THE HISTORY OF THE HARBOR
THE WILD WEST DAYS
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| August Hansen Costa Mesa Ship Builder |
The year was 1979. I was 19 years old and would drive to the ARCO station on the corner 18th Street and Placentia Avenue to avoid the long lines elsewhere because of the 1970s gas shortage.
By smelling the fiberglass resins in the air, I knew that this area of Costa Mesa was the boat-building capital of the United States.
What I did not know was that people in the boating industry referred to Costa Mesa as "Costa Mecca." Its boat-building companies produced about 90% of the 40,000 sailboats built each year in the U.S.
Roger MacGregor can remember the days when the roads would be jammed with trucks hauling out sailboats to all parts of the world.
"You couldn't drive down the Placentia without getting stuck behind a truck with a 'wide load' sign on the back," MacGregor recalled.
Turns out 1979 was the industry's last good year. Things started to go downhill afterward. So let's talk about the years 1968-1979, which Roger called "The Wild West."
From my count, there were 27 boat builders during that period and more than 20 companies that supported the industry.
"On Friday night, everyone would meet at Zubies after work for a beer," Roger said.
This was around when the Punk Rock group The Vandals came out with the hit song "I Want To Be a Cowboy." How many cowboy boatbuilders, do you think, used to beat up on the punks at The Cuckoo's Nest?
Anyway, I do recall those good times. Roger also told the story of a large beach party in Dana Point that MacGregor Yachts and Hobie Alter, of Hobie Cat fame, threw for the marine industry.
"Things got out of hand real fast. The band was on a trailer and ended up rolling down a cliff," Roger recalled, rubbing his face.
More than 3,000 industry people attended the party where a number of pigs were roasted.
Good times.
"How in the heck did we ever live to today?" I asked Roger.
"Oh, that was nothing, Len. You should have seen the fires in these boatbuilding factories," he replied.
In fact, one boat builder had so much fiberglass resin on the floor that they refused to allow the Fire Department to inspect their site.
"I remember seeing the Fire Department opening a window and running the ladder inside through the building so that they could inspect the place," Roger said.
During the good times, we had all types of people building boats — surfers building catamarans and hippies in VW buses. One time the Teamsters showed up at the gate to unionize the workforce.
That was an interesting time, Roger recalled.
"Once the workforce was informed they would have to cut their hair and leave their surfboards and hemp at home, that idea was voted down rather quickly," Roger said.
Another funny story was how Roger's mold shop foreman would ride a large white horse to work every day, and would run the shop from the saddle. The soundtrack to "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" played in my head while Roger told me this part of the story, and I could not help but smile.
Follow me on Twitter @Boseyachts for daily Newport Harbor observations. I will inform followers if I see the Coast Guard doing safety inspections, or if there is a new yacht in town.
Maybe just if the left or the right side of the course is favorite during twilights or beercans. It's time to grab my sea bag and sail in this year's Newport to Ensenada race.
Sea ya!
LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist.
THE DAWNING OF THE AGE OF
FIBERGLASS
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| The Crew of Wizard Yachts This story is going to be a good ride, maybe even better than the third wave I caught in the 1991 Transpacific Yacht Race, or Transpac, approaching the finish off Diamond Head. As the boat, a Santa Cruz 50 now named Flaca, dropped into the third consecutive wave and the shape of Ko Ko Head disappeared under the horizon from the huge wave, with sheets of water rising 12 feet on either side of the boat, a crew member shouted "26.6 knots," as we surfed down this tropical wave. I thought to myself, "Go straight, go fast and don't touch the helm." Now, what does this introduction have to do with this story? Absolutely nothing, it's just one of my fondest boating memories. This week I met with Roger MacGregor at his boat manufacturing plant on Placentia Street Costa Mesa. I was there to discuss the history of building sailboats in Costa Mesa. While I was in Roger's office, I could not help but notice the excitement and inflection in his voice. And I thought to myself, this is Roger's third consecutive wave, this is one of his fondest boating memories, and while writing this I better "go straight, go fast and don't touch the helm". I hope you stay onboard with me while I tell this three-part story and notice the relation between the fiberglass boating industry and today's economy. All yachtsman understand that God created wooden boats and man created fiberglass. In June 1947, Wizard Boats Inc., of 2075 Harbor Blvd., started building laminated fiberglass plastic Boats. The company had 280 dealers throughout the world and made seven different sizes of power boats, which measured between 8-feet and 17-feet-long. Wizard Boats shipped 1,700 units in 1952. I then found a July 