Classics Gaff — Brigadoon 1924 50-ft Herreshoff schooner Terry & Lindsey Klaus, StFYC Terry Klaus attributes Brigadoon's success to "Good crew, practice, a clean bottom and good sails." Of the three regattas, he says, "All three races are completely different; I would have to say I like them all." He adds that, "Good racing is planning ahead so you don't have any hairy/scary moments." The regular crew joining Terry aboard Page 56 • Latitude 38 • December, 2023
Brigadoon were his daughter Lindsey (second generation), Drew Guay, Joe Ording, Josh Roper, Kristian Hanelt (second generation), Robbie Fouts, Bruce Lindsey, Peter English, Bob Rogers and Lucas Roper (third generation).
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W
e kick off our annual Season Champions features by highlighting the new (old) kids on the block. This year, organizers at the Master Mariners Benevolent Association, San Francisco Yacht Club and St. Francis YC banded together to create a San Francisco Bay Classics Championship Series. Three regattas counted in the series: MMBA's Master Mariners Regatta in May, SFYC's Great SF Schooner Cup and Belvedere Classic in July, and StFYC's Jessica Cup in October. Each regatta has a different class structure; the boat totals in the results below are our own unofficial guesstimate. "I very much appreciate your inclusion of the SF Bay Classics Series in the Latitude 38 Season Champs feature," says Neil Gibbs of MMBA. "These old wooden battle wagons need all the exposure they can get!"
'Oriole' leads the way in the Jessica Cup.
Terry & Lindsey Klaus
Marconi 1 — Kay of Göteborg 1978 52-ft S&S yawl Neil Gibbs, MMBA/SYC "Kay of Göteborg was designed by Sparkman & Stephens and built by Arne Walstead in Denmark in 1977," says Neil Gibbs. "Designed for high-latitude sailing, she is very heavily constructed of teak and oak and she sports a cast-iron coal-burning stove (which definitely does not make her faster but looks cool and keeps her warm).
Marconi 2 — Oriole, 1929 Bird Boat Jock MacLean, SFYC The pretty yellow Oriole was built in 1929 in San Francisco by United Ship Repair. She has mostly sailed out of Belvedere. "I have sailed on her off and on since 1974," says her current caretaker, Jock MacLean. She has been in the MacLean family three times over the past 50 years and rebuilt to some degree each time, starting with Jock's dad. Jock himself is a manager at KKMI, so that doesn't hurt. Jock says his secrets to success include "Good crew, a great boat, keeping her in good shape, and sailing her every week to keep the cobwebs off." Regular crew this year were Jock MacLean Jock's son Lachlan and daughter Katie, plus Troy Johnson, Shane Holt and Jamie Hauer. SF BAY CLASSICS (4r, 0t) GAFF — 1) Brigadoon, 4 points; 2) Makani Kai, 1970 40-ft Angelman Sea Spirit ketch, Ken & Kristine Inouye, MMBA, 7; 3) Aïda, 1962 55-ft
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"I found her lying in San Diego in pretty rough condition in 2018. After trucking her up to Sausalito, I have personally been restoring Kay using skills learned while helping build the Matthew Turner. Neil Gibbs "We started entering Kay in the classic wooden boat regattas several years ago. Her newer sails and a clean bottom certainly help, but our success is primarily due to our skilled and dedicated crew. We sail most Tuesday evenings from spring through autumn, which gives everyone plenty of practice." Sylvia and Barry Stompe, Charles Bronson, Steve Hoffman, Mattia Cosmi, Andy Eggler, Tommy Finnegan, Jimmie Marquez, Don Lindsey, Doug Finley and Bob Higgins are regulars aboard Kay.
MARIANNE ARMAND / KKMI
ERIK SIMONSON / WWW.PRESSURE-DROP.US
SEASON CHAMPIONS, PART I —