Category: bermuda

more Carina memories, the big mouth frog.


In 1971, I was preparing “Carina” for another trans-atlantic crossing to Cowes for the Admiral’s Cup. “Carina” was again part of the 3 boat team representing the United States.

I had “Carina” tied to the dock at Indian Harbour Yacht Club; a man approached me saying he had these things, cold light, recently invented by him, and he was not yet sure what they would be useful for. He gave me some for the trip asking if I/we could provide feedback to him about possible uses.
As we all know today cylume is so big and commonplace that no one probably asks where they came from or when.
During the crossing, we mostly played with them, for amusement. I did use one while working on a leak in the compressor for the refrigeration, but really because it was available.

BERMUDA RACE 1970

As I continue to “mine” my papers and photographs, new material comes to light. I have previously written about my “Carina” years and the Nye family. Not enough can be said about their involvement in yachting. Here are copies of the Bermuda newspaper after our win. and a photo of Bodie Rhodes and one of his daughters Robin.

I do not appear in many photos, so this is unusual. I will also mention, if I did not before. We rounded Argus tower ahead of “Ondine”(73 foot Tripp design) boat for boat.

BURT DARRELL

I first met Burt Darrell in 1970 after the Bermuda Race. We had work done at his yard. In the succeeding years I would always visit and help out at the yard, as the finish of a Bermuda Race would push the limits of the usual island time. I looked forward to it, as I was rewarded with many stories of the sailing past. He was a man of enormous understated charm. Often I was invited to lunch at his house, again understated, well hidden from the public. A house he built himself with lumber salvaged from wrecks on the reefs surrounding Bermuda. The House was built of teak.

It was not unusual for someone of note to turn up for lunch as well.

Burt was an accomplished sailor in his own right having won the King Edward VII Gold Cup six times, in addition to his other accomplishments.

Burt would come to Newport for the America’s Cup races. He, like many real sailors wanted to “look under the hood” . It wasn’t the glamor, but the technology that attracted him.
In 1972 a hurricane crossed the fleet on it’s way to Bermuda. We were in need of repair, like so many other boats once we arrived in Bermuda; and were due to sail in the Trans-atlantic race to Spain to boot. I worked furiously at Burt’s yard on our projects, helping haul other boats in between.


Norris D. Hoyt

Norrie Hoyt, teacher, shipmate, mentor. A wonderful intelligent, engaging, kind man with a tireless curious mind. My English teacher at St. George’s School, with whom I sailed my first Bermuda Race. He was probably responsible for my enduring interest in photography. He forced me into an orderly mind.

Norrie wrote a book titled “Addicted to Sail” a charming little book in which his enthusiasm pours out on the reader.
At school his apartment was always full of students, Norrie and his wife never seemed to mind. They made students feel welcome and cared for. To this day I do not know how they managed. English class was always stories of sailing which kept us captivated.
When Sail Magazine was started almost every cover the first ten years were photographs taken by Norrie.
Norrie held a Phd in English Literature and his swimming records stood for years at Yale.

more 1970



In 1970 I sailed the intercollegiate championships in Madison, WI. In those days the team race championships were divided by district. We beat the West coast for the first time in many years; however in the individual championships they dominated.

I arrived the day following the conclusion of the series back in Newport the morning of the start of the Bermuda Race, which I sailed aboard “Carina” Dick Nye’s 48 foot McCurdy & Rhodes sloop. We won overall beating many bigger boats across the line.
Returning to Newport I needed a summer job. It was an America’s Cup summer. I found work on the shore crew for “Heritage” designed, built and skippered by Charlie Morgan, preparing the boat each morning before it left for racing and in the evening upon its return.
I raced the Stamford-Vineyard race on “Carina”. we did well and “Carina” won the NORT(northern ocean racing trophy) a cumulative scored prize.
“Chubasco” a 68 foot S&S yawl from the west coast. We left the dock for the delivery to Ft. Lauderdale,FL the middle of November. The wind never stopped blowing the whole trip. We had 50 knots out of the north for 8 days. wet and wild. Burke Mooney at the helm in the photo.
I returned to Newport. In December I flew to Charleston, SC to jion “Loon” a 45 foot yawl belonging to Gifford Pinchot to help sail it to St. Thomas,VI. He raced actively in the 1950’s and wrote a number of books on the subject. I arrived back to the news that by birthdate had been assigned a lottery number for the draft that would in all likelihood that would never be drawn.

Bermuda Race 2006

2006 was the debut of the new Jason Ker 50 foot ‘Snow Lion”; launched only weeks before the Bermuda Race. We sailed the NYYC spring regatta and then off to Bermuda. It was a slow upwind race. We managed a class win and winning by the greatest margin in any class meant we earned extra silver.

The first evening of the race I hit what expect was a basking shark, quite large, it became wrapped around the keel, we had to stop and sail backward to free it.
I just made my flight home as I never expected the race to take as long as it did.


CARINA






No story about yachting is complete without “Carina” belonging to the Nyes. There is probably no boat in yachting history that won more races. There were several yachts bearing the name, all belonging to the Nye family. The success was a father,son story, complementing each other perfectly.

I started sailing on the last “Carina”a 48 foot sloop built in 1969, designed by McCurdy&Rhodes. They had been tasked to design a boat that would rate well under any rule and sail fast naturally.(The rating rule was in transition and no one knew exactly what it would be, the existing CCA rule in America was being melded with the RORC rule in the rest of the world.)the boat is still winning races today.
In 1969 of 32 starts I believe there were 29 firsts, the rest were 2nd or 3rd. We won our class in the Trans-atlantic race from Newport to Cork, Ireland. From there we went on to Admiral’s Cup and were part of the winning United States team.
1970 we won the Bermuda Race. and probably the Northern Ocean Racing Trophy, give for a cumulative score based on several races, block Island race, Stamford Vineyard race, Marblehead-Halifax race.
For me the Bermuda race was pier head jump flying in from the intercollegiate national championships.
1971 we sailed the boat across the atlantic again to participate once more in the Admiral’s Cup and Fastnet race.
I only sailed those three seasons on the boat, but it’s indelible mark was with me forever.

1972 Charisma

A few days ago there was a reunion of sorts. a number of the crew of the “glory days” of Charisma the S&S 56 belonging to Jesse Phillips turned up in Newport. I keep fond memories of our days sailing. It all seemed so easy, we all had confidence in one another . In the photo on the left taken during the Bermuda race, a hurricane crossed the course, we had
70 knots over the deck at one point. It was also the moment I decided that I could make a better safety harness.(it’s me in the photo)
the photo taken from the masthead of Charisma during the trans-atlantic race to Spain. A long slow race.
From there we took off to get to Sardinia in time for the first Mediterranean championships, Bill Ficker came and skippered the boat, we won everything.
the bottom photo is of Peter Van dyke and John Browning sailing throught the straits of Gibraltar