“How high is the water, Mama?
Six foot high and rising but we can make it to the road in a
homemade boat, cause that’s the only thing we got left that’ll
float. It’s already over all the wheat
and oats, six feet high and rising.” With apologies to Johnny
Cash.
Neither rain, mud, rising water or a five hundred year flood
could stop Puddle Duck Racers holding their World Championships.
Lake Allatoona, Georgia was thirteen feet above flood stage, the
Corps of Engineers campground was under water, the lake access
was closed. The PDR racers came anyway, having faith that the
water would recede and the race would go on.
|
Lake Allatoona |
“What do Ducks care about the wind or the rain or the weather?
We be having a race and everyone be there!” exhorted co-chairman,
Bill Giles of Memphis, TN. And the Ducks responded. Thirteen intrepid
Duckers loaded their small craft on to pickups, Harbor Freight
trailers, SUV’s and tops of cars. Racers from eleven states
and one foreign country made it to Georgia with their homemade
boats, sailing into Puddle Duck history as the largest gathering
of PDR racers ever assembled.
|
Michele Monies Khoury cooked for all the racers |
Shawn Payment of Charleston, SC, in YOWZA! Hull #301, an elegant
and speedy red and white OZ racer set further PDR history, becoming
the first true OZ racer to win the United States championship.
Competing in three rounds of traditional racing courses, Shawn
paced the field in YOWZA! living up to both it’s name and
the red and white racing stripes she sported. Shawn joined Rick
Landreville, Hull #311, who set PDR history this year as the first
OZ racer to win the Canadian title, also in a red and white hull.
|
Shawn Payment with trophy |
An international crowd assembled to watch the Ducks race, campers
from around the United States and foreign visitors alike marveling
at the variety of PDRs represented by the racers. Children, dogs,
family and amazed onlookers cheered the winners to shore.
For the Ducks this race is the highpoint of the year. Racers
travel thousands of miles to compete as John Wright of Bastrop,
TX said, “For fun, friends, fame and to transport Michael
Storer to Allatoona.” This year’s races were truly
significant historically, for they combined both Michael Storer
creator of the OZ PDR racer, and David (Shorty) Routh’s
attendance at the Worlds. Michael (Mik) Storer watched as one
of his designs, the OZ built by Shawn Payment, won Worlds, while
three others completed the races. This was the first time “true”
OZ’s that were built to Mik’s plans had competed and
four in competition was an epic event.
|
John Wright of Bastrop, TX said, “For
fun, friends, fame and to transport Michael Storer to Allatoona |
Michael Storer had been brought to the US for “Mik Storer’s
Shoestring Tour of America” by funding provided by Duckworks
magazine and the numerous contributions from the builders of his
boats, as well as the Puddle Duck Racers organization. In donations
that ranged from a few dollars up, the money accumulated and Mik
came to America to meet his builders and fans. The Worlds in Allatoona
was for the Ducks the highpoint of a cross country odyssey that
has led Mik through America via plane, train, mini-van, trucks
and kayaks. It was worth every penny collected as Mik has more
than repaid and pre-paid his fare, with advice, design and friendship
offered.
|
Michael Storer had been brought to the US for
“Mik Storer’s Shoestring Tour of America” |
Mik also sailed and competed in the World’s races in a
borrowed boat, Hull #23, “Headless Duck.” Mik tied
for third place with Kenny Giles, sailing hull # 213 “Uke
n Sail”. Both are traditional PDR racers. “Headless
Duck” was built by Michael Allison in Livermore, CA and
given to Paul Helbert in Virginia. Paul through contacts in the
canoeing fraternity of his son, Eli Helbert (the Canoe Guru) arranged
to have her ferried in shuttles from California to North Carolina.
There he picked her up and brought her to Virginia’s Shenandoah
Valley where Paul re-rigged her as a balanced lug and cut a new
high aspect 75 square foot sail to fit her twelve foot mast. He
did some repainting, took off some unnecessary hardware and made
a few minor repairs. According to Paul, the hull is a bit on the
heavy side but rigid. She has a kick-up rudder and a leeboard.
