Schooners and the Vagrant Gypsy Life

I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the sea again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the sea again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

                                                   ….Sea Fever by poet John Masefield

As a lad in early teens little did I care for poetry but before finishing the first stanza of Sea Fever the lines so paralleled my hopes and desires that I was captivated. Even now some seventy years later I am “not tired of the Pacific Ocean yet, and remember those times when still a boy we would drive by the harbor in Newport Beach and see the big Alden schooners, The Constellation, the Puritan, Errol Flynn’s Zaca, the black hulled Vega and sometimes the Goodwill, all of them moored together in the turning basin.

          I confess I still have the fever…

The Alden schooner Constellation was built in 1932 in Maine but spent many active years on the West coast and under the ownership of Sally Blair Ames won her class in the Transpac Race of 1959

The Brigadune a San Francisco based schooner crossing  the bay.

The schooner Mariah was a fine Alden Yacht of 70 feet built in Maryland in 1931. Under command of her owner Phineas Sprague she completed a four-year circumnavigation. The vessel was in Tahiti at the same time as two other Alden designed stay-sail schooners, the Mayan and the Golden Hind and of course a friendly competition occurred.

Previously we had sailed alongside the Golden Hind several times in Hawaii and knew her to be swift and astutely sailed by her crew.  Here she is off Lahaina, Maui, rail down and trucking.

Built in Essex Connecticut. in 1926 the Golden Hind was small, only forty-six feet on deck, but my how she could fly when she had that bone in her teeth!

          The third schooner involved in the race that day was the vessel Mayan, also designed by John Alden. It was our responsibility, home away from home and work place, off and on for some 20 years.

The three schooners spent a weekend anchored in front of the Bali Hai Hotel on the Island of Moorea and someone suggested we all sail back to Papeete together. Nothing was said about a race you understand, but boys will be boys and no one cared to be last and as we diced back and forth through the open sea suddenly everyone wanted to come in first. All of the crews worked frantically hoping to find a lift in the wind or a way to blanket the breeze of their opponents but for 20 miles none of the boats could find an edge and we stayed together as one.  

Approaching the entrance to the harbor it became apparent that none of the boats would arrive with a lead; we would all be squeezing through the narrow entrance together. With precision the three schooners closed rank and at one point were close enough together that a person could have jumped from one boat to another.

It was a lovely Sunday afternoon in port and the quay was alive with people; Tahitians, French and an occasional tourist strolling the quay during the last minutes before the sun set. Cheers from shore resounded as we cleared the entrance with all sails set and three abreast. It was apparent that it would be tight running the length of Papeete harbor three abreast. We all "came about" together continuing in the same direction toward the far end of the harbor but suddenly we were on different tacks, two boats on a starboard tack and one on a port tack.  We would have to cross paths on this point of sail. Three times we crisscrossed, threading the needle each time. The cheers and shouts from the onlookers grew with each maneuver.  It was happening fast and today I don't recall how we altered the positions of the boats as we threaded the needle back and forth but always the timing was perfect and the path was always clear. Arriving at the end of the harbor all boats would have to come up into the wind and drop sail simultaneously.

I yelled to the crew, “We are coming about and all sails have to come down at the same time!”  But they were already at their positions standing by the halyards, wearing big smiles and waiting for the nod.

“Helms over,” I called and as the bow turned into the wind the sails came down fast. The Mayan slowed to a stop. A quick glance at the other two boats showed that they too had dropped sails and were barely moving through the water. All three crews were busy furling sails, coiling lines and making everything shipshape. A deckhand was already getting out mooring lines and dock bumpers. “Are you going to start the engine?” he asked. The boat lay quiet in the water only 15 feet away from the wharf and the wind was drifting us slowly sideways toward the dock. “It won't be needed,” I replied. The bumpers were put over and as the breeze gently set us against the dock he tossed the mooring lines to one of the delighted spectators and we were soon secured. 

As for the race it was a three way tie. The three Alden schooners, like sisters, refused to be separated in spite of our efforts. The town’s people excitedly gathered on the wharf viewing the boats for several hours and provided us with Hinano beer which was graciously accepted. Animated they took turns telling us what a pretty sight it had been watching the tacking duel.

The occasion of the race has sometimes been referred to as the “Alden Day Regatta of 1974”. Carrick and Henderson in their fine book, ”John G. Alden And His Yacht Designs” refer to it as such but it wasn’t a regatta and it hadn’t been planned; only a lively afternoon sail among friends and a much enjoyed spectacle by the people in Papeete.

