Header Photo: Classic Moth Midwinters and Report from 2015

The previous header photo was of the 2011 Classic Moth Midwinters, held at Gulfport Y.C Florida, the last one I attended.

The 2015 Midwinters were held again at Gulfport Y.C, over the crossover February/March weekend. Ten Classic's attended but unfortunately, this year, no-one from the Florida fleet raced. Saturday's racing was called off with the threat of thunderstorms but Sunday offered up warm temperatures and a pleasant racing breeze. Mark Saunders arrived with a makeover on his venerable Mistral; he added a "Linton rocking" rig and a new North sail to secure victory in Gen II class. The three Mistal's finished at the top of the heap in Gen II with a Skol, a Duflos, and a modified, Lane Reeves Mistral following. In the Gen I class, long time class stalwart, George Albaugh in his Olympic Europe, finished comfortably ahead of three other Olympic Europe dinghies.

Much thanks to Amy Linton, who bore the brunt of the organizing this excellent regatta.

A mix of photos from Amy Linton and John Zseleczky.

One of the starts. #79 is Mike Parsons in his Mistral. #2721 is Frickie Martschink in his Skol, and #4067 is Lewis Hayes, hugging the RC boat.

Erik Albaugh in his Lane Reeves, mod-Mistral. Lane Reeves, when he bent up this Mistral, ended up with a finer bow and a flat transom.

Frickie Martschink - he of the post Lunch of Champions - had good speed in his Skol.

Winner of the Gen II class, Mark Saunders in his Mistral.

Famous designer, Charlie Morgan showed up to look at the fleet. It appears he cut his teeth on the Moth when he was a "youngin". Here is talking to Tom Price of the Chesapeake fleet. Charlie's son is standing next to Charlie.

Two of the four Classic Moths from the Chesapeake fleet who attended. On the left is John Z's Mistral (he finished 2nd in Gen II) and on the right is Tom Price's Duflos.

Rod Koch, George Albaugh and Erik Albaugh debate one of the finer design points of the Lane Reeves mod-Mistral. George and Erik made up the other portion of the Chesapeake contingent.

Click here for other posts on the Classic Moth Midwinters.

More Aluminum Sailing Dinghies

In response to my post about the aluminum Gouget Moth, several readers sent in some aluminum sailing dinghies they have come across.

Australian "R.L". sent two photos of a welded aluminum version of the Australian 11' Aquanaut Dinghy, masterfully crafted.

Mike Scott owned a prototype De Havilland 12' aluminum dinghy during his time in Australia. His story:

"I'm not sure who designed that alum dinghy I had, could well have been built as a prototype for the Vagabond, and therefore designed by Alan Payne. They maybe figured that alum was not the best way to go and so built the 3 class boats in glass. The 16ft Corsair is still going strong all over Oz, but the 12ft Vagabond and 10ft Gipsy seem to have faded. When I worked at Miller and Whitworth (Bob Miller and Craig Whitworth, sailmakers, Flying Dutchmen champs, and of course the legendary Bob Miller (aka Ben Lexcen). They became the agents for the 3 classes, and we would place an advertisement in the local paper for 'Free Sailboat rides', and we would take out prospective customers and then try to sell them a boat....was a fun job, but didn't get to see my kids much....that was 1966. Check out De Havilland Marine. I also worked there - that was where this boat came from. I bought it for 'scrap value', one of the perks of the job, I guess. In those days I was an accountant - ha...!

In the U.S, Grumman remains the most famous firm for their line of aluminum small boats and canoes but their most enduring aluminum sailboat is their dink, much sought after by the cruising crowd.

Tom Price pointed out that Grumman, in the late 1960's, built a 15' racing dinghy, called the "Flyer." Tom came across it at a Baltimore Boat Show. It doesn't appear many were made as this is the only image I could dig up about this dinghy on the InterWebs.

And finally, the aluminum sailboat I came across at Bobby Muller's yard? After digging around it appears it was the Pelican class, a 12 footer design by Philip Rhodes, of which over a thousand were built by the Aluminum Company of Canada - Alcan. More info about the Pelican can be found at this blog post here.

A nice roomy 12 footer.

A video walk-around of a Pelican.

Music Whenever: Americana; a Foursome

For that very small, loose-knit group of Earwigoagin readers who are interested in my occasional music selections; an Americana folk foursome.

First up, as pointed out to me by my good friend Ed Salva, a blues tune set to the beat of an ancient steam engine.



My favorite bluegrass duo, Mandolin Orange, with a Bob Dylan cover, Boots of Spanish Leather.



A folk tune I never tire of, The Stable Song by Gregory Alan Isakov.


Finally, Love Ain't Enough by the Barr Brothers.

Just forget I ever said
That this true love ain't enough
Got a diamond in my head
And a universal bluff
Got a find a better blue one
Hold this picture of the sun
Gotta find a way to you
Before all of this is done
Once you strip the pain you find it everywhere ya go
You and I should know
That love is enough, love is enough, love is enough
Love is enough, love is enough, love is enough
Love is enough at the end of the tracks so when the car breaks, heart attacks
Love is enough when you don't look back
My country is a cross
And my city's a vice
And so perilous a place
Such a blood forgotten price
Just forget I ever said
This true love ain't enough
There's a killer in my bed
And enough is not enough
Once you strip the pain you find it everywhere ya go
You and I should know
Everything we have seen forever for a day
Don't drive my love away
Love is enough, love is enough, love is enough
Love is enough, love is enough, love is enough
Love is enough at the end of the tracks so when the white flag waves, heart attacks
Love is enough when u don't look back
Love is enough when u don't look back
Love is enough, love is enough, love is enough
Love is enough when you don't look back

Australian 2015 Classic Wooden Dinghy Regatta

Andrew Chapman sends along some photos of the 2015 Australian Classic Wooden Dinghy Regatta, hosted by South Gippsland Y.C, out of Inverloch, Victoria, birthplace of the Australian scow Moth. Regatta was in late January.