1973 article from the Los Angeles Times. It was headlined "Million Boat Building Industry"' and was about fiberglass millionaires. In the article, the writer introduced W.D. (Bill) Schock, at age 52, as "The grizzled veteran of the new breed of fiberglass millionaires…." While talking to Roger MacGregor it was my understanding that, at 24, Richard (Dick )Valdes started Columbia Yachts and started building the Columbia 29 from a Sparkman Stevens design. Dick was the second person to start building sailboats in Costa Mesa and, as Roger described it, this was the start of "The Wild West." At about that time Roger MacGregor had produced a class project at Stanford Business School on how to put together a boat manufacturing business. Roger, who was working at the Ford Motor Co., had purchased a wooden Highlander Hull from W.D. Schock and started to build his first trailer able sailboat in his garage. "I recall the first barrel of resin coming into town" Roger said. At 38, he and his wife Mary Lou opened a little shop on 17th Street. While talking to Roger, we walked over to Laura (MacGregor) Sharp, who said: "We grew up sleeping in the back of the car while mom and dad built boats at night." Then, after the company was building a boat every two weeks, Roger left his job and went to work full-time building sailboats. "The harbor was full of wooden boats and those boat owners were our target market," Roger said.  Next to arrive was Jensen Marine's Cal Boats, and the list grew fast. McGlassen, Newport, Islander, Luhr's, Crysaliner, Hans Christian, Gil's Catamarans, Montgomery, Clipper, Pacifica, Aquarius, Westsail, Chapman 7 Kalligian, Ackerman, American, Dirmar & Donaldson, Duffield, Westerly, Bristol Channel Cutters, Willard. The list of support companies was even longer. As Roger said to me more than once "It was the Wild West." Next week I am going to talk about saloon fights, fires, beach parties, teamsters, and the manager of a mold shop working from the saddle of his white horse. So remember, "Go straight, go fast, and don't touch the helm" next week — the ride only gets better. I also need to give a big shout-out to Mary Ellen Goddard at the Costa Mesa Historical Society. If you like this story, please stop by and leave a donation in the jar and thank her for me. Before I go, I need to go over some Harbor News. The Baldwin Cup is being hosted by the Newport Harbor Yacht Club from Thursday to Sunday. This is a fantastic Team Racing event sailed in Harbor 20s in front of the NHYC. This is a must-see and more information can be found at http://www.nhyc.org In other harbor news, the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum, the Newport Ocean Sailing Assn. and Visit Newport Inc. have announced an inaugural send-off fiesta on Sunday ahead of the 64th annual Newport Beach to Ensenada International Yacht Race, affectionately called the "N2E." The fiesta, to take place from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Balboa Fun Zone and nautical museum, will features mariachi band performances, a fireboat escorting the race's 2009 and 2010 winners, and a "I want to be a Chihuahua" costumed dog parade. For more information, go to http://www.nosa.org. LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist. The Newport Beach Sailing Hall of Fame  I would like to introduce to you the Newport Beach Sailing Hall of Fame. My interest in our Harbor's history has always grabbed my attention and affection. So yeah, I like doing this kind of stuff. I started with the Newport Harbor Yacht Club history book, three yacht club roster books and my phone. I interviewed David Carol, Phil Ramser, Larry Somers, Don Ayers, Brad Avery, Tom Schock, Henry Sprague, Jane Farwell, George Twist, Dennis Durgan and Dave Ullman. To qualify, inductees into the Newport Beach Sailing Hall of Fame must have spent most of their lives competing in or Harbor. Their attendance would most certainly increase boat's performance, and I recognized their advance skill level in the sport of sailing. This is a living document and will be amended as more information is gathered and better photos added. If I have the information or have forgotten someone you feel should be added, Please do not hesitate to contact me at Boseyachts@mac.com A sailor's story is always an interesting one....quite often funny and sometimes sad. I had my share of laughs and tears while researching and writing this. I hope you enjoy it and are inspired to see your name or that of a loved one on the list.  Respectfully Len Bose 1991 The Silent Generation from 1925-1945
Walton Hubbard: 1927 Star World Champions Active boat builder” Walton Hubbard pronely did more to develop new yachtsmen and new yachting activities within the range of everyone. Famous Star boat builder, Falcons, Albatross, Rhodes 33 He owned South Coast Boatyard He passed away at the age of 36.
Dick McKibben: Was the first winner of the first two Flight of the Snowbirds in 1936 & 1937. McKibben boat was named after his mother’s nickname “Wa-Wa.” 1937 was a good year for McKibben winning the Staff Commodore IB Potter Perpetual which is a high point series for the Snowbird fleet. He also won the Griffith Trophy that same year. McKibben was also apart of the crew of Walt Elliot’s Cal 32 “Escapade” 5 Time Lipton Cup winner.
