Here is a synopsis of our effort at the Six Meter World Cup sailed in Helsinki August 8-12. Bottom line is that Lucie- US 55- is a fantastic boat and did quite well for us.
We did better than could be expected.
Finished 6th overall in combined fleet of “Classic” + “Vintage” Six Meters ( we were sailing a boat that was a “Vintage” boat, ie older design and therefore theoretically slower than anything designed after 1936 ) out of 45 boats
Of the 7 races scored, our last four finishes were 9th, 4th , 2nd + 2nd out of 45. We were just starting to hit our groove….
We beat the next boat in the “Vintage ” classification by 67 points
We beat the next boat sailing for the Baum + Konig Trophy ( wood masts and dacron sails ) by 47 points I believe
It was a great regatta. The race committee did a good job in very trying and windy conditions. Helsinki is a neat city. Finnish folks are very friendly and nice to Americans.

More photos by Erik Lähteenmäki. sailpix.pp.fi

Dear Pam and Matt,

It was a pleasure to spend some time with you on the docks of the NJK and at the hotel. Thank you for the dinner at the start of the week, and for the developing friendship during the week.

Congratulations on the great success that you had with Lucie right out of the box (despite the rig mishap), with an amazing 6th place overall among the top 15 or so, very well prepared and sailed yachts. To have done that in a Rule 2, Baum+Koenig yacht – Dacron sails and all – is all the more impressive.

I’m glad that Allan Savolainen was on the dock and ready to come to your assistance promptly after the ugly-looking sheave box failure on Monday. I didn’t have much hope that you’d be on the starting line the next day, and I’m very glad that Allan and his team, with your calmness and cooperation, got the job done with time to spare.

I thought you’d enjoy a couple of pix from over there. These are all from the last day – a spectacularly successful one for Team Lucie!

I look forward to seeing you in Newport. I recall that you’ll soon be enjoying Dorade.

Please keep Pedrick Yacht Designs in mind for any help that we can provide for Lucie or Dorade.

Kind regards,

David

David Pedrick
President
Pedrick Yacht Designs, Inc.

In ship building, Mast Stepping is a ceremonial occasion which occurs towards the end of a ship’s construction. It involves placing or welding one or more coins into the mast step of a ship, and is seen as an important ceremonial occasion in a ship’s construction which is thought to bless the ship and as a symbol of good fortune.

The practice is believed to originate from ancient Rome. One theory is that, due to the dangers of early sea travel, the coins were placed under the mast so the crew would be able to cross to the afterlife if the ship were sunk. The Romans believed it was necessary for a person to take coins with them to pay Charon, in order to cross the river Styx to the afterlife and as a result of this, coins were placed in the mouths of the dead before they were buried. Another theory for this practice is that the insertion of coins in buildings and ships may have functioned as a form of sacrifice thanking the gods for a successful construction, or a request for divine protection in the future, or both.

Lucie has a 1926 silver dollar under her mast step.