Windling World: December 2004

Wi, TF 2 WWI OIQI-ED, DECEMBER 2004 a ie Pinky Schooner heads South – A Squeak on the Ocean – Strathcona and the Reef The Lilliput Dream – Old Ironsides Southwold style Cutter – Emily the Gloucester ‘When | am grown to man’s estate, | shall be very proud and great, And tell the other girls and boys not to meddle with my toys’ Robert Louis Stevenson Following the story in the last issue of Andreas Gondesen’s fab model of the Pamir, on page 5 of this issue is In this issue on page 13, we take a little look at the model yachts of the Lilliput Motor Company, as they carry on the traditions of Schuco which made such fine toys in years gone by. his model of the Constitution (also shown on the cover). This issue Zealand lan Hunt of Sydney, Australia has built some wonderful square-riggers is tinged with some sadness by the passing of Euan Sarginson 67, of Christchurch, New who has been featured many times in WW’s nine years of publication. His achievements are legendary in many areas of New Zealand life, and he certainly changed the face of Christchurch’s model yachting. A tribute to Euan is on page 25. Then gifted there’s a schooner (page 7), including County Inverness, at left his of seen of the photograph — of him, the other model being Timaru. He is a fine marine modelmaker now well advanced in another model, the four masted barque Sindia 10! 6 LOA. (above) story about Running a Tide a story on yet another, a Gloucester fishing schooner Emily built by Brian Cuthbert, and an inexpensive wee Southwold and cutter, model article by lan Dunmore of Britain. “The pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change, and the realist adjusts the sails’ Thanks to Paul Titchener, included in this issue is his story (albeit condensed) of the ill-fated Bailey designed and_ built schooner Strathcona (inset) Aucklander Richard which paid the price of having sailed with 13 men Gross, aboard, and and then ran who sails built Maggie aground on the Minerva reef featured in the Pacific in June 1915. issue, Was going to Ken Impey of build Falmouth, in the last the schooner Cornwall, created his RC schooner Spike Africa but the plans it seems Grace ain’t available. The boat (seen below) was built in ’77 by Bob Sloan Mary (seen above centre) based on one single line drawing he saw of Strathcona. the of California and has starred in films. She was For wanting to tell a tall tale, the car- toon at right suggests the need to get one’s words right |! Agreed ? from have anyone f what read, | named after a seaman who was indeed a legend pataosayswe are of the sea. Instead, Richard is building a ‘biggie’ Bawley. going to circumsize the whole bruddy world in it, lady!” Pray tell me, who was the clown Good news ! It has been written: “The gods do not deduct from a seen wearing a huge Admiral’s hat man’s alloted life span, those days land lake while beside an Auck- spent sailing ‘. (” Oh goody – I’m off his sailing dear ! Bye ! See you”) peatedly saluted mates my re- him on his sev- An ocean adventurer indeed Stephen Ladd, who built twelve foot called then is a boat Squeak, over three years defied both é gods and odds and lived to tell his story. A bit about it on page 21. entieth body ¢ No- saluted him when he was tiny-like (top of page 2). You will all drool over Andreas Gondesen’s Constitution within and on the cover in that great pic taken by Hans Staal. Continued overleaf) (Continued from page 3) Stumbling upon Cedric is a light- hearted look at pondside ‘real estate’…an adults fairytale one might ‘Be a friend of the sea and you will have say (on page 4 ). a sea of friends’ It is that time once again, where the great majority of readers! subscriptions fall due, and if you are one of them receiving a renewal form with this issue and want Windling World to continue, remember that no further reminders will eventuate. There a verse of a hymn sung by several generations of Cubans, lovers of the sea. is no increase in subscription, so just renew before you lose the form and forget. It is also where | wish my friends and their families, a happy festive season. We have somehow (barely) Earl Boebert’s boo managed to complete our ninth year of publication. If your lakes have not frozen over at Christmas, try and find the time to enjoy a festive sail, particularly after the big turkey guzzle. It will do wonders for your digestion, believe me. BURP ! is available to US and Canadian readers at US$ or Can$30O including postage, payment by check or money order from: Yankee Ill, 9219 Flushing Meadows NE, Albuquerque, NM 87111, USA Mark Steele Publisher/Editor UK, Europe, Australian and New Zealand readers can obtain copies with payment in Sterling by UK Cheque or Bankers Draft. UK readers at 17 Pounds, Europe at 18.50 Pounds, New Zealand and Australia at 20 Pounds, all including postage from: Curved Air Press, 8 Sherard