Harlan (Hook) Beardslee: 1934-35 won two Star internationals/Worlds with Barney Lehman. It was written that in a Star Mid-winter regatta that Beardslee withdrew from a race because he had fouled another competitor, who did not file the protest Beardslee withdrew. “The Rhodes class always showed up with a sizable fleet, but the race was usually for second place when Hook was sailing his # 8 Seabee” Won 9 out of 10 Rhodes 33 Championships between 1939 & 49. Tom Schock said, “He was a man of very few words, he was bigger than life.” NHYC Burgee of Merit Winner (No Photo) Barton Beek: Flight of The Snow Bird winner and top Star sailor. “Under that crusty exterior was a huge heart (even with the pacemaker). With Linda by his side, Barton participated and showed us all what it was like to be a true competitor in the corinthian spirit. The Star Class was his passion and one of the reasons it remains THE CLASS of yacht racing after 90+ years is the dedication and spirit of guys like Barton” quote from The Star Class web page. 3rd Place 1976 Star Worlds, Star Baxter Bowel Winner 1979 & 86. Lehman 10 Lehman 12 champion. He was a BYC Sportsman of the year and NHYC Burgee of Merit recipient.
Fred “ Mr. Snipe” Schenck: “Was one of the best dingy sailors come out of the harbor.” Dave Carol said. When Humphrey Bogart was racing Lehman 10’s, Bogart asked Schenck if Bacall could sail with him to learn more. Schenck was 19 years old and had seen photos of Bacall, yet in person, she was even more beautiful. “She was something else.” Said Schenck. He was the sailing master Circus II for Howard Ahmanson and sailed to Hawaii in the Trans Pac race. According to Dave Carol, he could sail anything. Dragons off the coast of Spain, part of the crew of Walt Elliot’s Cal 32 “Escapade” five Lipton Cup Wins. Lehman 12 sailor. Won the Snipe Worlds once and crewed in the worlds 4 times, won Lehman 12 Champs 1963 & 65, NHYC Burgee of Merit
Don ( D.K.) Edler: Part of the crew of Walt Elliot’s Cal 32 “Escapade’ won the Lipton Cup 5 times, 1964 Won the Star world championships. 2nd Star worlds 1960, Star Baxter Bowl Winner 1956, 57 and 61, active Lehman 12 sailor National Champion Lehman 12 1961, Tom Schock: Big man, “When Edler talked everyone listened” A lot like John Wayne walked and talked like.” NHYC Burgee of Merit Winner
Tom Frost: Quoted from Sea Magazine “A sailing whiz kid, 19-year-old Tom Frost from Newport Beach, Calif. Won the Snipe Nationals for the second year 1953 & 54 in a row. His record of two firsts, a second, a third, and a fourth against the country's top 24 Snipe sailors makes him a crown prince among small-boat skippers. Sept 14 1952, The Newport-Balboa News-Times: “Tom Frost has done it again! The Newport Harbor schoolboy, who placed second in the World’s Snipe Sailing Championships off Monaco along the French Riviera last week, today holds the honor of being the Snipe sailing champion in the International Regatta, at San Remo Italy. Tom and his crew Fred Schenck. In 1950 & 51 Frost was NHYC Junior Champion and Flight of the Snowbirds winner. Tom Schock said, “Greatest small boat sailor that ever was.” NHYC Burgee of Merit recipient.
Dick Deaver: “Probably one of the best sailors in the Harbor,” Said Dave Carol, He sailed PCs, with Lowell North. Two-time winner of the flight of the snowbirds 1949 and 50. 1976 & 78 Congressional Cup winner. Won Bronze metal Dragon Class 1964 Olympics. A crew member of three Trans Pac winning teams. Winner of the 1976 One Ton Worlds and skipper of an Admirals Cup Team in 1979. Best known for being apart of the beginning of North Sails and being very thorough in his racing preparation BYC Wall of Recognition.
Bill Ficker: 1957 Star North American Championships 2nd ,1958 Star Baxter Bowl, 1958 Star World Champion Winner, 1962 Lehman 12 National Champion, 1970 America Cup winner aboard “Intrepid”, 1974 Congressional Cup Winner 1974. Lehman 10 & 12 competitor, George Twist “ He was a very meticulous, thoughtful personal person without natural talent very organized and knew what he needed to do”. Peter Wilson said, “Ficker had a unique way of motivating the crew. He wanted all of us to decide how best to do our jobs,”. NHYC Burgee of Merit Winner, Two-time BYC Sportsman of the Year recipient. 1993 America’s Cup Hall of Fame, 2016 US Sailing Hall of Fame. The Baby Boomers from 1946-1964
Tom Corkett: Grew up sailing Snowbirds in our harbor, 1963 at the age of 21 he won the Trans Pac overall and became the youngest skipper to compete and win, 1969 1st Class 2nd Overall Transpac, 1967 & 68 1st in class Acapulco Race, 1964 & 65 Mazatlan Race 1st in Class, 1966 2nd overall 1st in class. 1992 Pacific Cup Double Handed winner aboard the 60’ “Peregrine”. Was active in the Etchells fleet and today is very competitive in the Harbor 20 fleet. NHYC Burgee of Merit recipient.
