The Skipper Offers Some Seafaring Wisdom to Use Before Starting Sea Duty
The Skipper Says: Remember that when anchoring where there’s a big rise in tides, say about a fathom, this figure of six feet must be multiplied by two and given out in additional warp of 12 feet if the tide is at the neap, so the proportion is correct at flood tide.
A word about “The Skipper Says.” The skipper is none other than myself, who thinks it might be useful, as well as interesting, to head this column with a few words of seafaring wisdom, gleaned from here and there, as well as bits of salty nonsense, from time to time.
If any reader should send me something nautically pithy, that person will, of course, be given full credit for being the Skipper. So much for the Skipper.
James C. Sheppard of Newport Beach, public information director of the Southern California chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society Inc., comes loaded with information I didn’t know about.
“In case you are not familiar with the society,” he writes, “it is an international nonprofit organization of about 3,500 members organized into 29 regional chapters.
“The Southern California chapter is one of the newest (about 3 years old), smallest (about 50 members), but it is becoming very active.”
Chapter president is Al Schinnerer, president of California Classic Boats in Huntington Beach. Society members are dedicated to the preservation and restoration of vintage boats.
The society places these boats in the following categories: “Historic,” a boat built before 1919; “Antique,” a boat built between 1919 and 1942, inclusive; “Classic,” a boat built between 1943 and 1968; “Contemporary Classic,” a boat built after 1968, and “Replica,” a boat built in a non-production manner intended to be one of a kind, and usually an exact copy or duplicate of a boat previously built or manufactured.
Says Sheppard: “Our members own boats ranging in size from large sail and motorboats to small outboards; however, the interest seems to center on varnished mahogany speedboats and runabouts in the 16- to 25-foot range, manufactured by Chris Craft, Century, Gar Wood, Lyman, Hackercraft and Fay-Bowen.”
The society will sponsor two wooden boat shows this year, the first a classic wooden boat parade at Lake Arrowhead Yacht Club on June 7-8, the second at Pine Knot Landing, Big Bear Lake, on Sept. 13-14. The latter is called the Second Annual Festival of Wooden Boats.
For information on memberships, contact Sheppard at 15605 Carmenita Road, Suite 107, Santa Fe Springs, Calif. 90650.
- Notes on May events: 17-18, sixth annual Hard Way Race, Santa Barbara Sailing Club, a race from Santa Barbara to Channel Island Harbor via Santa Cruz Island; 18, Jessop Trophy Regatta, San Diego Yacht Club; 23-25, California Cup, California Yacht Club, Santa Monica Bay; 31, Angelman Series No. 3, Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, race in San Pedro Channel off Newport Beach.
- The Star of India, a tall ship 205 feet in length and owned and maintained by the Maritime Museum of San Diego, will sail from her Ash Street wharf through the main channel to offshore Point Loma and return. If you hanker to watch an old, steel square-rigger hoist her canvas and get underway, your wish will be granted May 25. Time of sailing is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- The Dana West Yacht Club will hold its opening-day ceremonies May 18 at 3:30 p.m.