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Welcome
To the electronic home of the National Butterfly Association, and the sailboat it represents, the Butterfly. On this site you will find information on the Butterfly sailboat and the class Association, including historical records, recent class news, upcoming National Events, Results, Boats and Parts Wanted and For Sale in the Exchange, and details on the boat itself including builder information and parts prices.
Summer
is coming - and so is the Open and Junior National Championship
Start planning now to head north for the 2012 Butterfly Nationals. This year's regatta will be hosted by Crystal Lake Yacht Club on Crystal Lake in Frankfort, Michigan. Experience Pure Michigan sailing at its' best. Crystal Lake is one of the most desirable sailing lakes in Northern Michigan. Crystal clear water combined with excellent wind conditions promises to make this the perfect setting for a great event. Great lakes. Great times. More to see.
Click here for NOR and Entry Form. Log onto www.clyc.net/register_butterfly-nats.php for more information including online registration, regatta merchandise, location, lodging information and options. Mark your calendars now and plan your trip "Up North" in July.
@ 2012
BNC 2012 Butterfly Ntls
Get Ready to Saddle Up and Head South
The
planning for the 2012 Singles in Dallas is well-underway at the host White
Rock Boat Club, located in a city park on White Rock Lake in the center
of the Big D. With a strong and experienced local fleet with a number
of past Singles champs as well as the current one, Doug Peckover, it should
be a great event.
The days there are now in the mid-70s and the fleet is racing, something frozen-in northern sailors are only dreaming about. So think warm, or even hot, make sure all the bolts are tight on your multi-boat trailers, and get set to travel south in early June.
NOR/Entry form are here, check out the fleet event page for more info including on-line entry, a list of preregistered boats, lodging options, and more information on turning your Dallas trip into a vacation. See ya'll there!
From the archives...
Long-time Dallas sailor Numa Livaudais passed away last year, and left a small box of Butterfly goodies to the fleet, including a number of never or seldom-seen photos from the early 70's. This one is from the Singles in Dallas in 1976, with White Rock sailor Bob Biegler on the left, Butterfly designer and first builder John Barnett on the right, and a rarely-seen Bev Barnett, John's wife, in the center. now that 2011 is winding down, start planning for 2012
And for most of us, that means getting the 2012 Open & Junior Nationals on the calendar; July 17-19, at Crystal Lake MI. We expect to have the NOR available here by early April.
The 2012 Singles are heading south to Dallas, where the White Rock Boat Club is looking forward to hosting the event for the first time since 1991. Dates are now set, June 8-10, so mark your calendars for a road trip. NOR should be available here early March.
Doug Peckover Tops Fleet at 2011 Singles
Celebrating 50 years of the National Butterfly Association! A small fleet, representing 6 lakes from 3 states sailed the 2011 Singles at beautiful Lake DuBay in central Wisconsin, enjoying the sunshine but frustrated by the weak winds until the last two races, when the long-expected westerly 10 mph wind finally arrived. Doug Peckover from White Rock Boat Club in Dallas, where we expect to go for the 2012 Singles in April (pending final club approval), won his second Singles title, but he needed the last two races in the 6 race series to do it.
Local junior Calen Terry showed great boat speed and good decision-making to lead the series after 4 races, with a race win in #4. Race 5 had Colorado's Jim Young, who joined the leaders with a win in Race 3, leading most of the race, with Doug just catching him by inches on the downwind finish after sailing a very aggressive cover on the last downwind. Then Race 6 had a weak recall signal, with Young over early, and after his eventual return to restart, Doug had an easy race in first watching Young climb back through the fleet to 2nd at the finish. Calen, still a Junior, did well enough in the last two races, with a 4th and his throwout, a 6th, to hold second overall ahead of Young.
Young Grand Rapids sailor Katie Todd took home the Women's Championship trophy, Doug Peckover finally got the trophy he really wanted, the SOS Trophy (Sailor Over Sixty), while Jim Young took home, for the 4th time in a row, the Dan Darrow Combined Championship Trophy for top combined finishes in both the Open and Singles.
The Tune Up race, sailed on Friday before the official racing began on Saturday, turned in to 2 races in the nice late summer afternoon light wind, with local Dennis Gamble coming out on top. Dennis also won the second official race, finishing the series in 6th. And the youngest, and lightest (!) sailor, local Hank Sims, drifted the fastest in the ultra-light first race to take home that race trophy.Many thanks to Joe and LaCinda Terry as organizers for the event, the LBDSA host volunteers for food and race management, and Nancy Young for once again supplying great trophies, this time scrimshaw on elk antlers mounted on pieces of an old centerboard.