Henry Sprague III. Two Time winner of the Flight of the snowbirds, 1961 Sailed with Tom Shock in the Sears Cup, 1963, he won the Sears Cup with George Twist, 1974 Finn National, and World Championships. 1969 Congressional Cup winner, Lehman 12 Champ 69,73, 74,76,77. Now known as “Super Sprague”, Tom Schock described Henry as “Pure natural sailor.” 1967 Collage Singlehanded National Championships for USC, George Twist “ When it was his turn on the tiller the boat seemed to go a little faster”. Known as a natural sailer, Two-time winner of NHYC Burgee of Merit. (No Photo) Fred Miller: Finn National Champion 1960 & 1961 and North Americans champion in 1961. Placed 3rd in Finn World Champions, Active Snipe Sailor. Henry Sprague described Miller as the “Original Harbor Columnist five days a week in the Daily Pilot, true Guinness, went undefeated, continuously smoked “Salam” cigarettes. Was known as a perfectionist and would help people organize their boats for side work.”
Nina Nielsen: Snowbird champion, 1969 Jr. Sabot National Champion. 1969 Balboa Sabot fleet Joe Wells Perpetual winner. 3rd 1976 Adams Cup; Dick Sweet recalled “My bravest student was Nina Nielsen. Nina was so small that she didn’t have enough weight to keep the boat upright. Because of this, she would tip over nearly every day, but she never complained or called for help. Nina was the smallest girl with the smallest voice and the biggest heart that he had ever seen sailing. Nina later went on to win the Intercollegiate sailing championships three times for Princeton and become the first. Top Snowbird and Lehman 12 sailor, Active Etchells sailor.
Scott Allen: Flight of the Snowbird winner. 1968 & 69 College Sailor of the year, 1967 Cal 40 class winner Trans Pac with14 boats in his division. Prince of Wales winner 1967 and Congressional Cup winner 1967, NHYC Burgee of Merit Winner.
Dennis Durgan: Grew up as an active Sabot and Lehman 12 sailor within the harbor. “If you can make your Sabot go fast you can pretty much make anything go fast,” Durgan said. He was tactician for Bill Ficker 1974 and Dennis Conner 1975 Congressional Cup Winner. Congressional Cup-winning skipper in 1979 and 1980. In 1980 he was Dennis Conner’s tactician aboard Freedom for an Americas Cup win. Sailed in the 1979 Fastnet Race “ I learned a lot about myself on that one Len” Durgan said while interviewing him. 1991 Trans Pac Overall Skipper aboard Chance. Two time Lipton Cup-winning skipper 1978 & 1991 NHYC Burgee of Merit Winner.
George Twist: Americas Cup with Ficker in 1970 aboard Intrepid, 1961won the Sears Cup as crew with Tom Schock, In 1963 Won the Sears Cup as crew with Henry Sprague, Crewed on the 1973 Lipton Cup Boat, Came in 5th in the 1987 Soling World Championships, Competitive Finn sailor, 1973 Lehman 12 Champ, Etchells Fleet 6 Champion 1976,77,79, Etchells 22 North American Champion 1982 . 2019 Flight of Newport Beach Harbor 20 5th Place “Was one of the best crew members in town, he was a really top notch crew. Every boat he stepped on always seemed to go faster”. Tom Schock. “Twist was my best friend, we dominated everyone that sailed in the same water as we did”. Henry Sprague
Burke Sawyer: Best known as the owner of Watts sails and big boat sailing. 1958 Flight of the Snowbirds winner, 1968 Prince of Wales skipper winner. Sailed with top Cal 32 sailors,1972 Acapulco Race 1st class, 2nd overall. Tom Schock: “He really bloomed into a world-class sailor when he took over Watts sails sailing on the different IOR boats around the world.”
Argyle Campbell: Grew up a harbor Sabot sailor at the age of 8, Lehman 10 & 12 competitor, Congressional Cup winner in 1970 & 72. Four-year Intercollegiate All American at USC, 2001 Melges 24 National Champion, 2011 Etchells Worlds Grand Master winner, 2015 Etchells Jaguar Series Winner, 2nd Place in Harbor 20 Fleet 1 Championships 2018 & 19. It has been said, by more than one of the interviews I did, that Campbell started very young and lost every race but he kept at it and became one of harbors best. He really, really worked at it.“Persistent yet consistent” BYC Sportsmen of the year award and BYC Wall of Recognition
Tom Schock: Grew up sailing snowbirds on the harbor. Participated in 1961 & 1962 Sears Cup. 1959 Thistle Fleet, District, and Pacific Coast Champion, Intentional 14, Lehman 12,Lido 14, Harbor 20 Champion, 1998 Harbor 20 Fleet 1 Champion. George Twist “ He is persistent and kept going at it.”
Dave Ullman Grew up sailing Prams and Balboa Dinghies on the Harbor, active Lehman 10 & 12 competitor, Lido 14 National Champion 9 times, Three-time World Champion in 470s 1977,78 & 80. Snipe National Championships 1973, Thistle, Sabot and Coronado 15 National Champion, Gold metal Snipe in Pan American Games 1975. US Sailing Champion of Champions 1980, 5-time winner of the Lipton Cup, US Team Racing Championships, Melges 24 World Championships in 2007, Rolex Yachtsman of the year in 1996, 2016 Sailing Hall of Fame. Four-time winner of BYC Sportsman of the year award.
