Video, "Bright Star's 8kt sail"

[Jay Greer]

Here is a video of "Bright Star's 8kt sail to Dana Point and Back to Newport beach during a rare S. CA weather condition. While we were counting snow flakes and frozen pipes here in Port Townsend, my son Jaime and his friend Dan took our H28 out for a romp in warm off shore winds. Although it was blowing a steady 25, the seas were deciptively flat. The 36 Mi excursion was made in 4hrs and 15min for an average speed of 8.48kts! Had I left the boat with the reefing gear and top batten aboard the main would have set better. Even so, with flat seas and an off shore blast, "Bright Star" lived up to her legacy of slippery Herreshoff designs. And, the crew had a ball watching dolphins play off the bow wave.
Note that the video may not play through without stopping until it has been run several times.
http://vimeo.com/2816887?pg=share_email&sec=2816887
Enjoy,
Jay

[BBSebens]

YAAA!

awesome. just awesome.

nice work.

[RT MAN]

Woohoooo, looks like someone had loads of fun they'll never forget.

[JimConlin]

A 'Top Ten' day!

[StevenBauer]

Thanks, Jay. A memorable day for sure.


Steven

[Larks]

Thanks Jay, just superb! And really nice to see some more close ups of the wonderful job and finish that you've done on "Bright Star". She seems to be absolutely revelling in her new attire, I can't help thinking there's a bit of: "yahoo, look at me now and just see what I can do:D!". If boats could talk eh?
I also like Jaime's comment below the video, lucky boy!
cheers
Greg

[outofthenorm]

Thanks Jay. A worthy antidote to the minus 30 C windchill outside my door. Spectacular in every way!

- Norm

[boylesboats]

absolutely a great video..
Love it when dolphins are playin' along....

[P.L.Lenihan]

Care to send any of that sunglorious weather up this way:).....beautiful scenes!Thanks!

Peter

[mcdenny]

Wow!

Even better, its -3F here in SE Mich.

Can I go next?

[holzbt]

That was GREAT!

I remember the Brayshaw's regularly going past my house in that boat when I was much younger.

[Mark Giegel]

Jay,

The video captures the essence of sailing ....beautiful boat, God's perfect day with a wind on the beam, great friends and the perfect song. What more to ask for in this life?
Thanks much
Mark
SV Amity

[Windsong]

Jay
Thank you for taking all of us sailing. You and your Son have a great sense of how to do things right. Not only is Bright Star beautiful she can really cream up the ocean and fly. You sure taught your Son well, he has a good sense of the helm making a hard blow look easy. Got to go break ice now.
Lars

[David Conard]

Jay-- Thanks so much. I watched it through once, then paused it repeatedly to check out the details of the deck joinery (I had a 1940 H-23 waiting in the barn to be restored). I don't think it's coincidence that all posts in this thread except one are from the frozen north. -2 F here right now.

David

[Jay Greer]

Thank you all for your kind comments. To see "Bright Star" under sail again after nearly four years of extensive restoration work is truly worth all of the love and effort we put into her!
And, there is much much more to come!
Fair Winds,
Jay

[rddrappo]

It truly doesn't get any better than that. Thanks for sharing!

[davidagage]

Gotta love it. What a great day that must have been.

DG

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

WOW just WOW

[Dave Gray]

That makes me want to cry too!

[Jay Greer]

I must admit that I have a hard time viewing the video with dry eyes. One clue is that I am a single parent who raised my son alone. I wanted Jaime to see and experience all of the things that gave me the passion joy of building and sailing wooden boats that I have experienced throuout my life. Now, he has brought me two wonderful grandchildren that are terrific water rats as well!
Jay

[Paul Schlechter]

On a cold, overcast day, what a wonderful video to soothe the soul!!:D
Thanks for posting.

[Russ Manheimer]

Jay,

Nice to see on a snowy afternoon. Thanks for the sail.

Russ

[Jay Greer]

Jaime took "Bright Star" to Catalina Island this week end for her first trip there under our ownership. I expect that another video will be forthcoming.
Jay

[Bob Triggs]

That was really, truly beautiful. Congratulations Jay!

[capt jake]

Great video!! I think that the stills are just as magnificent! Beautiful boat.

[boylesboats]

Just had to watch it again.......... What a pleasure

[Don Kurylko]

Hey Jay,

Those are nice looking sails. Is the colour some variation of “Egyptian Cotton” or is that just the late afternoon sun playing tricks with the light? Can you tell us more about them?

