David: A funny piece.
Not to quibble too much, but Lyle Hess is proudly claimed by the State of Idaho as a native son. We are often confused with Iowa so Nebraska is not too much of a leap. I reference the following article and weblink. Lyle Hess: A profile By Chuck Malseed Reprinted from Cruising World Feb 1977 http://www.norseayachts.com/lylehess_a_profile.php Best Regards, Jim Desnoyers Ketchum, Idaho A native son of North Carolina [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >------------------------------ > > >Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 16:37:38 -0600 >From: "David C. Patterson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: M_Boats: My friend says, tell me about your boat. I don't > know a thing about boats. >To: <[email protected]> >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > >Someone might enjoy this. I had fun writing it to my friend, Joel. > >"Joel.re: boats, specifically sailboats: an archaic mode of transportation >now relegated to the world of entertainment, if, as has notoriously been >commented, standing under a cold shower while tearing up $50 bills is >entertainment (alternate image/description: a hole in the water into which >one throws money). Many afficianados become afflicianados.that is, >afflicted with a marine form of obsession. Now, as to my particular boat: >a Montgomery 17, designed by a Nebraska boy turned yacht designer named Lyle >Hess, justifiably famous for designing old-fashioned-looking, but fast, and >especially sea-worthy, smaller yachts. His stated concern being to make >sure that the boat that got you out there would be able to bring you back. >He mused that he was particularly good at getting speed out of a small boat >design. Through a set of applications of classical physics and an airfoil >based on Bernoulli's principle (in other words: blocks, tackles, lines, and >sails) plus a hopefully well-built and water-tight hull and some sort of >rudder for a steering device, wind as motive power, and a preferably sober >operator, said sailboat provides an opportunity to place oneself at the >mercy of forces not to be conquered but to be endured.or more poetically, >"flowed" with. The operator attempts to function in the weather as it >presents itself. The result is often described by the phrase "That was >fun!" or, "What a blast!" (By the bye, only 10% or so of human beings >never get motion sick. Some of those are sailors, but not all.) By some >estimates there may be about 700 of this particular size and style of boat >in existence, built from the 1970's until contemporary times. Definitely a >twentieth century article that harkens back to much earlier times. When I >was in high school I had a 1957 MGA sports car. You get the analogy, I am >sure, though this boat has more room for all that I fantasized about, back >then. As for your own personal affliction, yes, the combination of light, >shadow, and lines makes it an excellent study for artful black and white >photography. At times photos of recreational sailors have even evinced >expressions of stark but untidy emotions, followed by face-splitting grins >of poorly disguised relief at having survived the sail. Still curious?" > > > _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