Tim Hogan: Grew up sailing Snowbirds and Sabots on the harbor. Active Lehman 12 Team racing sailor, 1962 Junior Champion, Three time-All- American, 1969 “College Sailor of the year” Competed in twenty-two sailing events and won twenty. 1972 Prince Of Wales winning skipper, Won the 1973 Lipton Cup Team. 1972 North American Match Racing Championships Prince of Wales, Santana 20 National Champion 1977, 1988 Etchells North American win, 1980 Lipton Cup win, Competitive Finn sailor, NHYC Burgee of Merit
Jim Buckingham: Grew up sailing Sabots on the harbor. 1979 Intercollegiate All-American. Competitive world Star and Etchells sailor, Five-time Lehman 12 National Champion 1982,83,85,88 and 89. Top of the Harbor 20 Fleet 1 in A fleet, Placed 4th in 2019 H20 Class Champions. As crewed in Trans Pac and Cabo offshore racing.
Bill Menninger: 1980 J24 Nationals 3rd, 1982 J24 Worlds 6th, 5th 1987 E22 Worlds, 1st 2016 Master Regatta, Crewed on 3-Lipton Cup winning Teams, Crewed on 4 Baldwin Cup wins, Harbor 20 Fleet Champion 2008,10,11,12,13,17, Harbor 20 Class Champion 2019
Mark Gaudio: Grew up sailing Sabots and never left home. Won the Jr Sabot Nationals in 1972 First Flight of the Laser winner, Won Senior Sabot Nationals (17 ) Times, (4) Lido-14 Nationals, (1) Cal 25 Nationals, (4 ) Cal 20 Nationals, (1) B-25 Nationals and (4 )Harbor 20 Fleet Championships in 2004, 05 and 06. Spends most of his time now on the water coaching the Jr. Sabot Sailors.
Ann and Kurt Wiese: Kurt sailed sabots as a kid in the harbor and was Intercollegiate All- American in 1977 and 78. He and Ann have sailed Lehman 12, Lido 14’s and Harbor 20's for over forty years together in the harbor. Always being at the top of the fleet in each class, never winning a class championships. Although it is a safe bet that they have won more one-design regattas than everyone on this list. Generation X
Nick Scandone. Grew up sailing Sabots on the harbor. 1988 Sabot National Champion, Lido 14 Competitor, 1988 UCI National Champion, and Team Race National Champion, Intercollegiate All- American, 1991 470 North American winner, 2005 2.4 Metre World Champion, 2nd Place IFDS Sailing World Championships, 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games Sailing Gold Medal, National Sailing Hall of Fame, US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman of the year, NHYC Burgee of Merit, BYC Sportsman of the Year and Wall of Recognition, BCYC Kennedy Memorial. Scandone is the only person to have won NHYC, BYC and BCYC top awards.
Jon Pinckney: Grew up sailing sabots on the Harbor, Won the Junior Sabot Nationals in 1980, (7) Time Flight of the Laser winner, (1) The Flight in Harbor 20’s. Four-Time Intercollegiate All- American 1986,87,88, and 89. 2016 Lipton Cup Skipper, 2014,15 and 16 Harbor 20 Fleet Champion. Baldwin Cup Winning Team in 2014,15 and 16. Phil Ramser said, “Best sailor I have ever seen on our harbor.”
Mike Pinckney: Grew up sailing Sabots on the harbor. 1983 Intercollegiate honorable mention, 3 Time Intercollegiate All- American 1984,85 and 86. 1988 Sears Cup-winning crew, 2016 Won 50th Anniversary Governors Cup alumni regatta. Mike has spent most of his time coaching Junior programs. When he shows up on the racecourse odds are very good that he is going to win the day. Jack Franco said Mike Pinckney is one of the best he had ever competed against.
