WOW

this just makes me smile every time.(double click on WOW, it will take you to a link)

Woodstock Generation

I refer to myself as being of the Woodstock generation; although I was not at Woodstock, in fact, at the time, I had no idea what it was. When Woodstock took place I was in the middle of the Atlantic ocean racing.

I only later found out, after my return from Europe at the end of the summer. My roommate from college picked me up at the airport with the words "How was Woodstock?" To which I replied "What's Woodstock?"

Once school started I also realized that despite the size of the crowd at Woodstock; if everyone I talked to and had claimed to have been there; the crowd would have been twice as large.

We take for granted today large concerts. Woodstock became an icon for my generation. Still significant, for so many reasons. It represented the good in my generation, but that goodness lasted such a brief moment. The first Earth Day. The Whole Earth Catalogue. I would consider that it was this moment that Buckminster Fuller gained true recognition. Protest against the Vietnam War, due largely as result of the Draft. All of these things and more were positive.

Regrettably I blame my generation for many of the problems we have today. While I college I attended a lecture by Harvey Cox, then teaching a t Harvard. He warned of the impending catastrophe resulting from drugs. My generation wanted to not just change the way things were, they wanted to undo the existing value system; without replacing the values with new set.To be liberated. This created a structureless society. The change was to much at once, and we are living the consequences now.

Hair, became another symbol of rebellion, an outward manifestation, a badge if you like. Anyone with short hair was deemed unworthy. Ironically, anyone with long hair said "don't judge me by the way I look"; yet they would immediately pass judgement on anyone who did not look like them. Woodstock was supposed to be a symbol of harmony and cooperation; how a large group could co-exist crowded together.

Homework

When I was lofting "Courageous" at Minneford's on City Island; Phil Rhodes would come around the yard. He was retired from yacht design, but I never met anyone who had been involved in boats to let go just because time had moved on. Boats are a passion. It was clear that for Mr. Rhodes it was no different. We would chat; It must have become clear to him that I shared his passion. He started bringing work sheets with technical problems of various sorts for me to solve. The following week he would collect the "homework" and give me another set of problems to work on. I would receive the corrected sheets with comments. Something that continued until his death.

Call Me "Sir"

Before the America's Cup Jubilee Prince Michael of Kent came sailing with us aboard "Columbia" the twelve meter in Newport. I recognized him as soon as he stepped aboard. Not quit sure of how to engage him in conversation, after a bit of reflection I had a thought. Uffa Fox had taught him to sail, and had probably helped him get drunk for the first time, in his teens, along with many other adventures. You had to know Uffa.

As we approached the moment when we had to prepare for the day's racing , I asked Prince Michael how I should address him while racing. His response:"You may call me sir."

The rest of the day all communication was prefaced by "Sir".

Senator Claiborne Pell

Senator Pell's funeral was today. He was all the things that everyone said about him. He was of a generation and an upbringing that the world is in desperate need. I am certain that each one of us has met or knows someone of that older generation who by thought, word and deed has quietly set an example, if we are wise enough to follow, makes us a better person and a better citizen of the world. The void left will be hard to fill, and I hope it will not be crowded out by the fast moving pace of today's society.

BAZZINI'S

The photo at the right is of the Bazzini's. Regrettably it is out of focus. For those of us (the crew of Weald) a swan 48 in the 1975 trans-atlantic race, it is a fond memory. Bazzini's is really a specialty store; the link will get you there. We had their peanut butter aboard for the race. The poster of the girls somehow got labeled.

More College Years

College Sailing was so much fun. I had the good fortune to have great teammates; Skip Whyte, Henry Bossett. Mike Fenton, Johnny Hayes,Clay Evans,Chris Wells, Turtle, Norm Windus, and of course our coach Ned Caswell.

We sailed at the Naval Academy several times a year, unsally late fall, and early spring. Annapolis is far enough south that it made a tremendous difference in the weather. They also had fabulous facilities and could host large regattas.

Baltimore was not far away, and Saturday nights would often find us there. Baltimore in the sixties was rough. It had the "Block"; Boston had the "Combat Zone". I doubt that many people could tell you where these places were, as not a trace exists any longer of their existence. Blaze Starr was famous and she had her Joint in the Block. The Photograph is proof that we were indeed there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaze_Starr