Allcut Update
- July 12
“Allcutt” #1247 sailed for the first time in about 7 or 8 years last
night. Mike sailed out of the harbor to the starting area (first time he’s had the boat sailing). At the
1 minute to go point, they were still trying to find a place to tie the tack of the jib to the stem (grin). They did
make the start a few seconds late. They also haven’t rigged any spinnaker hardware yet so he finished at the back
of the pack, but had a great time anyway.
*BlewBird took first place - and lead their division by four points.
Chesapeake Bird Takes Flight
A happy event for the Fleet 5 Mission Fleet in St. Michaels,
MD. “Rag Bag” (the T-Bird we rescued from the bankrupt marina in East Providence last Fall) was re-christened
“AllCott” and launched for the 2012 racing season today. Pix’s attached. The keel, bottom, and
hull have been restored. The topsides will be worked on between races in the water. Mike Gorman (the proud owner)
is a shipwright in charge of maintaining the wooden boat fleet at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels.
Mike’s comment after the boat was floating… “This is the first damm wooden boat I’ve ever launched
that didn’t leak when it splashed. This is a whole new dimension.” You can reach Mike at gormanshipwrights@live.com.
Out with the Old - In With the New
Just a week after delivering Langouste to
Savin Hill from Toronto, Sean Kane was forced to haul Chikanery after hitting a rock during the Hingham Bay
PHRF Solstice Race.
Sean purchased the boat from Barry Smith of Toronto and planned on fixing it
up for racing in the 2013 season. But plans changed whenChikanery was severely damaged during it's first race
of the 2012 season.
Sean was seen working on Langouste the very next day and will
be launching her as soon as possible.
Fleet 5 Meeting Highlights
During the recent Fleet 5 meeting it was decided to retire the Fleet 5 trophy and have just one season-long competition.
The Mass Bay Trophy will be the trophy for the season championship.
Twilight Racing will start at 6:30
p.m. Spinnakers (small verison) may be used during the June 22, June 28, June 29 and August 9 Twilights. No kites may
be hoisted after sunset.
The possibility of hosting the 2014 Internationals was discussed. It was agreed
to meet again later this year for further discussion.
The Fleet voted to name the new Hull One-Design Regatta Thunderbird
Trophy after Don Kavanagh.
A possible cruise was discussed for the first week of August.
New T-Bird Owners
Fleet 5 welcomes Rui Viera who has taken over Hi-Tops from
Rob Zehner. Rui is already busy getting the boat ready for the 2012 season.
From Bob Larsen - Winter 2011
The Fleet 5 mission fleet has officially doubled
in size. “Rag Bag” #1247 from Rhode Island has
been purchased by Mike Gorman. Mike is a shipwright at the local maritime museum, and is in charge of restoring old, wooden
bay boats. “Rag Bag” is currently sitting beside my garage inEaston, Maryland. (Still haven’t got the
title straightened out). The Bird is a wood Bird with fiberglass sheathing on the hull and a wood mast. The boat
is sound, but needs all of the coatings on the outside repaired/replaced. Five of the people who crew for me have volunteered
to help Mike get it ready for racing next Spring. If this one works out, I may try to introduce a 3rd T-Bird next year. Our Wednesday night race results are beginning to get some
attention for the Thunderbirds. (see season score attached)
BTW: They give an award called “King of the River”
here to the boat that finishes with the highest number of bullets in any class. “Blew Bird” wins that award
this year along with our “B” division win