Justin Law: Grew up sailing a sabot on the Harbor. Twice the runner up in the Sabot Nationals. FJ National Champion, Intercollegiate honorable mention, 3 Time Intercollegiate All- American. Finalist Intercollegiate Sailor of the year. 2017 Trans Pac Division Winner, 2017 Cabo Division Winner, 2015 ISAF Team Racing World Champion. (4) Time Baldwin Cup winning skipper, 2019 Lipton Cup winning Skipper. NHYC Burgee of Merit Sea ya  Looking back at the top fleets  This week I thought it would be interesting to go back some 50 years and recall who brought home the pickle dishes back in the 1940-1960’s. I placed a phone call to Seymour Beek and Dave Ullman and asked them what where the most active fleets were, what names to look for, and where to look. I then headed over to The Newport Harbor Yacht Club and The Balboa Yacht Club library and started my research. I focused on what I thought were the most active fleets from that time frame and came up with Snowbird, Rhodes 33, Star, and Snipe fleets to report on.  The Snowbird was best known for “The Flight of the Snowbirds” now known as the “Flight of The Lasers”. The first year of the race was in 1936 with 32 entries and Dick McKibben was the winner. By the time the 50’s rocked in the entries had grown to 163 boats on the starting line. Names to look for were Ronnie Miracle, Steve Titus, Barton Beek, Janet Power, Tom Frost, Dan Thompson, Jeff Allen, Dick Deaver, and Henry Sprague III. The list did not stop there with people who won the right to fly the Gold S on their sail. Joe Beek donated the Perpetual Trophy known as the “Gold S” and was first awarded in 1949. I looked for the trophy at the NHYC and did not find it, but I understand the other names you would find on it would be Clark King, Bob White, Bill Lawharon, and Fred Schenck. The boat was used in the 1932 Olympics and then became popular for junior sailors in our harbor. She was about 12 feet long with five feet of beam. She weighed in at 275 pounds The Rhodes 33 was built with the intention of sailing in and around Newport Harbor. They are 33’ long, 6.8 at the beam, and weigh in at 5,800 pounds. The CR on the sail dates back to their original name the Coast Rhodes. The big pickle dish is named the Lester C and the fleet competed for the Lowe and Mark Healy Perpetuals High Point series. Past Champions of the fleet were Connie Wurdemann aboard “Midship”, Hook Beardslee sailed “Seebee”, Bill Joyce’s “Crispin II”, Tommy Thomas with “Nimbus”, Bob Collins with his boat “Josephine VI”, Strat Enright in “Witch”, Marianne and John Pearcy with “Whim”, Hallett Throne in “Manana”, Phelps Merickel in “Marlan, Bill Taylor sailed “Mistress” and Bud Edgar with “Madness”. As I researched the fleet one name always came to the top of the list Harlan (Hook) Beardslee sailing the #8 boat “Seebee”. I found this quote in the NHYC History book “ The Rhodes class always showed up with a sizable fleet, but the race was usually for second when Hook was sailing”. Other names I found in past results were Jack Hillman, George Fleitz, W.G. Durant, and Tom Myers.  It seemed that after you grew out of the Snowbird you then sailed a Snipe. The Snipe is 15.5 Feet, 5’ beam and the hull weighs 381 pounds. The class goes back to the early 40’s in Newport Harbor. In 1946 Bob White and his twin sister Betty ( now Mrs Alan Andrews, the same person I comment on sailing her Ranger 33 “Antares” to Catalina most weekends.) won the Snipe World Championships that year in Chicago and got 2nd in junior championships. That same year Ken & Bob Davis won the Snipe Internationals. In 1953 & 1954 Tom Frost and Fred Schenck won the Snipe Class National Championships. In 1950 & 1956 Clark King won the Championships, blend this all together, can you imagine how strong the Balboa Snipe fleet was at that time. Look over our harbors top sailors and its like reading a who’s who in sailing. Other top Snipe sailors from this time frame where Dan Elliott, Don Ayres, Max King, Jim Lewis, Dick Deaver, Ted Wells, Smyth and Greene. Can you imagine sailing Snipes in our Harbor back then in our summers series and on the starting line you have all those national champions? The Star boats came to Newport Harbor when Bill Ficker and Mark Yorston won the World Championships in 1958. The Star boat is 22.7 feet long with a beam of 5.8, she weighs 1,480 pounds. The fleet was most active between 1958 through 1968 with other big names from our harbor winning the world championships. In 1964 Don & Kent Elder won the worlds and brought the race back to NHYC in 1965. The Newport Fleet was one of the most competitive fleets in the world with such names as Rollins, Saint Cecero, Metcalf, Sandy McKay, Bill Boland, Dick Hahn and Erwin deMocskonyi. There is so much sailing history in our harbor it just makes me want to try that much harder. Man I love this place. SEA YA! LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist.  A Passage to a Favorite Yacht
By Len Bose November 7, 2013 | 8:48 p.m. While cruising the harbor this week, I was looking around for Newport Harbor's 10 most interesting boats of 2013. As most of you have noticed, I have quite an attraction to Windward Passage. That's when I picked up the phone and gave her skipper, David "Halfdeck" Johnson, a call and asked for an interview. "Sure, Len, why don't you meet me at the boat at 2 tomorrow?" David said over the phone. Hearing this, I became rather excited that I would finally be able to go aboard one of my all-time favorite yachts. I met David about 10 minutes early in the marina's parking lot where the boat is berthed, and we walked down to the boat. You can't help stopping in your tracks when you first see Windward Passage and take in all her beauty. David is one of three sons of Cooper Johnson, who was a very prominent member of the Balboa Yacht Club for many years. David's brothers are Dougall and Gordo Johnson, who both work in the marine industry in Newport Harbor.  