"Songs of the San Francisco Bay Knarr Fleet"

By John Colver, CYC Historian

It is somewhat unusual for an author to review his own book, so I will confine my comments to a brief description rather than an opinion! This book has been several years in the making, mostly due to inertia. It tells the story of how the Knarr came to be designed in war-time Norway in 1943 and traces the development of the class through the first International Knarr Championship (IKC), held on San Francisco Bay in 1969. Today, the Knarr remains one of the largest (42 boats on the register) and most competitive one-design classes on the Bay and has attracted many "world-class" sailors to its ranks. For a number of years, it was also the largest one-design class in Corinthian

Yacht Club with seven boats on the roster (presently down to three) and CYC hosted the IKC in 1986 and again in 1995. The club hosted the IKC midweek party for the 2004 IKC.

Knarr sailors like to sing and this book is written around a collection of some thirty Knarr songs which have been performed over the years and still are today. Of interest to Corinthians are the anecdotal sections including the infamous "Tea Caddy" regattas of the 1970s and racing America's Cup boats back east.

A copy has been donated to the CYC library and additional copies may be obtained from the author at a price of $25 (all net proceeds go to the Knarr International fund). 166 pages with many photographs plus words and musical score to all the songs.

The author is also working on a detailed supplemental history of Corinthian Yacht Club, covering the years 1965 to 2000 (or to the present time, energy permitting!) and would welcome any previously unpublished photographs, articles, anecdotes and historical information covering this period. The present target is to publish this book early next spring.