MCA members document sailing adventures. If you have an article or story you wish to submit, send it to pubs@mutineer15.org.

MNAC 2004: One Man's Story
by Gordon Brookfield
I'll give you my report, probably in more detail than you want, and due to my rose-colored glasses and my failing memory, the accuracy of this report is probably better than 50% and less than 80%. more

Memoirs of an Unlikely Champion
by Gib Charles
To grossly paraphrase Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz: "Oh s**t! We're not on Long Pond anymore, Ken!" more

A Bucc'ers-eye View of BNAC from the rail of a Mutt!
By John Fraser :: 2003
I thought it might be interesting to the readers of the Bucc and Cannonball to report my observations from BNAC, crewing for Jim Faller in "My Heart Beat", a nicely appointed, non-spinnakered Mutt...more

Finally made it to the MNAC
By Vince Jones :: 2003
Last year I really wanted to attend MNAC 2002 but my schedule wouldn’t allow for it. So I made the commitment right then to go to MNAC 2003. My wife wasn’t thrilled, but with my coaxing and blackmailing, she finally agreed to come...more

MNAC 2003
by Gib Charles :: 2003
MNAC 2003 has to be characterized trust, adventure, and revival. There were 8 Mutineer boats in the races, and 10 Mutineer owners and 1 Bucc owner involved as skippers or crew - which more than doubled our involvement from last year...more

Revival of a Class
By Ian Wells :: August 2003
I am a newcomer to the Mutineer fleet. I have owned a Mutineer for a year and half and sail it with my family on our local Long Pond - 1/2 mile by a hundred yards. Even though I sailed competitively a lot when I was younger ...I had not given much thought to racing in my Mutineer, until Gib came along and "encouraged" my son, Todd, and I, to travel to the National championships...more

Mutts and Buccs?!
by Gib Charles :: 2003
These are two terms you’ll read a lot on this website in the Mutineer Yahoo discussion group. “Mutt” is the affectionate nickname for our beloved little boat, the Mutineer. “Bucc” is the nickname for the Buccaneer, the Mutineer’s big brother...more

1973 "Mystery Boat"
From the 1973 "Cannonball" -- the Mutineer class newsletter.
Hosted and partially sponsored by the Barrington Yacht Club in Rhode Island in 1973 was a “Champion of Champions” regatta with a twist...more 

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MNAC 2004: One Man's Story
by Gordon Brookfield

I'll give you my report, probably in more detail than you want, and due to my rose-colored glasses and my failing memory, the accuracy of this report is probably better than 50% and less than 80%. Since it is my story, I'll start back in March when I decided to go to Fort Walton Beach, and put out a feeler looking for someone to sail with me. Bob DeRoeck replied which both excited and terrified me. What was I going to do with someone who actually knew what he was doing sailing with me? I instantly decided that he would be master and I would by the deck hand...GOOD DECISION. Bob and I exchanged e-mails and photos, and I began to make some of the changes he suggested, the biggest was making a new rudder head and tiller using his plans. The results are a thing of beauty. I also made up a really fine spinnaker/whisker pole using his ordering information.

Bob volunteered to fly into Charlotte on Saturday, June 19th and help complete the rigging of my boat for using his wonderful above-deck spinnaker snout. He worked adding ratchet blocks, spinnaker halyard block, moving main sheet blocks on the boom, adding an outhaul arrangement, and more. Sunday we were on the road for almost 11 hours but we arrived safely, with no road incidents. (I had replaced my wheel bearings, added new bearing buddies, and we checked the wheels frequently while enroute).

Monday
Monday was the measuring session. Bob did it all, virtually single-handedly. Sails that had been checked last year were not rechecked. Of the boats that I know were weighed, all of the Mutts were at least 40# heavy and on up to 65# overweight. Bob found that the rudders had a whole lot of variation in length, and in fact, mine was the only one of the mutts that matched the spec. Bob is creating a log of non-conformities as well as a log of failures experienced by both classes of boats. There were plenty of these. After the measuring, Bob and I snuck out between violent thunderstorms and tried out "G's Whiz". We cycled the spinnaker up and down, tested the hiking straps, and in general, checked out the functioning of everything. All was A-OK. Bob and I, and Rey and Maria went out to a Thai restaurant for dinner that night.

