Friday, May 1, 2015

Classic Moths on the James River

This little video gives you the feel of sailing a classic moth boat.  The two boats, one an old Fletcher-Cates and the other "Chico" the ex-Scott Wolff "Sidewinder", glide along in light air on the James River in Virginia.  Sidewinder used to race with us several owners ago.  I keep hoping this pair of boats will return to the race course sooner rather than later.  As always, remember to click on full screen.

15 comments:

  1. Watched the video full screen - great video.
    As an aside - Tell me about the moth in your header photograph, number 69 - she looks as though she has a little cabin / cuddy - what a great asset for going cruising / camping!!

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  2. Alden: The boat which can be seen in my header photo is of the Mistral (Aquavit) which my son raced several years ago. This boat survives with a new owner. Aquavit has a "humpy" fore deck not for camping but instead as a rule dodge to get the mast head and boom height higher than the rules in those days permitted! The CMBA members wisely voted to change the rules and so now days exaggerated decks are passe. However there have been several attempts to go cruising with an 11 foot Moth Boat. The two best known can be seen here: http://www.mid-atlanticmusings.blogspot.com/search/label/Camping%20Moth

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  3. Thank you George for the link. I read the interesting blogposts about the small cabins / cuddies / camping and the trip down the coast - great stuff!

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  4. George,
    I believe that is "ChicA" ( "pretty girl"). I bought her from Tweazerman. After some paint, varnish, and re-rigging I sailed her for several years. Alas, she paid for a set of sails for my UNA. Chica is a sweet little boat. I'm glad she is being used. Looks like they are moving along well. Thanks!

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  5. Eddie: I can't remember who owned this boat between you and a young Coast Guardsman, Mike O'Dare (I think). I'm not sure that this boat passed through Tweezerman's hands. An aging brain is a treacherous thing.

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  6. I don't know about Mike, but Gary Gowans (Tweazerman?) brought it to me from NC one Thanksgiving weekend. It was red and white striped at the time. I faired, painted, varnished, re-rigged, etc. Thanks-

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  7. Alas, although I've owned several Classic Moths, not one has been a Cates or a modified Cates. Eddie, Gary Gowans is not Tweezerman - he might be offended if I called him that. Tweezerman and Gary have charted different paths in the Classic Moth World but you could call us both tinkerers of the first degree.

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  8. Alas, although I've owned several Classic Moths, not one has been a Cates or a modified Cates. Eddie, Gary Gowans is not Tweezerman - he might be offended if I called him that. Tweezerman and Gary have charted different paths in the Classic Moth World but you could call us both tinkerers of the first degree.

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  9. Not sure who I should apologize to. My mistake, but Chica did pass from Gary's hands to mine. I regret selling her. Can't have them all. I have thought about building a Shelly which has a hull similar to the fiberglass BOW Moth I sailed as a kid with the tall Int'l. rig. Getting back into dinghy racing would be a thrill.

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  10. No apology required. Just build a Shelley and come join the party.

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  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Scott: Don Jensen was the last CMBA member to own Tomahawk. He retired about 10 years ago and moved from E. City to (I think) the middle of North Carolina. In the process he sold Tomahawk to someone who was not a CMBA member and we've lost track of the boat. I'll ask around and report back if I learn of her current owner.

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    2. Scott: I asked Greg D. and Erky G. about Tomahawk. Greg remembers giving the new owner advice about fixing leaks, several years ago but has heard nothing since then. Erky thinks the boat went to either Pinehurst, NC or Raleigh, NC.

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