Just four months ago we heard the news that singer/sailor David Crosby had crossed the bar. He died at 81, leaving behind a legacy of music that spanned more than just his generation. When we learned this week that Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot had died on May 1, we were immediately thrown into humming his tune “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” The 1976 release was written about the bulk carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank during a storm on November 10, 1975, in Lake Superior. The song is surely known by most sailors (this writer recalls it coming to mind while experiencing her first storm at sea). But what may not be as well known is that Lightfoot himself was a sailor, and after the success of his ninth studio album — Sundown (1974), which hit Number One on the Canadian and US charts — he told reporters at the Detroit Free Press that he would now like to buy a sailboat.

“I would now like to spend more time with each album, each song, and I would also like to get a sailing yacht. Not for competitive sailing, I’m a cruiser. But that’s going to take a lot of time. I’ve got to study navigation and things like that,” the article quotes.

With that newfound knowledge, we set off to learn more about this musician, who, it now appears, was also a sailor. According to a piece we found on Lightfoot’s website, the singer had in his time owned more than one boat. “It was the summer of 1976 when Gordon Lightfoot decided it was time to have the halyards quieted down on his stock 39-footer. The cacaphony they raised when they whacked against the aluminum spar was a bit too much for the ears of this Canadian folksinger, who said he was tired of fiddling around with his old boat.” Understandable. What happened next led him to replace the fiberglass-hulled boat with a wood boat.

Lightfoot had engaged the talents of boat designer Victor Carpenter, who worked under the name Superior Sailboats, to solve his noise problem. In doing so the pair struck up a true sailors’ relationship — they raced each other aboard their current boats: Lightfoot’s 39-ft Sundown, and Carpenter’s 28-ft mahogany-hulled O-Race.

Lightfoot was impressed, and upon returning to shore he looked over Carpenter’s plans for a 45-ft model of the mahogany hull that he had designed some years ago, but never built. “You wouldn’t buy a fiberglass guitar, would you?” Carpenter reportedly shot at Lightfoot as the pair discussed fiberglass versus wood. By the time they were done, Lightfoot had ordered his new sailboat, built of wood, for an “undisclosed sum.” The boat would be called Golden Goose. A little ostentatious perhaps, but if one can, then, why not?

Aside from owning and sailing his boat, Lightfoot drew upon the seafaring life for inspiration for other songs, each of which, in its own small or larger way, reflects some of the nuances of sailing. They include “The Sea of Tranquility,” “Christian Island (Georgian Bay),” “Ghosts of Cape Horn,” and “Ballad of Yarmouth Castle.” We recommend looking them up on YouTube, the Ballad of Yarmouth Castle in particular, as it has a lilting, sailorly vibe that wooden boat aficionados may enjoy.

We realize Lighfoot’s music may not appeal to all audiences, as evidenced by a letter to the editor in Latitude 38‘s January 2012 issue. But personal preferences aside, it’s been an interesting journey learning about Gordon Lightfoot, the singer, songwriter, and mariner. Fair winds, sailor.

The post Another Singer/Sailor Crosses the Bar: Gordon Lightfoot 1938-2023 appeared first on Latitude38.

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The new Rapido 40 trimaran is designed by Morrelli & Melvin, whose portfolio includes multihull rockets ranging from America’s Cup contenders to Steve Fossett’s Playstation, so no surprise that performance is in its DNA. But it’s also a cruising multihull that’s light, strong, easy to sail, and designed to fit into a standard slip, with retractable amas.

The smallest in the Vietnamese-built Rapido line, this tri combines bright above-waterline living with efficient sailing and easy singlehanding with a self-tacking jib. Multiple watertight bulkheads offer a measure of safety in case of collision, and the carbon/foam construction keeps the boat light and agile. At just under 12,000 pounds, it’s half the weight of a 40-foot catamaran, but with an equivalent sailplan that helps her slip along at wind speed even in light breezes.

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It does if you’re into indentured servitude. Here’s the opening paragraph for a crew wanted job:

From May / June through early September I will be spending most of my time cruising and sailing around the Salish Sea on a 44ft catamaran with a combination of family and friends. I am looking for a deckhand who is flexible to be wherever we are going, whenever we go there. Room and board included, though what room is available will depend on how many guests we have.

There are 3 cabins on the boat and a couch of sorts that becomes a bed; guests will take priority in terms of cabins. This is a mid-sized boat, so while it’s comfortable it is not a super yacht so requires a willingness to share small spaces with others. Start is May (somewhat flexible) through mid-September.

Read on to find out about your tent accommodations.

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Yesterday, we chastised those who know the names of alleged sexual harassers at the Etchells 22 Worlds, (See Stop Pussy-Footing Around.) and yet are refusing to do the right thing and in effect, covering for and enabling the guilty. We find that cowardice really disturbing.

In the story below, a woman who suffered at the hands of a total creep, and has decided to step forward and tell her story.  We salute you, Samantha Evans.

I’m sure most of you in the sailing industry will remember this post on Sailing Anarchy that kept being taken down because he threatened the media outlets. The story of the shower creep that filmed women. James Gair aka chippy.

It did go to court and he was found guilty of voyeurism and given a suspended sentence. Yet, he managed to mostly keep it quiet and continue as though not much had happened. Today I am standing up and being brave- I was one of the victims he filmed.

Not many people will know it was actually me as I kept it relatively quiet as I was in shock and also scared; I was the one that found the camera and took it to the police after viewing to confirm he’d deliberately filmed us but I’ve worried for years of the consequences to my life by people knowing it was me and also his reaction. It’s impacted my sailing, withdrew me from a sport I loved, and changed me.