Tuesday
We went out for race #1 amid white capes and 20' seas, OK, small waves. Bob was unbelievable with his starts. We crossed the line as leaders in 5 out of the 6 races we ran. The winds were howling and we were screaming along. There was no thought of flying the spinnaker on our boat. All was going well and we were in the hunt when it became necessary to gibe. I, of course, leapt from the low side to the high side...NOT. leaping was something we quickly discovered was not in my arsenal. Anyway, my 220 lbs located on the wrong side of the boat gave the expected results, my first training lesson in capsizing. (It also won us the award that I display proudly on my mantle, the first Garza Award). Well, while floundering around (I should probably say whaling around), Bob had me swim to the bow and hold it. Guess what, the boat headed into the wind, Bob scampered over the top from the inside of the boat and popped it right up. He commented what a great sea anchor I was! The next task, after he just climbed effortlessly aboard was to get me back in the boat. I still wanted to be a sea anchor, since I had found something I could do well.

The rescue boat came over but we shoo'd it away, and Bob reached over, grabbed my belt, and landed me like a large Tuna. The boat had about 6" of water in the cockpit. About 10 minutes before the capsize, I tripped for the 70-11th time on the bailing bucket rope, so Bob had me untie it and he put the bucket in the stern, saying, "If we capsize, we may lose it". Prophetic. Anyhow, we continued racing, and when we were the last ones on the course, and the winds were getting worse, and the rain was going sideways, the committee boat came out and told us that we had officially finished in 3rd. We later discovered that we got third because John Allison had failed to cross the finish line. He actually sailed to a second place finish.

We came about and headed in on a very fast reach, and in a short time on this heading, the rudder snapped off right across the blade right where it met the rudder head. Bob was able to grab the broken blade and steer a little, and we got the attention of one of the safety boats who towed us in. When we got ashore, Uncle Jim offered us a rudder blade that he had brought for the auction. Bob got it installed, and we went back out for the second and third races. Instead, we bobbed on perfectly flat water in a dead calm for 2-1/2 hours. Bob and I got towed out to the start. We were a little late, and the breeze died when we were about half way there. We all got towed in. Again, Bob and I won, with 3 tows in one day.

The annual meetings were held, first with the BCA and then by ourselves. The BCA announced that their regatta would be held in Burlington Vermont in 2005. When the MCA got together, the subject of location, which we had been discussing previously, came up. Both Gib and Rey doubted that they would drive over 2000 miles, after driving about 1500 for each of the last three years. I guessed that Vince and Mary would attend, and thought that I might also. Bob DeRoeck would attend but he would race his Buccaneer. It seemed obvious that the Mutineer class would not be well served at this venue at this time. Ernie offered up his facility in Nebraska, and that is being investigated. Gib and Rey felt that they could get more boats there out of their two areas than we had in Fort Walton. The other subject that came up was to have the event be the annual gathering of the MCA with the NMAC as a featured event, but with either a 'B' fleet or a cruising class for the social sailors with the old sails and no spinnakers.

Wednesday
Wednesday was a great sailing day. We sailed three races, and Bob and I finished 4th behind Gib, Ernie and Rey in the first race and third behind Gib and Ernie in the other two races. Again, Bob was stellar on starts. We had no major problems, except Bob was beginning to wonder about me when I slipped and sat in his lap for the third time. I was totally beat at the end of the third race, and had discovered that I was not real happy about holding the jib sheet without benefit of cleating for the whole time. What a fine set of blisters I had on both hands. At least they were symmetrical. The standings at the end of day two were Gib, Ernie, and Rey and us tied for third. Rey announced that he had wrenched his knee and was not going to race again. If John Allison hadn't had the worst possible luck, he would have had no luck at all. He was unable to finish any of the three races. The day ended with the Cheeseburgers in Paradise" cookout with Gib and Rey doing yeoman duty on the grill. The keg of dark beer did not have a chance to get warm. The silent auction for the Leukemia Assoc and the raffle were also a big success, followed by music provided by some of the group. I missed that so someone else will have to comment on it.

