Nick G

If you are asking about Damn Near from the Bay Area, there was series of like named boats owned by Bert Damner from the San Francisco YC. There are a lot of people on this site who could help fill in the blanks. Just need more specifics on the boat in question. I.e. length, year, rig/sail plan etc.

Good programs from the Bay usually delivered predictable results. The early 80’s were a great time on the Bay with the Serendipity 41/43’s and other one-off’s like Great Fun, Bullfrog, Bravura etc..

Sorry to hear this news but 101 is a win! I sailed one of Bert's many Etchells in the early 90's with Craig Healy and Jim Coggan's. Bert was a founder of the SF fleet and was a strong supporter along with his son Kers for many years. He also developed Brickyard Cove and continued to be active in supporting sailing in the SF area. A true gentleman and excellent competitor. He left a positive mark in his wake - fair winds Bert!

Irv was not one of those. A proper gentleman and great competitor.

It was the Mull 36 post - tumblehome bumps. In the end I bailed on the '76 Tahiti Race. There were a number of drama events that scared this 17 year old out of the deal.

I started one Waterhouse Race on Tinsley Light - Got too windy to even attempt the beat back north so it turned into the delivery for the Tahiti Race instead. Epic surfing all night with a poled out #3. Probably the best conditions for that beast as it really didn't do anything else very well.

The South Tower was not a restricted area when I started doing ocean races in the 70's. Danforth Series and MORA races had boats in there frequently.

Or Cliff Stagg.

I would be interested to hear what designs those would be. Yes, faster but practical or smart? Emphasis on getting there in one piece without carrying a big crew.

Bring back the PORC! There were some good courses there as well. Generally went well unless you didn't finish before the breeze died. Then it was the usual slat-fest until you could smell the LA leakage around sunrise.

Ask him to tell you the "Dead Cat" story from his early sunfish days!

Not quite Santa Cruz level, but hey, better than I could do!

We had one of these in Santa Barbara in an effort to establish a one-design fleet or even sell 2. Turned out to be a pretty fun boat in a breeze which was uncommon in SB. We took it down to Long Beach and did okay in a couple of MORC events. It was from a Canadian builder whose rig was shit. We were just getting the tune right and with about 3/4 backstay the upper 1/8 just bent over and stayed there! New rig warranty right out of the blocks. 6 week delay before the first sail. I will never forget sailing down a narrow slip-way in SB harbor, putting the huge outboard rudder over hard and realizing about mid-turn we were just not going to make it. Came to a crashing halt against some shitter's stern. Not a Moore 24's agility...

Cudmore's last stand.

That's Sausalito