The Golden Hind, Mayan and Mariah - “Who will give an inch?”

Thirty kilometers of dicing 

Mariah and the Golden Hind

A bit of a sad note. Ships, like people, don’t last forever. And the “Golden Hind” was one of 38 boats destroyed in Papeete by Hurricane Zeena in 1983.

 The “Mariah”, caught in massive seas in a gale off Cape May met her end when the schooner floundered, opened up and sank. Luckily the crew was saved by the Coast Guard. The Mayan lives on and is active on the California coast.

We were awaiting the arrival of the owner of the Mayan who was to fly in to sail back to Hawaii with us. Two weeks after the event I received a telegram from him saying that he was too busy and couldn’t get away. Instead we were to bring the boat back to San Francisco. Two days later we cleared customs and left Papeete, destination San Francisco by way of Hawaii, a 5000 mile passage.

Mayan with the spinnaker set,  this time off of Cozumel Mexico.

The Sea Runner was 55' on deck and built as a half-size of the Gloucester Schooner Elsie.

It was a gaff headed yacht and seen here with 7 sails set.

Sea Runner again. Notice the man working aloft on the main mast.

Bob Wilson the owner of the Sea Runner was a rare and unusual man. Some said that he was funny and others peculiar, the hippies love him and called him far out. He was known to single-hand his schooner on occasion but said in his own defense, “Well, I didn’t have anybody to help me.” During the seventies he lived aboard with his two young daughters who seemed to miss a lot of school but learned to handle a schooner and grew into fine human beings. In this picture I don’t know if he has tied the wheel down and is single-handing but I wouldn’t put it past him. Once he sailed into Scammons Lagoon and ran aground. It took him several days to kedge it off and get out. When asked why he remarked, “I wanted to show the girls where the Grey whales go to birth,” ...........He was a crazed man and I miss him!

Moving from the biggest to the smallest schooners. This the beautiful little yacht the Elizabeth Miur was designed by Eldrideg-McEnnis, built in Bolinas Bay Ca. by Babe Lamberdin and John Linderman and launched in Sausalito.  In this picture it has a gaff-rigged fore-sail which was later changed to the more modern Bermuda rig.

Now you see the same vessel with the Bermuda fore-sail which simplified sail handling... What a lovely little yacht.

The Goodwill was designed by the naval architect  H.J. Geilow and launched in 1922.  A large schooner of 161 feet.  It made two Atlantic Crossings and an extended cruise to the south Pacific before WW 2 when it was leased to the Navy and commissioned as a Naval vessel and assigned duty on coastal patrol. During the war it had been badly abused. Once released from service it was lovingly  restored back to a yacht level again and then was often seen in southern California waters. It won the Trans-Pacific Yacht race to Hawaii twice once in '53 and again in '59. Tragedy happened while returning from a cruse to Mexico when it struck the Sacramento Reef off of Baja during the night and was lost along with the owner and all of the crew.

Let’s take a look at Scow Schooners. Before the bridges were built across the S.F. bay all commerce was moved by sailing craft. These flat bottomed barges with blunt bows powered only by sail traveled up the river to Petaluma for hay and eggs, to the rail heads in Tiburon, Sausalito and Richmond and to Sacramento for trade. They were unique in that they could take a load of hay (mule and horse petrol) 15 feet high on board and the crew would stand on it while steering and sailing their craft. Because of the square shaped bow these vessels were sometimes called “Square-toed Packets” and other times “Hay Scows”.  Although the need for them has passed, San Francisco occasionally gets to enjoy the sight of two of them sailing across the bay. They are the historic packet “Alma” and the newer “Gaslight”.

The Alma out for an afternoon sail on San Francisco Bay.

Recently the Alma was seen sailing up the Petaluma River.

The other Scow Schooner in the Bay Area is the lovely “Gaslight”. Sailing smartly in front of the Sausalito waterfront.

Another river passage this time by “Gaslight”

Well that’s probably enough story about schoonering lets get to the Vagrant Gypsy part.

The crew of the “Tatoosh” were known for being the best undressed Gypsys in Hawaii.

Clear Horizon

Fore Deck at Sunset

Quiet Gunkhole

Huahini Anchorage, French Polynesia

Tied to the quay in Papeete

Mayan in the Rain

At rest in Captain Cook's Bay 

Now don't laugh! If a man's home is his castle then this is our man's Yacht!

                                              All Photos by Bud Hedrick - except the Tatoosh Crew.                                                 I think that might be Robbie Wilson's photo.

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