The Shellback

by Tom McGowan

My observations on this year's Regatta. Here's what it looked like from the deck of Simpatico.

Our regatta weekend started with a practice on Friday. Jibing around Blossom at 1:30 P.M., our main boom exploded. Even as it was happening, it was apparent there was no way it could be repaired.

We arrived back at the dock in Point Richmond at 2:30. We sat down for our annual crew dinner at the Corinthian Yacht Club at 8:30 that evening. In the six hours in between those two times, the crew of Simpatico (with no professional help) built a brand new boom from scratch.

Crew members scrambled in all directions. Two bought two eighteen foot pieces of clear 2X6 Douglas Fir. I picked up new sail track. Others drove from one chandlery to another amassing enough stainless steel fasteners and epoxy to do everything we needed to do.

The crew of the Master Mariner yacht "Pisces" just down the dock from us loaned us cordless tools and a grinder. Everyone had a screwdriver or electric hand tool in their hand. As soon as a piece of hardware was removed from the old boom it was attached to the new one. Someone commented that Henry Ford would have been proud of the assembly line effort. That we were sponsored by Wooden Boat Magazine seemed appropriate.

While our crew has always been tight, the esprit de corps brought on by Friday's accomplishment really pumped us up for the race. We got a great start, aggressively sailed the race, dealt with the usual snafus, and took the gun at the finish line.

Other observations:

The "go for it" attitude of Hawaiian Chieftain. No lumbering around for those guys. They jockeyed for position prior to the start, luffed up on final approach to stall, and charged hard and fast around the buoys.

The excellent helmsmanship of MMBA skippers. A lot of tonnage sliced through the waters of the bay in close quarters without mishap.

The speed we all get out of our boats when we really sail them well.

The craftsmanship that turned out such durable and beautiful boats.

The joy of teamwork. Boat after boat filled with friends having a good time while working together in a competitive endeavor.

The hours of work the race committee put in. (I have decided to turn the boat over to our eldest son for next year's regatta so I can "give back" by serving on the race committee.)

The camaraderie of the raft up.

The beautiful carving on some of the tillers.

Brightwork!

Sitting on the deck gazing up through the maze of rigging and thinking of the thousands of old salts who have shared that same view over the centuries.

Confirmation of "Auntie Mame's" line that "life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death". How many boats sit at the dock month after month when such a spectacular sailing venue lies before us?

Here's to all the people who do their various large and small parts to make the MMBA what it is. It is indeed a benevolent association and we are all the beneficiaries.

Farida ~ Heading North

Yes, the rumors you have heard circulating amongst the docks, waterfront bars, and yacht clubs are indeed true. Farida, (Mike and Sue Proudfoot and crew; Tom Bamberger, and Mike Jeffries) are headed North to Alaska. We are following in the footsteps of fellow Master Mariner Members Bill Harpster (Joshua) and Steve Osborn (La Mouette) who sailed to Puget Sound year before last. We will depart shortly after this year’s Master Mariners’ race. We anticipate a bouncy trip up the coast. Someone one else (Bill Harpster if I remember correctly) said, "even a dead squirrel with it's tail in the air can turn left out the gate and (probably) make it to Mexico. In view of that sage advice, perhaps we will change our direction sometime during our trip. Hopefully we will spend this summer cruising around Puget Sound (if the wind and weather allow it) and next year, heading up the inside passage to Alaska. We have already taken a car voyage up to the new cruising ground in January; we spent time with Bill Harpster, Barry Herman (Danzante), and Steve Osborn. They are all alive and well, and enjoying their new lives in the Pacific Northwest. As some of you are aware, our training for this cruise was a trip to the Santa Barbara Channel Islands last year. Farida performed flawlessly and we had a great time visiting San Miguel, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, Catalina, and Anacapa islands. We entered the McNish Classic Regatta in Oxnard, sponsored by Master Mariner member Jeff McNish's father Dick McNish, and had a wonderful time. Fellow competitors included Dick's fine boat Cheerio II, and Lone Fox (both participants in this year’s MMBA Regatta). We highly recommend this event for anyone headed South. Well, that's the long and short of it. Like some Austrian actor once said in a lousy movie, "I'LL (WE'LL) BE BACK".