Rd, London SE9 6EP, United Kingdom. Tel 44 (O)20 8850 6805 Another classic trom Andreas The American Frigate Constitution, one of six warships authorised by Congress in 1794, was launched at the ways of Edmund Hart’s shipyard on 31st December 1797. She had an overall length of 204 measured 1,444 American feet, tons, and first saw action as the US Navy flagship in the attack on Tripoli 3rd August 1804. Andreas Gondesen of Germany whose RC model of the Pamir was shown in the April issue, has mod- elled this most famous of American fighting ships, the model shown here and on the following page. The model is a tribute to the skill and patience of the modeller who is recognised best. as among the world’s (Continued overleaf) (Continued from previous page) The length of Andreas’s model is 2 metres with a beam of 28cms. The weight is 18 kgs and the height of the mast from the deck is 1.05m. The hull is made of walnut, the decks of pine, the mast and the yard are of aluminium tubes and wood, the sails of modern yacht material. By radio, Andreas can brace the main and mizzen masts to- gether, the foremast separately. Control of the jibs as well as the rudder are carried out separately also. In order to make the model stable under sail, Andreas fits a 6 Kg keel for ballast with a 4Ocm long fin. The “ballstkiel’ is removable. The model took 3 years and 3,000 hours. There is no motor fitted. Andreas has created an accurate and highly acclaimed working model of this famous battleship . A gob-smacked editor writes This is a story of highly admirable but totally un-solicited and uncalled for generosity, a story of friendship between friends a 1937 about never met. It is design schooner model having been sent all the way from Costa Mesa, California to the editor in Auckland as a gift. * ia Yes, but why the generosity one might ask, to which as the recipient | can only say, because that is the kind of person that “Swede! happens to be. After | used photos of this model Pinky in the April issue and genuinely spoke highly about it, | was nonetheless gob-smacked when he rang one day to tell me that it was on the way to me by airfreight ! Lloyd *“Swede’ Johnson has been a reader and wonderful supporter of this magazine for eight of its nine years of publication, and although Having worried about getting it home in our humble Honda /azz, we have never met, we’ve talked on after duly collecting it from the airport (yes the coffin-like box just the phone several times, and he and barely fitted !) as eager as | was to his sailing models have been fea- see it, | never opened the box for several days – in fact an entire week tured in Windling World on many occasions. went by. (Continued overleaf) Continued from Page 7) Length overall 146cms. Weight…heavy but liftable by the masts. What a beautiful boat Pinky’2 is, or rather was, since | have by choice re-named her Running Tide, with the fervent hope that she will run many a tide for me – and run them The Pinky schooner is said to have originated in Europe in the 1600’s. It received its name from its distinctive uplifted or ‘pinked! stern design. well. There is some ‘connection’ in the name | have noticed, in that the original schooner built at Milbridge in Maine was named Glad Tidings. The notes on her plans make mention of the fact that she had ‘sailed well, was very stiff but had an easy motion’. She had also re- quired 11,250 Ibs of pallet – well, the model is a bit heavy and carries | must say, and no keel appendage ! Running Tide made her that maiden her helmsman, ‘Yamaika’ Johnson (who actually does steer the boat !) well attired for the Auckland Winter cold. Bashful as a camerashy hedgehog, he wont allow any- to photograph him from the front !) Oh yes…a bottle of wine was supped launched, afore she was _ re- naturally, both to ward off the ugly sea serpents and attract the most beautiful mermaids ! of Antipodean Running Tide measurements: Hull length 100cms, Beam 27cms, Bowsprit 40cms and Run- ning Tide \ New Zealand ‘voyage’ at Onepoto lake on Friday July 30th, one very genuinely, really ee do like. | don’t have to say it but | do, what’s more it is also safe to say it now that she to me. | add has been given however, that | must refrain from openly declaring a ‘love’ for any of my readers boats ever again. It is unsafe to do so for fear of someone again being crazily generous towards me. As editor | must disguise if not hide my feelings for it is as dansy gerous (almost), as ex- pressing ones admiration of a reader’s wife ! ai More people should read the UK published Marine Modelling International. \n the June issue | was interested in lan Dunmore’s article in the Focus File feature on his design for a Southwold style free-sail cutter, and the very simplicity of its construction. | can’t publish the whole thing, or indeed the drawings, but this part of lan’s points made. (Ed) This