Results here
Rules Rumors and Realities
The NBA Committee at its annual meeting at the Nationals, took took a number of actions to help ensure that the class remains a one-design class, where the quality of the sailing is the deciding factor not differences in equipment;
1, in a bit of housekeeping, changing the Rules to keep up with the changes in ownership of the businesses that supply the class with boats and parts, by specifying that our boats and class-legal equipment come from "Barnett Boat Company or its legal successors". Now that we have one company, Windward Boatworks, that makes boats, and another, Barnett Marine Sports, that makes and supplies parts, with each of them having bought their part of the business from the previous builder Barnett Boats, that was owned by the Hedlund brothers, it was necessary to clarify that these multiple companies are supplying boats and parts that are class-legal.
2, in order to conform to what is normal in the class, replacing a broken bridle wire with rope, the following was added to "Changes Allowed": "Bridles may be made of rope or wire and shall be attached using only the existing attachment points on the deck. Bridles shall not be adjustable while racing. The minimum height of the bridle above the deck at its center shall be 4 1/2"." (Jim Young says: "wire - good wire, covered with an thick vinyl cover - is the best and longest lasting bridle, rope should only be used as a short-term fix. Rope wears much faster than a good wire bridle, and most ropes, even Spectra, stretch. The other problem with rope is its ability to do strange things, such as getting twisted on the sheet block that runs on the bridle, or flopping over the back and catching on some part of the top of the rudder.")
3, the NBA Committee, and a number of sailors (and parents) have become concerned about the 'changes' in sails and the higher cost of new, so-called 'racing' sails. A few years ago, Windward Boatworks introduced a sail made by Quantum with a heavier cloth as a sailing school sail, one that would be tougher and last longer than the standard sail, but with a shape identical to the standard sail. When Quantum went out of business, Windward switched production to Mad Sails. Unfortunately, these newer sails have gotten a reputation as 'race sails', at a higher price than the standard sail, and with the multiple sail logos seen at Grand Rapids, the image is that sails are now more open (a warning, two Juniors at the last regatta used sails that appear to be from an outside sailmaker, clearly not class-legal - but they were not noticed until after racing, too late to protest. Jim Young Note; those two kids were NOT the two with "BBS" stickers on their sails, those kids had just put stickers on their legal sails from a friend of their dad's.) In order to return to a more strict, and more fair, one-design class, the NBAC used the "Interpretations" paragraph of the Class Rules to determine that the proliferation of sail logos and sail designs is not in the interest of one-design sailing, and that the class will return to the single sailmaker that it has used for years as the sole source for sails. Existing Quantum and Mad sails remain legal, but no Mad sails purchased after Sep 1 of this year will be allowed - and that date is solely to allow Windward to catch up with backorders. At future regatta, sailors should expect that they might have to bring sails to registration to get them checked.
4, centerboards are also getting attention; according to the class rules, you can't get one from an outside source, you can't make your own, and you can't reshape your board. The class now has templates, to check length, shape, thickness, and will begin doing that at the Singles this fall.
Finally, have you read the Class Rules lately? Remember, the class is 'one-design' which means only 'changes allowed' can be made - if your great idea is not listed as allowed , you can't do it. The list of 'changes not allowed' is for clarification only, and does not list every possible idea, only those that have already been tried!
50th Butterfly Nationals, a grand time in Grand RapidsCelebrating 50 years of the National Butterfly Association!
With a total turnout of about 60 boats, it wasn't a big fleet, but enough to fill Reeds Lake with action and fun - for two days out of the three, better than expected conditions at a lake famous for little or no midsummer wind.
The tune-up race on Wednesday saw close to 50 boats on the water for a nice medium air, and of course shifty wind, race. Defending Champ Jim Young from Colorado won, with the Nelson brothers from Texas in 3rd as the top Junior boat.Thursday brought strong, very shifty winds, and almost oppresive sun, with the heat index soaring over 105. The Junior fleet got in three good races, dominated by the Texans. Skipper Geoffrey was the crew for his brother Stephen when they won three years ago at Torch, and now it was the youngest Nelson's turn to crew, as Zachery took a week off from soccer to make the family trip to the 'cool' north. They had 1-2-2 finishes to lead defending Junior champ Frank Reeg from Spring Lake, who managed a 4-4-1 series. Meanwhile, DM Griswold from Muskegon put together a solid series of 8-6-5 to grab 3rd., showing the value of consistency in shifty conditions.
