West Coast Tour - The McNish Classic at Oxnard, CA

by Kate Sheahan
West Coast Tour Coordinator

 

_aboard CF Koehler's 1928 10-meter called Sally

“If I spent $15 on plans, I better build a boat,” chuckles McNish Classic champion, Walter Russakoff aboard his 43’ Sloop called Vignette II.  Seven years later he completed a William Atkin design from 1936. “Below the waterline it is original design, while above the waterline the design was altered slightly, as well as the rudder.” The McNish Classic rules are simple: any kind of sailboat is allowed, any size, any shape, as long as it is wooden and built before 1952, the year, Dick McNish explains, fiberglass boats became popular. Walter attributes luck to his success in racing over the years, shrugging off a suggestion that his good driving and design optimization may have an effect. The team races with six, eight on a crowded day. What he feels is special about the event is the reunion with friends every year.

56' Yawl Circe

The crew of Circe simply explained the regatta as, “really big wooden boats, flying shoots, and just hauling…” and went on to note that there is no bigger diversity within a fleet than here at the McNish Classic.  It is pure racing. There is no changing the rig. No micro adjustments. It is just sailing.

Competitor’s warned, “you have to really want a wooden boat. It is an investment in your time and costs a fortune. However, it is about love.” Others went on to elaborate that it is about beauty. The crew of Charity reminded me that everything comes from the forest. Mass production is incapable of crafting race yachts like these. It takes human hands.

Dick McNish worries that an era of honoring the craft of wooden boat making may be overlooked by younger generations seduced by carbon fiber and contemporary engineering, however one young and enthusiastic sailor said that all it took was for him to just get on a wooden boat. He explained that it was the sheer weight and power of the boat, he felt on his first sail, a smoothness that is like nothing else.

The McNish Classic course has remained for 36 years, a triangular 17-mile route that starts and finishes at the Channel Islands Harbor.  A staggered start is meant to create clusters of finishers and a spectacular show of branded kites. The overall winner receives his or her weight in champagne and a chance to relax with legends like Dennis Conner and the Koehler family.

“The McNish Classic is as much a floating history lesson as it is a race,” explains race publicist, Louise Ann Noeth. Let's all continue the tradition - grab a niece, nephew or grandchild and let them experience and absorb yet another facet of sailing heritage. A heritage, in part, thanks to Dick McNish’s vision 36 years ago to honor the importance of craftsmanship and the virtue of patience.

Listen to competitor's as they explain the diversity of the fleet and what it feels like to sail your first wooden racer.

View an album of the day:

McNish Classic 2013, a set on Flickr.


Up next I will be in Coronado, CA for the CFJ Nationals with a 72 boat fleet.

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Check out The West Coast Tour Schedule