San Simeon. How many generations down from the originals are the Hearst zebras?
San Simeon. How many generations down from the originals are the Hearst zebras?
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Mr. Hedgehog
THANK YOU! for the Sail drone Update I have been waiting for that report.
What an amazing accomplishment!!
The world's largest private zoo was once located at the Hearst Castle, inland and uphill from San Simeon bay.
Traveling the winding ranch road to Hearst Castle, guests once passed through fenced fields populated with many species of exotic wild animals freely roaming over the hillsides . It was reportedly an amazing sight, featuring an ever-changing collection of animals—like American bison, Rocky Mountain elk and zebras.
Assuming the zebras arrived in the 1920's or early 30's, and they live 25-30 years in the wild, that would make the current zebras approximately 4th generation. The most recent census of 2016 found 113 zebras living in the wild on the Hearst property.
William Randolph Hearst loved his zebras as he loved all animals. His zoo would entertain his guests with rare visual displays of animals in their natural state. White fallow deer were the most numerous and prolific species with a herd of more than 300 animals. Other exotic animals which grazed the hillsides included: African and Asian antelope, zebras, both Bactrian (two-humped) and dromedary (one-humped) camels, sambar deer from India, red deer from Europe, axis deer from Asia, llamas, kangaroos, ostriches, emus, Barbary sheep, Alaskan big horned sheep, musk oxen and yaks. As many as four giraffes were kept in a small pen located next to the road.
Additional animals were housed in menagerie cages at Animal Hill near the Castle, including black bears, grizzly bears, sun bears, lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cougars, chimpanzees, orangutans, monkeys, macaws, kinkajous, coati mundis, swans, storks, a tapir and an elephant. Diet and exercise were carefully controlled, and a veterinarian was on the staff during the 1930s.
The dismantling of the zoo began in 1937 when Hearst experienced great financial difficulty and was forced to curtail construction and cut other expenses at his ranch. Many animals were donated to public zoos or sold. Dispersal of the zoo animals extended over more than fifteen years, and was never entirely completed. Most of the animals had been placed by 1953, two years after Hearst’s death, but many animals were permitted to range free on the ranch. In 1958, when the Castle was given to the State, there were Rocky Mountain elk, tahr goats, llamas, white fallow deer, zebras, Barbary sheep and sambar deer still on the ranch. Today, some of these animals survive. Zebras can be seen grazing in the pastures along Highway 1 near the town of San Simeon, especially in warm weather.
Some have been known to jump fences and end up on the beach. Kinda like the escaped buffalo swimming at Hanalei Bay.
Last edited by sleddog; 08-05-2019 at 08:09 PM.
MERLIN is back in Santa Cruz! I rode my bike to the Harbor to greet the delivery crew on the conclusion of their 13 day passage home from Transpac... Bill Lee was on hand to deliver pizza, guacamole, and beer.
Stories were told of catching mahi-mahi as they passed a large telephone pole mid-ocean.
MERLIN's livery is the same as original. Gone is the ugly blue, rainbow, and stars But the boat is very different from her 20th century configuration.
Who remembers when MERLIN was penalized for being too light for Transpac? Bill bolted lead ingots onto MERLIN's deck, then spray painted them gold. The Transpac safety inspector showed up from out of town. "Alright, I want to see this boat motor at 8 knots," he ordered officiously. Dave Wahle, local garbage man, was MERLIN's bosun. Dave cast off the dock lines, put MERLIN in gear, and motored MERLIN backwards down Santa Cruz Harbor at the required 8 knots. At the entrance sandbar, Dave spun the wheel, nearly flipping the safety inspector overboard, and motored back up the Harbor in reverse, again at 8 knots.
When MERLIN was back in her slip, the safety inspector quickly signed off every requirement without questioning, and fled to his car in terror.
MERLIN will be local in Santa Cruz for Wednesday Night Races, with "Oldtimers" meeting aboard for a sail tomorrow afternoon. She will then go to SF Bay to race in the Big Boat Series.
Next to Santa Cruz-70 BUONA SERA, MERLIN looks like what she still is and ever was: "a minimal platform for a spinnaker."
My first Transpac on MERLIN was 1979...That was when the propane regulator stopped working. We made fried eggs and toast on top the hot engine. That, popcorn and lukewarm instant coffee. Not an entirely recommended ocean crossing menu....
Here MERLIN is approaching the Honolulu finish in 1977, setting an elapsed time record that stood for 20 years. Bill Lee is offering a reward for information on who took this iconic photo.
Last edited by sleddog; 08-13-2019 at 08:22 AM.
OK Gary Mull 30 connoisseurs, this boat was sighted yesterday by Capt. Bob anchored at Waimea Bay. Bob pegged it as a Mull 30. I should have known, as I was was working at C&B here in Santa Cruz when we built this boat for the owner's 50th birthday, so he could fulfill a fantasy and race in the 1980 SHTP.
To the first to correctly answer both the following questions, A bottle of Big House red or G&T's on the deck of the CBC.
This cold molded design was originally named (and still is):
REDWOOD COAST, SISYPHUS, RED HAWK, ISIS, RED DUCK, or PRETTY NICKEL.
Gary Mull hoped to exploit an exploitable rule for the 1980 SHTP which was:
~Stepping an 18 foot pole for a temporary mizzen mast and then flying mizzen spinnakers.
~Winging two 155% twin jibs with two 18 foot poles as a giant downwind rig.
~Attaching an 18 foot pole to the aft side of the mainmast and securing it to the pushpit as an "off-the-boat" lead for a giant asymmetrical spinnaker.
Last edited by sleddog; 08-13-2019 at 03:57 PM.
OK - I'll try.... tough one though.
Looking through the 1980 entries was not the path...
I'm going with ISIS for Part one, only because I know there was a M-30 by that name, and PRETTY NICKEL is to obviously a play on PRETTY PENNY and the 50th Birthday thing.
Part 2? WAG, I'm going with the twin 155% jibs.
DH
Last edited by DaveH; 08-13-2019 at 05:46 PM.
Right you are, Mr. Hedgehog!
ISIS remains this Mull 30's name, owned by Robbie Buck of Hawaii YC.
And yes, ISIS had twin 18 foot whisker poles to wing out 155% twin jibs, total downwind sail area 1.5 X bigger than a spinnaker. The problem I pointed out is with such long poles running DDW, the chances of dipping a pole increase. Then what can happen involves jury rigging a mast.
ISIS pole's were shortened 6.5 feet and the owner decided to race the first Pacific Cup instead.
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Congrats on winning last weekend's OYRA Duxbury DH with Synthia crewing.
Last edited by sleddog; 08-13-2019 at 05:58 PM.
For some reason, I thought Isis was flush decked, and had cardboard honeycomb core.
Sam