Sailing a small boat on Tomales Bay is on my bucket list. Many years ago, in the midst of one of life's rough patches, I drove alone up to the oyster farm and walked out to the end of the pier. Off in the distance was a lapstrake, lug-rigged small boat of some sort, slowly sailing downwind back to the pier. I hadn't sailed much for several years and watching this boat reminded me of sailing's therapeutic effects. The sailor deftly brought her alongside the pier, stepped off and made her fast. No matter what, I vowed to keep sailing after that. Then I drove home.
RAIDS in Europe seem to focus on small, personally built boats. The more-or-less equivalent sorts of things in the USA: The Small Reach Regatta, the Texas 200, the Everglades Challenge and the now-defunct RAID that used to take place starting in Victoria, B.C. (before the R2Ak) split between personally-built and production. The Texas 200 has a history of "funky homebuilt" mixed with low-cost production boats. The Small Reach Regatta in Maine focuses on wood classic, or classically-inspired designs.
The basic idea of the RAID is that it's not really a "race", it's a "somewhat performance-oriented, self-sufficient, multi-day small boat cruise". Some events seem to allow outboards or trolling motors and some don't. Folks could pretty easily participate in Lido's and Daysailers. Just take along some extra flotation, a piece of plywood to go from one seat to the other to sleep on, and a tarp for a boom tent. It's helpful if the boat rows some sort of reasonably well. The classic UK cruising dinghy is the Wayfarer.
Back about a decade ago, the local TCSA chapter used to do a multi-day small boat cruise up the Sacramento with the Alma as mothership. Hmmm. So it's been done, before.
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I can't say that I'd want to bring the skerry in through the surf at Bolinas!
Last edited by AlanH; 05-16-2017 at 01:49 PM.
1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"
Raid Finland used to be a thing as well. It seems like it has become defunct in the last 6 or 8 years. Basically, a staged event over 5 - 7 days among the islands of the Aaland group between Finland and Sweden. Super beautiful there in summer, and 22 hours of daylight to play in .
http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/15/...m#.WRuCHVJ_cfN
http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...0-Raid-Finland
Raid Finland was a competitive event, with a small number of classes. Done almost exclusively in traditional wood row/sail craft, carrying all the camping gear with them. This sort of thing used to be covered very well by the magazine Small Craft Adviser.
There is also a class of event in Scandinavia called a 'Raid' which is much more race oriented, and these days is done mostly with fast cats like the Nacra F-18. See http://www.stockholmarchipelagoraid.com/concept/
I guess I old so I'm much more interested in the "Swallows and Amazons for Grownups" version.
Old vs New Raid
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This is currently available on Craigslist...just look for "peapod" and brace yourself for the price. Peapods are really rowing boats, and this one is pretty narrow, to sail.
https://images.craigslist.org/00505_...e_1200x900.jpg
There's also a Gig Harbor Boatworks f'glass "Jersey Skiff" which would make a great boat for this kind of thing. $$.
If something more modern appeals, there's currently both a Potter 15 and Vagabond 17 on CL. I've always liked the Vagabond 17, for what it is.
The SF Bay Pelican would be a good boat for this sort of thing, much as I personally don't really like how they look.
1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"
I don't know what you mean, the Peapod is less than half what someone wants for a Melonseed, and a lot more boat.
That Jersey skiff is a lot like my old boat, but probably points better, though a bit heavier.
A little bit of crude calculation and line drawing would give you a clue as to whether the COE of that sail is forward or aft of the centerboard. Now, the centerboard may not be at the exact COG or COLR (center of lateral resistance) of the hull/centerboard combination but it's probably close.
1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"
Bedard posted some new pictures of the RoG on his Facebook page.
Oars.
I think that boat needs to go to Alaska.
1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"
There's a nice write up on the RoG in Small Boats Monthly.
https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/rog-microcruiser/