design is a ~cruising’ or “fun! ‘In these electronic days, it can be version of a classic Southwold racing yacht (another word for cruising hard to firid a free sailing yacht, but are still a few outposts of sailing purity such as_ the Southwold Model Yacht regattas there which remain true to their Victorian roots, and regard Braine even gear the as ‘dangerously new technology. Southwold’s free sailing yachts provide a fun lot of and = good sailing in return for very little investment in time, trouble or (to be vulgar) hard cash. | feel people are missing a lot of enjoyment by automatically jumping straight into RC sailing, but unfortunately, small free sailers are commonly grouped with poor performance toy boats. the is windling, lan—EFd) Although it is a new design, it comes from an old family that started back in 1993 when Gra- ham Bantock’s 18″ design Little Missy was domi- nating the C Class at Southwold in this family orientated regatta, the C Class raced by sailors under the age of 14. Walter was the Grint enjoying regattas in his ‘retirement! from serious vane sailing when he was asked to build a faster boat. He designed a GRP single chine hull with rounded bow sections which cut down on turbulence around the bow and his first boat in 1994 had a very successful (Continued from page 9) year at Southwold. round pond yacht. David Nicholls and his young daughter went along to watch the racing, and with the Re- the material cost was about twenty UK pounds.’ Editor’s closure. The Southwold re- usual gattas in UK are unique, and | have wel- come, they found themselves racing borrowed boats and went home with Grint’s mould and plans to build new boats for themselves for the next year’s event. Charlotte Nicholls first little boat called Little Pink Pig was very successful, creating a demand for the boats and (unfortunately) branding them as ‘Pig Boats’. Over the last ten years, the ~Pigs’ have the beam 144mm, the draft 207mm, the sail area 1,476 sq cm, and gatta’s warm The length of the boat is 466mm, been constantly written about them in WW on a couple of occasions. What | think is nice about this concept is that it is suggested that the model be used for ~cruising’ (windling) and because of the simplicity of build and the low cost, if youngsters can be convinced that there is great fun in freesailing what is a pretty little boat, it will provide an introduction to model yachts for a great many. Ase. 7% <2 developed, dominating the C Class racing and handicap WINDLING WORLD When | was asked for a small, sim- Thrice yearly non-profit specialist magazine available on subscription only. ply built freesailer, a new version of the well proven Pig seemed like a Publisher/Editor proving successful on against larger classes. good idea. If you are persuading Mark Steele new builders to invest their time and trouble in the they need to be rewarded. from GRP to construction of a boat, know their efforts will | redesigned the hull a plywood form and reduced the draught, ballast and sail area. The balance of the rig was adjusted to get rid of the 9" long bowsprit. The racing performance has been reduced, but the boat is now easier to build and is a nice all ‘Keepers of the spirit of windling’ Ken Impey, Tony Searle, Barry Gibson, Stuart Broome, Andrew Charters, Mark Steele. Editorial address: 42 Trinidad Road, Forrest Hill Auckland, New Zealand. Phone/Fax 64 O9 410 4402 Email windlingworld@xtra.co.nz All bananas ! Reading 1920's, an article by Sally An- of the most prolific producers of fishing lug- drew of Cruising Canada in Helmsman, gers, a number of which survive today. ships lost at sea in the 1700's when _ they were carrying the fruit on board, were cited as alleged victims of ‘banana bad luck’, but the reality which knocks this to bits, is that they were in fact travelling in the hurricane season in the Caribbean. Hey, what a lovely name for a model sailing trader... Going ba- Uglification (wrote Alex A Hurst) is the ugliest word ever coined, but none is more apt to describe man’s effect on the world in the twentieth century and, as he has despoiled his cities and his countryside, so on the altars of the Gods of Progress, he has despoiled his sea. (The Mariner’s Book of Days) nanas.’ Mark Tindall sent me an e-mail attachment showing the figurehead he has carved for his model of the 1760 Bellona, work on which is take something about a Cornish lugger, and Guide Me (seen at right), an engineless such vessel from Looe owned by Jono sea in a very small boat, then makes a significant ocean crossing, commendation, Take deserves Robert 1965. was in April WW. is brave soul who goes to lantic in 78 days in a 13' yacht called 7inkerbelle 2, (seen above) in a great deal of it. A hull photo There believe that single Manry of Ohio, who crossed the At- models time, | every a progressing. Such Looe was one and Judy Brickhill was built way back in 1911 by a Peter Ferris of Looe. From the mid 1850's to the In 1594 (before Ed was born !) there sailed a merchant vessel Ye Wycked Bitche that went to sea out of Yarmouth harbour in the UK. Her prime rea- son for operation, to sup- ply Her Majesties Navy with Flemish style (hopped) beer and biscuits. Whadya know ! Superstition ignored - then Paul Titchener recalls a 1915 mishap 1 will tell you a story, a sad story indeed that goes back ninety-one years when a Charles Bailey Jnr , 110 foot overall schooner, built from the very pick of selected kauri planking, set to sea on Friday June 13th with 13 crew aboard Wise old heads on the Auckland waterfront shook with disbelief. Photo loaned by Cliff Hawkins by coal or oil-powered engines and the Auckland locals knew it. Everyone agreed however, Strathcona was a beautiful boat. Bailey had put his lifetime of experience into the schooner built for ten thousand UK pounds within a period when you could build a three bedroom house for five hundred. The schooner was the Strathcona, named after the famous Scottish island. Advance story to when Mark Steele having sent to a friend of his, (Ken Impey in Falmouth Built for the Pacific Cable Board, she had to carry company staff and Cornwall) a copy of an article | had written for a New Zealand Boating magazine. Impey was so taken by the lines of the Bailey schooner, and the sad story of stores from Honolulu to the remote cable station the board maintained on Fanning Island, a lonely coral her demise, that he built an RC model pretty well along her lines, using just atoll in the vast Pacific ocean, an one side-on line drawing. That model (seen with Ken above) he called the Grace Mary after a daughter. essential link in the longest cable chain which bound Australia and New Zealand with the rest of the world.From the first day her sweet lines were put on paper, Strathcona was obselete. The days of wind- powered ships were the 1995 over, replaced On April 15th 1915, Strathcona was launched, and one Auckland sea Captain was quoted as saying, "This (Continued on page 16). 12 Remember the name SCHUCO ? 1 certainly do, and when I was in pre teens days, | had a great little red model car with gears, made by this company in Germany. Later on when | first came to New which by the late 1920’s was producing toys recognized by the industry as “well designed'. Thanks to a bloke called Adolph, the war came and it would be 1949 before the company returned to full time Zealand bringing my model car manufacturing. Muller died in 1948 collection with me, in one fell swoop when on a visit to Wellington, | was to obtain three of their car models which | still at a time when he was the much honoured pater familias of the tea International toy industry, as well as holder of more than a thousand patents. Much scrambling for stocks and tools eventuated, and in 1988 after Werner Nutz, a tool and die maker with all working. Schuco died, his dream of Mmagazine)) is shown here as part restoring Schuco to original heights unfulfilled. A group of American entrepeneurs with fond memories of the original company, who were dedicated to keeping its spirit alive, of the “foundations' of the story. purchased tinplate One of these is a 1902 Simplex 32PS Mercedes, which in chancing my arm (this being a model yacht from his widow, the remaining stock of “micro racers' a Were Heinrich Muller, Schuco's founder who was described as a “genius tinkerer' alive today, he would possibly be quite pleased that twenty-six years on, I _ still have it. warehouse of replica parts, tools and the rights to once again produce the little cars. They founded Lilliput Motor Company, America's first exclusive Schuco dealer. Today they It was in 1912 that Muller and a are still building an extensive line of Micro-Racers and other products in a factory in Kony, Hungary, where partner founded the company that Istvan Skultety and his son are would grow to become Schuco, (Continued overleaf) 13 Today the company has expanded (Continued from page 13) into a range of magnificent display model yachts, largely due to the partners in the making of these products. Steven Singer and Justus Bauschinger, both bankrupt association of Mike entrepeneurs, fashioned the ///jput and an author of many books on company which began as a very making and sailing Pond yachts. de Lesseps in Maine, a friend of Bauschinger's, small catalogue business, growing steadily until 1996 when they sold it to Genesis Direct of New Jersey, USA. Three years later they bought it back. Bauschinger (known as *Slim') uses a business card with a title “Auto Didacti' which in your dictionary you may find taught.’ Justus classified was to as “self hock his Gold Rolex for $6,000 in order to compile an inventory of the Micro by These beautifully made boats shown widow Nutz, prior to purchasing it. Racer tooling when owned here are examples of types available. He and Singer had been partners in a toystore that had gone broke In Jared venture from 1989. Dreyfus, San agreed a capitalist Francisco to invest money so that Lilliput could acquire the stock, tools and dyes that led to the tiny toy cars again rolling off an assembly line in Hungary. Singer and located Bauschinger then to Yerington, re- Nevada, initially operating out of a one car garage, but Singer left partnership in August 2000. the Lilliput also selection of offer online, one-off a models owned by collectors. English pond yachts, beautiful and Brixham Three Brothers shown this trawler below and at right as an example. Rumour reaching Windling World is that a non-RC “pooh sticks under sail' regatta is to be held in 2007 in New Zealand. There are to be classes for mono sticks and multi Whereas the interest of Bauschinger and Singer in taking over Schuco sticks as well as pooh-stick rafts. assets may well have been fuelled by thoughts of monetary gain, that is It business, however | do believe that own memories of Schuco's fine quality products when they were young played a big part. range a _ large New Zealand are to lodge entries by the deadline date of June 11th 2006 ! | personally hope that their success Lilliput's that from early continues. understood from Switzerland, and at least one Australia, plus seven from their story is American syndicate, as well as two of The one day regatta is to be sailed goods dealt with is quite amazing, and | heartily recommend you visit on a New their websites with time on your hands, explore nooks and crannies. stream Zealand north of Auckland, ata place called Puhoi. A riveting sort of event this, one to be taken with a pinch of salt, 15 Ms. ZiT) “Ses (continued from page 12) schooner of Bailey’s later, will be the fastest vessel that will ever go out of Auckland under sail” – a prophecy that was correct until the Whitbread Round the World yachts a group set off in the whaleboat for Ono//au and help. All crew. were eventually saved, but initial plans to salvage the vessel never materialised. Charles were built over half a century later. Bailey Jnr was devastated upon hearing the news of the mishap. On June 13th that year Strathcona The sailed out of Auckland defying all sea 13 lore vessel with crew aboard, and un-insured total loss, and a sad end for a most beautiful het ey schooner wrecked on her maiden voyage. on a Friday – a bad was was a omen many said. Ken Six days later, remains proud of his mode! of the vessel, and on the 19th, while reaching with a tells the with fresh her Titchener story to anyone willing to learn of the real boat. He sails breeze on her starboard quarter, at 8.15pm while logging 11 knots, the vessel drove onto the notorious North Minerva Reef breaking her back. She hit sadly at high tide, and Impey meanwhile, speed and ee the the Grace Mary (below) offen in Cornwall where . 2 vai it always attracts much attention and interest. easily driven hull her keel was ripped out as with a terrible tearing sound she ploughed through the deadly razor-sharp coral, until she came to rest out of the ocean, her beautiful sails still drawing. Her two boats were undamaged and were launched, with eight-men in the launch and the remaining five in the whaleboat, then floated Herein lies the story of the schooner that defied superstition and paid the price, and the Cornish man moved by the story who made a at high tide into the lagoon. The nearest island was 200 model of her. nautical miles away and 16 days 16 bet The much mired ad- Western skiff of UK’s Richard Bass (pic at right). Robin Harker in the UK is a new scale sailor, and is shown (at right) with his Valdivia built from a Robbe kit. He placed the German re- flag provided, with a flag simply bearing the letter L (for Learner). Doug Lord of microSAIL in Florida (seen at left) with one of his company’s USA One spinnaker-setting models, also seen above with the spinnaker set, Designed the boat is 65″ by Doug, LOA with a 20″ draft. The spinnaker size was determined by the original five owners, who went for a relatively small one. At right is a rather a nice gaff-rigged sloop recently restored and with radio fitted for a prominent New Zealand MP. Photographed by the editor who asks, “Will the owner have time to sail the boat 2” (Continued overleaf) 17 Reader Steve Levesque of Ma, built USA this sailing pram Ltll with Twig, the First Aid kit = neatly hiding the rudder servo un- der the seat. (Photo, The Foghorn) WW reader Andrew Charters of Meggett, South Carolina (see WW of April 2003) is getting on with his 1902 Fife schooner Cicely which he is seen with above. It will be his fifth schooner. At right in Norwich, UK, David Baker (left of photo) holds two sail swing-rig Wee Nip, and Brian Simpson his Pitou. Marine Modelling International photos this one and the one below. Erik Brown of