By Dave Hemenway
Editor’s note: Previous stories about Dave’s boat restoration projects can be found at windcheckmagazine.com.
On Monday, June 16 there was an urgent post on the Facebook Cape Dory Typhoon Owners Group stating that there was a Typhoon Daysailer, a relatively rare and sought after boat, in Sag Harbor, New York that was about to be destroyed. The marina where she was located had tried unsuccessfully to rehome her, but several pending agreements had not worked out and she was scheduled to be disposed of in the next couple days. As the Typhoon Class Coordinator and a concerned sailor who has saved many boats over the years – ten in the last year including Moonshadow, my Cape Dory 30 Cutter that I rescued in April and have been writing about in WindCheck – I just couldn’t let that happen. I contacted the person who made the post and agreed to come to the Sag Harbor marina the following day.
Sag Harbor’s about 30 miles from my homeport via water, about 60 miles via the Cross Sound Ferry, and about 200 miles via the land route through New York City and eastward on the Long Island Expressway. I had promised the marina I’d be there by 8:00 am when they opened and the management promised they would not dispose of the boat if I did what I said I would. They’d had enough nonsense with this damn boat taking up three valuable parking spaces which were needed in their prime season. I tried to get a ferry reservation, but none were available to meet my scheduling requirements. Since I couldn’t find anyone to take me by boat on such short notice, I decided to drive the long land route. I left home at 3:00 am and got to the marina at 8:08… just in time as the travel lift was getting ready to pick up the boat for disposal. These guys weren’t kidding around! She looked in pretty good shape for a neglected boat and I convinced them that I wanted the boat now and would pay for a mooring for a couple days till I could come back and get her. They said I could rent a mooring for only two days because they were fully booked for the weekend. The yard crew stepped the mast in ten minutes. The great guy who advocated for the boat found a rubber stopper to fill the garboard drain and she was plopped in the water fifteen minutes after we agreed on the transaction.
Saved from the Sawzall…perhaps by minutes
I brought a small motor which I used to put her on her rented mooring. I found she didn’t leak, though she looked out of place in a fancy harbor filled with mega yachts. I made her secure and left in a couple hours to get through New York City before rush hour and back to Connecticut at a reasonable time. As I drove home, I thought about the new-to-me Typhoon Daysailer, what a great find she was and how she was nearly destroyed. While I was a tired puppy when I got home, I was very satisfied with the day’s accomplishment – another Typhoon saved.
Floating for the first time in years, this rescued Typhoon Daysailer awaits a ride home.
Now I had to figure out how to get her from Sag Harbor to New London via water in a couple days. A friend offered to take me over in his 35-foot sailboat, but his motor wasn’t working well. The ferry’s cost and schedule didn’t work and I couldn’t find anyone to come with me via land and bring my truck home when I brought the boat to Connecticut. I was also a little apprehensive about sailing an unfamiliar boat all the way to New London.
Time for a skiff adventure
The obvious solution was to take my 15-foot skiff on a little adventure. I figured I could easily zip across the Sound if the weather cooperated and tow the Typhoon back the next day. On Thursday, June 19, I put the skiff in the water in New London and ventured out the Thames River in a flat calm where I encountered fog which reduced visibility to about one hundred feet. Since I had a GPS chart plotter on my iPad and iPhone I was not overly concerned; just a little nervous motoring along at twelve knots – a nice safe speed for those conditions. The fog lifted in the middle of the Sound and I sped around Plum Island and continued up Gardiners Bay where a steady wind developed that made for a slow, wet, and bumpy ride. I went the long way around Shelter Island because I knew the route and arrived in Sag Harbor after a five-hour run.
The forecast was for thunderstorms Thursday evening and small craft warnings were issued for Friday. I spent the night huddled under the cuddy cabin trying to stay out of the rain. It was not my favorite night aboard a boat! I convinced the marina to let me stay another night, and enjoyed a nice but windy Friday sorting out the boat and exploring Sag Harbor. I dried out everything that got wet and prepared for a good night’s sleep. It was a beautiful evening and I got a great night’s sleep.
