Number 22 - Fall 1996
1
T H E C O N C O R D I A N #22
New Book To Be Published About
Abeking & Rasmussen
Several upcoming publications will be of interest to Concordians. The first is a book about Abeking & Rasmussen. According to the author, Svante Domizlaff of Hamburg, the book was published in Germany in September and is titled “Abeking & Rasmussen - Evolution im Yachtbau” (Evolution in Yachtbuilding). The book has 160 pages, of which 30 are used for a list of all the boats A&R have built. “Certainly the Concordias will play a vital part in this book. I have so much information and so many fantastic photos and drawings, it is a pity there are only 160 pages.” reports Herr Domizlaff. “We have a lot of drawings and photos from the early years until today and we will tell the story of how A&R started in 1907, some of their famous customers and their even more famous yachts. As you know, A&R has always kept a close link to the US.”
The price will be 54 DM (approximately $35), thanks to a little financial aid from A&R. “Helmut Shaedla, A&R’s president, has ordered 2,500 copies in English, and these should be available in December.” The publishers are EDITION MARITIM, Stubbenhuk 10, D-20459 Hamburg, Germany. FAX (40) 372 839.
Herr Domizlaff reports that A&R is quite busy at the moment. “A 120 foot motoryacht is half way finished, they just got an order for a 180 foot MV and they are bidding now for a 120 foot ketch with breathtaking lines from German Frers.”
The other item of interest to Concordians will appear in the December 1996 issue of Chesapeake Bay Magazine. This seven-page story highlights the Concordias which sail on the Chesapeake: Woodwind, Banda, Loon, Live Yankee, Polaris, Envolee and Tempo. Senior Editor Jack Sherwood of Annapolis has also done an excellent job of telling the Concordia story in general and shares his passion for wooden boats and Concordias in particular: “Seeing a beautiful Concordia yawl under sail is as much a special treat as sailing on one, perhaps even a bit more so because you can savor her lines better from a distance,” he writes. He is treated to a sail aboard Woodwind with owner George Hartman and uses this as a starting point to tell the Concordia story. The article is well written, very accurate and should make a welcome addition to your Concordia library. Individual copies will be available from: Chesapeake Bay Magazine, 1819 Bay Ridge Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21403. FAX: 41- 267-6924.
NEWS FROM THE FLEET
Concordia Makes It’s Way Back to the Fatherland
FLEETWOOD #21 - Kersten Prophet, Fiefbergen, Germany: Fleetwood had been out of the water for 1 1/2 years before we purchased her. Her structural and cosmetic condition were very poor because of this. She spent most of the summer at Rockport Marine in Maine for a general structural restoration. We decided to renew the structural keel, stern post, deadwood, all the floors in the bilge, 14 pairs of frame ends in the aft part of the bilge up to the stringer, planking connected to all that work and the rudder. Additional planking refastening of the bottom will also be performed.
Rockport Marine finished the work at the end of July. We then had three weeks of sailing in Maine before she was shipped via Wilmington to Germany. Many here are familiar with the Concordia and she received a warm welcome. She is homeported in Kiel at the southwest end of the Baltic Sea. To complete the restoration, all the necessary cosmetic work on the topsides, deck, cabin and interior will be completed this winter.
TABAKEA#6 - Peter & Lynne Killheffer, Exeter, NH: We are the new owners of Tabakea and sail her out of Robinhood, ME. We’re so thrilled to own one after admiring them for at least 15 years! She was owned by Ben Snyder for 33 years and is quite original - a mixed blessing. Hull structure, exterior, rigging and propulsion are in pretty good shape. The interior is worn and needs upgrading, as does the electrical. We’ll be doing most of our own work, and are in the process of building a boat barn for a convenient shop.
Tabakea (ex-Sheila) is an unusual Concordia that was a bit of an experiment by Draytie Cochran, according to Waldo Howland. A slightly lower house, only two ports on each side, plywood bulkheads and painted spars are some of the items. The spars are now bright and we’ll be upgrading the interior next winter. It should be a fun project.
Owl #31 - Jay Panetta & Eunice Johnson, Wellesley, MA: In the early spring my wife and I were fortunate to be able to acquire Concordia #31, formerly Half Mine II, Griffon, Chosen, White Flower - and now Owl. Thanks to two previous and quite enlightened owners, the boat enjoyed a comprehensive restoration of the past several years which included the following: New teak deck, floors and keelbolts replaced, new cockpit coamings and winch bases, hull, brightwork and spars wooded and refinished, Schaefer roller furling system, Barient bronze self-tailing primary winches, Yanmar 3GMF diesel, two-blade Max Prop, new Doyle and Manchester working sails, complete electronics package including radar, GPS, B&G Hydra system, new teak cabin sole and finally, a new mast step and tie-rod system. This work was carried out under the highly skilled supervision of Peter Costa and Greg Tuxworth, first at Concordia and later at their own newly founded Triad Boatworks in Mattapoisett. Following Greg’s unfortunate death last spring, the yard now continues under Peter’s leadership. Peter is a remarkable source of knowledge about these boats, what they need and how the work ought best to be done.
