Boat

John, you and I have more in common than just fishing, lol. My love affair with the ocean started back in high school and I lived for the Saturday/Sunday races. Come summer, you couldn't peel me away from the 110 with a crow bar. Some of my best memories of those years are sailing solo, out on trap, wind blowing a good 15-20 and watching the stars while zipping around between the harbor, north river and cohasset on those warm summer evenings. Nothing has come close to that feeling since, but a good night of fishing does come close. The 470's are a fun boat and the hobies are a wild ride in the heavy stuff.

Did a couple of summers teaching sailing, one for the town of Scituate and one for the Lincoln sailing club that operates off that pier by the 3A rotary at the inner Hingham harbor. Got some great stories from two crew jobs I was on delivering a couple yachts out of Ft. Lauderdale one summer. One was on a beautiful Crocker designed 42 foot catch build up in Kennibuckport Me, from FL to San Francisco. The other one I almost met my maker on and was on the racing yacht called the Congere. That was a fast 52 footer that was headed back to NY after finishing the southern circuit. The skipper took the outside route around Hatteras and we were nailed by a early November tropical storm. Waves taller than the boat was long, some the skipper estimated were pushing 65 feet. I've never been so cold, so wet and so scared in my life. We were standing 2 man/2 hour watches, because your body couldn't take the pounding much longer. As luck would have it, the storm jib broke loose during a late night watch I was on. We called up 2 crew and proceeded forward to haul in the sail. We were sitting on the deck hauling the sail in and we hit a monster of a wave and the ocean just disappeared. We came back down so hard that we plowed right through the next one and both of us were underwater for a few seconds. If it weren't for our life lines, we would have been overboard and history. I haven't even seen the perfect storm yet, just because I'm not sure I want to replay that in my mind. I got chills just watching the promo's.

Sorry, I tend to ramble, but that's what us old salt's like to do. Once you start us talking, you can't shut us up. Tight lines.

[triallamerica5x]

Originally Posted by Got+Stripers

John, you and I have more in common than just fishing, lol. My love affair with the ocean started back in high school and I lived for the Saturday/Sunday races. Come summer, you couldn't peel me away from the 110 with a crow bar. Some of my best memories of those years are sailing solo, out on trap, wind blowing a good 15-20 and watching the stars while zipping around between the harbor, north river and cohasset on those warm summer evenings. Nothing has come close to that feeling since, but a good night of fishing does come close. The 470's are a fun boat and the hobies are a wild ride in the heavy stuff.

Did a couple of summers teaching sailing, one for the town of Scituate and one for the Lincoln sailing club that operates off that pier by the 3A rotary at the inner Hingham harbor. Got some great stories from two crew jobs I was on delivering a couple yachts out of Ft. Lauderdale one summer. One was on a beautiful Crocker designed 42 foot catch build up in Kennibuckport Me, from FL to San Francisco. The other one I almost met my maker on and was on the racing yacht called the Congere. That was a fast 52 footer that was headed back to NY after finishing the southern circuit. The skipper took the outside route around Hatteras and we were nailed by a early November tropical storm. Waves taller than the boat was long, some the skipper estimated were pushing 65 feet. I've never been so cold, so wet and so scared in my life. We were standing 2 man/2 hour watches, because your body couldn't take the pounding much longer. As luck would have it, the storm jib broke loose during a late night watch I was on. We called up 2 crew and proceeded forward to haul in the sail. We were sitting on the deck hauling the sail in and we hit a monster of a wave and the ocean just disappeared. We came back down so hard that we plowed right through the next one and both of us were underwater for a few seconds. If it weren't for our life lines, we would have been overboard and history. I haven't even seen the perfect storm yet, just because I'm not sure I want to replay that in my mind. I got chills just watching the promo's.

Sorry, I tend to ramble, but that's what us old salt's like to do. Once you start us talking, you can't shut us up. Tight lines.

You may be referring the April 1972 delivery of Congere to the Derecktor yard in Mamaroneck, NY. If that was the trip you were on, Ian Trevleaven and I were one watch, you and the legendary Sven Joffs on the other. I remember the spinnaker pole detached at the mast. The end dropped on deck and sounded like an explosion over my head below. Yes, it was very cold the last hours as we went into NYC harbor. Other memorable moments included seeing the launch of Apollo 16 as we passed Cape Canaveral at 12:54pm on April 16, sailing through the USSR fleet of spy ships near Cape Hatteras, and almost hitting a sleeping whale, surrounded by dolphins in glassy smooth sea.

[nightfighter]

Wow, old thread, old names, old boats. I raced against a number of Bevin Koepel's Congeres. Just another old BN remembering the glory days.....

[triallamerica5x]

Originally Posted by nightfighter

Wow, old thread, old names, old boats. I raced against a number of Bevin Koepel's Congeres. Just another old BN remembering the glory days.....

Yeah, the original post was from 17 years ago. I was Googling 'Congere' and I came upon this forum and post. As you know, after 1972 Koeppel owned a series of increasingly bigger boats up to maxi size. That delivery was my first time on the boat and was told up front this was my 'try out' for the 1972 tran-Atlantic race to Bayonna, Spain. I did that race and Block island race , then Marblehead-Halifax in 1973 on the boat. Koeppel invited me to do the Rio race the next year but I declined. Sven Joffs retired soon after that to Menemsha, Martha's Vineyard where he spent his last years racing radio controlled model sailboats! He died in the mid-1980's. He was apparently quite good with the model boats as I once saw some results on the web. Stories of his days on 'Ondine' are what made him the legend he was during that era. It was a true priviledge to have sailed several thousand miles with that man when I crewed on 'Congere'. I was age 22 at the time. BTW, on that delivery the seas were not 65'! Big but not nearly that big. P.S. Probably few would know what a 'BN' is... I do, I was!

[nightfighter]

Yep, we have probably crossed paths. I am in Marblehead.

IBNA In us they trust!
Antigua sailing week going on now. I wonder if they still have the Ball?

[Got Stripers]

Wow, what are the odds someone googling the name would come across this post and we may have crewed on the same delivery to NY. It was true balls adventure for sure, but I think it took me a week into my next trip to dry out and stop shivering; I was ill prepared for that offshore trip.

It didn't deter me, fly back to Ft. Lauderdale to crew on a Crocker built catch heading towards San Francisco, with an unscheduled refueling stop in Cuba. Nothing like standing watch at 3am, with the sails set, everyone below, just you, the stars and the dolphins swimming in your bow wake. Southern Cross plays on the radio and I'm transported back in time.

[Clammer]

memories ,you old fu ck in Goat >.wanna be ><><