The Bird Boat
class is the oldest one-design class on San Francisco Bay.
Designed by John Alden in 1919, Jim Josephs' Curlew, hull number
2, was built in 1922. Jim rebuilt the boat in 1995 and joined
the Wooden Boat Racing Association on the Bay.
In 2002 Curlew
was outfitted with a new main and jib from Pineapple Sails.
The giant main on the wooden mast and boom and the small self-tacking
jib were carefully designed and built to match the rig, the
class rules and the Bay's windy conditions. And the boat sailed
upwind as never before.
Jim is this year's Bird Boat Class
champion. His victories include first in division in the 2004
Master Mariners Regatta, held annually for traditional wooden
boats.
Wooden boats like Curlew demand special sails. And special
sails are all we do. |