Bolero

ANTIGUA CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA

BOLERO DANCES ON

By Paul Franson

"The mighty and powerful Bolero rises like a phoenix from the ashes to sail the seven seas!"

That's how Angela Brown Fisher, the daughter of the original owner, put it. And everyone who saw the magnificent 73foot yawl rounding the marks in last year's Regatta certainly had similar thoughts. It was difficult to believe that, just have years earlier, this famous racer had been a decrepit wreck, covered with junk and imprisoned in Fort I.auderdale's silted-up New River.

When she was originally launched in 1950 as the ultimate Cruising Club of America Rule maxi, Bolero was a true trendsetter. At fifty-one feet on the waterline, she was designed to be as large as she could be and still qualify for the world's major ocean races. But she did a great deal more than simply qualify. First to finish in the 635-mile Bermuda Race in 1950, 1954, and 1956, her elapsed time held the record until 1974.

I3esigned by Sparkman & Stephens for John Nicholas Brown, then Vice commodore of the New York Yacht Club, Bolero combined speech and fine handling with the strength required for ocean racing. Framed in oak with double planking of cedar and mahogany, she still has her Port Oxford cedar decks and a Monel frame at the mainmast step to spread the tremendous load of her rigging. Among the earliest boats to have aluminum masts, hers carry 2480 square feet of sail. She also features removable bulkheads that allowed her interior to be opened up for racing, then divided into private staterooms when cruising.

A born winner,
Bolero held the record or elapsed time in
the Bermuda race or more than two decades.

Based in Europe and San Francisco, Bolero's fame continued through the 1960s until she eventually fell into disrepair. When her present owner, Gunter C. Sunkler, bought her in 1992, Bolero was filled with abandoned air-conditioning equipment, and water and mildew marred her interior. Most of the custom-made fittings were missing as well. The harbor she had occupied for five years had shoaled up and, with her nine-foot three-inch draft and 94,000-pound displacement, only a powerful tug was able to drag the vessel into navigable waters.

After getting her operational, Sunkler's sons Christian and Lawrence motored Bolero into the Intracoastal Waterway to Maryland with the masts on deck. During the thirty-seven-day trip, they lived like Vikings, cooking and sleeping in the open.

Fortunately, Sunkler was able to locate many of the missing fittings, and under his exacting direction, the restoration progressed with Sparkman & Stephens serving as technical and engineering consultants. The yacht was recommissioned in June 1995 in immaculate and original condition.

Last year's Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta was Bolero's first race since the; early 1980s. With John Nichols Brown, Jr., son of the first owner, ably serving as navigator, she tied for first place in Vintage Class.

Sunkler had plans for additional restoration work before bringing Bolero to Antigua for this year's Classic Yacht Regatta. All who respect his dedication to restoring this lovely classic look forward to welcoming them back.

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1997 Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta Program