Arizona built this 7’ long plywood and fibreglass with- polyester boat resin that draws only 12”. He has sailed her in 30 knot winds in pro- tected waters. The taken “| don’t care how photo on Pleasant was Lake near Phoenix. The boat is car-top carried and sets many masts you give it, up ready to sail in only five minutes. An Fxce/sior design, she can be reefed down to nothing, that Fiesta ain’t gonna hs. »S vies ’ and has twin bilge keels and a Aas) sail, Humphrey !” fixed sculling rudder 18 7 aN The schooner Fmi/y, New Zealander Brian Cuthbert has built from a de- sign featured by Howard Chapelle in his book American Fishing Schooners. Apparently, Chapelle’s lines are based on a rough plan found in a moulding loft and the designer of the real schooner Fmily Cooney is we are told, unknown. Brian has built many schooner mod- els before, including one of the Grand Bank fishing schooner F/sie, also one of Victoria, both shown in the Dec 2000 issue of Windling World. Brian writes: “The Emily Cooney design appealed to me (Continued overleaf) 19 Hull length is 52 inches, beam 12 inches and (Continued from previous page) she is built of cedar, plank on frame, with bulwarks, deck, masts etc being of teak. The as being worthy of a model, as she looked to be a husky, beamy boat which might sails are made of light sail cloth cut flat, and she has sail control on the main and foresail only, the two jibs left set for upwind sailing. sail well. As | build my boats without keel extensions, beam, draft and heaps of weight are important to keep the model upright. With a cast lead keel plus inside ballast totalling about 8kg (or is it 14 2) once I’ve puffed my way to the pond carrying the thing, they The sails are stained brown to give her a working appearance. wouldn’t want to come any heavier. Once launched, the Fm/y seems to sail well enough, and likes a bit of a breeze to get her going. She might not be as fast as some of the other boats in the Ancient Mariner fleet, but then she is a commercial fishing boat not an America’s Cup race boat.” This is only the second boat that Brian has planked up, previous ones being built bread and butter, and with lots of sanding, filling and more sanding she faired up well enough. He has enlarged the rudder and the teak has been left natural. With the topmasts sliding down the masts, the model fits in the back of a Holden oto. utility, strapped to her cra- 7 ¥ dle for transportation. The photographs are Gross and the editor. by Richard 20 Aaa < - ees of Stephen G Ladd, a gutsy adventurer who certainly knows how to ‘write’, is the author of Three Years in a 12Foot Boat, a 389 page true story of a 15,000 mile solo expedition in an ultra-tiny boat called Squeak which he built himself. From 1990 until 1993, he would row and sail 6,500 miles, and travel a further 8,500 miles via cars and ships, down the Mississippi to Panama, along the Columbian coast, over the Andes, and down the dark rivers of Above left; Squeak , San Antonio Rancho, Columbia 1/12/92. Directly above, the boat's sail plan, Drawing by Stephen Ladd, 37th to 40th years, documented enroute and presented adventure in his post- book shown at left. | saw it advertised on the internet and ordered a copy, then spent the best part of a month and a half myself, ‘journeying' slowly South with the author by way of an en- America. joyable read. Then it would be up through the Caribbean, short- This is not a review of the book ¢ Stophen Gadd hopping from island to island on the way back home to America, and home in Bremerton Washington, his however - with a small publication needing much space, a narrative of a 390 page book simply precludes being able to do it the justice it deserves. (Continued overleaf) If you were an early subscriber of (Continued from previous page) Swampings by the WW, sea, model robbings, arrests, capsizes and interesting en- counters with villagers along the | wrote of about her Queensland, by a lovely Rick Australia RC Mayes (the of model- seen below). way where he was oft befriended, the writer sailed and rowed through no less than nineteen countries. may not be everybody's choice, but | It 4 certainly 2478) The enjo yed it. (Editor) 4 Rick is a mite sorry he sold the model to a then owner of the boat, anyway he will build another and the real boat is still very much active (pic at left). She is a famous Australian yacht, perhaps the most famous, and is 48 years old. She won four Sydney to Hobart races, and five Brisbane to Gladstone's, and a trans Tasman Auckland to Sydney, and she took the late Vic Meyer who had her built, three times around the world with all-women crews! owned by David So/o (now Farley) after years as a charter yacht in 12 North David Lewis who sailed her to the Antarctic in the summer. tion. Life begins at 5O it is said, then ing, must be good for another fifty years ! work, 22 and since Vic Meyer