Here is a shot of THREE CHEERS on her first sail after the lunching. I’ll have to shoot some more CHEERS stuff soon.

Sorry I haven’t posted any pictures recently. Winter has started and that’s my busy season.

This is a shot of THREE CHEERS when Tom first left for England. Wait till you see the next photo…

That is just s stunning shot!  Thanks, Halsted!

Is that a little centerboard exposed in the bow?

Yes, that is the forward centerboard. THREE CHEERS like CHEERS could self-steer by trimming the sails and rudder, using the centerboards. Tom was a real master at trimming the boat up and getting it to self-steer.

When Tom Follett first went to leave St Croix for the OSTAR on THREE CHEERS in 1972, there were a lot of spectator craft to see him off.  This one guy insisted that he had starboard right of way. Unfortunately, Tom didn’t see him until the last seconds.
So, this is a photo of the resulting collision. This photo up until now hasn’t been seen by many folks.  Believe it or not, there are 4 folks in the smaller boat. They were all unhurt and the boat suffered minor damage.
THREE CHEERS suffered some damage. You can just make out a crack that happened on the leading edge of where the aka and ama meet.  I guess, it was a good demonstration of how well Dick Newick built THREE CHEERS.
Tom said that if it had happened offshore he could have made repairs, by going off on an opposite tack.  But, he wouldn’t have been able to sail THREE CHEERS as he would have in the race.
THREE CHEERS disappeared during the 76’ OSTAR with Mike McMullen. Years later a fishing trawler off Iceland pulled up a few pieces of THREE CHEERS. One of the pieces had a Brooks & Gatehouse instrument on it. They authorities tracked down via the serial number that it was THREE CHEERS. Because of the size of the pieces that they found, I have always believed that Mike was rundown by some much bigger vessel.

Hold on, I’m picking my jaw up off of the floor….

Harpooned by the trident of Poseidon himself! Glad no one was hurt, but what rotten luck.

Here is another photo of THREE CHEERS before the accident. You can really see the forward centerboard here.

I received an email from Pat Newick on Friday. Saturday the family was going to spread Dick’s ashes at sea.

I still have CHEERS postcards if anyone wants them…

Here is a shot of LARK. Dick built her in the early 60’s in St. Croix.

Here is a picture of VOLENA, Three cheers Hull #2. This is last Year in Lake Ontario.

Nice photo. Is she a cutter or sloop rig. I can’t tell from the photo.

Here are a couple of photos of the CHEERS model my dad had made after the 68’ OSTAR. This model is 1/2” = 1’. This how CHEERS appeared when she arrived in Newport RI.

Another view from astern.