WINDFALL's 4th Annual Southern Tour
Our family has taken our Doughdish, WINDFALL, on some impressive adventures for a little daysailer.
WINDFALL's 2019 World Tour - Pensacola to Key Largo!
Over the past few years WINDFALL has:
• Traveled nearly 6000 miles
• Visited Hilton Head, SC, Savanah, GA, Nashville, TN, Oriental, NC
• Passed through 15 states
• Climbed over the Blue Ridge, Cumberland and Great Smoky Mountains
• Sailed in the ICW, the Atlantic and Percy Priest Lake
~ Through 1 lock, 7 harbors, many rivers, sounds and bays
~ In fresh, brackish and salt water
• Taken over 30 people sailing with ages ranging from 1 year old to retirement
• Introduced countless people to the beauty and capability of a 100 year old design
This trip allows us to go sailing in mid-winter while introducing Nathanael Herreshoff’s most prolific design (the Herreshoff 12 1/2) to people who may not know it yet.
She is now getting ready for her next adventure South. We have applied her coats of varnish with extra UV protection, charged her electric motor battery and packed her sails. This year she is heading to Florida in February. If you would like to meet WINDFALL on her tour, talk to your boat yard, marina or Yacht Club about hosting our visit and contact Amy.
Check back on this page and follow her adventure on Doughdish Facebook page for updates on WINDFALL's travel.
WINDFALL's Second World Tour - April, 2017
We "KICKED" off the 2017 Windfall Tour with our first stop in Nashville, TN! We sailed on Percy Priest Lake and hosted demo sails in conjunction with the Harbor Island Yacht Club and the Percy Priest Yacht Club on Monday and Tuesday (April 17-18).
We then continued on to Oriental, NC, to exhibit at the Oriental Boat Show Friday April 21 - Sunday April 23. We had WINDFALL in the water to take people out for a sail. More photos coming soon.
WINDFALL's First World Tour - April, 2016
In 2016 my husband and I, together with our two children, Minta (4) and Olin (16 mo), traveled over two weeks and 2000 miles from Cape Cod, MA, to South Carolina and Georgia. We had appointments lined up at Yacht Clubs and Sailing Clubs for sailing demonstrations on the water. Our goal was to introduce the Herreshoff 12 ½ replica, Doughdish, to a new area. She is Nathanael Herreshoff's most prolific design, and has enjoyed over 100 years of continuous class racing here in the northeast. However, those in the south are less familiar with the boat and there are few organized fleets. We took the opportunity of an early sailing season and headed south to demonstrate WINDFALL to a new group of sailors.
Here are some statistics from WINDFALL's first great adventure: April 2016
• 2 Adults, 2 children and 1 boat traveled 2716 miles through 11 different states.
• We sailed in 5 different harbors and stopped at 9 Yacht/ Sailing Clubs and one Horse Farm.
• 27 people sailed: Our visitors ranged in age from 4.5 years to retirement.
• 2 people chased us off the highway for more information.
• WINDFALL raced a fleet of 420s in Savannah and sailed through a fleet of Harbor 20s in Hilton Head.
• She sailed in conditions up to 30 knots of breeze and 3 knots of current, and loved every minute of it!
NOAA Weather (KFMH): 7-Day Forecast Latitude 41.64°N; Longitude -70.62°W
The WINDFALL crew would like to thank the friends and family who hosted us on this epic adventure. We would also like to thank Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina Yacht Club, Hogan's Marina, Savannah Yacht Club and Moss Creek Marina for helping us launch, demonstrate and haul.
A Brief History
In the Fall of 1914, members of the Beverly Yacht Club asked famed designer Nathanael Herreshoff to develop a new class of sailboat for their children. The boat was to be well suited for sail training on the rough waters of Buzzards Bay; easily handled, yet capable in an afternoon Sou'wester. The sloop N.G. Herreshoff produced not only fit the clubs requirements then, but has remained a foundation throughout New England's sailing community. The Buzzards Bay Class became known as the Herreshoff 12 1/2 and the first 19 boats were delivered in 1915. Fleets spread throughout the East Coast and racing continued through the early 1970s, but, by this time, many of the original boats were in need of major repair or restoration.
In 1973, William Harding - a long time Herreshoff 12 1/2 owner, accomplished competitor and sailmaker - recognized the need for a more economical alternative to costly restorations. In the hope of continuing the class, Harding earnestly replicated the wooden hulls in fiberglass with exacting standards in hull shape, weight, balance and sailing characteristics. After a season or two of trials, the new model, coined the Doughdish, was found to be an excellent match to her wooden sisters with competition results proving her equality. The Doughdish endures as the only H Class endorsed replication of N.G. Herreshoff's iconic 12 1/2. We have built more than 540 of these fiberglass and teak sloops, now sailing from ports around the globe.