was 50 when he Solo by the same reckon- sails Moreton Bay, on cruise of 1977/1978 on his scientific expedi- had the boat built, Queensland, operates out of Manly, and Almost forgot, that So/o also was at one time bought from Meyer by Dr For anyone even with a modicum of handicraft ability, at last, thanks to Earl Boebert comes a book written in quite simple layman's language, and _ with diagrams, drawings and explanations that will enable one to scratch-build Yankee ///, surely one of the most beautiful J Class yachts ever. ‘But why scratch-build ?' the author asks in his introduction. Build and Sail a Model * ofa Famous J Cl we Yaeht There are after all, many model yacht kits available, and the vast majority produce handsome boats with reasonable sailing characteristics. Well, all look pretty much the same and Yankee //1 doesn't look like that at all. that could travel easily by air, thehull and rig fitting into a hard-sided golf club case, and the prototypes of Yankee I// have travelled from Albuquerque extensively in precisely this fashion. Earl is editor of The Model Yacht, the journal of the US Vintage Although it is printed in black and Model Yacht Group, which exists to study and preserve the white, the cover is a delightful full old colour illustration, boats, the ones that look like a proper yacht. As part of that charter, decided to develop a. ring-bound pages. Boebert and sailing It and the has in excess of includes, patterns, details photos, on book, 120 plans “balance (The Center of Buoyancy and the model of a reasonable size (36" long) that could be built by someone with a love of traditional yachts who had never built a boat before. He also wanted a boat Center of Gravity) and | predict that it will one day be considered quite “desirable’ in its own right. Mark Steele 23 Here | am in the lat- “home’. ter stages of my life, when with a circumstance- came down recently, inflicted One the day sailors | heard one man yell, love of the water. | am not sure "| where the hell | was dinghy you know !". born but guessed I've that never found (Well, of course | know, cos I've got it was in New Zea- it, land, only by the fact that others of counts a lot !) my kind always my were and possession Ducks come singing sometimes too close, ‘God of Nations and at thy feet’. Bzzzzz and whack them On top of that, once when | was | over head with go the a pad- dle, and what | believe to be an eel sometimes sticks its head out of the shallow water and | hide ‘self attached' to a lamp support some- where in Auckland, two large groups of men, half of them dressed in black played some funny game where they ran under the seat of the dinghy and make shrill noises. | can't fly anymore (lack of exercise and sexual dalliance I'm told) around after a mis-shapen ball, the activity preceeded by some of them jump- but I'm happy nonetheless, just being a pondside dweller - an insect escape art- ing around doing what | learned from a ist who got away from the rat race. man below who threw a coke can at me and yelled “SHUT UP’ was a ‘Haka’. | don't even sing much now, except to ducks, and | don't want a “fancy female' either: They only mess scare the For a long time as most of our kind do, | had been singing and singing to attract a partner, then up my dwelling, take up space, go all mushy and expect me to do the shop- but lost heart ‘cos none ever came, resulting in my missing out on what humans call “sex’. Dejected | set up ‘residence’ in the bark of a small tree on choice real estate, the reeds to keep overlooking a pond where men out the rain, a view of the sailing and down soon to sail small boats, quite excited and over even ping ! Nah, I've got it all, came a boat home wonderful privacy. | was smaller I've lived there long—Cicadas are not boats more to my size which some of them pulled behind the larger ones. good at maths so | can’t be exact. One day, who knows, perhaps after I've rot- Now, they looked like just the thing for ted away some model sailor might lose me and one day when his yacht in the reeds and there discover | saw one of Cedric, and write a bit of bull- these little boats hidden out in the reeds shit about me. Then I'll have on one side of the pond, | gathered up confidence into the and little dive-bombed boat which been the most famous Cicada straight around...ever ! became 24 Dt. /7/- ¥. ing keen readers Curved Air column zine Mode! Boats, visited Potts at the London, and | was afterwards, of Russell) Potts in the UK maga. We had already latter's home in to do so shortly Euan was a man with a great love for the New Zealand South Island class of boats of earlier years, simply known as four foot sixes, He spent years looking for them and acquiring them, whereupon he would gradually restore them. Boats like 7/ruro seen below with her original sails. | won't forget the day he took me to the lake in Hagley Park, and