Thursday
When I arrived, Bob and Rey had decided that we should take a cruising day (Thank you, guys!) and skip racing. Dan Jones joined us, while Michael Boley and his son went off to hunt for treasure in a computer sponsored scavenger hunt using GPS information from the web. We had a wonderful sail, (I put the jib cam cleats back on the boat). We went down the length of the bay, put up on a beautiful beach where I dove in for a couple of minutes, and then we ate lunch in a pretty little park, right by Dan Jones' hotel. This left Gib, Ernie and John racing. John was able to prove that he belonged out there with a 1st, a 2nd, and a 3rd place finish. Gib got the other two firsts. At the end of the day, with one throw out race, Gib was perfect with 6 wins, Ernie was second, Rey and we were still tied for third, and John was one point behind us. John decided that if he raced on Friday, all he could accomplish was to knock us out of third, (remember, Rey was not going to race) and John's boat hat broken again. He decided to take his family out for a cruise instead. All of us except Dan and family went out to a nice seafood restaurant where we had a good meal, a few pitchers of beer, and some great conversation.

Friday
John was willing to loan us his new mainsail, and neither Gib or Ernie objected, so we got to try the boat with good sails. What a difference it made. In the first race we challanged Gib several times, (to no avail-but it was fun), and we outdistanced Ernie by a fair amount, so we finished 2nd to Gib. The last race of the regatta started out like the previous one, and would have ended the same except that when we pulled out the jib after dousing the spinnaker, I neglected to put tension on the furling line, so instead of winding around the furling drum, it wound around beneath it, on the inner tube. The jib jammed about half way towards being furled, and wouldn't move either way. Bob went forward and cleared it, but by the time we were sailing again, Ernie and Adam were back in front of us. Bob and I almost came home with another trophy, Adam's boat impaled on my bow. It was as close to a T-Bone as you can come without colliding, thanks to Bob's quick reactions. We did manage to pass them again, but cagey Ernie discovered that every time he tacked, Bob tacked to cover his air, and on each of these maneuvers, Ernie was able to pick up 5 or 6 yards. He beat us to the finish line by about a boat length.

We all went to a cozy seafood restaurant for the awards banquet. It was a wonderful party with lots of laughs and great stories. Vinc's awards were unbelievable. As I said above, I will always treasure the first Garza.

Prologue
So, Bob and I finished 3rd. You might say by default, but I prefer to believe that we would have finished third or fourth even if John and Rey decided to race on Friday. My boat stayed together well, Bob sailed very well, and was able to devise strategies that minimized the disadvantage he had with a very unlimber crew. His spinnaker worked wonderfully, and we gained on everyone when flying it. It was an exciting week of intense action. The congeniality of the entire group and the intense desire to see that everyone got back on the water after a breakdown was something that is probably unique in the sailing world.

Thanks everybody. It was a real adventure.

Gordon Brookfield

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Memoirs of an Unlikely Champion
by Gib Charles

To grossly paraphrase Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz: "Oh s**t! We're not on Long Pond anymore, Ken!"

That's how I felt staring at the "ocean" someone had misnamed "Lake" Michigan when Ken Miller and I arrived at the North Shore Yacht Club for the "North American Championship” regatta. The wind was 15-20 knots, the swells were 3-4 feet and dark clouds were coming from the west … but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Hi. My name is Gib Charles and, I confess, I sail a Mutineer. I live in Fort Collins, Colorado. A friend gave me my first Mutineer, it came with his house in 1995. I liked the basics of the boat: it's size; comfort; the fact that it had a main, jib and spinnaker; that it could be launched in very shallow water (a necessity on my pond) and that young kids felt comfortable IN it. My kid's were 3 and 8 and didn't want to go out in my M-Scow because they felt insecure sitting ON the boat. I gave away the Scow and started working on the ‘74 Mutt. Two years later I saw an ‘83 Mutineer for sale with all of the upgrades I had read about (spinnaker launcher, wire furling jib, Harken hardware, inboard jib tracks, new style rudder head, etc.). I bought it, swapped the parts I wanted to keep from the old boat, and sold Mud Puppy for close to what I had paid for the newer one.

Last year I began racing my new Mutt in regional regattas. I loved the combination of mental, physical and technical intensity and teamwork. I even won a one day Portsmouth regatta in 20 knot winds – I was hooked!

I soon set my sights on Highland Park. I ordered new sails from North Sails through Greg Fisher; faired my hull, centerboard and rudder; read Rig Your Dinghy Right and did everything my time and budget would allow.

