WHO'S YO DADDY

I send Gary an Email:

Mr. Jobson,

I hear that you and Randy did an outstanding job on your commentary for the America's Cup races. Unfortunately my ISP does not carry the ESP 360 broadcast and I had to listen to the Official AC33 commentary. Are there plans to make your commentary available to the general public? I would be very interested in obtaining a copy of the broadcast, as I know others would from the blogs on the Cat Sailor forum.

Regards,

Mike Shappell

And here was his reply:

Mike: sorry your carrier did not include us. bummer. I hope to have some kind of wrap up at some point best Gary Jobson

So it looks like there will be something available for those of us unlucky enough not to receive ESPN360. I'll keep you posted.

You oughta listen when your on the phone,I told you about that.

When he does show up, you should let him win.

But then wouldn't he consider himself a

master

and bloviate about how easily transferrable his vast lead-mine experience is to cats?

I mean, really, even someone with only a small fraction of sailing experience would see that not all mono techniques transfer to cats. Not the least of which is the speed which dictates a much different strategy on fleet races (like

connect the dots of pressure

vs. waiting for wind to catch you)

I'm not sure that's in my genetic makeup. The

let

part.

dont recall doing that in my less enlightened days of racing halfboats.

Maybe not, but I was stuck on 4KSB's for almost 2 decades. You didn't really do a lot of

hunting

for pressure. You picked a side you thought had good pressure, turned and threw up as much cloth as possible and drove straight down trying not to spill your drink or wake up the captain. Major changes came when the top of the course got wind and everyone drove down (at 4 kts) on the leaders who were parked in light air.

And when I talk 4KSB, I'm talking boats that considered Tartan 31

the boat to beat

. J-24 were considered

too much work and tipped too much

<img src="<>/smile.gif" alt="smile" title="smile" height="15" width="15" /> On a good regatta, you were lucky to get TWO races per day if the wind was up....

Today, perhaps those boats better fit

Spin B

or similar categories.

The concept of

sport boat

had me salavating until I found myself owning a N20, at which point the heavens opened, a beam of light shown down, a dove flew down and a voice proclaimed

it is good

.

I used to have fun trying to convince the folks on the SA Sportboat forum that multis fit the definition of a sport boat, especiallly N-20s when you talk about Vipers, Lasers, and M-20s. You would have thought I was bringing on the downfall of the life on Earth as we know it. Back before there was a multi forum life was more interesting over there...

A couple of years ago there were headlines that Jobson was writing a book on A-Cats. I was all like

wow! He's really crossing over here!

Then I found out there is an old class of cat boats called A-Cats, and there's folks that still race them. Here's hoping he's not confused! Come to think of it, the cat boat A's just might measure in. Put curved leeboards and a wingsail on one...

That pretty much describes my sailing life from 1973 to 1983... We used to fill mineral water bottles with colorless vodka... It was fun. Slow, but fun!

Wow, you must have been in on some of our regattas! I think the only reason I was on the boat was to drive when the crew got too tanked to find the finish line ( I was too young to realize the fun of drinking & sailing).

I do recall one race on a 35+/- foot 4KSB where, upon the

tactician

(the guy who just stepped up the companionway and who was looking aft) said

Hey, we're the only ones with a spinnaker up

, at which point the wind picked up, burying our leeward rail. My dad (steering at the time) had the tiller pinned on the opposite rail and said, calmly,

hold on...

It is hard to recall what exactly transpired next above the din of clinking bottles and general chaos. Literally hanging vertically from the stb. lifeline watching untold numers of rum bottles and budweiser cans floating off the port rail, I believe we were in full broach position for almost 30 seconds. Eventually, someone thought

perhaps I should ease the spin sheet

, which flew out of the **** and eventually flogged off the spinnaker entirely.

After it was determined all personnel were accounted for and no injuries, the crew made it clear in no uncertain terms that we HAD to retrieve the floating bottles so as not to be left carrying on without proper

motivation

to ensure our

safe return to the clubhouse

. As a 4KSB, we hadn't really drifted far from the flotsam, so it was a matter of minutes to fetch said

motivation

(another reason I firmly believe I was aboard at the time).

Good times.

Maybe the advent of sportboats and high performance multihulls has led to the decline in drinking while racing. Of course, it might also have contributed to the rise in drinking AFTER racing, but that's another story....

Jay, i thought that is why the crew handles the mainsheet... so the skipper has a free hand to concentrate on the

motivation

...

Right. On a 4KSB, pretty much everything's cleated, hence more reason to maintain

motivation

.

This particular craft sets up for downhill by laying the boom perpendicular to the hull, setting spin pole opposite, hoisting a huge bedsheet that could cover a baseball infield, and finding a cupholder for your motivation so you can use your hands while you regale the other crew with your (BS) tales of wild adventure on 10KSB's

Monohulls in a nutshell.

Cool. Isn't that what the ahem ...

water

backpacks are for?

SSSSHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

I had a crew in a Worrell that loved his beer and ciggies. Apparently, unbeknownst to me he filled his camelback with beer ,one leg. He told me well after the fact ,that when he bit the bite valve it almost blew his head off.

maybe, but I've found it's pretty hard to race a beachcat when you're

over motivated

. You usually end up swimming or bleeding (or both).

On the 4KSB's your biggest worry is falling in an open hatch/companionway (don't ask me how I know)

+1

Nope....running out of beer.

hahah. i can only imagine tacking and moving around must have

shaken

things up a bit in his camelpack.

(thats why i drink rum) <img src="<>/smile.gif" alt="smile" title="smile" height="15" width="15" />

My problems were not the hatches or openings, it was stepping on the damm lazy sheets and the ding-dong holding the new guy while I was trying to get the spin pole back on the mast. That ding-dong can make a bowman look reaaalllly bad.

You know - those leaners ARE dangerous! Except for one dislocated shoulder, I have

Bleed

a lot less on a catamaran. Had to open the Thistle's bailers to get the blood out on occasion; complicated and prickly they are ...

Agreed.

The shock 35 I crewed on the Neuse river has tried to kill me more times than my N20 has ever even thought of.

Kate holds the record for wanting to kill you the most.

I thought the Shock 35 was a 8KSB, you're in the wrong group.

Think of any boat with a FULL LENGTH KEEL (or shoal draft fixed keel) and a KITCHEN and you're talkin' 4KSB

Then again, I did a stint on the 1/2 and 1 tons in the nefarious IOR class. What a wierd bunch of boats...

Dude, were you the cabin boy?

FORward Crew and Bow Boy depending on the ride.

Cabin boy? As in stay down below move from side to side whilst tring to roll tack?

Now he's the cabin MAN...

Some of the interviews that Ellison has done with the local news out in SF are encouraging. Coupled that with the reports that Mr. Spithill is

hooked on multis

and I think we have a better than 50/50 chance at seeing some blazingly fast multi's ripping up SF Bay.

I know that if that happens, I've got family in the area and I'm so there.

Maybe Coutts and Cayard can dust of their World Sailing League designs and use that as a basis for the next AC.

Originally Posted by Tony_F18

Maybe Coutts and Cayard can dust of their World Sailing League designs and use that as a basis for the next AC.

Uggg...that boat is ugly!