We sailed the boat to Maine for the first season, where we cruised for the better part of six weeks - a luxury my career as a college professor affords. We encountered everything from dense fogs to 40-knot blows, and I also did a good deal of singlehanding - for which this vessel is ideally suited. In the process, we learned many things already well known to most Concordia owners. We can carry sail long after everyone else is heading for shelter. Mizzen staysails (and we have two, both large and small) are very helpful, and have been used often. Thanks to a bridge deck traveler fashioned from bronze genoa track (devised by Peter Costa), we can point surprisingly well. In fact, the boat is extremely well mannered and efficient to windward, such that a long beat is no longer something to be dreaded. Finally, we’re still getting accustomed to the speed of Owl. After many years of sailing in 5-knot boats, the ability to do 7+ knows in any decent breeze inspires a profound change on one’s view of what is possible in a given day. All in all, we have been very pleased.
Owl is now based at Manchester Marine, just 40 minutes from our home. She joins Safari, Goldeneye, Crocodile and Spice.
Whitewave #40 - Jack Moulton, Marblehead, MA: (5-29) We are in the water along with Whimbrel and Christie, waiting for Matinicus to return from her winter in Maine. Whitewave has new sails this year. Ordered as “Cressy’s” but delivered as “Doyle’s.” Not sure I like this new hard high-tech fabric (not all that new or exotic) but they surely look nice! Maybe they will get softer with use and age.
Candide #39 - Morgan Steeves, Anacortes, WA: After the spring haulout and touch up I set to work upgrading the accommodations forward. The “pipe berths” were removed (and stored) and an expandable berth was made to port, forward of the head. One of the shipwrights, Al Myers, let me use his shop on San Juan Island to mill some clear pine. With new accommodations in order, my father, brother and nephew set out with me for the first (annual, I hope) Steeves Boys Cruise of the San Juan Islands which was a great success. We sailed with my girlfriend and her folks in July for a few days. Having the oven aboard has really been great when the girls are along. Fresh baking makes the boat feel more like home. A couple of close friends sailed with us to the Victoria Classic Boat Festival over Labor Day weekend.
Upon return we removed the genoa tracks, pushpit and chocks to wood and refinish the toe rails. They now look great, but my nice paint job on the hull is now a bit the worse for wear. I think next time I’ll start at the top and work down. In mid-September I finished up repairs on the deck portside. The job had been done several years ago, but a couple of large bubbles were lifting. I cleaned it up by removing a section, cleaned and sealed the area and set some new cloth in epoxy. All smooth and tight now. A bit of varnish on the cabin sides, then the rest of September is set aside for sailing. Early October should find us back in Anacortes.
Banda #52 - Gail & Peter Gottlund, Kutztown, PA: We are the new owners of Banda. She was commissioned this spring by Concordia. In June we sailed her to the Chesapeake and her new home on the Chester River. While in Padanaram I had a memorable visit with Waldo Howland, sitting in his home talking about all things Concordian. He told stories of Banda’s early years of racing, first will Bill Stetson and later with George Hinman on Long Island Sound. Later, as we passed through Newport on our way south, the Bermuda Race was forming and Banda must have had a strange sense of deja vu; today’s ocean racers and an old but able warrior.
As this newsletter is probably the most relevant public forum on Concordias, I think it appropriate to say that Banda’s most recent past owners deserve the fleet’s praise and respect. Judy and Lee Davidson of Padanaram, her previous stewards, maintained her impeccably, both structurally and in a most wonderfully expressed sense of style. To upgrade and maintain while preserving the Concordia style is an accomplishment. Well done Davidson’s!
We have enjoyed sailing on the Chesapeake this summer. She sails so well and turns heads in every anchorage. Sailors pause and soak up her lines, smile and wave before moving on. We look forward to encountering the seven or eight other boats sailing on the Bay and being part of the Concordian camaraderie.
Live Yankee #64 - Warren Nichols & Charlie Gruber, Green Lane, PA: The first news I have to report is sad. Mr. Bob Gillespie, the original owner of Live Yankee, passed away in May. We had kept in touch with him and his wife since acquiring the boat and really enjoyed our interactions. It gave a kind of continuity to the lovely vessel that was very pleasant. We will, of course, continue our contacts with his lovely wife Gratia, but we’ll miss Bob.
Last fall’s Concordian reported our little tragedy - being dismasted by a wayward bridge tender! It was really bizarre. We were fourth in a line of boats waiting to go under the bridge. We all were moving in sequence and after the first three were through, he put the bridge down on us, smashing the mast and driving Live Yankee into the bulkhead of the bridge. This put a large gouge in her side, bent the bow pulpit, sprung several planks in front of the mast and destroyed the roller furling. When I reported the accident to the marine police, they said it was the fourth time this happened at that bridge last year. I am happy to report that a beautiful new mast has been built by Concordia. The hull repairs, roller furling and the rest has been accomplished by Gregg Neck Boat Yard and Wickes Wescott on the Sassafrass River on the Chesapeake where Live Yankee lives. She is now as beautiful as ever.
