Rebel 1593 - Fleet Race on July 11, 2009
On October 19, 2018, Bill Selick received the email below from Ted Gehrig, one of the early AYS Rebel sailors.
We are sorry to hear of Ted’s dad passing.
Many thanks to Ted, for sharing the early history of Rebel Fleet 21.
The text of Ted’s email is below. Bill’s response, which includes some more recent history, is a little further down. Jack Roe and Ted exchanged a few emails regarding 1593. Ted’s response, dated October 18, 2018, located at the end of this post, includes additional Fleet 21 history.
On Oct 15, 2018, at 1:32 PM, Ted Gehrig wrote:
The main purpose of my writing is to report that Past AYS Commodore John C. Gehrig (my father) passed away number of years ago. You might want to report him as “deceased” on your new website.
My father purchased Rebel 1593 new in the early 1960’s and started Rebel Fleet 21 along with Dr. Bill Horton (1594) and Kenneth C. Mehrhof (1592). These three purchased the first three boats all at once having studied the design and after viewing a Rebel at the New York City Boat Show. They chartered Fleet 21. In the early years, the fleet raced with only three boats. The Awosting sailing crowd (at the time all Star, Lightening, and/or Snipe owners) thought the Rebel owners were crazing to purchase Rebels. Fiberglass and not a wood hull? Aluminum and not a wooden mast? Rounded hull instead of hard chine hull? All these Rebel boat characteristics were very radical in the early 1960s.
Those first years, all the Rebel racers (skipper and crew) were young teenagers (no Adults raced in Rebels until George Vurno joined the fleet). During the first year or two of the Fleet, the boats overpowered these young sailors. As a result, flipping was very common for the first year or two (what a pain to right a flipped Rebel with the early design). All the old timers in the Yacht Squadron claimed that the frequent Rebel flipping was due to the curved hull and poor boat design – instead of the lack of weight of the crew on board and their inexperience as sailors! In those early years we were jokingly referred to as the “bathtub fleet”. These young sailors eventually learned how to handle the boats and flipping became a rare event.
I followed my brother as skipper beginning my Rebel racing career in the early 1970s. I raced 6 years or so and only flipped once, just before the start on day. I was nimble enough to go over the top landing on the centerboard where I jumped up and down like mad (all 120 pounds of me). I was amazed (flabbergasted with surprise) when the boat popped back upright. My crew (he weighed about 80 pounds) and I dropped the sails immediately to keep from swamping. We flagged down a motor boat and were towed to the Boathouse dock landing at the dock with only inches of freeboard above the centerboard trunk so we could bail the boat dry at the dock. We raised the sails and were several minutes late for the start.
I enjoyed looking at your Awosting Rebel Fleet 21 website and seeing a photo of my old boat (1593 – still black I see). I had lots of fun in the early 1970’s. Many fond memories.
Keep sailing and thanks.
Sincerely,
Ted Gehrig, Former Fleet and District Champion, Rebel 1593
From: William Selick
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2018 2:03 PM
To: Ted Gehrig
Subject: Re: Past Commodores -- AYS website
Hi Ted,
Thanks for helping us update our web site. I loved your brief sailing history, and will share it with the rest of the fleet.
1593 was sailed by Chris Norton for a number of years, then left abandoned in someone’s back yard for about 20 years. Jack Roe claimed it for himself, refurbished it, and raced it for several years till he graduated to a new vintage boat. Binnie Norton recently moved back to Awosting after moving to Arizona for many years, and has reclaimed 1593 for her son, so that boat is still out there sailing after all these years.
You might be interested to know that the only one-design fleet left on Greenwood Lake is the Rebel Fleet. George Vurno is still sailing with us from time to time, and Jamie Dykes recently rejoined the fleet after a 20 year hiatus. The modern Rebel is self-rescuing, so an agile adult can actually right the boat himself. The design is such that there is an air pocket built right into the seats that keeps the boat floating after going over, then you open the bailing flaps in the back and the scupper in the bottom, and 15 minutes later, the boat is bone-dry. (About 10 years ago, when I was still young enough, I went over while single-handing, and was able to successfully right the boat and keep on sailing)
If you are ever in the area, please let us know, and I’ll try to find you space on a boat.
Bill Selick
Rebel Fleet 21 Captain
Rebel 4182
From: Ted Gehrig
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2018 2:10 PM
To: Jack Roe
Subject: RE: Past Commodores -- AYS website
Jack:
Thanks for the kind note. Yes feel free to use the information on the AYS website and blog.
I’m so glad that you saved 1593. In her day she was a very light (about 100 pounds underweight) and very fast. Mid way though my Rebel sailing career we weighed all the boats in the fleet (a first) and all discovered just how light 1592, 1593 and 1594 were. Lead weights were promptly added to the boats to bring them up to 700 pounds. I visited Awosting a number of years ago (Mid 1990’s?) and saw 1593 tied up to a dock along the waterfront. The old pine boards that I strapped around the centerboard trunk and to which I screwed lead weights were still in place. She looked good for her age. I’m also the guy who drilled one inch holes in the seats to mount a solid 1 inch diameter aluminum rod across the boat for a “mid-boom” traveler system (all the rage in the mid 70’s). Eventually everyone went back to stern travelers after North Sails modified their sail design to favor a stern traveler. Times change.
The second batch of boats that were purchased from Ray Green in the mid to late 1960s had false bottoms (much like the new design) but with foam sprayed between the hull and the raised floor. The foam soaked up water and after the first year these boats started gaining weight – soon all these boats were several hundred pounds overweight, very slow, and not at all competitive. There was no way to dry these boats out. The foam provided rigidity to the hull so if you cut open the flooring and removed the foam, the bottom of the boat would flex and flap with the waves. Ray Greene was a bit ahead of him time with this design – he never made good with the owners of these boats and this created some problems in terms of growing the fleet as the Rebel design got a bad reputation for longevity.
When I sold 1593 to Doug Prideaux in 1978 (for $1500), the gelcoat on the bottom was starting to craze and the sides had little shine left but the boat was still fast. Are the older boats still competitive or do you need a new one to win these days?
Again, thanks for the note.
Ted Gehrig