Design #1862 - CHIMAERA built in 1967.
Chimaera is a sloop rig that was designed and built for Frederick Leibhardt, specifically to outrace other San Diego boats like Sally.
“We built it here in Driscoll Boat Works in San Diego,” said John Driscoll, the boat’s owner. “The man that had built it was an architect, but my dad, Gerry Driscoll, knew how to make the boat look right so he did the design and sent it back to Sparkman and Stephens, who added on to it from there.”
“I actually worked on it myself as a kid, building it I didn’t do much, maybe handed a few screws to the carpenter,” John Driscroll added. “I remember being on the boat and being in disbelief by how responsive it was – you pushed the helm down and the boat moved.”
Chimaera’s design copied elements of Intrepid, the 1967 America’s Cup defender, whose rudder was separated from the keel. “It was a major breakthrough in boating technology,” Driscoll explained.
“It made for a tighter hull with no calking and no cracks on the seams.”
Chimaera was carvel planked, but unique in that the outside of the hull was forged in compressions, instead of calking. “That technique wasn’t widely used, I think we might have even invented it,” Driscoll said.
Notable Moments in CHIMAERA’s History:
Chimaera’s first long distance race was the San Diego to Acapulco Race. The crew was comprised of the “who’s who” of North American yachting: Gerry Driscoll, founder of Driscoll Boat Works and skipper of four America’s Cup defender races; Lowell Orton North, founder of North Sails and Olympic Gold Medalist in the Star Class; renowned yacht designer, Olin Stephens; Gene Trepte, and Liebhardt.
“They led a good part of the race, then parked outside of Acapulco and didn’t make it,” Driscoll said. The crew came in second. Chimaera went on to win the Lipton Cup Regatta in 1970 and placed top two in the Ahmanson Cup Regatta in Newport Beach, Calif., and won most of the local races in San Diego and took every major championship in the area including the Rumsey Regatta and the entire series of individual races that led up to it. The boat continues its racing legacy “Currently we’re doing all the Ancient Mariner stuff,” Driscoll said, who’s been commodore of the Ancient Mariner Sailing Society since December 2013.
“We do the whole ancient mariner circuit , which includes the Guinea Cup Race, a seven race series in San Diego Bay; then we got the YesterYear Regatta in June; the Kettenburg & Classic Yacht Regatta – that one’s cool because you get to see all the old boats.”
Author: Scot Tempesta with John Driscoll
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Article kindly reproduced courtesy of sailing anarchy - Thank you Scot!