David started sailing sabots as a kid and then moved up to some of the more active classes in our harbor. Some of David's past sailing instructors were Andy Rose and Tom Purcell. "I was also fortunate to sail with Bill Taylor aboard his Rhodes 33 Mistress for many years," David said. From there, David started sailing with Morrie Kirk aboard his two-toner Hurricane Deck in many of the Mexico races and always skippered the boat back. While sailing on Hurricane Deck, he met Dick Deaver and teamed up with him. "Dick would always invite me on the different racing programs if I would deliver the boat back," David said. One day, David started to restore a Rhodes 33 and decided to strip the boat down and protect the wood with a West System epoxy resin. "Most of the local Rhodes owners told me I had ruined the boat," David explained. Today, most wooden boats have the West System epoxy on them. About this time, David started painting boats and became U.S. Paint's West Coast tech rep for about 10 years. When that job ended he went to work at Basin Marine shipyard. While working there, he quoted a job to paint Windward Passage, which had just been purchased by a local resident who was planning on bringing the boat to Newport Harbor.  Once the boat had arrived in town, he went to work on painting her interior. "That year, a rather large winter storm came in, and the docks we were berthed at seemed to be falling apart. I called the owner, who was out of town, and later that day moved the boat to where it is now. I've been here for 22 years now," David explained with great pride in his voice. During this time, the boat has had two owners and David has become part of the boat. He has captained it for 22 years and the boat is now 46 years old. Most days, the boat gets a soft water rinse and then gets dried. "L.P. paints prefer not to be waxed, and keeping the boat clean is the best way to make the paint last longer," David said. "One of my secrets is to use 'Der Shiney Stuff.' It's a super gloss sealant glaze that we use every three months on the boat's hull." Other daily maintenance routines include running the boat's systems, checking the bilge and following the scheduled maintenance list.  I then asked about some of the most memorable sails he has had on the boat. "When I did Transpac, we were surfing down the Molokai Channel in 40 knots of wind and doing over 25 knots of boat speed," David explained enthusiastically. "Recently, after the boat's last refit, we were sailing into Long Point, Catalina, in about 20 knots of wind with the jib reefed in, doing about 11 knots of boat speed upwind."After a good two hours on the boat, I walked away in utter amazement at its condition and David's attention to detail. In my 30 years as a yacht broker, I have never seen a boat in this type of Bristol condition. There have been many times over the years when David and I could not agree on who had inside overlap at a mark while racing. But I have to give it to him this time — no one knows how to take better care of a vessel than David "Halfdeck" Johnson. If you would like to see the interior of Windward Passage and learn more about the boat, go to my blog at lenboseyachts.blogspot.com. Sea ya. LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist. Some nautical history
By LEN BOSE While writing a story that takes a lot of preparation and research, I found these tidbits when I was digging into some of our harbor history books. I found some interesting and quite funny information that I wanted to share with you. In the early 1900s, boating was all but nonexistent. The harbor’s breaking entrance and shifting shoals made entering and leaving a hair-raising experience. Groundings and shipwrecks were common. Other Southern California yacht clubs referred to Newport Beach yachtsmen as “sandhogs” because of the shallow and mud-ridden bay. In 1928, if a sailor managed to get through the harbor entrance, he still had to keep from hitting the mudflats and sand bars. The first one-design boats were the Snowbirds and the Star class. One of the first names that jump out at you was Hook Beardslee, who dominated the Snowbirds, Star, and Rhodes 33 class in the early 1920s and 1930s. Knowing the tides, swallows, and mud flats played a big part in being successful back in the day.  Opening the Harbor, 1936 I found it intriguing as to what was common with today’s dredging project. I read that Lynn Swales, a staunch Republican, accompanied a contingent of harbor boosters to Washington to meet with President Franklin Roosevelt to see about getting the bay dredged. Roosevelt was an ardent yachtsman, and we think that is probably why the bay was finally dredged. After the determined George Rogers illuminated the last bureaucratic roadblock delaying the project, work began in January 1935 with the final cost of $1,835,000. The 200 men on the project were supervised by the army engineers of the War Department. The sand was dredged from the bay and transported to large steel pipes to the oceanfront beaches. Wooden bridges were built to prevent cars from crossing over the pipes on Balboa Boulevard. Bulldozers pushed a 15-foot high dam of sand next to the wooden boardwalk to keep the dredged sand on the beach and away from the homes. Before the dredging, ocean waves were only 100 feet from the boardwalk, but now the beaches extend out 300-400 feet. This accounts for the wide beach we see today on the oceanfront side of the Peninsula. Four dredges worked simultaneously to remove approximately 8,500,000 tons of sand and 50,000 pounds of rock. The 750-acre water area of the lower bay was stretched to a depth of 10 feet, the anchorage area in front of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club to 15 feet, the main channel to 20 feet, and the entrance channel to 25 feet. Many tons of rocks