Wow! Those who volunteer their time in getting the disabled into sailboats are tops in my book! The absolute joy radiating from the disabled in piloting their own sailing vessels fills the following videos with a special aura.
First up is the Downtown Sailing Center , a community sailing program run out of the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. Video excerpted from a Maryland Public TV documentary.
Next, is a disabled competition in specially designed trimarans on Grafham Water, England.
Warning, not a sailing post! Further warning, silly guy thing! In my early teens, our neighborhood "gang" had all sort of destructive fun with M80 and Ladyfinger fireworks. Back then, construction crews would routinely burn wood scrap which, after hours we would stoke into large bonfires and keep burning well into the night.... and yes my next door neighbor friend was a pyromaniac. It was a different age and may explain why I find this following video so fascinating (No, I haven't touched a firework in years, not even on July 4).
At 49 seconds in, see those guys step forward with grins on their faces....... that was my neighborhood "gang".
No, This video doesn't have sailing in it, but it does have a Laser sailor in it. This video is mesmerizing in that we are waiting for the ball to knock Estonian Laser sailor Deniss Karpak on his ass.
Does Tillerman have this in his training regimen? It might help with ducking the boom.
Two professional sailors who got their start in the Snark foam sailboat;
Alan Drew; sailmaker, coach, North Sails rep
Alan relates this story. His Dad took Alan to the Washington Boat Show in the 1960's and they entered a raffle where a Snark was the prize. Alan's Dad didn't win but in talking to the winner, he found out she didn't have any way of getting the Snark home since she drove a convertible. A $25 offer was made and accepted and the Snark ended up in the family summer place in Maine. Alan's Dad taught himself to sail on the Snark (Mom kept an eye on him through the kitchen window and if he got into trouble, launched the family motor boat to the rescue). Alan sailed the Snark some but as is usual for young kids, found the Snark much more fun to capsize and swim around. Alan's Dad got the sailing bug in a big way, became a part-time yacht broker, first for Galion sailboats and then later for Yankee yachts, and upgraded his racing boats, finally ending up with a very successful Yankee 38, an S&S one tonner. Alan cut his racing teeth steering his Dad's keelers. But it all started with a Snark!
Renee Mehl, Vandestar Chair US Naval Academy, Around the World Racer
From Renee's comment I solicited for my Snark posts;
Yup, I learned how to sail on a Snark. We won it in a local church raffle in Michigan when I was in jr high school. We used to take it down to Gulf Shores Alabama and sail out in the Gulf from the beach. I remember my cousin trailing his hand in the water... until my dad asked him if he was trolling for sharks! We did get a visit from some dolphins once, I'm sure they were bigger than the boat. We also used it as a diving platform with the mast out back home in the pond. Not a very stable platform. Remember that sharp metal plate holding the rudder on? I have a nice scar on my elbow from that. Still, who would have thought learning to sail on a styrofoam Snark would lead a girl from an island in Michigan to wind up sailing around the world in the Whitbread?
And another Sea Snark video, this time with a yappy dog (thankfully the sound is off).
"Music for Friday" should really be called "Music for Whenever", for I often miss putting something up on Fridays.
Well, this weeks selection is from my daughter Robyn, who giggles hysterically when viewing my past "Music for Fridays" choices.
Are you ready for STRANGE? My take on the video storyline is a hipster "Wizard of Oz" where Dorothy meets up with weird and wonderful characters. Yonder readers of this blog are allowed to concoct your own storyline. My advice is to study the dance moves for your next wedding reception, particularly if you want to look like an old fool.
I am one of the few Yanks who has ever owned a winged scow Moth. In my case I had one-off Australian designed and built scow Moth shipped to the U.S and, as it turned out, the scow was not a very good scow design, fun in flat water and a breeze, almost impossible to sail in any sort of confused chop. I wrote about it in more detail in 2003 and if interested, one can view my scow experience here . A picture of me sailing my scow Moth...
I still love the scow Moth, even though it's been over 20 or so years since the scow was eclipsed by the monohull Moth in International competitions. Today many sailors see the scow as very ancient technology when stacked up against the current foiler Moth. But then some have accused me of always being the contrarian; and so I continue to collect scow Moth news wherever it pops up.
Englishman (also living in the U.S) Len Parker seem to be at the center of most of the current scow news. In the summer, Len Parker collected a badly decomposed Imperium design from somewhere in the Southeast USA and dragged the hull back to Florida for a rebuild.
And Len's pal Ray, on the Isle of Wight, has done a beautiful job restoring a Red Ned design (a 1970's Western Australian design). Pic following;
Meanwhile in New Zealand, the New Zealand one-design scow Moth is still raced out of Stewarts Gully Sailing Club. This is a wingless design and was very popular in New Zealand until the Laser showed up. More information here . Picture from Lindsay Russell,
And finally, from New Zealand again, this YouTube video shows a winged scow Moth that had the rudder drop off.....
Bald but my eyebrows are growing at a prolific rate. Sailed Windmills and Y-Flyers in the 1960's. Founded Miami University (OH) sailing team. Sailed International 14's and Lasers in the 1970's. Sailed International Canoes in the 1980's to mid 1990's. Sailed Classic Moths since 2002. Enjoy boatbuilding though I'm very, very slow at it (the Internet doesn't help matters). Name in real life: Rod Mincher
After choosing this username (Tweezer is the name of my Classic Moth), further research on the Internet turned up that Tweezerman is a corporate name for a line of pedicure products. Let me emphasize that I do not work for, nor endorse these products.