What can be said about David (Shorty) Routh, a generously large
man whose love for a small boat began six years ago with a $50
boat race? Creator of the first Puddle Duck Racer, Shorty has
seen his idea for the four by eight foot craft explode in six
years to over three hundred and fifty built and a membership group
of 1500 potential Duckers. There are now PDRS throughout America,
Canada, in Europe, in South America, in Australia. A worldwide
phenomenon grew from a small rectangular scow based on the Bolger
Brick. Shorty not only came to cheer on the Ducks, he raced as
well, finishing a respectable 5th in a borrowed boat, Hull #2
“Ugly Duckling” belonging to Bill Giles, Memphis,
TN . She was built by Ken Abrahams of Lake Charles, LA.. Shorty
flew in from Phoenix, AZ bringing his own sail rig that he once
used to compete against “Ugly Duckling”. She is now
the most venerable, oldest and most traveled PDR in the fleet.
|
Shorty Routh, creator of the Puddle Duck Racer |
Second place winner Marc Blazer of Myrtle Beach, SC sailed Hull
#173 “The Bloody Splinter” a pirate hull built for
his nephew’s fifth birthday party. Proving that sailing
ability and seamanship overcomes obstacles such as hull weight,
Marc finished a close second to Shawn’s first place win
in the much lighter OZ racer. Marc’s hull was built heavily,
planned for transport of small children and as a fun to sail boat.
He went on that afternoon to appropriately sail in the Pirate
Poker Run flying a skull and crossbones and pirate sails, while
sporting a tri-cornered captain’s hat and cutlass.
|
Second place winner Marc Blazer |
“The Bloody Splinter” was built for cruising, not
for racing. Marc built her for his five year old nephew who said
he wanted a pirate ship for his birthday. “He meant a small
toy but all I heard was ‘boat’. We had a blast sailing
her in my parent’s backyard pond. She is a standard PD with
18 inch sides. Her paint is varnish over plywood that looks like
an old planked ship. She also carries two rubber band powered
4 inch cannons to protect herself against other pirates. She has
fore and aft flotation built in and a starboard leeboard designed
to kick up when I hit something. The rudder will also kick up
if hit. She carries a 69 square foot lanteen sail.”
Marc’s father, who taught him to sail, visited and watched
as his son competed and won with the Bloody Splinter. Marc’s
years of sailing stood him in good stead as he out-sailed and
out- maneuvered PDRs built for speed and racing, as well as experimental
light PDRs built specifically for the Worlds competition. Marc
said after the race, “During the first race while “attempting”
to round the first mark, I knew I had cut it too close and was
going to drift into it. I saved my dignity and did the act that
only a Ducker can do with grace. I slapped the hell out of the
buoy and said, “This one is for Andrew!” You should
have heard the laughter throughout the fleet.” Andrew Linn,
last year’s PDR World Champion, of Salem, OR invented the
slapping the buoy game at the TX 200 while sailing his PDR racer,
Salem Electron.
|
“The Bloody Splinter” |
Marc added, “It was truly an honor to sail, paddle, pirate
and even cheat with the best sailing group I have ever been affiliated
with. Thanks to you all for the fun!”
YOWZA! built and sailed to victory by Shawn Payment was a new
OZ built this year but not specifically for Worlds. YOWZA! is
a phonetically written sounding of the Chinese characters for
the word “Duck.” Shawn used the Storer balanced lug
sail rig and built her exactly to plans, using Storer foils for
dagger board and rudder. “I diddled with my own PDR design
in 2005 to increase sail, improve foils and ensure easy self-rescue.
Then Storer came along and did the same thing, only better. Figured
why waste additional brain power when Mik had already done all
the heavy lifting. Aside from cheap ply, the boat was all OZ,
much to Mik’s credit. The last real racing I did was thirty
plus years ago, but I suppose it sticks with you. Mik and the
South Winds Sailing Club folks gave some good pre-race tips and
they served me well.”
|
YOWZA! |
Shawn added about his winning boat, “Obviously I was pleased
as punch with “YOWZA!!”s performance and couldn’t
be prouder to carry the title of “PDR World Champion”
for the coming year. As Gavin Atkin might say, I was a bit gob
smacked by the result since I had come to Allatoona with fairly
low expectations. Unlike Shorty, Mik and other PDR veterans I
had only a few hours of experience in sailing in a PDR. Add to
that the fact that pretty much everything from my hull, rig and
sail was relatively untried and unproven. All I can say is that
Flaca Vero must have been my co-pilot.”
Flaca Vero is the patron saint of Puddle Duck Racers, an angel
in a royal blue and gold robe who brings inspiration and answers
to those in need. Based on a real life angel, an airline stewardess
who carried Tite-Bond glue to a PDR builder in El Tigre, Argentina,
her lovely face and angel wings graced the 2009 Puddle Duck Trophy
selected by Shawn as his first place award. A condition of entering
the Worlds PDR Championship, the trophies like the boats are homemade.
This year’s first place trophy was created by Marc Blazer,
a trophy about which Shorty Routh said “Now that’s
a trophy worth racing for!”
|
Marc Blazer’s trophy featuring Flaca Vero
flying high above a blue white-capped sea |
Shawn’s winning first place trophy featured Flaca Vero
flying high above a blue white-capped sea, holding Hull #3 Bucket
Ears, Shorty Routh’s first PDR racer in her hands. She was
supported by columns formed from “The Bloody Splinter”,
Marc’s boat , and a traditional PDR and an OZ racer flanking.