were used to extend the West Jetty to 2,830 feet and the East Jetty to 1,673 feet. In her book Newport Bay: A Pioneer History, Ellen K. Lee describes the harvest gala opening ceremonies: President Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key on his White House desk, and the Coast Guard cutter Hermes, outside of Newport Harbor, sounded its cannons to signal the beginning of the most impressive yacht parade Southern California has ever seen. In the lead was the yacht Memory, skippered by her owner George Rogers, an honorary captain of the port. The 3,600 residents of Newport Beach had little idea of the future ahead for the harbor they had created through years of work and sacrifice. For the moment, they thanked George Rogers, having erected a monument in his honor at the shores in the West Jetty. Yachting Etiquette Yachting and Racing: One of the greatest pests of the yachting fraternity is the individual who will inject his presence into a group after the race, and cry loudly about everything that occurred. He should be made to understand that the club ensemble is not interested in anyone’s personal grouches. The place to protest or kick about a decision in a race is to the proper committee and in the proper place. The Lehman 12s, 1972 I found this story and had to laugh. “Good sailors of all ages don’t want to sail against hackers.” While people line the shores of Newport Bay every Thursday evening to watch the Beer Can races – a summertime spectacle – the best show is over on the Newport Harbor Yacht Club racecourse, where upwards of 30 Lehman 12’ dinghies convene for the NHYC’s Twilight Series. The entry list looks like a Who’s Who of American yachting: Argyle Campbell, Henry Sprague, Bill Ficker, Dave Ullman, Bill Lapworth, George Twist, Bob Davis, Buzz Tupman, Tom Schock, Peter Parker, Chris Colby, Leroy Sutherland, Pat Allen, Roger Welsh, John Ferrier, etc. The Lehman 12 is totally non-rescuable, meaning that if you capsize, you are not only out of the race but you’re going to require some assistance to boot. Oddly, this seems to be the big selling point of the Lehman 12 – an old turkey enjoying more popularity than any other racing class in the southland. Good sailors of all ages don’t want to sail against hackers, and the very nature of the Lehman 12 is such that it automatically keeps the hackers from buying them. Strange as it may seem, the Lehman 12 may have all the things (to a different degree to be sure) that all the world’s most competitive one designs have: capsize readily, and it’s even more uncomfortable to sail when it’s windy than when it’s light and wet. Nearly every sailor at NHYC has tried his skill at Lehman 12s at one time or another. Club rules however are rigidly enforced allowing no modifications, so the boats remain very competitive within the class. Sea ya next year! ~~~~~~~~ Len Bose is a yachting enthusiast, yacht broker and harbor columnist for Stu News Newport. A little history:
By LEN BOSE As you all might guess, there is not a lot going on around the harbor at this time because of the virus. I thought I’d write something about the history of the harbor and was quickly reminded that the libraries, OCC Schools of Seamanship and Nautical Museum are all closed at this time. What I have learned is that there is some very interesting information regarding our harbor at Sherman Library, which I plan on diving into once we can get back into the pool again. Searching for a story, I was able to come up with a few small tidbits on how we became Newport Beach. If I was to guess, the first people to use the harbor would have been fishermen from the Tongva tribe, who inhabited the Bolsa Chica Mesa area, (the cliffs in Huntington Beach) just as you head north on Warner Avenue off Pacific Coast Highway, some 8,500 years ago. Can you picture a couple of Tongva kids grabbing their boats and heading south then finding our harbor? They would have noticed the animal hide holding the westerly breezes; one of them would have built a small mast for their boats and just like that...sailboat racing started. Let’s call the two kids Gabriel and Fernando. Gabriel was a skinny little kid and he had the advantage in the light breezes in the waterways south of the village. That was until Fernando built a better sail out of cattails than figured out the shoal spots in the harbor. Now jump forward some 8,326 years. The people were referring to the harbor as Bolsa de Gengara, Bolsa de San Joaquin, and San Joaquin Bay. Then on September 10, 1870, Captain Samuel Sumner Dunnels cautiously guided his 105-ton, flat-bottomed steamer Vaquero into the virtually unexplored Newport Bay, then known as San Joaquin Bay. Vaquero was loaded with 5,000 shingles and 5,000 feet of lumber from San Diego, as he cautiously entered the bay at first light. Dunnels was successful, and our harbor finally had a source of needed supplies. In a short period of time, Dunnels had built a small wharf and warehouse near the west end of today’s Newport Bay bridge. There is no proof, but I prefer the story that “Newport” came from Captain Dunnels when he said that he had found a “new port” after navigating through the sand bars.  If you have never noticed the California Registered historical landmark No. 198 “Old Landing” on the corner of PCH and Bayshore directly in front of the Bay Shores Apartment sign, you will find one of the few mariner landmarks around our harbor. Once the libraries and Historical Society open back up, I will dig up a few more particulars regarding the history of our harbor. I am having one of my silly ideas by asking this question: Why do we not have a Will Wright’s Ice Cream parlor historical landmark? If you have not figured it out yet, I am starting to get a little landlocked and need to head out to sea before I get any more silly ideas. Sea ya. |
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