To put it into context, we were friends and I often sailed on his program, helped with corporate guests and stayed in the crew house. 1 hour before this shower incident where he hid a camera to film us without our permission, we had been discussing a potential project where I was going to use his crew house, his boat and him to co-skipper an offshore programme and potentially a Fastnet campaign with my school pupils.

I almost endangered minors both female and male by the trust id had in him. This could have been them which really impacts me. Unfortunately, he picked me and I found the camera. It was not the first time he had done this either. Police found videos going back over years including the family he had filmed.

For me, it impacted me more deeply at the time than I realised. Due to a court case pending for around 6 months, I stayed away from Cowes or South Coast sailing and after the trial and sentence, due to him receiving a custodial suspended sentence and no jail time (I understand some community service and being listed on the sexual offenders register) I was too frightened to go to Cowes for fear of seeing him. I only went sailing on the south coast when I needed to as my enjoyment had been completely removed.

After several years of “out of sight out of mind” (I’m very good at compartmentalizing) I’d not thought about it until I returned to Cowes last summer for a couple of days sailing.

Seeing his boat, brought it all back, the fear, the anxiety and I felt sick. He then saw me and decided to intimidate me by loitering in the race village less than 5m away from me and my baby for a good 30 minutes (attempting to talk and engage in conversation to the crew I was sailing with) and I did my best to be unaffected and ignore.

After a while I couldn’t handle it- I had a full breakdown in tears, hyperventilating and a friend had to help escort me away to a safe place as I was shaking and close to hysterics. I let him win by this and he’s been winning for over 6 years now, by continuing to sail and still operating commercially with unknowing customers and clients on his boat.

Why am I posting this now? It’s taken me this long to have the confidence and be brave enough. Victims of sexual predators, voyeurs, or abuse should not have to feel scared, frightened, or intimidated by their abusers and the perpetrators should not be able to get away with the damage they’ve done and continue to intimidate. After seeing another post today from a female being harassed in sailing and so many accounts of pro athletes recently across the sports arenas speaking up, it’s time for me to be strong enough to speak out too and share my story.

Women, it’s time to stand together. Thanks to my friends that did know at the time for their support and that have helped protect me over the years that knew of this incident and to all the decent men out there shocked by this behavior; Thank you I am a survivor and can tell my story.  – Samantha Evans…

Discussion thread now open.

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The search for three missing American sailors continues off the coast of Baja California, two weeks after their boat departed Mazatlan and sailed out of contact.

Experienced sailors Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien and William Goss departed the Mexican resort city on April 4, bound for Cabo San Lucas. Their vessel, the 41-foot cruiser Ocean Bound, never arrived. After about five days without contact, their families notified the authorities, and began a massive search effort.

Ocean Bound is a Robert Perry-designed Lafitte 44, an older fiberglass cruising yacht design known for sturdy build and good seakeeping. The last examples were delivered in the late 1980s. According to the Coast Guard, the vessel would have experienced a gale with 30-plus knots of wind and 15-20 foot seas during the short 200 nm transit. More here.

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The Cruising Club of America (CCA) is a collection of 1,400 ocean sailors with extensive offshore seamanship, command experience, and a shared passion for making adventurous use of the seas. Their experiences and expertise make them, collectively, one of the most reliable sources of information on offshore sailing. In partnership with SAIL, the CCA is sharing some of this hard-won know-how in
SAIL e-newsletters.

After several years of struggling to find sufficient crew for overnight races on our J/44, I decided to do a few things last winter to make the boat easier to race doublehanded. In addition to modifying the racing headsails to fit on the furler, I added a luff line to the mainsail and replaced the autopilot.

The first test of the new configuration was to be the 186-mile Block Island Race, which is run annually by the Storm Trysail Club from Stamford, Connecticut, around Block Island and back. Starting the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend, this event is well known for breezy conditions, with cold water and lots of wind shear. Indeed, during the first 18 hours of the race, we saw fast reaching, a stormy midnight beat down the east coast of Block Island, and several patches of light-air drifting. This being more of a sprint than a marathon, neither I, nor my co-skipper, Todd, slept more than an hour or so.

By mid-afternoon Saturday, we were not more than 10 miles from Stamford Harbor in light winds, reaching in 5-8 knots under A1 and full mainsail. As we worked to keep the boat moving and keep track of the fleet consolidating near the finish, we noticed a band of dark clouds approaching over Long Island. This was not unexpected, as we knew a front would bring clearing weather and easterlies the next day.

As the leading edge of the front approached, it became clear that several boats in front of us were struggling to get sail in, and we decided we ought to do the same ourselves. Springing into action, we raised the genoa (the Number 1 was ready on the foredeck, having been dropped despite the roller furling) and moved to douse the spinnaker. No sooner had we attempted to trip the tack line (which failed) than we were hit with a 65-knot gust (as measured by a nearby still-upright competitor) and driving rain.

The boat went immediately over on its side, as the autopilot tried in vain to stay on course. At the time, I was caught outside the lifelines standing on the bowsprit trying to manually release the tack, and Todd was struggling in the cockpit to release sheets and disengage the autopilot. When I did finally release the tack, the sail, by that time in ribbons, was streaming far behind the boat with much more force than we could possibly overcome to bring it back aboard. Knowing we had no alternative, we released the halyard, which ran out through the masthead and allowed the sail to rest on the water.

By the time we dragged it and 150 feet of halyard back aboard, the squall was beginning to pass and we were able to slowly bring the boat back up and regain way. Although bruised and embarrassed, we were thankful to have escaped worse damage…

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