This was a trophy coveted by all who sailed that day.
Experimental PDR shapes were present in two boats built and designed
by John Wright of Bastrop, TX and Dave Gray of Polysail, Port
St. Lucie, FL. John Wright’s boat, the PD-Lite, Hull #42
was built on a bet with Dave Gray, to build a completed, ready-to-sail
boat including all rigging and equipment without crew that weighed
in at under 70 pounds. This was John’s original design,
a light weight PDR with 12 inch sides, lee board, a steering oar
in place of a rudder and a sail in the shape of a polytarp ellipse
with a fiberglass rod perimeter. According to John, “A sail
plan never before seen in the world.”
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John Wright’s original design |
The Z-PDR, Hull #351 was built by Dave Gray to be sailed by his
son, Ryan Gray in Worlds as part of this same bet. Z-PDR was built
for racing and features a one piece removable Styrofoam insert
that is used for both flotation and deck support. The 12 inch
high decks are slightly arched for structural strength and appearance.
The hull is white with an elongated Z in electric blue on each
side. Varnished mahogany lauan decks and a mahogany rudder accent
the hull. The Z boat features a one-piece rudder case and tiller,
both attractive and functional along with a selection of leeboards,
masts and sails. For lighter air she flies a l00 square foot high-aspect
balanced lug or an 85 square foot leg o‘ mutton. For stronger
winds she flies either a 58 square foot battened sailboard type
sail with both a sprit boom down low and a short sprit up high
or she can fly a more traditional 65 square foot leg o‘
mutton. A sectioned 7 pound aluminum/bamboo mast allows for an
extension from l5 to l8 foot 5 inches. Ryan sailed her to a fourth
place finish.
|
Dave Gray with Kenny Giles (orange shirt) looking
on |
Paul Helbert of Tenth Legion, VA came to his first sailboat race
bringing his Storer OZ racer, Kwik Kwak, Hull #283. “Kwik
Kwak“ was going to be a quick throw together build, to be
followed by a more carefully built later edition. According to
Paul, “Somewhere along the way that plan got thrown overboard
and it took almost a year with a good deal of care to finish.”
Kwik Kwak started out to be a Robsnot 18, which was then modified
to a OZ Mk II after Paul received his plans from Duckworks. She
is a white hull with a Paulownia dagger board, 90 square foot
balanced lug polytarp sail and lauan ply construction except for
her bottom which is 6 mm okume. Paul stated that five different
glues were used in her construction and everything possible was
homemade. Paul added, “The hull, the cleats and pad eyes,
the sails I made. Only the lines, blocks and rudder fittings were
bought ready made. Learning and do-it-yourself has been a lifelong
obsession. If you make it yourself, then you can repair it or
unmake it yourself. All skills are good.”
|
Paul Helbert’s PDR “Kwik Kwak” |
Veteran PDR builder and sailor Tim Cleary of Greenville, SC sailed
the Mary E., Hull #59. A traditional white and yellow PDR, she
features a Widmier side air box design, an off-center dagger board
and a unique sliding seat that can be repositioned to balance
the boat for different needs, such as rowing. Her sail is a Bailey
design and while Tim alleges to have only owned one PDR in his
life, the Mary E. is the sixth version of his original hull #59.
Tim co-chaired this year’s Worlds along with Bill Giles
and Scott Widmier of Atlanta, GA. Tim holds the PDR rowing record,
a skill he demonstrated ably during the Pirate Poker Run when
there was no wind and he broke out the oars to move smartly along.
|
Michelle and Brandon Khoury with Tim Cleary |
Another traditional PDR “Wild Duck” Hull #143 was
brought by Dave Gray, Port St. Lucie, FL to the Worlds. Owner
of Polysails, Dave’s boat featured a biplane rig of two
matching 52 square foot leg o’ mutton sails for a total
of l04 square feet. She also can fly a traditional rig. “
She holds the 2008 record for the most sail carried at 164 square
feet on three masts. Wild Duck is white with Indianapolis Colts
blue trim. One side features a roman numeral VII representing
her place in the series of 4 by 8 foot scows that I have built
for myself or family members. She has l5.5 inch freeboard and
can carry any of four leeboards I have available. A sliding seat
and its support structure can be removed for sailing or rowing.”
