On the Harbor: Hank Thayer, Baxter & Cicero sailmakers

Bill Ficker trophies from winning the Star Worlds with Baxter & Cicero sails in 1958

By LEN BOSE

For my last column, I picked up the phone and called an old friend of mine Hank Thayer from Baxter & Cicero sailmakers regarding remote control sailing and his time with Swede Johnson at the sail loft. As the phone was ringing the idea came to me that I should be interviewing Thayer regarding the history of Baxter & Cicero.

I first met Thayer in the late ‘80s. He would come into Reubens restaurant for lunch from time to time with some of the people that worked with him and sat at the bar where I was the daytime bartender. Of course, we always talked about sailing, and at that time he was the helmsman for John Arens Frers 50 Tomahawk, the biggest, baddest boat on the harbor.

In 1937, Bud Gardiner and Bill Baxter opened up Gardiner & Baxter Sails – the idea was to start a sailmaking facility on the West Coast. Just at the end of WWII, Saint Cicero joined the loft. Cicero was an active Star sailor who also crewed on the schooner Goodwill and other local big boats. Shortly after Cicero joined the team, Gardiner split away with the name of the loft changing to Baxter & Cicero, which is still the name today some 85 years later. I believe it is the longest continuously operated sailmaking/canvas company in the U.S. Baxter passed away in the 1950s leaving the business to Cicero who then passed the baton over to Hank Thayer in the late 1970s. 

From the beginning back in 1937, the loft focused on our local fleets of Stars, Rhodes 33, Lehmans and Snipes. It gained international attention with Bill Ficker in 1958, when Ficker won the Star Worlds with Baxter & Cicero sails followed up by Don Elder winning the Star Worlds in 1964. Baxter was also an active Star sailor at Newport Harbor Yacht Club, where they still hold the Baxter Bowl annually. Notable is that Dave Ullman got his start at Baxter & Cicero making Snipe and Lido 14 sails. Henry Sprague was also one of the local sailors who would work at the loft. “Most of best harbor sailors would work at the loft during the summer months. There was sailboat designer Carl Schumacher, who worked at the loft along with other sailmakers that started their own lofts – John Staff, Kevin Conley and Cal Preston,” Thayer said.

Baxter & Cicero has a long history dating back to the 1940s for their canvas work from boat & sail covers, embroidery, soft luggage and outdoor covers for the home – always known for quality work with Warren Blinn getting his start at the loft along with J Miller. In the 1980s, Thayer gave me a Baxter & Cicero canvas duffel bag, which today I still pull out of the closet to impress when I arrive on the boats that “remember” when these bags were built.

Over the years Baxter and Cicero have moved around, first starting their loft off of 31st Street in Newport Beach, then up to Costa Mesa in the 1980s off of Farad Street, then up to 20th Street and Newport Boulevard. For the last 15 years they have been located at 1760 Monrovia St. You can also view their website at www.baxterandcicero.com.

There is a lot of history when you walk through their doors. For me it’s like walking into an old-style sailing club where your go for advice on the race course or find out which materials work best for the tasks at hand. The personal service and attention along with being greeted by your first name, along with a “well done” from the local weekend race results give me that at-home feeling when calling. 

• • •

Breaking News! For years I have been searching for ways to properly dispose of all my expired marine flares. Harbormaster Paul Blank was notified of a press release from the California Boating and Waterways. On Saturday, Aug. 27 from 7 a.m.-1 p.m., head to Dana Point Harbor, 34555 Casitas Place, Dana Point. Bring your unwanted or expired marine flares and smoke signals. Accepted: Hand-held flares aerial flares smoke signals. Not accepted: Electronic flares, military flares, or any other hazardous waste such as paint, oil, e-waste, or batteries. Participants will receive free boater kit and flare discount coupons, courtesy of the California State Parks and California Coastal Commission.