In the Open fleet in the afternoon, the wind picked and - and got shiftier. Race one showed how the day would go, newcomer to the fleet and new National Champion Sean Fidler lead most of the race with veterans Charlie Knape and Jim Young trying to catch up. That they did, within 50 yards of the finish, as Young capped a great last upwind, climbing from 6th to 1st. Knape following literally on Young's transom to grab 2nd ahead of Fidler, caught on the wrong side of the last big shift at the Finish Line. Race 2 featured even bigger shifts, but Fidler had them under control as he lead all the way. Tony Pugh claimed 2nd, beginning to cement his claim to belong in the top of the fleet. Meanwhile, Young and Knape spent too much time watching each other instead of the windshifts, with Charlie managing to hang on to 8th, while Young, who survived a starting line error, badly missed one last shift with a gamble at the finish and slid to 12th.
The wind got stronger for Race 3, and Young jumped out on the fleet with a port tack start that allowed him to sail in clear air the first upwind. There were more shifts on the other side, which got Charlie and JP Mull to the windward mark first, but they go caught too close on a last windshift and ended up parked there with Charlie on the mark. That forced Young, coming in fast on starboard, into a last-second double tack, that got him around the pile and into first. The pileup also allowed Fidler to climb to 2nd, and it stayed that way for the rest of the race. Pugh sailed very well, a 3rd, to lock down 2nd overall. Jim and Charle ended the day tied in points at 3rd, with Jim ahead on the tie-breaker with his two bullets. And 5th at the end of the day were the Juniors from Texas, the Nelsons, showing that they could sail the big winds with the Open fleet.
Friday the skies were dark, and the radar showed nothing but a huge band of rain moving in. Winds were light to non-existand, and with a bit of thunder to confirm it, the Race Committee ended the Junior series a bit before noon, and finally abandoned the Open at 1330 as well. Of course, by 3 pm, there was sun and a light breeze.
The event featured many special activities for the kids, and even a 50th birthday cake for the class. It was an excellent social event, with, for at least two of the three days, surprizingly good winds for mid-July at Reeds Lake. Organizer Danielle Ralston and her staff, including PRO Peter Blacklock, did a wonderful job that left everyone very happy - and very full, with more than enough free food for all - even with the lack of racing on the last day. Danielle had even arranged to have one of the sailors from the 1st National Championship, 2nd place finisher Fred Stevens, to help present trophies, but the heat and a health issue prevented Fred from showing up - but he did provide his trophy for everyone to see, from that first championship on Reeds Lake. A large thanks also goes to event sponsor Sebago, who awarded free shoes of the sailor's choice to the top 5 in both the Junior and Open fleets.
And a number of sailors were sporting a butterfly outline and the number 105 on their arms, part of the recognition of the contributions of Warde Pierson (see below article) for whom there was a memorial party at White Lake on the same Thursday as the regatta.
Results
(more with photos soon)
Warde Pierson Memorial and Celebration
There will be a celebration of Warde Pierson's life (see below, Butterfly #105), at White Lake on the afternoon of July 21. While it overlaps with the Nationals at Grand Rapids, there are probably more than a few older/former Butterflyers who will not be at the Nationals who might be interested in attending. Click here for the Announcement and Invitation. The Pierson family donated beer for the entire Nationals, in Warde's memory and recongnition of the many evenings he spent with Butterfly friends telling tall tales with a beer in hand.
The Big 5-0
One half of a century ago, a group of sailors and their friends and families, with the support of the Grand Rapids Yacht Club and a local boat shop, Sailplace, ran a National Championship for a brand-new boat, a little scow called the Butterfly, designed and built by John Barnett of Libertyville, Illinois.
How many boats sailed in that first regatta is now a lost number, but we still have the winners names and photos, thanks to Fred Stevens who sent them to the class a few years ago. L to R: 1st, Dr. Robert Chamberlain and daughter Lynn; 4th, Buzz Duffield and children; 3rd, Dr. Keith Weller and son Rob; and 2nd, Fred Stevens and brother Scott.
