Header Photo: Alruth Stacking Out

The Australian Historical 18's are just so damn photogenic, they keep cycling through my header photos.

Sailing Dinghy Restorations during the Pandemic

It seems the Covid Pandemic has driven the older dinghy guys into the shop, particularly the Antipodeans who have been busy restoring 60 year old scow Moths and Australian 14-footers.

And this old skiff as well.

That Pesky Lee Shore: Europa Moth Fail

From the February, 1971 issue of OD-OY.

Lee shores are always tricky, especially if the run-in is framed by rock jetties. I ran an International Canoe straight into the beach once, but that is another story. Sometimes the safest option is to lower the main when you can still get head-to-wind and scull your way to shore.  Or leave the main about 1/4 the way up and get gently blown to shore. (Lasers and other sleeve-luff classes excluded.)

I was scratching my name at the weirdness of this Europa Moth's chemical name, "Paradichlorobenzene" until I looked it up on the InterWebs.

"Paradichlorobenzene is used as a fumigant insecticide to control clothes moths... Mothballs containing paradichlorobenzene are solids that turn into toxic gas that kills moths."

Looks like this Moth was still in payback mode for the skipper's cheeky frivolity.

Header Photo: Start of the Paddling Canoe Race, Late Nineteenth Century

The previous header photo was harvested from Facebook with little identification. A paddling canoe start from the late nineteenth century, the location remained a mystery. I emailed several canoe historians and they were somewhat stumped as well. Someone said Lake George N.Y., another said possibly Hay Island right acroos from Gananoque in the Thousand Islands. Dating was also broad, sometime between the late 1880's, 1890's. Even without a precise identification, the bevy of delicate sailing canoes in the foreground still makes this photo a gem.

A sailing canoe from that era up and planing.