Sea ya.

~~~~~~~~

Len Bose is a yachting enthusiast, yacht broker and harbor columnist for Stu News Newport.

On the Harbor: RC sailboat racing

                                                                                                                                    Photo by Steve Ford

By LEN BOSE

So where do offshore sailors go when they retire from heading out to sea? I still fill most of my sailing calendar with Harbor 20 sailing, but I still wanted to fill the void from not heading out to sea any longer. Enter remote control (RC) sailboat racing which is perfect for me by finding a fleet that I feel I can be competitive in.

Now that I am head deep into the Volvo 70 RC boat, I am noticing the past and the long history of our harbor with RC sailboat racing. The first name that comes to mind is Lloyd “Swede” Johnson. I first recognized Swede’s name while I was a member of the Balboa Yacht Club on the Hall of Fame Wall. Swede was known for his sail making skills with Baxter & Cicero along with all the time he spent on the water as a volunteer with the race committee setting the marks on the race course. Swede also was known as a model boat maker and RC boat designer with more than five well-known RC boat designs.

Another person I had watched for many years sail RC boats was Rod Swift best known for the time he worked for Willard Marine in Costa Mesa. If I recall Swift and about five or six of his friends would sail off the docks at Viking Port on Friday mornings in the Mini RC boat class.

Swift also sailed Harbor 20s for a long period of time. I would ask him about the RC boats, and he would always smile and tell me to come on down.

While doing some research, I learned that there used to be a very active class of RC boats that raced off the docks of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club on Tuesday nights. The class was called the Newport 12 Meter and became very popular. I checked in with Skip Elliott, from Elliott Patterson sails. He told me the main person promoting the fleet was Jeff Farwell. “It was back in the 1960s Farwell got me to finish my boat. We used to have six boats show up every Tuesday night. The thing I remember about the 12s is that they sailed well in light and heavy breeze. One had to practice their depth perception and avoid missing the marks or running into someone. The RC sailing is a unique thing, it’s fun!,” Elliott said.

There is a long history of RC sailboat classes sailing at the William R. Mason Regional Park in Irvine. For more information, go to www.ocmsc.org for the different types of boats and when they are sailing. I have joined up with the Volvo 70 class, a Volvo 70 RC sailboat is a scaled-down model of the Volvo Open 70 designed for the Volvo Ocean Race. In 2012, Steve Ford found this class and started making the boats in Huntington Beach. The fleet has jumped around from Long Beach and Newport Dunes to Mason Regional Park.

I jumped into the fleet without even testing the waters when I heard people like Steve Beck, Chuck Simmons, Brad Wheeler, Kerry Deaver, Jim Sears plus many other sailors from Newport Beach are active racers. When I purchased my boat, Chris Killian and Gene Elliot had also recently joined. 

The learning curve has been most challenging, but like my father always told me “you don’t get something for nothing.” My first two times on the water I felt like taking a Louisville slugger to the boat after a day of racing. I sent this note to the fleet captain to be posted on the fleet’s Facebook page. “Hull #71 is Sponsored by Bose, after an excruciating update, the new owner has goals of finishing all 10 races this Sunday?” After the update, I have continued the learning curve with an understanding of why we secure the battery pack, and how to bind the transmitter and receiver together. I spent a lot of time walking around the lake, along with doing the two-step boogie getting my feet out of the water to avoid the snapping turtles and telling the participants that Boat #71 is out of control. “Confidence is high that we will achieve our goals this weekend,” I said. With two Wednesday night practices between high point regattas, I am now concerned that the booms topping lift will wrap around a spreader this Sunday. After this last month’s sailing, I have slowly been able to work my way up the ladder by finishing all 10 races last Sunday. Now I need to focus on my driving skills, along with judging distance from a ways away. I had four good races going in the top part of the race, then undershot the mark or hit the mark sending me to the back of the fleet.

The fleet sails at Mason Park on the second Sunday of every month. Anyone is welcome to watch, but don’t be surprised if participants hand you the controls. I am enjoying the competition and even more so the people I am sailing against. I will be at the lake practicing every chance I can get. Please contact me if you are interested in the RC Volvo 70 RC boats at boseyachts@mac.com.

Sea ya.