This spring I began looking for crew willing to travel 1000 miles and spend a week with me. I was lucky that Ken Miller, 74, who lives on the lake I sailed, was both available and willing! Ken has sailed for 55 years and has owned 20 different boats and he has no fear. We sailed a warm-up regatta two weeks before Highland Park in a mixed Portsmouth fleet that included two Buccaneers who were also going to BNAC. On day 1 the winds went from 0 mph for the first two hours while we drifted under postponement to a 52 mph blast followed by 25-30 mph sustained. Between races Ken and I went over to windward in a lull, then went turtle. But we also won the Portsmouth fleet that day beating the two Bucc sailors who would probably prefer to not be named (D.S. took 2nd in the A Fleet and G.T. took 3rd in the B Fleet at BNAC). A mixed confidence builder.

Fast forward to NSYC, Saturday of race week. I don't have to weigh my Mutt, but I'm curious how over weight she is. 506 pounds! She should be a Bucc at that weight! 96 Pounds too heavy for a Mutt. A blow to my confidence.

Ken and I decide to go out on the lake to see what big wind with big swells feel like. Our home lake, Long Pond, is 1 mile long and 1/4 mile wide and we launch from a very shallow sand/silt beach. I decided to launch from the NSYC dock for a rare treat and botched it, hitting the metal pier and crunching the nose of my carefully tuned racing machine. My confidence drops two more notches. When we get out in the 15-20 knot winds and 3 foot swells I have memories of capsizing 2 weeks ago. We sail ugly, clumsy, but we don't go over. Would we be racing in higher winds? What am I doing here? As we settle in for the night, my confidence is hanging by a thread.

Sunday is the practice race. There are so many elements for both Ken and me that we have A LOT to practice and learn: offset windward mark, leeward gate, a finish line that would be set after we are racing, the compass, new sails, 180 degrees of water horizon, swells, etc! The Buccs say it's a bad omen to win the practice race, but I dismiss it. If I have a chance I'm going to take it. It may be my only chance to win a race! The winds are light, my nemesis in races past (does 96 pounds make a difference?). Ken and I work well together. We're constantly thinking, talking and adjusting. We move much better in the light winds with the new North sails than I had in the past. We figure out the compass, sort of, catch some good wind shifts and win it by a good margin. Finally a confidence boost. I can relax a bit and enjoy myself.

Monday, Race Day 1: The winds stay light and we win all 3. Is it going to be this easy? No way. Enter the villain, complete with a black Pirate flag flying from the leach of his main, Michael Connolly. Michael is a Buccaneer racer who had just started renovating a Chrysler Bucc and knew he wouldn't have it ready for BNAC, so he borrowed a very nice Mutineer from a friend. He and his crew Marty put over 200 man-hours into the boat to make it competitive. They took a third followed by two second place finishes on the first day, which was only the second day either of them had ever been on the water in a Mutineer! They both had their sights set on winning, so they spent many more hours changing and refining the boat. I knew I had a great big bulls eye on my mainsail as far as they and the other Mutts were concerned.

Tuesday, Race Day 2: We only got 1 race in on day 2, a real drifter. Ken and I learned something new with every race, sometimes something important on the first leg to use to our advantage on the same leg later in the same race. In the very light wind it was much more a mental/tactical game than it was a physical one. Even with a heavy boat, the new sails seemed to have enough power to more than compensate and we won race four. Michael took another second and Rey Garza from Texas finished third. Back on shore Michael and Marty make more adjustments to their boat, we all give suggestions to each other, even offering spare parts and tools to each other. The friendly competition was wonderful. By encouraging each other to do better we were raising the bar for all of us.

Wednesday, Race Day 3: We had some wind! We got 2 races in. Winds around 10 - 15 mph with 3 foot swells. The wind I loved, the rough water was a real challenge. On the first beat Ken and I were taking waves over the bow. It's very easy to get weight too far back in the butt of a Mutt, this was the first time I experienced having our weight too far forward, driving the bow down into the troughs. I had Ken slide back and studied how Michael was sailing.

I was fighting the waves with the tiller, trying to sail a straight course according to the jib telltales. It appeared he was letting each wave lift him slightly. When I tried it, my jib would luff on each lift, killing our power to drive forward. I learned to steer down gently on the flat before the wave to slightly overpower the jib so that it would be trimmed properly when it was lifted by the wave. We were able to sail a higher course, and faster, but we followed Michael and Marty on every leg of both races that day, except the last legs.