A Classic 16-foot skiff.

One of the starts. Left to right is the pram-bowed Mirror, Heron, two Sabre's, an Oughtred Classic Shearwater dinghy, and a scow Moth.

A varnished Heron being rigged on the beach.

The Uffa Fox Jollyboat has a small fleet in Melbourne Australia. Popular in the 1960's, the 19 foot Jollyboat was eclipsed by the similar sized Flying Dutchman, with it's Olympic Status.

The two Jack Holt small doublehander designs; the Mirror Dinghy, at 10' 10" was the first stitch and glue kit dinghy and the earlier design, the 11' 3" Heron, was also designed for home boatbuilding in plywood. Both originally had gunter rigs as seen here.

This scow Moth Maggie was just recently built by Ray Eades over two weeks and is a modified Imperium design. Mark Rimington is the owner and skipper.

Beautiful decks on this new scow. Rather than aluminum wings this scow was built with shorter wooden winglets.

South Gippsland Y.C. is on Anderson Inlet, where a small protected bay meets the Bass Strait. As Maggie sails toward the sandbar break, one can see the nastiness at the entrance to the Inlet when the breeze is on.

The Ian Oughtred Shearwater Classic Dinghy.

Fitted around the on-the-water racing shedule, the dinghies are exhibited at a seaside park for the locals to come and peruse (and vote on their favorite).

On the left is  the Rainbow Scow, a popular class in southern Australia up to about 1970.

This scow Moth is of the 1970's 1980's vintage, with aluminum wings.

The VeeJay has a bigger brother, the double plank 14' Skate dinghy. This one looks as if it is being pieced together on the beach, after a long layoff.

Here is a single plank VeeJay racing against the Heron. (The Heron being a good weight carrier,  as we see here with three sailors stuffed into this rather small dinghy - plus one more! - I was informed there was also a small child tucked out of sight.)

Classic Moth Tweezer D Before the Start

In the course of a discussion of sails among the local Classic Moth fleet, I went back and pulled out a photo of the blogmeister just chillin' before a start at the 2006 E-City Nationals. This is my all varnished Tweezer D design. My outfit here is kinda conservative. As some readers may remember, I have always had an affinity for natty looking sailing gear.

I can't remember who took the photo. This may be one of Elisabeth or Ingrid Albaugh's photos.

Dinghy Cruising Around the "Eye of Quebec"

This is a good video if you can block out the time - 40 minutes. A duo spend two weeks going around a natural circular body of water in central Quebec, formed by the impact of an asteroid.

From the blurb accompanying the video:

"The Eye of Quebec (Lac Manicouagan) is visible from space as a perfectly ring-shaped lake. Its center island is far larger than the water that surrounds it. 100km in diameter, it is the fourth largest meteor impact site on earth. We sailed around it and think that was the first ever circumnavigation of the reservoir under sail and oar. (We can find record of two other sailboats that have attempted the trip. While we're not sure of their success, both appeared to carry auxiliary engines. If it wasn't the wind pulling us it was our backs.)

Three years ago, when John and I drove the Trans-Labrador highway, we camped one night on the shores of the great Manicouaga and it captured our imaginations. Finally, this year, aboard the expedition re-fitted Wayfarer 4610, we made the voyage. We were on the water for about twelve days after a two day drive north. It is an astronomically great lake.

We camped ashore every night, and packed nearly 100 Ibs of dried food for the journey. We wore drysuits most of the time, cause the weather was typically cold and wet!

Circumanic Higher Res from Scott McDougall on Vimeo.

More information on the "Eye of Quebec" from Wikipedia.

Another Frankenboat: Mothmaran in Everglades Challenge

The 2015 Everglades Challenge starts tomorrow, a 300 mile sprint down the West coast of Florida in all manner of small craft. Last year, Classic Moth champion Jeff Linton won the monohull division in his extensively modified Flying Scot.

This year we have a Classic Moth entered - well sort of. Joe Frohock picked up a Mistral Classic Moth that was languishing at the Gulfport Y.C. and made this tippy Moth into a trimaran - a Mothmaran. He unveiled the new Holland Tunnel over a year ago and in the interim he has already done a 100 miles jaunt in the contraption. Tomorrow will be the real deal.

Len Parker can't believe his eyes. The Mothmaran uses stock kit Chesapeake Light Craft amas. The fixed prodder flys a gennaker on a roller furler.

The familiar deep-Vee hull of the Mistral Classic Moth married to something different.

With everything unfurled there is plenty of sail for this 11-footer.

The crossbeams were stock lumber pieces screwed into the deck (the screws being replaced by through bolts when they started pulling out).

Joe Frohock, master cobbler together of disparate pieces into a very credible sailing machine.

The 2015 version, entered in the 300 mile Everglades Challenge. Additions are some fairings for the crossbeam attachments and a massive foredeck coaming to keep water out of the cockpit. The word from Earwigoagin's reporter from Gulfport was once he loaded all the required Everglades gear he had water coming over the daggerboard trunk - time for a quick redesign! As with the sailing canoes entered there is no room for onboard sleeping! Good luck Joe!

Read George A.'s blog post on the Mothmaran over here.