Mera (#34) in Norway

Hello Larry! We do indeed have hull number 34, which was completed in December 1973. She has an hydraulic roller main and foresail, as well as new electric genoa winches, which makes it easily possible to sail her single-handed, even in the narrow Norwegian coastal passages. We are in the process of restoring the boat to her original state, so far mainly with our own labor, and have completed all the jobs which "don't show". Mera is therefore in good technical condition, and looks particularly well-kept in the bilges and under the waterline. We have also put a lot of hours into maintaining the teak deck. Many of the big investments, such as new engine, generator, heater, etc. had been done just before we bought the boat. Although the boat was relatively well-equipped at that time, we have since installed a good deal of new equipment, e.g. new autopilot, new rigging wires, weatherfax, chartplotter, etc. We still have some minor interior teak work, as well as re-painting the hull, cabin/cockpit and mast/boom (which we are planning to have done next winter). Attached is a photo of the boat as she lays on her summer mooring, in a lagoon on the southern Norwegian coast. Sincerely, Espen and Robin Overland Ronningvegen 71N-3925 Porsgrunn, Norway E-mail: espeoeve@online.no P.S. We have not been able to find original replacement parts such as Dorades vents, or parts for the round teak-rimmed ceiling lamps or the chrome "ashtray" bulkhead lamps. If you might happen to know a source for used Swan parts, or could pass along our message to someone who might know a source, we would greatly appreciate it! http://www.geocities.com/larryhillman/Hull34.html

Swan 48 Prototype Wins 3rd Hobart

Love & War, the magnificent timber Sparkman & Stephens 47 skippered by Lindsay May, has her own indelible page in Australian ocean racing history. She has now won three Hobart Races, in 1973, 1978 and now 2006. Only one other yacht has won the race three times; thelegendary double ended sloop Freya took a hat trick of races in 1963, 1964 and 1965. The win cements Love & War, built in 1973, as one of the great stayers of ocean racing with 33 years between her first win and this one. Lindsay May has dedicated this race to Love & War’s previous owner, the late Peter Kurts, who had sailed the yacht to victory in 1974 and 1978, and who died in January 2005. The yacht is now owned by Peter’s son, Simon. The crew all wore white hats at the start of the race, a Peter Kurts signature look, and there were definitely no spiffy crew shirts. “Show me a boat that sailed faster because the crew was in matching shirts,” Peter was fond of remarking as he would eye off the attire of more colour coordinated competitors. It seems extraordinary that a fleet boasting some of the world’s most advanced, high tech racing boats should be pipped by an old design but, on reflection, no Rolex Sydney Hobart has been more suited to the boats built under the IOR rule, for this was a windward bash all the way. The only times spinnakers came out of their bags were for the dash down Sydney Harbour and the final eleven miles up the Derwent River, and many yachts didn’t even enjoy that luxury. While the IRC ratings system encourages all-round boats, the IOR rules, favouring huge genoas, small mainsails and graceful tumblehome hulls resulted in boats that were magnificent to windward, and a handful downwind. In an all upwind race, if the handicappers were doing their job, the older, heavy upwind specialists were always going to be in with a chance. “If it had been downwind we wouldn’t have been anywhere. IOR boats downwind just dig holes. Love & War does seven knots upwind and eight down (compared with the 20 plus knots a typical IRC boat can achieve off the wind). The speedo only goes to 12 knots. You might reach 12 knots going down a big wave, but by that time she is out of control. Upwind she is incredible though, and much faster than her rating,” said May. “Southerly conditions were really important to us so I was watching the forecasts unfold for the last week and I’d been saying ‘we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this.’ “I just knew that this boat could win overall. It just had to be on the start line on a day when the conditions lasted for four days. And it had to be upwind.” http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/yacht_details.asp?raceEntryID=11661

S&S SWAN 48 BLOG

S&S SWAN 48's Here's something new! I'm starting up this blog to share information on these great boats and the folks that sail them. If you have any information about Swan 48's .. please post it here. And maybe have a look at our website, www.sailingsofar.com. Once there, click on the S&S Swan 48 Links URL at the bottom left of the page to see information on all the Swan 48's I've heard about. Contact me at Larry@HillcoRealty.Com to add more! Happy Sailing! Larry