~~~~~~~~

Len Bose is a yachting enthusiast, yacht broker and harbor columnist for Stu News Newport.

On the Harbor: Remembering Phillip Ramser

By LEN BOSE

A lighthouse is a structure (such as a tower) with a powerful light that gives a continuous or intermittent signal to navigators. Within the lighthouse is a keeper –a lighthouse keeper is a maritime professional who helps guide boaters on the water and prevents shipwrecks. How do I relate Phillip Ramser to a lighthouse keeper? Something in my gut tells me he was the go-to person for yachtsmen seeking guidance and preventing many shipwrecks during his watch.

I attended Phil’s memorial service this past Tuesday, June 28. The late morning service was filled with family and friends. The attendance was a who’s who of our harbor’s yachtsmen. Phil passed away on June 18 at the age of 91, leaving his wife of 68 years, Trish. It was always more than obvious that Trish was always his No. 1 priority, followed closely by his four children and 11 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren with two more on the way.

During the memorial service, there was a photo slideshow of Phil’s life…each photo of his presence drawing me in to him, as I wanted to say hello to this gentleman, whose guidance and friendship I sought often. 

At the service I learned many interesting things about Phil, such as he was prone to misplace his wallet. Two family members spoke about their stories with him about when he misplaced his wallet; one finding his wallet a year later in the back seat of the car. One topic we can’t misplace is Phil’s influence and support for our sport of sailing. His first race, at the age of 9, was aboard his father’s boat – a Kettenburg 46-foot PCC named Antigua. Hal Ramser, Phil’s father, had gathered some of the better keelboat sailors from the harbor to win the Lipton Cup that year. Phil told me one time he was tasked with running the pit and controlling the boat’s halyards. When he told me this story I can still recall his chuckle describing the last beat against the San Diego Yacht Club’s skipper Mr. Kettenburg. “We must have tacked 24 times on that final leg to cross the finish line for the win,” Phil said.

From there, Phil sailed the Snipes circuit, while still sailing aboard his father’s boat Antigua. He later moved on into the competitive Etchells fleet where he competed internationally – jumping into the 5.5-meter boat to compete in Europe with none other than Harry “Buddy” Melges and Tom Omohundro. In the ‘80s, Phil raced his New York 36 Vidiot in our harbor’s local club events. One of Phil’s many achievements in promoting our sport was devolving the Harbor 20 fleet which is still the most active one-design fleet in our harbor.

Phil had other sports he was interested in too – skiing, polo, hunting for birds and foxes, along with gardening, music and dance. During the eulogy, his son Scott told a story about how his father preferred to stay busy and had convinced himself he was a handyman. While trying to fix a pool heater during a family gathering, everyone attending heard a loud kaboom! Phil came around the corner with his hair and eyebrows singed and was lucky not to be seriously injured.

Scott went on to tell another story. Given a task, Phil could be relied on to get the job done. There was nothing he couldn’t accomplish on behalf of the YC with his roster and a phone. How could anyone say no to a guy like Phil when called upon for help? He always managed to create his own army of volunteers.

“There is a great story about my Dad’s presence at the club,” shared Scott. “Charlie Buckingham was about 6 years old, hanging out with his dad on the front dock. My Dad walked by them and Charlie turned to his dad and asked seriously, “Is that the captain of the yacht club?”

Each time we sail past the lighthouse at Marina Park, I am going to feel that Phillip Ramser is the keeper…always asking him for his guidance and the awareness not to run into anything that day. It’s also very heartwarming that somehow both Phil and I picked up saying goodbye to our friends the same way.

