Author: ws lirakis

a sailor who carries a camera

PARIS

I love Paris. The sights, the smells, the sounds, the food; even the language. French is my second language, I studied it starting at a young age and continued through college. I married a french woman, whose family embraced me wholly. I freely confess that I know France largely through their perspective, one I could never have known any other way.

How do I select the photos to represent this city where there is a new and exciting discovery on every corner.
The French love their language and enjoy playing with it, which they do well. The are proud of their country as well; that said the French have had a fascination with America since before the Revolution; which has never waned, despite the idea we have that the French do not like us.



Olin Stephens 1908-2008

Olin Stephens turned 100 years old in April of this year. He touched so many lives during his lifetime; mentored many many yacht designers, and brought joy to many many yacht owners. The list of his accomplishments is so very long, as well. He designed 7 America’s Cup defenders, and was involved in several more.

He is pictured with Alan Hanover, the present owner of “Columbia” the 1958 defender. Alan proudly announced in 2000 that he intended to restore “Columbia” to her original shape, adding approximately 4 feet to the stern . Olin responded quietly:”Why would anyone do such a thing?” After the restoration was complete, Olin conceded that the boat really did look better.I sailed with Olin on a number of boats and our lives crossed for other reasons as well as I lofted and built a number of his designs.
Jim McCurdy is pictured with Olin aboard “Carina” one of Jim’s designs, in 1971 in Cowes, England.


Sail Testing

I don’t remember exactly when but somewhere during my sophomore and junior years at URI I responded to a posting on the bulletin board at the student union. This led me to Mr. Lynch, who became a lifelong friend. It was a request for someone to do sail testing. Mr Lynch had a friend named Domina Jalbert. He had invented the re-entry parachutes for the space capsules for NASA. A man from Pawtucket, RI, who loved flying kites. He had an idea for sails and needed some practical testing and feedback.

I provided a sail from one of our Beverly dinghys as a pattern, and was shortly given one of Domina’s creations to test. I recruited anyone from the sailing team to sail against, more often than not it was Henry Bossett. I was not a good influence on Henry and his grades suffered.
I would give regular reports to Mr Lynch; effectively saying that the design had merit and deserved further exploration.

Pre-feeder

In 1977 we discussed what would happen if when hoisting the jib it jammed in the pre-feeder. I worked evenings after racing hand making one pre-feeder capable of being opened in the event there was jam. As with so many things once the season was over, I put it away. Preparing for the America’s Cup Jubilee in 2001 the question came up again. I still had my hand made proto-type. Jim Gubelmann, a good friend took an interest in it as a marketable product.

1983 America’s Cup


1983 changed the course of America’s Cup history forever, and with it the fate of Newport. Twenty-five years ago this September, a bittersweet anniversary.

I was not participating , I did go to see the final race aboard a syndicate member’s boat to watch. Liberty did lead 5 of 6 legs, and gained on the last leg.
I went to watch the cup literally be handed to Alan Bond on the terrace of Marble House. The NYYC was gracious in defeat and naturally the Australians were overjoyed. I took the photo of Ben Lexan around 6:30 the next morning, still basking in the afterglow of success.

Hanna was a bust

Tropical storm “Hanna” missed Newport; however last week Bunky Helfrich lost his battle with leukemia. I had sailed with Bunky, always on one of Ted Turner’s boats. Bunky was likely Ted’s best friend. Bunky is pictured far right in the crew photo of “Courageous” wearing a Lily Pulitzer bathing suits.

Bunky always had a good story or a joke,an imp of sorts. In 1977 one evening between selection trials, we were in the Paradise Lunch, a bar on Thames Street; where a beer was a dime and on Friday nights there was a strip show. Whoever it was had to perform to the music provided by the juke box and a stage with a plastic palm tree and a chaise long covered with a false leopard skin.  If the music stopped someone ran over and inserted another quarter, allowing three songs in a row.
This was also the season of the syndicate parties, each syndicate in turn would give a rather formal party for the competing syndicates.  Ours was next. With Bunky and a few others we approached the “stripper” who would come as a “date” of a yet to be determined crew. Naturally, at the most awkward moment she was meant to start her show. we negotiated a price, none of us really had the cash and finally the courage. It would have been great, and the end of someone’s sailing season.

Waiting for Tropical Storm Hanna


It is the weekend, and I have no sailing planned. Yesterday I prepared everything I felt needed to be attended to before “Hanna” arrived. As you can see the visibility is nil; any sailing plans would have been canceled. We are in Hurricane season. One’s mind wanders when there is no focus.

One of my longtime dreams has been to visit St. Catherine’s of the Sinai. A Monastery built around the burning bush at the foot of Mt. Sinai.
Sometimes things in life happen for a reason. Last year, we were in Los Angeles and as luck would have it The Getty Museum had an exhibit of the Treasures of the Sinai. My dream had come true.  Accompanying the exhibit were monks from the Monastery assuring the safety of the exhibit, interestingly the monks are all from Crete, the name Lirakis is a name from that same island, so they were very excited to meet me.

The Hermit of Narrow River

When I started school at URI in 1966 the only road to get there was a small winding road. I would pass a falling down house situated on a charming spot. One day I found the courage to knock on the door; thats how I met Bill Lacy, the hermit of Narrow River. He wasn’t really a hermit; he just couldn’t get around very well as he had no car and there certainly was no bus passing by.

The skiffs in the photograph were one of Bill’s only source of income, you could rent one for a quarter a day, to go rowing or fishing on the river.
The photo of Bill sitting on the steps of his house with his cat, tells quite a story.
The man with the rake was Bill’s nearest neighbor, they didn’t speak. His source of income was smoking pogies in his outhouse. I was never certain if he revealed this to his customers.
The day Bill died his house was bulldozed and it was as if he had never existed.


Royal Ocean Racing Club

No club has been more important in my sailing career than the Royal Ocean Racing Club. I joined in 1969; shortly after finishing the Fastnet race and having won the Admiral’s Cup, sailing aboard “Carina”. One of the conditions of membership is to have completed a number of the Club’s races offshore. A true yacht club. I live in the United States, however I have completed 4 Admiral’s Cups, and 5 Fastnet races as well as many of the Clubs other races. I try to stay in touch with events at the RORC.

One anecdote I can relay to you is about Buster de Guingand a former flag officer of the Club. Buster in the 50’s and 60’s had been the “local knowledge” sailing on “Carina”. By the time I met him, he was older and no longer invited to race. He would however, during Cowes Week,daily take the evening train from London, sleep aboard “Carina”, and spend the night at the beer tent with his old sailing friends. Returning to the boat he would wake me and recount tales of the old days; then catch the morning train back to a London.
Olin Stephens credits Buster with having been essential to brokering the deal leading to the acceptance of the IOR rule.
Some years later when we moved to Cowes we met Buster’s daughter; just one more example of how small the world can be.

New York Yacht Club Harbour Court lily pond

If you park near the sailing office you will walk by the lily pond at Harbour Court. It gives me no end of pleasure to see the daily changes. The New York Yacht Club has succeeded in making an environment that not only fulfills the need of access to the water for sailing but an exceedingly pleasant one as well. Spend an evening overlooking the harbour at sunset.