On a one mile beat from the leeward gate to the finish line, with a horizon that is just the water line, I found it was nearly impossible to read wind shifts. We split tacks with Michael right after the leeward gate, picked up two major wind shifts with the help of the compass, and stole two more victories. Two excellent races requiring focus, study and drive. The compass gets credit for races five and six. Marty was furious, in a friendly sort of way. He could taste the victory he had worked so hard for, just for us to snatch it away in the end - twice.

I'm thrilled to be learning so much, so Ken and I look forward to the last day as a chance to learn more. Since we were following Michael and Marty for most of day 3, watching them sail higher on the upwind legs repeatedly, we decide to make some changes to the boat. Primarily to set the jib leads further inboard. It proves to be a great improvement, especially in the BIG winds of day 4.

Thursday, Race Day 4: The first race is in 15-20 mph wind. At the start of the second race the committee measures 22 knots (about 25 mph) and it increased during the race. After four days of learning in light to moderate conditions, this was the Real Deal. Ken and I have our confidence back, we're eager to learn more, to keep the boat upright and to feel the speed.

We had two more excellent races, Michael and Marty beating us by mere seconds both times. That was thrilling. Three miles around a racecourse and to finish separated by seconds. The competition was fantastic. The new skills allowed us to sail in 25+ mph winds and 3-4 foot seas under control in a 15 foot dinghy. It was worth the whole week!

If I never race again, MNAC 2002 has made me a much better sailor. I learned as much in that week as I did all last season.
Thanks to Jim Faller, Eric Frisvold, Rey Garza, Michael Connolly and your crews for five great days. I certainly enjoyed your competition and camaraderie, and look forward to 2003.

Gib Charles
"Ardith June" #515

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A Bucc'ers-eye View of BNAC from the rail of a Mutt!
By John Fraser

I thought it might be interesting to the readers of the Bucc and Cannonball to report my observations from BNAC, crewing for Jim Faller in "My Heart Beat", a nicely appointed, non-spinnakered Mutt. This was my first experience racing, and my second time in a Mutt. My normal mount is a ’74 Bucc, and I usually skipper.

First, how does the Mutt compare to the Bucc? Obviously, it’s three feet shorter and almost a hundred pounds lighter. Not so obviously, the sail plan is quite a bit smaller and lower, while the beam is similar to a Bucc. This means less power, and less need for hiking in any given wind conditions. Think of it as a tame Bucc with the lazarette cut off. The rigging and foils are similar, and Mutts can carry spinnakers, although Jim’s didn’t.

Racing the Mutt turned out to be quite interesting. The boat definitely responds to sail, foil, and hull trimming techniques similarly to the Bucc. Jim and I routinely hand flew the jib sheet and rolled the boat slightly to leeward when on the reach legs, and found we did not lose ground to the top boats in the class, which were flying spinnakers. I’m not sure about a dead leeward leg, though. We didn’t have many of those due to the shortened courses the Mutts were routinely given to save time.

Going to windward, we found we were competitive when we did the start right, which was twice out of seven races. We couldn’t keep up with Gib, who could point a bit higher and go faster at the same time. If I were looking to tune up a Mutt, I’d definitely be talking to Gib! I suspect his foils are pristine and his sails are definitely quite new. He’s also very good at getting the most out of the boat. Several of the other boats seemed to be similar in capability, and tactics determined the differences in finishing position.

While the Mutt is slightly slower than the Bucc, it’s not that much slower. In every race, the front half of the Mutt fleet caught the last few Buccs in the B fleet, despite a five-minute head start. It’s definitely a fun and challenging boat to race, both requiring and teaching the same skills as the Bucc, and more amenable to sailing with a novice crew in a blow. I wonder if the spinnaker is too small, or if the spinnakers used at BNAC were blown out.

The Mutt skippers and crew are just as friendly, skillful, and fun loving as the Bucc’ers. Jim was a gracious host and a skipper dedicated to learning all he can about racing his boat. If you can’t get a seat on a Bucc, a Mutt will do jest fahn.

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Finally made it to the MNAC
By Vince Jones

Last year I really wanted to attend MNAC 2002 but my schedule wouldn’t allow for it. So I made the commitment right then to go to MNAC 2003. My wife wasn’t thrilled, but with my coaxing and blackmailing, she finally agreed to come.

I started looking for accommodations back in December. I researched the area and saved maps for the trip. I ordered new sails and a rudder to get the boat into sailing shape. When spring arrived (finally) I set out to do the home projects that were badly needing to be done so that I could do this without the feeling that I should have been doing them. When all was caught up, we set sail to practice for the races.