Luxury accommodations
I left Sag Harbor before sunrise on Saturday, June 21, with the Typhoon towing the skiff because I could not secure the Typhoon’s tiller. The little 4-horse Johnson outboard propelled the Typhoon while towing the skiff along at about four knots, which fluctuated with the current strength for us or against us. We had a long ten-hour voyage but it was mostly enjoyable except when I tried to go through the Orient Point pass which proved impossible with my little motor. I easily motored around Plum Island in relatively calm water and continued across Long Island Sound and up the Thames with no problems. I attached her to her new mooring and went home happy that the trip went so smoothly.
The Typhoon Daysailer’s sails were original and in poor condition. They were replaced by sails that the Rappahannock River Yacht Club (RRYC) donated to our Typhoon rescue efforts. It’s a complete set of retired, but relatively new, racing sails that fit the boat perfectly. I found a very nice new custom cover was made for this boat and it was included with the boat. Since I have been so fortunate to acquire this excellent boat and received the sails from RRYC, my wife and I decided to name her Blue Moon because you only get these wonderful opportunities once in a blue moon. Blue Moon enjoys being moored near her big sister Moonshadow. I have been a lucky boy to receive two good old Cape Dory boats this year.
The Typhoon handled towing duties for the trip to New London.
I now had a Typhoon Daysailer that was looking for her first adventure under my watch. I decided to take her to the Camden Classics Cup (CCC) on the last weekend of July. The Boating on the Thames crane picked her up and placed her on a trailer and I took her home to clean her up before heading to Maine on Thursday, July 25.
Home at last
I looked forward to sailing in this regatta where we were awarded our own class and several Typhoon friends were competing including Doug Jesseman who rebuilt Typhoon #510 this spring and trailered her from Vermont, and Robin Payson who sailed Bingo with her husband Jake. It was fun meeting up with several other Typhooners. I planned to either launch Blue Moon at the new Camden public ramp or have the marina hosting the CCC use their crane to launch and retrieve her as Doug had arranged.
The ramp idea did not work out because we needed a high tide to use this ramp for launching a Typhoon with its 2 ½-foot keel. High tide was at midnight and around noon the next day, after the racing started. The marina had removed their crane in preparation for the regatta. We had no way to launch our Typhoons. This was poor planning on my part and the marina was not prepared to offer the crane service they’d agreed to provide. With over eighty classic boats in the Camden Classics Cup, our little Typhoons got lost in the commotion. We look forward to a Maine Typhoon regatta next year in a more appropriate venue.
Lots of vintage beauties in Camden for the Classics Cup
Doug and I enjoyed looking at all the glamorous wooden boats and walking around beautiful Camden Harbor. Several owners of these fabulous yachts asked about our Typhoons and lamented that they’d had a Typhoon when they were younger and wished they’d kept them because the sailing was easy and maintenance was negligible compared to their large wooden yachts. Doug and I headed home on Friday sad that we could not sail in this regatta.
The racing for Friday was cancelled because there was no wind. Saturday’s conditions were excellent and three races were sailed. While two boats won races, Robin & Jake Payson won the regatta and received the awards from the CCC and the Typhoon Class Association. The pictures below are of Robin & Jake aboard Bingo, and Frolic who finished second.
Frolic, 2nd in Camden Classics Cup
I’ve enjoyed sailing Blue Moon on the Thames River. Recently, we met a fellow Typhooner who moors his boat near Blue Moon and we’re planning some informal match racing together.
Blue Moon and I are looking forward to sailing with other local Typhoon sailors and in the Stonington Small Boat Association Wednesday night series where several Typhoons are racing. Typhoons are the largest boats in the series – a nice change from the Camden Classics Cup where Typhoons were the smallest. I’ve sailed Blue Moon with friends who are impressed with this great little sloop, and look forward to sailing with the grandkids when they come for their annual Camp Hemenway experience. ■
Dave Hemenway, Northeast fleet captain of the Cape Dory Sailboat Owners Association, lives in Eastern Connecticut and sails out of Boating on the Thames in New London. He’s been sailing and messing about in boats for his whole life and has recreationally sailed Finns on and off since the 1970s. His primary cruising boat is a Dickerson 36 yawl that he’s maintained and improved for 35 years. Since retiring from higher education, he has worked at Cappy’s Boat Shop where he reports to his dog, Cappy.