|
Dave Gray’s biplane rigged “Wild
Duck” |
Asked why he builds and sails PDRs, Dave replied, “I enjoy
the design challenges as well as the opportunity to interact with
a wide range of very interesting people. I determined early on
that this was a boat and a class I would like to support, both
personally and as a business.” Dave added he does not boat
in other designs any longer. “PDRs can fulfill most of my
racing, fishing and exploration urges. Besides, I like the group
and think the boat has a great future precisely because it is
so versatile. A builder can design a PDR to suit his or her own
particular needs and dreams.”
|
4th place winner Ryan Gray, Dave Gray’s
son |
Dave won the afternoon’s fun race, a Pirate Poker Run that
involved sailing to five checkpoint boats anchored in the lake
that handed out playing cards, then capturing other boats pirate
style and taking cards from the captured boat. Each boat trailed
a plastic bottle on a line behind their boat. Those captured by
a sailor grabbing their lines forfeited a card to the pirate.
Mayhem and skullduggery ensued, but Dave won fairly with a hand
of four queens.
|
Mayhem and skullduggery |
An improvised sail race with two man teams was sponsored on Sunday
by Dave and Polysail where more mayhem and skullduggery occurred.
It was won by Shorty Routh teamed with Shawn Payment. Shorty managed
to fall overboard just ahead of the finishing second place team,
thereby preventing their landing. As many other similar events
had taken place in this race, no protest was filed and the first
place award went to a team that beached separately.
This PDR World Championship Races was according to all who participated
a stellar event. Much credit is due to the organizers, Scott Widmier,
Bill Giles and Tim Cleary, as well as the South Winds Sailing
Club and the Sea Scouts. Andy Kohler, Commodore of the South Winds
Sailing Club, and the other members not only organized and oversaw
the racing, they also hosted an on-the-shore raft up featuring
German food for Oktoberfest to honor the Puddleduck Racers and
their families and guests.
Vice-Commodore of SWSC, Scott Widmier co-chaired the PDR Worlds
in Allatoona. Scott did not race, working instead on organization
and co-ordination of the event. Co-chair Bill Giles, scheduled
to race, had an accident immediately prior to the race, cutting
two fingers of his hand severely while working on repairs to his
PDR.
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Scott Widmier, co-chair of the PDR Worlds |
The SWSC sponsors a troop of Sea Scouts made up of an outstanding
group of young male and female teen sailors from numerous Scout
troops in the Atlanta area. The Scouts manned boats and supervised
the traditional racing of the PDRs, as well as assisting with
the Pirate Poker Run fun sail. Their adult leader, Gary Holcomb
took over conducting the race clinic for the event and ran the
Worlds race, with the help of the sea scouts from Ship 100. SWSC
member Ruth Leber ferried onlookers onto the lake for videos and
photos, as well as documenting the event with her own photography
for the club. So impressed were the sailors from the SWSC with
the Puddleducks and the fun they had that they plan to host another
Duck event in late September, 2010 with five members committed
to building their own PDRs to compete in.
|
Sea Scouts |
Plans are for a Lake Allatoona Regional PDR Race, 2010, to be
held at Lake Allatoona and sponsored by the South Winds Sailing
Club, according to Scott Widmier, Commodore for 2010. What greater
compliment to the power of a small rectangular craft? Having fun
on the water in an inexpensive boat that anyone can build and
sail!
|
Mike Monies and Tim Cleary consider the next
race |
Shawn, 2009 Champion Worlds Puddleduck Racer said it best, “I
think I would be hard pressed to find a more agreeable bunch of
souls anywhere on the planet. I suppose that this is what tiny
boats do to people. If everybody just spent a little less time
stressing about the “important” things in life and
a little more time figuring out how to spend a day bobbing about
on the water, perhaps the world would be a happier, more well
adjusted place. It certainly couldn’t hurt!”
-Here are the final race results:
1st Place-Shawn Payment in hull #301 "Yowza" 2nd Place-Marc
Blazer in hull #173 "Bloody Splinter" --- Tie for 3rd
Place in alphabetical order: --- 3rd Place-Kenny Giles in hull
#213 "Uke n Sail"
3rd Place-Michael Storer in hull #23 un-named
4th Place-Ryan Gray in hull #351 "Z-PDR"
5th Place-Shorty Routh in hull #2 "Ugly Duckling"
6th Place-Paul Helbert in hull #283 "Kwik Kwak"
7th Place-Mike Monies in hull #341 "Born on the 4th of July"
8th Place-Tim Cleary in hull #59 "Mary E"
9th Place-John H. Wright in un-registered hull un-named
10th Place-Dave Gray in hull #143 "Wild Duck"
11th Place-Brandon Khoury in hull #342 "The Little General"
DNF-David Chamness in hull #336 "Whack Whack"
Jackie Monies “Boat Widow”
|