I cannot remember when I first met Sue; it seems as if I have always known her. She was a good friend for over twenty years.

Sue Abbott was a no-nonsense woman who believed in establishing goals and working hard to achieve them. She contributed her best concentrated efforts to those activities that she considered worth-while but she never was myopic. Because Sue saw the big picture, she applied her abilities wholeheartedly to the MMBA when she become the first woman to become Commodore.

Previously, after raising her children and suffering through the storms and stresses in dissolving her marriage, she decided to become a Lawyer. Abbott was not a complainer but when the two wooden-framed Morgan Sport Cars the couple owned were awarded; Sue ended up with the one with the dry rot.

Sue drove a newspaper delivery truck to work her way through Law School. Then, with the remnant of her savings she acquired a classic wood boat, SUDS. One can well imagine that Sue carefully inspected that boat for any tell-tale signs of dry rot!!

After serving the Master Mariners for years as an officer and director, as well as sailing in the Master Mariners Regatta with great elan, Sue left the Bay Area heading for Puget Sound where wooden boat aficionados are welcomed. Soon...Sue was offered the job of City Attorney for Friday Harbor. Public service is not an unusual occurrence for Master Mariners. Howie Rosenfeld (FLIRT) operates an Art Gallery at Friday Harbor but doubles as Volunteer Fire Chief. However, Sue preferred to establish Mahina Cruising Yachts instead, later moving her company to Bainbridge Island.

Sue Abbott was a free spirit who loved sailing, cruising and racing Classic Yachts infinitely better than enduring the life of a petty-fogging legal bureaucrat.

Sue made the right choice we all agree. I am sure that she enjoyed the sailing life unto the end. Sue Abbott will be missed by all of us who were her friends.

Bill Vaughan, Chairman MMBA 1965-76

How I met Suzanne and her association with MMBA: Back in '81, MMBA's only event was the Regatta. That year my husband and I, plus another couple, with Suzanne's encouragement, stepped forward and volunteered to organize a new event. She spoke to the Board and they agreed to let us go for it, while first coordinating and getting approval for all of our ideas from her. The result was a well attended Petaluma cruise, Boat Show for the town, and lots of enthusiasm for the new event. Suzanne, recognizing a willing 'warm body' when she saw one, began to encourage me to get further involved by running for the Board the following year. In the meantime, in answer to the question, "Why doesn't the organization have a newsletter?", she said, "Why don't you write something and make a presentation at the next Board meeting?" Thus the Shellback was launched in '81 with incredible help from Mike Douglas who had to unearth the scraps of paper ( literally ! ) that composed MM's mailing list at the time!!! Suzanne was not only the first female Commodore of MMBA, but I think it was a time when she was the possibly the first female Commodore of ANY organization in the Bay area. She had a quiet strength and leadership that was appreciated by all who knew and worked with her. Hers was a calming influence when one was needed, but her sense of pure fun was right up there with the best of them. She moved to Bainbridge Island in the late 80's and ran a Boat Brokerage until she retired to spend more time with her grandchildren about '94.

Aloha, Diane Brenden, Commodore '86 - '89

Sad to hear that Suzanne Abbott slipped under the bowline... so it goes. She wasn't that old, either. I suppose the high point of her association with MMBA was when we had a concours and boat show to benefit the Oakland Museum over in Oakland and she and her girlfriends went skinny-dipping off of her boat, Suds. Caused quite a stir. She was partial to wooden boat and wooden cars, Morgans.

While talking to those who knew Sue well, two stories kept being repeated: the skinny-dipping one above, and the vision of Suds and Brigadoon pirouetting close to the city front. All had fond memories of Sue and feel she passed too soon.

Pegasus ~The Master Mariners Regatta

Saturday morning May 27th: a moderate southerly was blowing on my cheek. I arrived at the dock where Pegasus a 51-foot ketch and her able crew were awaiting, and preparing for the regatta.

We got off to a slow start in the morning by leaving later than expected around 10:30. We motored across the bay until we approached St. Francis Yacht Club. The weather was spectacular with radiant sunshine, flooding the entire Bay and illuminating all the beautiful boats and the spectacular view of the San Francisco waterfront, not to mention the foothills of the Marin Headlands.