Sea ya.

~~~~~~~~

Len Bose is a yachting enthusiast, yacht broker and harbor columnist for Stu News Newport.

The Harbor Report: The nicest guy on Newport Harbor

By Len Bose

November 15, 2013 | 4:45 p.m.

If ever there was a person who should be our harbor's ambassador, it is Phillip Ramser. I have never met a more congenial person in this harbor. This is why I write this column — I get to pick up the phone and ask people like Phil if we could talk.

Phil was born in West Los Angeles, attended the local schools, went to college at USC and later served in the Air Force.

Phil's father, Hal Ramser, purchased a Kettenburg 46-foot PCC hull No. 5 by the name of Antigua. When Phil was 15, one of our harbor's local sailors, George Strong, asked Hal if he would like to put a group of sailors together and race in the San Diego Yacht Club's Lipton Cup. The crew included Darby Metcalf, Harry Bourgeois, Kenny Watts and Hilyard Brown.

"This was the very first race I had ever sailed in," Phil said with excitement in his voice, as if it was only yesterday. "I was assigned to the pit and was allowed to come on deck, to hold out the main out, on the downwind runs. We came into the last race at the leeward mark with inside overlap on Mr. Kettenburg and headed toward the finish. We tacked 24 times on that final leg to beat the San Diego Yacht Club."

The Lipton Cup has always been the most sought-after sailing trophy in Southern California, and Phil was on the winning crew in his very first sailboat race.

Phil was next introduced to the Snipe fleet by Metcalf. For most of the 1950s, he sailed locally and around the country following the Snipe fleet.

"We had a great time," he said.

In the '50s, Phil served in the Air Force, and upon his return home sailed Antigua for a number of years and did very well in our local offshore races.

After he sold Antigua, he moved into the Etchells 22-foot fleet and helped develop the fleet in Newport Beach and Europe.

"We sailed Etchells all around the world — Australia, England, Hong Kong and Scotland," he explained. "We would have boats built in Scotland and race these boats, then sell them, and we did this for about three years in a row. That's how the Etchells fleet started in Europe."

Somewhere, Phil found time to sail 5.5 meters in Europe with Tom Omohundro and Harry "Buddy" Melges before becoming commodore of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club. Just about this time, he purchased a New York 36 by the name of Vidiot and campaigned that through most of the '80s in our local PHRF fleet.

Taking a short break from owning his own boat in the early '90s, Phil played a role in developing the concept of the Harbor 20.

"We needed to find five people who wanted a boat, so we did, and now the fleet has over 30 boats racing in most of the events," he said.

I asked Phil what he thinks are the biggest challenges facing the harbor in the next 40 years.

"I would like to see the anchorage moved back to where it was originally located on the west end of Lido Isle," he said with concern in his voice. "With the addition of Marina Park, the harbor will become increasingly restrictive in the anchorage area now. That disturbs me, and we should do what we can to mitigate that."

I asked who his sailing mentors were and who he thought was the fastest sailor in the harbor. Names like Metcalf, Bill Ficker and Tommy Frost quickly came to mind.

"We have had a multitude of good sailors come out of our area," Phil said.

When asked again who he felt was the fastest sailor, he quickly replied Jon Pinckney. "He is amazing how he watches the water, amazing guy on how he picks up on the wind," Phil said.

Last, I asked who he liked to beat the most on the race course.

"I never had someone I would go after," he explained. He would like to beat Bill Menninger, he said with a laugh. Long ago, I enjoyed racing against my old friend Don Ayres, and it was fun competing against him.

"I have never have had any contentious rivalries," he said with pride. "I've been able to get along with everyone rather well. It's all good."

If you have never met Phil Ramser, I suggest you introduce yourself, because the way I see it, he is one of our harbor's amazing guys.

Sea ya.

LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist.


Note from Phil:  Len, Saturday morning
I walked in to the dinning room at NHYC this morning for breakfast and was greeted with many compliments and comments about your article. I went over to Hershey 's on Balboa Island and picked up a few copies. I am very pleased with the article and want to thank you very much. I will send copies to  members of my family so they can enjoy the article as well.
Thanks again. Seaya on the water, Phil Ramser.