with Euan Sarginson of whom much has been written over the last nine years help from two other club members, in Windling World, died on the 7th May at his home in Christchurch, the “clubhouse' was opened up re- vealing members boats including New Zealand after a short illness. three or When I started this magazine on a these were boats then wing and a prayer, he was among and put on the wa- the ter so that | could initial 20 who supported the idea behind it, and the concept that both model yachting offered a great deal them more than just ultra serious interna- about them. four of which rigged photograph and write tional class racing. Like me, he felt He was so passion- that the sailing models of the past ate about these boats and absolutely were just as important within the framework of the sport or hobby, adored them. had and that they should be preserved A few years later he telephoned me one evening from a yacht in Cook Strait, that 25 and written about as they were part mile of various nation's history, span of unpredictable water separating New Zealand's two main islands with | actually made initial contact with (Continued overlea)) Euan as a direct’result of us both be- 20 (Continued from page 25) the news that they were three quarter way across and he was sailing his 1950's A Class model Wi/liam Fraser from one island to the other. "It seemed a fun thing to do" he said, but it was part of the Sarginson dream to prove that model yachts had many roles (Photo below). ‘Show me a sane man and / will cure him for you’, so wrote Carl Gustav Jung. To subscribe to Windling World currently costs fifteen UK Pounds (UK & Europe folk), US$ or Can$ 20 (US & Can readers), NZ$20 and Aus$ 20 for Kiwis and Aussies. Comes out three times per year, contact at 42 Trinidad Road, Forrest Hill, Auckland NZ by mail, or phone or fax 64 O9 410- 4402, or email m.n.steele@xtra.co.nz For those who feel ‘three masts are better than two!, at left is the grandson of the Fleetwood club's scale section scribe with one of As Captain of the CMYC_ his enthusiasm knew no bounds, and | re- the chill's in their fleet. member another telephone call one evening, to tell me about the ~Roya/ Witchcraft Society’ - a formation of a ‘Royal' society based around the Winston Chur- Solo sailing Chris Sayer when sailing his Navman in the Mini Transat which starts in France, usually slept aboard in port, always calling his quarters the Bateau Chateau. revival of the 50 year old ‘Witchcraft' design boats fifty years after they were introduced. A story appeared in WW Dec 2003 issue. Then there was the magnificent book produced on the Christchurch an institution in graphs. itself. Good sailing, fun, spicy food rum, music, plenty laff and Euan was a man who loved his wine and his model yachts, a man sharp and good sailing in wooden boats. Model Yacht Club’s century of activities, with Euan’s superb photo- little ~shut-eye’... and witty with a dry sense by Ce 2SEO el « 1s see FAN 49S WM en- 779) gaging personality (Editor). ==" ‘Leh we dance gyurl Jus like de boat on de waves !” rat of humour and a truly “<== 26 ey Auckland Drian sailor, Bassett (below) with his Footy and his new Kyosho Oracle/AMW America's Cup boat, On Ist July the latter sank in high winds but was retrieved with Tides oft run deep and when | Sleep, images oft run by... of handsome lovely sailing boats white sails against blue sky’ grapple hook and much effort, Things aint always what they seem_! Perhaps this photo may stump some, be labelled “cute’ by others, while ask may. some “what's he done with his legs ?”. This in model large which the skipper seems ~aboard’, appeared at Bude in England where it It is nearly the end of the year, time to loosen up, re- lax, live life to the — full and “have a laff'. Hey, we are all going to eventually spend a long time serious, and what's more... 4 letters drew great attention. It is a perfect look- starting and ending with D. ing model and _ if only the skipper could get ‘inside’ the boat or shrink as he is his head actually in the wa- ~Let us have wine, women, mirth and win: ter. fis afer 1) Someone said _ it would not work— either a ketch or schooner-rigged Footy.. Hey there (at In the Caribbean, workboats right) it cou/d and it does work, this nice little ‘cruising style’ Footy ketch by Auckland’s Ron Rule. Now even the editor is thinking about a schoo- competing in the Grenada Sailing funny have Festival ner conversion’ to a spare Fooly | Fandango Mange ¢ names, like , Who Get Get and Shit Up, And what about 27 Abel John Spencer design Firebug sailing dinghies, Pleasant Pt Yacht Club in Christchurch, New Zealand at club's 2003 South Island Championship. ...and that’s about all the windling news we can accommodate in this issue, friends. ao lf VA/ OIBI-BED New Zealand’s non-profit ‘model yachting for fun, relaxation and friendship’ thrice yearly magazine