Our spring/summer have been like many other areas this year - very wet and windy beyond our sailing ability. There were many days that the wind was blowing so hard that the whistle noise from the halyard and shroud lines were disconcerting. On many of those days my wife would give me a choice: 1- stay home 2- use only our outboard or 3- use a sail of my choice. Choices one and two were not an option for me, so we went sailing with main only on the really bad days, or with just the jib. On the Saturday before MNAC we sailed quite well downwind without any sails at all, just the wind against the mast and shrouds.

So I yanked the Mutineer, cleaned the lake scum off, and loaded her up with the stuff we needed. We left early Friday morning and, due to the traffic, the nine hour trip took us over 13 hours. We left the hotel early Saturday morning and started our adventure in the Virginia’s Governor’s Cup Races.

Having never sailed in a race before and not wanting to look ignorant, I decided that we would just follow the Buccs around to learn the marks. To my dismay, they all seemed to be headed in different directions when the race started. I looked around and not too far ahead was a boat that was headed steadily toward the place that I thought that we should be going. So I followed them. At each mark was a committee boat, so I would ask where to go next but they thought that I was joking and just smiled and waved. We rounded all of the marks and finished race one in last place.

After a few minutes I came upon another Bucc and asked them where the heck we were supposed to be going. He explained the course to us just in time for race two. We were ready, now armed with our new friend’s knowledge. The race started and all of the Buccs took off in the same direction upwind to the mark. They were leaving us behind quite readily so I turned and went in the opposite direction. We were way away from the fleet that we were racing, but I could see the first mark and took another turn to head straight at it. To my surprise it looked to me that I was going to round the first mark ahead of everyone! I was thrilled my wife looked at me like I was from Mars and tried to settle me down a bit, saying, "hey we are not there yet - anything can happen." But the closer we got to the mark the wider my grin was becoming. I even had Mary thinking that I may be a sailor.

But then it hit me… we weren’t going to make the mark! To my dismay I had misjudged the mark and we had to tack away to get around, and as I did the Buccs just kept pouring around the mark. I did manage to stay ahead of one of them after the first mark but I was deflated back to a non-racer in just seconds. (This was my highlight of the entire weekend) the only other highlight was when the winner of the Buccs VGC race Tim DeVries said to me that I put a scare into all of the Bucc fleet on that race! That really inflated my spirits.

Now I am race ready, and set to step up and race my fellow Mutineers. It was an exciting day on Sunday evening when the Mutineer sailors started to arrive. This is why I came, I told my wife. I anticipated meeting a few of the stars of the Mutineer group. I had in my minds eye what everyone would look like and I had seen photos of many of their boats this was great! Well by the time I had met the MNAC participants, I was confused, as they weren’t what I expected them to look like and I was having trouble sorting the faces with the names that I knew so well.

And when the racing started I found that my future in racing is no bright light. I had a marvelous time sailing, the food was great and the guys and gals from both lists are great people that I enjoyed meeting very much. The entire Sindle family was great! They did a superb job with everything. Without them it wouldn’t have been the same.

Now I have to say to all of my fellow Mutineers and Buccaneers out there that are uncomfortable with their talent, or boat knowledge, or any other reason for not participating in such an event, forget it! Whatever your reasons are, you shouldn’t let them keep you from going and meeting everyone, enjoying the sailing, and the camaraderie of being with the group! Hey if I can go and have the time of my life so could you! There is next year and there shouldn’t be any reason that we couldn’t have 30 Mutineers on the line at MNAC 2004. Go get them! Have a blast! And don’t worry, everyone there will help you in any way that you need!

Thanks, Vince Jones, "Head Over Keel"

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MNAC 2003
By Gib

MNAC 2003 has to be characterized trust, adventure, and revival.
There were 8 Mutineer boats in the races, and 10 Mutineer owners and 1 Bucc owner involved as skippers or crew - which more than doubled our involvement from last year. Over 350 Mutineer owners monitored the event through our Yahoo elist. Of the 10 Mutineer owners, probably none had met more than 2 of the others in person. Add to that the fact that less than half of the fleet would consider themselves “racers”, and it becomes a small miracle that 10 Mutineer owners traveled to Virginia to race each other.

