ws lirakis – Page 194 – stephenlirakis.com

585 miles in 24 hours

Ericsson 4 the Volvo 70 with skipper Torben Grael has sailed 585 miles in 24 hours; a new monohull record. Rumor is that they may exceed 600 miles iin the next 24 hours. This is a really hard thing to accomplish; to be able to maintain these speeds for extended periods of time. It is the adrenalin rush that keeps crews returning for the punishment they receive in return.

Speedboat, probably could not achieve these speeds, except under ideal conditions, strong wind well aft, a regular sea state, not too confused. And then probably not for several days in a row.

BOOKPLATE

I have been working on this for years. My bookplate. As with so many things I worked around it until I realized what I wanted, I already
had. The finished product has the lettering on it.

I am sure everyone has now realized that Speedboat dropped out of their trans-atlantic record attempt. Conceptually the coolest boat on earth.

New York Yacht Club Race Week 2008

In July, I raced on J-109 belonging to Peter Rugg.I had previously written about the exciting Sunday, our final day of the regatta. The forecast was for intense thunderstorms. we managed racing in the morning, when powerful clouds appeared over Pt. Judith; the race committee chose to start a race, anyway. I was too busy on the boat to get photographs. These are from a boat that was nearby; caught by the same storm.

VIRGIN MONEY aka SPEEDBOAT

Speedboat left today from New York in an attempt to break the monohull powered winch trans-atlantic record. Aboard is an all star crew headed by Mike Sanderson.

I freely confess that I am envious. Six days across the Atlantic is exciting and not so hard. In my opinion the hard part on this boat, will be not breaking it. In other words press as hard as you can without reaching the limits of the boat.;ie. never redlining.Speedboat is much larger than a Volvo 70 used in the Round the World race, however she is more fragile, not built for the punishment the Volvo 70’s are.

I will be following their progress with interest and envy.

Commodore Tompkins

Warwick Tompkins, one of the finest sailors I ever had the pleasure of sailing with. Not only a complete seaman, but a great closed course sailor as well. Independent minded and clear thinking, which occasionally caused friction, but usually right. It may be that this personality trait kept him from being recognized as the truly great sailor he is.

I would, in the words of another friend, sail with Renzo, anywhere, anytime.

BUCKMINSTER FULLER AND UFFA FOX

Buckminster Fuller might easily be labeled the guru of the “woodstock generation”. perhaps best known generally for his geodesic dome. He was a global thinker,he was green long before it was fashionable. He completed few projects, was not really an architect, yet he made an enduring impression. The Whitney Museum just finished an exhibit dedicated to “Bucky” and his ideas. I confess he intrigued me as well. I saw him speak a number of times while in school.

Uffa Fox,in my mind is very much the same. No discussion of the history of sailing is complete without including him; yet he was not a naval architect. He designed and built boats, but could never stay in business. His thinking nevertheless, cleared the way for the next necessary step in design thinking in yacht design. Again I remain intrigued with Uffa, I met him on a number of occasions.

50 KNOTS UNDER SAIL

Sailing at 50 knots has long been a dream of almost everyone who messes about in boats. It was mostly the fringe who actually made attempts, however usually being underfunded, were not successful. This first week of October, this barrier was broken not once, but multiple times, albeit by kite boards. Additionally, Hydroptere, a tri-foiler sailed by Alain Thebault, recorded 52.86 knots. For the moment none of these records have yet been ratified by the World Speed Sailing Records Council (WSSRC).

It is very exciting, and one might ask, why now? indeed, why now? Further, the nagging question in each person’s mind is what constitutes a boat? Are we comparing apples and oranges? The goal is speed under sail, not limited by the kind of vessel. If you go to the web site of the WSSRC, you will find a myriad of categories.

In closing, I will add that I am indeed addicted to sail, but in the context of the financial chaos gripping the world, it hardly seems meaningful.

MACRAME

When I first started sailing a paid hand on a boat wore khaki trousers and shirt with a black tie and black shoes. They stayed forward of the mast unless called aft. Usually they were consummate seamen. In moments of crisis their word was law. A good example was Willie Carstens; who was inducted into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame a few years ago. He is credited with introducing the dip pole jibe into modern racing.

I had the privilege of knowing many of these men, and having many adventures with them. They were men of few words. I asked many questions and they were generous with their knowledge. Quite apart from the seamanship, macrame or square-knotting was considered an essential skill. I was an eager student.

Teddy Nelson & Ida Lewis Yacht Club

Teddy Nelson had been the Steward at Ida Lewis Yacht Club for many years. His father had held the position before him. Both had been devoted to the club.

During a storm, Teddy would be the one who saved your boat, ever vigilant, he would sleep at the club if foul weather was forecast.

In the photo Teddy is toasting my graduation from St. Georges’s School.Teddy was of a generation that thought he would be employed at the club until he could no longer do the job or he died. I believe he was terminated in 1972. It broke his spirit, he never really recovered from it. I resigned from the club when it happened.

Alan Bond Ben Lexen

Recently a posting on Ebay of the deck plan of Courageous reminded me of a past memory. Cowes Week 1975, We had been living in Cowes in an apartment over The Duke of York a pub at the top of the high street. Bob Miller aka Ben Lexen took over our lease. I left for the United States for the Trans-atlantic back to England. Leading up to that however, I spent time with Bob and Jack Knights, another great English sailor.

We went to Speed Week in Weymouth to watch Crossbow and the other rather unique boats try to set speed records across a 500 meter circle.

Upon returning to Cowes, where I sailed Cowes week aboard “Gitana” and the Fastnet on “Guia” Bob Miller and Alan Bond asked me to a meeting. I was being offered the job of building the 1977 challenger for the America’s Cup. I was quizzed on how I envisioned the project and finally the question arose; would I bring the plans of Courageous. I had built her the year before at Minneford’s in City Island and still possessed a set of plans. When I replied no the meeting was over. Many of my suggestions however were used in the building of Australia.