Great video!!! :):):)

Thanks,
Don

[Jay Greer]

Hey Jay,

Those are nice looking sails. Is the colour some variation of “Egyptian Cotton” or is that just the late afternoon sun playing tricks with the light? Can you tell us more about them?

Great video!!! :):):)

Thanks,
Don
The material is a special Dacron that is intended to look like Egyptian Cotton. Just ask your sailmaker.
Jay

[boatbuddha]

Tell me why I live so far from the coast. THat looks wonderful.

[seo]

The H28 is a lovely boat. I used to own one started in 1944, finished in 1951, cypress over oak. We made an epic run once from the Annapolis Bridge over Chesapeake Bay to the mouth of the C&D canal at an average speed over the bottom of just under nine knots for a 30nm run. It's the only time I've ever seen a boat pull its stern wave over the stern and flood the cockpit a couple of inches deep.
I sold her to buy an S&S designed "Nevins 40," which is pretty much Finisterre, and twenty four years later I still miss the H 28, and look longingly at her every time I drive by Lincolnville, where she's moored. I think that her hull has more natural speed, and think that a bigger H 28, maybe a Neriea, with a slightly modernized rig, might be the ideal boat.
6'4" headroom is nice, though...
And a centerboard...

[Jay Greer]

The H28 is a lovely boat. I used to own one started in 1944, finished in 1951, cypress over oak. We made an epic run once from the Annapolis Bridge over Chesapeake Bay to the mouth of the C&D canal at an average speed over the bottom of just under nine knots for a 30nm run. It's the only time I've ever seen a boat pull its stern wave over the stern and flood the cockpit a couple of inches deep.
I sold her to buy an S&S designed "Nevins 40," which is pretty much Finisterre, and twenty four years later I still miss the H 28, and look longingly at her every time I drive by Lincolnville, where she's moored. I think that her hull has more natural speed, and think that a bigger H 28, maybe a Neriea, with a slightly modernized rig, might be the ideal boat.
6'4" headroom is nice, though...
And a centerboard...
You just confirmed what I belive as to the potential speed of the H28.
I will bet you money, marbles or chalk that with the new rig I am planning for "Bright Star" that we will be able to break ten kts.
Thanks for posting. The H28 is a sweet ride!

Jay
P.S. My dream boat is the "Bounty"

[Captain Connor]

two things I noticed....you're drinking and sailing and your out haul is too lose.

[Jay Greer]

two things I noticed....you're drinking and sailing and your out haul is too lose.
Oviously you did not read the beginning of the thread. You are not telling me any thing I am not aware of. But, I was not aboard to be able to deal with it. You might also notice that the top batten is missing from the main as is the bottom batten on the mizzen. Also, since no reef tackle was aboard, sail stops were used and tied under the boom. Admitadly sloppy but, they had fun!
Jay

[imagine2frolic]

NIT PICKING!!!!!! That was gorgeous, and nothing can be taken away from it. Excellent choice in the artist too. I listen to IZZY's rendition almost daily....PERRRFFFCCCCCCTTTIIONNNNNN!......THANK YOU!.....i2f

[Little Billy]

What a great video! Days like that just can't be beat.

[Windsong]

Sometimes you have to adapt and improvise. Considering no one else was out on that day they adapted and made it look easy. They were doing it we are just talking about it. Go Sailing.
Lars

[Jay Greer]

Improvise is what they did. I am at fault for not finishing up the reefing chocks and cleats for the out haul when we rebuilt the masts and booms. The reason being that the fittings are here in Port Townsend.
Jay

[John B]

Looks like magnificent sailing to me, she's clipping along beautifully.

I hope no one took any photos of us sailing up the harbour at 8 knots ourselves yesterday... my jib halyard keeps slipping or stretching and we're losing luff tension on the jib.:rolleyes:
and we had a fender over the side while sailing the other day.

[Concordia 33]

Thanks for the great video - it helps shake out the winter blues up here in Rhode Island! Please post more.

[Paul Fitzgerald]

The H28 is a lovely boat. I used to own one started in 1944, finished in 1951, cypress over oak. We made an epic run once from the Annapolis Bridge over Chesapeake Bay to the mouth of the C&D canal at an average speed over the bottom of just under nine knots for a 30nm run. It's the only time I've ever seen a boat pull its stern wave over the stern and flood the cockpit a couple of inches deep.
I sold her to buy an S&S designed "Nevins 40," which is pretty much Finisterre, and twenty four years later I still miss the H 28, and look longingly at her every time I drive by Lincolnville, where she's moored. I think that her hull has more natural speed, and think that a bigger H 28, maybe a Neriea, with a slightly modernized rig, might be the ideal boat.
6'4" headroom is nice, though...
And a centerboard...

