BOATYARD TOUR
Brigadoon, Herreshoff 50 — "If you want to sail on Brigadoon," says Terry Klaus, who's owned the famous 1924 gaff schooner for over 30 years, "you have to work on Brigadoon." When we ran into him, just a handful of his 20 or so potential workers had shown up, including three guys he's been sailing with for 25 years — pictured from left to right: Robby Fouts, Klaus, Merv Nichols and Ed Bennet. If you've ever been out on the Bay — or read the pages of Latitude, for that matter — you've probably seen Brigadoon strutting her stuff at one time or another. As Staff Commodore of the Master Mariners Benevolent Association, Klaus is heavily involved in classic yacht racing, such as the spectacular Master Mariners Memorial Day Regatta and the "WOW!"-inspiring Jessica Cup, which he helped develop in the '80s. Brigadoon isn't just a show boat, though. Terry's two kids grew up on her, the family taking many summer vacations in the Delta, not to mention sailing the Bay. "My daughter usually brings a bunch of her young friends during the haulout," Terry noted, "but she's in Mexico right now." Until she returns, Klaus will have to 'make do' with a scurvy crew that includes Olympic sailors, circumnavigators and the president of the company from which he retired. "I have some very good friends." Page 144 •
Latitude 38
• May, 2007
Laylah, gaff ketch — Not everyone we spoke to this year was on the hard. We found Stefan Szenoner hard at work on another boat's ceiling strips in front of his own striking ferrocement gaff ketch Laylah. Szenoner, a retired journalist for a German publication — he claims the late Frank Zappa as one of his good friends from those days — stays busy now as a marine woodworker (check out his ad on page 233). "Laylah was designed and built in 1978 by a local doctor," Stefan told us. "He died in '85 on Kanchenjunga [the world's third largest mountain] and I bought the boat from his widow in '99." Since that time, Szenoner has spent countless hours completely restoring the interior — installing cabinets, a teak and holly sole, and a whole passel of other nifty conveniences. In fact, he's getting ready to take Laylah to Europe on an open-ended cruise. "I'll leave next year and go to the Sea of Cortez," he said. "Then I'll go to Costa Rica, through the Panama Canal and to Cuba." In Cuba, Szenoner will have a tough decision to make about his future: head off across the Pond to Greece or to Spain. "I haven't decided yet." No matter which route he takes, Stefan is determined to travel the rest of his life. "I'm just going to keep going."