sail on

Britt Chance Jr., one of the true legends in racing sailboat design, passed away last week at 72 years of age. Forever known for the bizarre, blunted undewater stern section on the 12 meter Mariner, which when looked at by Ted Turner, commented "Jesus Britt, even a turd is tapered at the end". The section was ultimately removed, but the boat was never fast. His IOR designs were among the most tortured of their era, yet brutally attractive and not without suceess at nearly every level. A long and storied career comes to and end, but without question, one that will never be forgotten. The NY Times just ran a good article on Britt.