I have a friend with a Nereia and she is a surprisingly quick boat with a decent wind.
I think the secret is in the long run in the after sections on that whole series, H28, Nereia, Mobjack, Bounty and Tioga.
They are definitely my favourite boats, with apologies to my own boat and Folkboats, which run a close second.

[Windsong]

How often do these Devil Winds blow in So Cal? They sound like the Sciroccos that rise from the warm, dry, tropical airmass that are pulled northward by low-pressure cells moving eastward across the Mediterranean Sea, with the wind originating in the Arabian or Sahara deserts. The sand will blast the paint and varnish to S#%t. Not to mention get in every orifice of the crew and boat. You can hit max boat speed flying a pair of soxs on bare poles. Wish we had a warm breeze up are arse today. I gotta go break ice again.
If it wasn't for the Akvavit I'd be dead.
Cheers
Lars

[Jay Greer]

The Santanas blow ten or fifteen times a year in S. California. It is a time for the separation of what designs are able to handle heavy winds and the Plastic Water Winnebagos that lay over and moo.
As for really heavy off shore winds try getting the varnish sand blasted off your transom in the Gulf of Tejuantepec when you are 100miles off the coast!
Jay

[Windsong]

Jay
How did you like sailing in Gulf of Tejuantepec? Outside of the hurricanes its a nice place. If you like sand. I prefer Snow. It melts. Sand you can only pound.
LOL
Lars

[Windsong]

Don't most of the hurricanes, after developing off Africa, come through the Gulf of Tejuantepec on their way to the Gulf of Mexico. Were you sailing in a hurricane when the transom was blasted? Is that where most lay in to rest before going on through to the Panama Canal?
Lars

[seo]

In 1983, while working on board the "Pride of Baltimore" we were sailing from San Francisco, and stopped in Oxnard, where the Tioga was sitting in a parking lot of a marina, for sale. We had a later stop in San Diego, and I rented a car and drove back to look at her. She needed a lot of work, but was a lovely boat.
The Herreshof ketch rig is pretty efficient and easy to work, I'd say that it's three detracting things are: 1) more expensive than a sloop? 2) Not so good going to windward on a modern hull, and 3) hard to rig a self-steering rig.
For maneuvering they are wonderful. She really will lay-to, which a CCA type yawl will not, they will back up under mizzen along (wonderful trick-amaze your friends!) and they usually don't need reef points. My H-28 was 27 years old before she ever had a sail with reef points, and I very seldom used them.
I altered the rig on my H-28 by installing a 4' bowsprit, going by the ratio of 1' of bowsprit for 7' of deck length that I measured on Herreshof ketches from a 28' daysailer (Quiet Tune?) Neriea, all the way up to Ticonderoga. It made her prettier, but I'm not sure it made her a better boat. I also built a self-bailing cockpit with bridge deck, which was probably a good idea, but the nice hinged doors and the lowered cockpit seating of the original were very nice.

[Chan]

I lover dolphins

[Jay Greer]

But wait, there's more! My son Jaime and his pal Dan took "Bright Star" to White's Cove at Catalina Island last weekend over the objections of Jaime's wife and kids who wanted to go too. This was a shake down cruise and he wanted to be sure that the boat would work properly before taking the rest of his family on a sixty mile voyage, the first since we started restoring the boat five years ago. They fared pretty well as his friend Dan Straud is a five star chef and graduate of the Paris Cordon Blu School of Culinary arts. Jaime is a sommelier. When, our grand daughter Cambria is asked what her father does, she politely says that "My daddy is a wino". Jaime provided the wine and Dan provided pre-prepared meals as well as some suicide margaritas. The first night's dinner was chilli a la Dan. Then Dan cuaght some fish, which he grilled for the boullabase that was served up for the second evening. All in all, they had a great time and although there was not much wind, "Bright Star" performed beautifuly. The height of the trip was the baby grey whale that came up to check out the boat. Jaime and the whale made eye to eye contact for a few memorable moments. What an experience!
Just click on the "Sailing to Catalina" segment. The bird on Hen Rock is a bald eagle.
http://vimeo.com/2816887?pg=share_email&sec=2816887
Jay