Paramour #72 - Skip & Anne Bergmann, Waupun, WI: We are presently enjoying Indian Summer weather and plan to sail into the beginning of October before hauling the first of November. Although time aboard this summer was more limited than we expected, we found our Sturgeon Bay location provided lots of good daysailing opportunities and closer proximity to good cruising grounds farther north.
Labor Day week we sailed to Beaver Island in the northeast of Lake Michigan and, despite up and down winds, had a nice reach with the mizzen staysail for over 100 miles and spinnaker for part of the way. Beaver Island’s year-round population of 400 swells to 4,000 in the summer, but is a sleepy place a step back in time and reminds me of stories my parents and in-laws used to tell about how Cape Cod was 60 years ago. The swimming was good in the clear waters of St. James Harbor and you could see the anchor line 20 feet down on the bottom.
We sailed around Beaver Island, High Island and Gardner Island, keeping a close eye on the charts in the rocky, reef-strewn area. Strong winds were with us when we headed west and one closehauled tack took us back across the lake and north of Rock Island to anchor in Washington Harbor (actually a large bay) on the northwest side of Washington Island. Sailing on a moonlit night at 2 a.m., we tacked virtually up to shore in 90 feet of water until we approached the beach at the head of the harbor, where it shallows to 20 feet. A beautiful, quite spot with no other boats. Later on we had some fresh winds and Buzzards Bay weather on Green Bay to round out a good week.
Paramour is solid following last winter’s work in the mast step area and forward (new floors, stem scarf, mast step and tie rod system, stem bolts) and there is no working. The bilge pump gets to rest. However, when I was in Massachusetts in July, I visited the Edson plant and purchased an emergency diaphragm pump which is now mounted in the port cockpit sail locker. This addition was prompted by news that a pulp barge with 20,000 logs had capsized on the northeast shore of Lake Michigan this spring and all the logs had yet to be accounted for. The pump mounts on an aluminum bracket that is subsequently bolted with machine screws (for easy removal) to permanently mounted, drilled and tapped plates. I doubled the length of the standard 32” handle and the pump can be operated easily, even by the helmsman while underway. The hoses are connected with quick couplers and the discharge hose stows aft of the pump in a small coil. The 15-foot intake hose is coiled on a shelf in the port locker at the forward end of the cockpit, ready to reach most anywhere below. Hardly any space was lost in the deep locker where the pump mounts, for it takes no more space than a couple of coiled sheets, all of which are simply piled on top of it. With hoses reversed, the pump does double duty for deck washing -- hopefully its only use!
Hopefull - Concordia 31 - Robert Gallant, Brooklin, ME: I was interested in seeing that you are trying to assemble a list of the Concordia 31’s. I am the owner of Hopefull. Note the two “l’s.” It makes the name balance on the transom, with its outboard rudder, as well as emphasizing that she is full of hope. She was built in Padanaram at the Concordia yard and was launched, I believe, in 1964. She was ordered by a fairly tall sailor and has slightly more headroom than usual. After construction of the hull was well along, he asked that the sloop design be altered to a ketch rig. Informed that things were too far along to make the change, he asked that the incomplete hull be offered for sale and ordered a new hull built, ketch rigged.
The hull which was to become Hopefull was bought by “Wilkie” and Hannah Wilkerson and finished out to their specifications. They sailed her out of Center Harbor during the ensuing years, until after the death of Mr. Wilkerson, when I purchased Hopefull from his widow in 1969. The other hull was launched in 1962 and is now owned by Frank Roosevelt. Her name is Para Handy. Salt Wind, which I believe might have been the original Luan, is also here in Center Harbor. I believe there are nine, total. Five were in our harbor at one time during one of the recent ERR weekends.
Irene #103 - Doug Cole, Bellingham, WA: Irene is snoozing under her winter cover, hopefully warm and dry after several days of strong winds and driving rain. The frenzy of last spring’s refit is long forgotten. Ostensibly out of commission, we still have an occasional dinner aboard during the winter months, warmed by the heat of the diesel stove and thoughts of seasons past and cruises yet to come. And of course, like all Concordias, a variety of winter projects await completion.
Numerous guests sailed aboard this season from both coasts and several continents. A highlight was a two-week cruise to Barkley Sound on Vancouver Island’s west coast with Abaco owners Jonathan & Dorothy Goldweitz. Sailing with such experienced Concordians was real pleasure. At times I felt like a guest on my own boat! We had some tremendous sails, isolated anchorages, private swimming holes and memorable sunsets. I continue to be amazed at the feasts that can be prepared with a simple two-burner stove and an old-fashioned “drip-o-matic” ice box. Alas, having and endless supply of fresh seafood at hand helps.