About Us
Jon
We're both most at home near the water. We love diving, swimming, sailing. Jon has been a commercial fisherman on both US coasts, a wooden boat builder for Rybovitch Yachts, a Folk-boat owner, a single father, a step-father, a marvelous husband, walking boat encyclopedia, and criminal defense attorney. Through all these stages he has been avid about boats and the natural world. His new skills include diesel engine repair, block building (see upper left) and bosunry. His favorite post is in the focs'l or puttering about on deck.
Marie
Marie spent her childhood racing small boats in and around the Chesapeake Bay. Mostly she crewed for her father* including the Albacore World Championships in Plymouth, England in 1973. Since then she has been a flight simulation programmer and engineer, wind-surfer, a single-mother, a step-mother, a wife, an architect student, and webmaster. Her new skills include canvas work, navigation, and piloting an irascible single-screw vessel. Her preferred post is behind the wheel with sails up and engine OFF.
Willow, PWD
Willow, 6, is a Portuguese Water dog who is willing to go sailing since it keeps the "pack" together. She dislikes the engine, but is comfortable on the boat when it isn't making that awful noise. She particularly loves the dinghy which gets her to shore. Her new skill has to do with the poop deck but we'll just leave it at that.
Our Boat
Phoenix on the hard in Alameda, CA
Phoenix is an Ohlson 41, built in 1967 by Einar Ohlson in Goteberg, Sweden. She is a late CCA racing boat 40'9" on deck, a cutter-rigged sloop (inner forestay) - quite similar in design to the better-known Rhodes Reliant. She draws 6' 6", has a beam of 11', and displaces approximately 13 tons. The steel hull was made in Holland. She has had many names, been sailed from Northern Europe to South America by Seven Seas Sailing Association Commodors, has been through the canal, and then lived in California for many years. She has raced twice in the Bermuda cup, in 1968 and again in 1971. Her racing number was 1776. She has 3 or 4 sister ships, made of wood and fiberglass and perhaps another one of steel. One (fiberglass) is known to be in Campbell River, BC, another races frequently in New England (Ariana: yawl-rigged) and another (wood) is for sale in California (Jan 2008). Phoenix is a US Coast Guard registered boat. See more pictures of Phoenix. See pictures of our most recent launch day. And learn more about Einar Ohlson yachts at this European site.
Zeke ably steering us
in the Pacific
Our Helmsman
Zeke is our Aries wind vane. We depend utterly on him and are either devoted to him or ready to strip him down to parts. But he takes no power, can drive the steering wheel or the emergency tiller, and goes all night and all day with just an occasional squirt of lubrication. His oar did remove the top half inch of Jon's finger while 1000 miles off-shore, but let's assume that was caused by inattention rather than malice.
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*I am deeply indebted to my father, Bob Toler, for instilling in me a love of sailing. He was a great racer with an innate sense of the water. Later he became interested in cruising and moved to Marsh Harbour, Abaco. He cruised throughout the Bahamas and started the weather site barometerbob.com and, with his wife, Pattie, was a major figure behind the Cruiser's Net for the Abacos. He died in 2007.