Now, 50 years later, the class returns to where it began, as one of the few sailboat classes to have such a long and event-filled history, with a National Championship held in every one of those 49, soon to be 50, years. The Grand Rapids Yacht Club, on Reeds Lake, is still one of the strongholds of the class, and Sailplace, a bit north of the city in Cedar Springs, is still an active marine dealer.
We hope to see many old friends, and make some new ones, as everyone returns to Grand Rapids July 20-22 for the 50th Butterfly National Championship. If you have old stories to tell, or new ones to get started, come by to say hello even if you aren't sailing, to help keep the history and traditions alive for another 50 years. Better yet, bring a Butterfly and join us on the water for another event to add to the history, and maybe be in a photo that will be shown in another 50 years to yet another new group of sailors happy to be sailing on Butterflys.
Jim Miller Photo Update
We have an image of a newspaper article from 1963, on our Photos page, from the '63 Nationals in Grand Rapids, MI. One of the kids in the photo has contacted us about the newspaper caption, which apparently was wrong. The two kids who crewed for the Champion, Jim Miller, were actually his niece Julie Miller (second from left) and son Scott (in front of Jim, 3rd from left). Thanks to Scott, who also let us know that Jim's widow Mary still has Jim's old boat, which still occasionally gets out on Tower Lake in Barrington, IL. Jim passed away in 1999.
(Click on the photo left to see the full-size image on our photo page.)
Warde Pierson, Butterfly #105, Passes Away
Warde Pierson, of Glenview IL, passed away quietly at home on February 16. Warde was one of the strongest supporters of the class, sailing his #105 in an unbroken string of 33 National Championships. He was most active in Butterfly Fleet #1, the Northern Illinois Butterfly Association, which raced on the many small lakes north and west of Chicago. Although not strong enough to sail, he showed up to greet old friends and encourage the young at most of the last decade's regattas in Michigan; he was last seen by the fleet sitting on the deck at Spring Lake during the Nationals two years ago, reliving many old memories. Warde and his older brother Duane (#3100, from White Lake), who passed away a few years ago, epitomized the enjoyment of sailing as a lifetime sport, sailing all of their lives simply because it was fun to be on the water regardless of boat, or age.
(Ed. note; we learned of Warde's passing thanks to two other Butteflyers, Dave Grumman of Chicago, one of the active early members of Fleet #1, and Dan Darrow, a past National Champ who now spends his sailing time floating around in salt water in an Etchells around Port Townsend, WA.)
Sail #740 lives in Southern California
David Grober, owner of #740, checked in over the winter with this; "I raced in the Chicago area in the 1960's. I have one of two special boats that were built without hull stringers and instead had the hulls and decks laid up with about 1/2" balsa wood sandwiched as a core material. I hand laid up the boat with my Dad at the factory. Dad was the Balsa rep, which was used in a lot of larger boats, and so we decided to test it on a couple butterflies. I can only say that the windy Lake Michigan day that I sailed it over a hidden piling at speed, all I got was a significant gauge and a small hole, otherwise probably would have been impaled and sunk." (ED. note; David is one of many who started in Butterfly and ended up with a life on the water: check out www.motionpicturemarine.com)
Racing Rules of Sailing 2009 edition
The new Racing Rules of Sailing - ISAF edition - are available at direct from the source, the ISAF site at sailing.org. There are changes from the 2005 edition, the link here will give you a pdf with all the changes highlighted.
From Korea, a wonderful illustrated and animated look at the ISAF Cases, by Heebum Kwon. Animated ISAF Casebook
Knots
An animated guide to tying all the knots you'll ever need on a sailboat. Fun learning tool.
Does anyone have news about some of the early pioneers of the class? News clippings from early events? We'd like to hear about it, send an email to the Butterflyer.
The Butterfly sailboat is one of the originators of the "one-design" sailing concept. In existence since 1962, the class is virtually unchanged, with only updates to hardware and fittings with new materials plus refinements and innovations in the internal structure to make a stronger, longer-lasting boat. Over 10,000 boats have been built since then, with the boat finding its way to cottages as a vacation boat, at home as a family recreation boat, in yacht club programs as a very successful junior training boat, and in racing, where the class has men, women, youth to masters, all competing together equally on a boat where the biggest single difference is the sailor.
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