The weather this year was better than in years past that I have sailed the Regatta. Last year, for example, we had cloudy skies and heavy winds and the competition was fierce--like alligators lurking in the water hunting for its prey.

But this year the competition did not matter because we were having a wonderful time. Just before starting time, we prepared ourselves for the race. Everyone had a task at hand, but still the captain took a final glance to see that every one was prepared and ready for action.

We faced the challenge of competing with the other seven boats in our division. We began the regatta gracefully, and rapidly gaining speed toward our first mark. During the Master Mariners race last year we picked up some speed once we got underway. But this year we really picked up speed that made us bury a rail and get water flooding into the cockpit! I have enjoyed the Master Mariners Regatta since I first was able to participate about three years ago. I love seeing that many people still maintaining the custom of sailing in traditional boats that are made with hard work and passion, as compared to fiberglass boats that only have to be placed in moulds. Well, OK, fiberglass boats are fun too! Every year, month, day, minute, boats in the bay come and go but the bay still remains the same. Some people recognize how blessed we are to have such a beautiful bay, but many don't really understand how fragile the bay is, due to the fact that we still pollute it with chemicals, oil, garbage, etc.

The great experiences that I had this year are really making me look forward to the regatta next year. I had a great time on the bay and a grand adventure with my fellow crewmates and the passengers that we had on board.

Fair Winds, Chris Zekos,

Pegasus crew member

Background on The Pegasus Project: Youth, Safety, Partners, Wooden Boat

The Nautilus Institute established The Pegasus Project in 1992 ( www.nautilus.org/pegasus ). For the last four years, the Pegasus has sailed in the Master Mariners' Regatta. Pegasus, is an Alden ketch built in 1972 by Baum Shipyard in Kennebunkport, Maine. It is constructed of Philippine mahogany and is 45’ LOD, 51’ LOA. The partners in the Project are the Berkeley-based Nautilus Institute (which owns & operates the vessel), the Shorebird Nature Center, and the Berkeley Boosters. There are two programs: day sails with a marine environment education curriculum for school students, organized in conjunction with Shorebird; and afternoon sails and overnight voyages in the summer for teenagers-at-risk for the Berkeley Boosters. The Pegasus Project has two objectives which are complementary: 1) Enable teenage public school students from the East Bay and San Francisco to experience first hand the Bay waters on the Institute's traditional sailing vessel; and 2) Upgrade Pegasus, via a documented program, to become a model "green boat", with the related goal of developing user-friendly, free software for boaters to determine the least-cost, maximum-impact way to improve their vessels' environmental performance. The Pegasus was adopted by the California Green Boat Network as its pilot demonstration vessel. Pegasus is one of the few ways that Bay Area inner city, disadvantaged youth can have a first hand experience in on a sailing vessels while learning about the marine environment. The Pegasus has a reputation for being sticklers about safety. Crew training procedures are designed to instill a deep appreciation for team work and procedure as the foundation for smooth and safe operation. "Parents are trusting us with the lives of their kids," said Dr. Peter Hayes, Co-Director of the Nautilus Institute and parent of two small children. "We are committed to the highest possible level of safety for passengers and crew." The project also offers other events such as a voyage for kids burned badly in fires in conjunction with the Alisa Ruch Foundation in San Francisco, and support for teacher trainings by the Lawrence Hall of Science MARE oceans curricula program for schools. Chris Zekos (who wrote the article above) is 16 and has participated in the program for three years. This year, he has also been nominated to attend the Sea Education Association summer school for a science-at-sea summer program in Woods Hole and to sail on SEA's tall ships. "Being a part of the Pegasus Project has opened my eyes towards pursuing a career in marine environment," says Chris. He knows CPR and has been through the program’s hypothermia training. For adult crew, there are also regular Friday evening volunteer and Saturday crew training sails, as well as annual training in First Aid/CPR and Hypothermia. Pegasus is on the look-out for sailors with experience, commitment to youth and time to commit on weekdays and weekends. Sailors interested in participating in the Pegasus Project can email pegasus@nautilus.org or leave a message on the Pegasus Hotline at (510) 697-9296. The Nautilus Institute is a non-profit organization funded primarily by grants and research contracts.