Hello from an old Crew Member 1962

Dick Enersen       May 04, 2020

I joined STORMVOGEL in Hamilton, Bermuda in June of \'62 and sailed the boat across the Atlantic, Bermuda-Azores-Plymouth, as a watch captain, with John Goodwin in command. We then sailed the RORC racing season on the boat, including the Channel Race, Cowes Week and the race to Spain. Your history omits the subsequent race from San Sebastian to Bel Isle, France. We won that race, finishing first and correcting out on the fleet. I believe it was the boat\'s only handicap victory, ever. We then delivered her to Gosport, by way of the Channel Islands, in early September. Based on our fast passage, five and a half days, from Punta del Gado to Plymouth, I encouraged CB to think about entering the Transpacific Yacht Race, which I had done in \'61. The boat\'s schedule was made up through \'63 by then, but we agreed to try for the \'65 event. CB asked me to be his \"adjutant\" for the race and put me in charge of putting together a crew and buying some new sails. For the race itself, I was the boat\'s sailing master. Among the people I brought aboard were Greg Gillette, from Hawaii, and the very young Doug Peterson (see attachment), who went on to become a fine yacht designer. I designed the red, white and blue color scheme for the new 1.5 oz. and mizzen spinnakers and commissioned Kenny Watts to build them, along with a new number one jib top. The race itself was thrilling, but deeply disappointing. Bob Johnson\'s oft published account is mostly wrong and highly self congratulatory. The fact is that CB gave the race, and the record, to TICON- DEROGA. One of these days I will write a full account of the race, but I am still unhappy about the way he let us, and the boat, down. I had five, or so, Mai-Tais in the slip at Honolulu with my shipmates, vaulted the lifelines and never spoke to Bruynzeel again, even though we both showed up for the Big Boat series in San Francisco, in the summer of \'66. The next time I saw her was in February of \'87, around midnight, from the upper porch of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Rushcutters Bay, Sydney. She was under a full cover at the working dock, but the horrible bowsprit and the curve of her flat transom gave her away. I went aboard the next day and found her much as I had left her, save for the new alloy mainboom, which replaced the one CB broke in our Transpac. She was in Italian hands and being tarted up for an upcoming charter. Little did I know, until I saw \"Dead Calm,\" that the charter was for the production of Nicole Kidman\'s first feature film. I had to laugh at the idea of Nicole singlehanding a 73\' ketch without a single self tailing winch. At any rate, I still have deep affection for the boat, and would love to catch up with her at some point. Good sailing, de