Except that isn’t why we came. We came to meet each other. We came to see other Mutineers, to study the repairs and changes others had made to their boats, and to show off the repairs and innovations we had made. We came in the trust that the spirit and character of the person we had been reading notes from on the internet would be the same in person. We came because of the enthusiasm of the 5 who had a blast in Highland Park last year, and we trusted the same would happen this year. We trusted that our Bucc brothers and sisters would be as welcoming in person as they had been on-line. None of us were disappointed. We all had a great time and are already looking forward to Texas next year.

Each of us has a story to tell. Mine is simple. Get the boat as race-ready as time allowed, find great crew, sail focused, keep learning. It worked and I happen to win. I think a much more interesting story is that of the revival of the Mutineer Class. Representative of that larger story, read the experience of my neighbor, Ian Wells.

I really enjoyed meeting the Mutineer families who, like Ian, trusted and came. Experienced or not, excited or nervous, updated boats or 1970 classics, we came. Connected by the internet, but bonded by a passion for sailing a fun little boat and sharing a common respect for the spirit of community, helpfulness, friendly competition, adventure and trust. I loved testing skills on the water, seeing spinnakers fly on 6 Mutineers at the same time, watching the Bucc A fleet battle from a front row seat, living and breathing the Mutt/Bucc culture for a week. It was great.

The Mutineer community is growing, bonding, and it is full of classy, talented people. 5 days wasn’t enough time to get much past sailing discussions and into more in depth personal and professional discussions. For me, that is the news of MNAC. Not that there were 8 boats in the water and I happened to win. The real news is that this band of Mutineers are finding each other, enjoying each other, and are enjoying racing as a means to interact with each other.

Look for 20 Mutineers in Texas. We are defying our original Mutinous tendency, and banding together.

Gib Charles, Fort Collins, Colorado

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Revival of a Class
By Ian Wells
August 2003

I am a newcomer to the Mutineer fleet. I have owned a Mutineer for a year and half and sail it with my family on our local Long Pond - 1/2 mile by a hundred yards. Even though I sailed competitively a lot when I was younger (in 505s, Fireballs, Daysailors, International 14s, GP14s, FJs, Yflyers, 420s etc) I had not given much thought to racing in my Mutineer, until Gib came along and "encouraged" my son, Todd, and I, to travel to the National championships. When I sailed regattas 30+ years ago, they were tremendous fun but solo affairs - I'd see a few friends, make a few friends. Mutineer racing is nothing like that.

Friendly Mutineer sailors ourselves are reviving the class made up of
boats that had been dispersed to cottages, lakes and ponds across the
country - and we are doing it by using the Internet. Todd and I had not
been members of the Mutt group until just before the regatta.

Let me tell you our story. Firstly, this regatta was too far away to trail
our boat, so we flew in. We had no boat until Gib put out a request on the yahoo group list - was there anyone who would consider lending a boat to an experience sailor? . Gordon quickly, generously, replied. Gordon is a novice sailor who had put in serious amount of work upgrading his newly purchased Mutt into sailing trim. He would be willing to have someone to try out his boat and tune it up. He would learn from the experience and get face to face assistance. But we had no way to get to the regatta from Washington DC and another request went out Friday night for carpooling. Tim replied - since he was also flying in, he volunteered to pick us up and drive us down to the regatta. It turns out a navigator was handy to have in the final few miles of back lanes to the yacht club!

So Sunday evening we met up with Gordon and spent the next 24 hours working on his boat, adding telltales, barberhaulers, windvane, tightening this and that. All 8 mutineers were lined up on shore and it took me a while to figure out why everyone was so friendly to people they had just met - and of course most people (except Todd and I ) had NOT just met. Everyone knew each other from the Yahoo Mutt group. Everyone (except me) had good ideas for setting up everything on these boats. So tools went back and forth, as did ideas, suggestions, and of course, beer.

When I perused the Mutt group list, after I got back, I was amazed to see what I had been missing. When someone came up with a way to set up better jib furling or fixing a rudder, detailed photos appeared on the web page. Everyone was told of common things that break, and advised to fix them while upgrading the boat. When our mainsheet block pulled out on Tuesday, the procedure to fix it was quickly told to us. No exploration or guessing what to do. The group knew.

Racing was fun and competitive. I am no end impressed with the friendliness and competitiveness of Mutt sailors. Its wonderful to race under a first class Race Committee, with 8 Mutts on the line, on the Chesapeake with daily, warm weather, sea breezes and a 30 mile fetch. Long Pond this is not!

