you ever come to SF and race in our SF Cup and the mast fails, rest assured we have a spare just in case.
Glad to hear no one was hurt in this unfortunate tragedy.

Folkboat Available for Day Charter in Washington

Ever heard of Isabella, A wooden Folkboat that is available for day charter in Friday Harbor, WA? Mark Shlichter was just up there on a San Juan Islands sailing trip and saw it. Here’s some pictures because Mark knew I would (wood?) be interested! If anyone is interested in doing a little day sailing up the coast in a Folkboat, this looks to be a suitable option.

Gold Cup 2009 Update

Conditions on day one look windy and choppy... Christoph Neilsen seems to be doing well starting off with two bullets. The Wilson boys managed a couple mid fleet finishes and are currently in 19th place. Let's see if they can rebound tomorrow. Go Team Wilson!
See link for results:

http://www.gkss.se/ftp/resultat/marstrandsregattan/gcfb.htm

Swedish Inernational Championship

Looks like Christoph and crew pulled off an impressive win. Follow this link for the results:

http://www.gkss.se/ftp/resultat/marstrandsregattan/smfb.htm

Follow this link for the photos:

http://www.gkss.se/sv/Events/Marstrandsregattan/Nyheter/nyheter/Photo-gallery-Marstrandsregattan-2009/

Enjoy!

Gold Cup starts tomorrow! Let's hope Dave Wilson and the boys can bring us home a little Gold!

Kirsten Goes Sailing

My sister and I grew up around sailing and I know at one point she knew how to do some sailing, but never really got into it like I did and it had been so long since she'd been out on a Folkboat... it was time to take Kirsten sailing again!
She took the helm on the downwind and was making S's with her wake... not the straightest course I've ever seen, but she remembered how to drive again pretty quick!
I took her out under the bridge because we can... it was mid morning and the big winds weren't due in for another hour or so.
It was quite a nice day... mild wind and not so cold. Didn't need foulies either.
Ok, we got splashed a bit...but we saw dolphins!

If this doesn't keep a Folkboat junky busy...

...nothing will.

http://picasaweb.google.dk/SejlklubbenLynaes

Ditte sent me the latest link to the pictures of latest Danish regatta.

Enjoy!

Rødaette Has Been Loaded and Shipped From DK

Per Buch is at it again! He's loaded up and started the shipping process today from Denmark. Rødaette (Little Red Riding Hood) should arrive in California around August 11th.
DEN 784 is on her way to becoming USA 123 for anyone interested in picking up this little gem. That's right, Per is sending the boat over without a committed buyer. Per has elected me to be the care taker until a suitable owner can be arranged. So, if interested send me a note and we'll arrange and interview.
Erik Andreasen and his crew are well versed on how to load a Folkboat, they've probably done this a thousand times!
I put the pictures in the wrong order, but you get the idea, right?!
It'll be like Christmas when the container finally arrives and we open it up... I and others have piggy backed spare parts orders... things we can only get from DK. So, for those of you contemplating an order, too late! Maybe next time a boat gets shipped over and at the rate we are going that means two more years away!

After taking a closer look at all the pictures (and I have others too) it looks like Per is once again shipping over a quality Folkboat to add to our fine racing fleet. Just the thing we needed to keep our fleet growing and thriving on the bay for years to come.