Todd and I were pleased to hold onto third place by the end of the week, and our boat got faster during the week because of tuning assistance from fellow Mutineer sailors - the ones who had been reading the Mutt group postings (if only we had been reading all along!).

So the mutt group list has enabled Mutt sailors to find each other. The
mutt list has created a community that 15 years ago could not have existed because these boats have been mainly dispersed to cottages and backyards and lakes and ponds, one by one.

The Mutt list also has enabled each of the boats to be similarly upgraded and tuned with the result that the boat speeds were very similar - a key ingredient for great racing since the racing becomes a matter of skipper and crew skill, not a matter of who purchased a gadget or knew a weak point before everyone else.

But mainly the Mutt list has created a widening community of people - one I'm pleased to have found - a community with a common love of improving and racing our boat, the Mutineer.

This is the Mutineer Revival.

Ian Wells

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Mutts and Buccs?!
By Gib

These are two terms you’ll read a lot on this website and in the Mutineer Yahoo discussion group. “Mutt” is the affectionate nickname for our beloved little boat, the Mutineer. “Bucc” is the nickname for the Buccaneer, the Mutineer’s big brother.

The Buccaneer is an 18 foot sailing dinghy that looks very much like a Mutineer. It was designed by Rod Macalpine-Downie and Dick Gibbs and first built by Chrysler Marine starting in 1968. The boat was very popular and sold well, but Chrysler received many requests for a smaller, less expensive version of the Buccaneer, so Rod and Dick designed the Mutineer, the 15 foot “mini-Bucc”. Chrysler built the first Mutineer in 1971. By sailboat production standards, both boats were extremely successful. According to Dick Gibbs, over 5000 Buccs have been built, and over 8000 Mutts have been built.

The two boats have many similarities. They use the exact same centerboard, rudder, rudder head, and practically all of the rigging hardware is the same. Many parts are the same except for their length, including the mast, boom, tiller, shrouds and running lines.

If you’re looking for used replacement parts for your Mutineer, consider used Buccaneer parts also. Both boats are 6 feet in the beam, both fly a main, jib and spinnaker, and their sail sizes are relatively scaled. The Bucc flies 175 sq feet with main and jib, the Mutt flies 150 sq ft. Because of its’ larger sail area and longer water line, the Bucc is faster. As of 2003 the Bucc Portsmouth handicap rating is 87.1, and the Mutt is rated at 96.

The same builders have made both boats side by side for over 30 years. Currently, the newest builder, Nickels Boatworks, is making their first run of Buccs. They hold the Mutineer molds too and are expected to make new Mutineers when there is enough demand.

There is an active relationship between the Mutineer and Buccaneer owners. The Mutineer 15 Class Association (MCA) and Buccaneer Class Association share a newsletter, organize joint regattas and events, the biggest of the year being the Buccaneer and Mutineer North American Championship regatta, which is as much a national reunion as it is a competition. The boats are so similar that an upgrade on a Bucc is probably a good idea on a Mutt. A clever idea on a Mutt is just as applicable on a Bucc. We share a lot and learn a lot from each other. The boats tune and handle so similarly that we share rigging, handling and tuning tips. The previous builder, Harry Sindle of Cardinal Yachts in Gloucester Virginia wrote a very useful book for owners of both boats: “Rigging and Handling Guide for Buccaneers and Mutineers”.

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1973 “Mystery Boat”
From the 1973 "Cannonball" -- the Mutineer class newsletter.

Hosted and partially sponsored by the Barrington Yacht Club in Rhode Island in 1973 was a “Champion of Champions” regatta with a twist. The North American Interclass Solo Championship was sailed in three different types of boats by ten sailors who had won the North American Championship in their respective single-handed boat classes. In 1973 the three boats for the N.A.I.S.C. were the Force 5, the Hobie 14, and a “mystery boat” not to be announced before the regatta.

The mystery boat turned out to be the Mutineer! The sailors had their hands full learning the Mutineer "on the spot", sailing without crew and battling winds that exceeded 25 knots in the first race! The winner of the regatta for the second year in a row was Robbie Doyle of Marblehead, Mass., a sailmaker with Hoods at the time. He was also a Sears Cup winner, a sailing star at Harvard, and had just been selected as tactician for Ted Turner on his Americas Cup 12 meter contender, "Mariner". He went on to found Doyle Sailmakers in 1982.

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