Wonder Years

NOYC THE WONDER YEARS

(This is the second part of our impromptu history of New Orleans Yacht Club.  Norton Druilhet who now lives in Southern California recently ran across Ralph Hopkins story on NOYC.org and it struck up a few  of his recollections of the early years.  Norton Druilhet is also responsible for the design of the NOYC burgee.  Check out Nortons notes.)

I was very interested in your recent article about the history of NOYC.  I was one of the founders of the club and it revived some very pleasant memories, (you had my name spelled wrong however… DRUILHET).

I can vividly recall sitting on the concrete step of the “New Pen” as we called it, as opposed to the “Old Pen” on the other side, South of West End park. We discussed plans to form the new club. I was just a 17 year old Jesuit High School student at the time. Pee Wee Sheldon was a good friend through the Sea Scouts. He and his Father and cousin were the ones who got me involved in sailing.

I had been a member of Sea Scouts Viking Ship 101 for several years, We had been fortunate enough to acquire a 42’ lugger that had been confiscated by the government for running rum during prohibition. I think we paid $1 for it. Our skipper, Capt. Neilson, was a fantastic leader and seaman. He had Captained a square rigger sailing ship in Norway for years and forgotten more about seamanship and sailing than most will ever know. He generously filled our minds with sea lore and traditions and skills of the sea. More than that, he was a role model and instilled values in all of us.

We wore that vessel out sailing almost every weekend around the lake from one end to the other. We sailed many times to Madisonville where the Mayor would provide for us over the weekend. Up Bayou Liberty to Camp Salmen was another favorite trip, but they also explored the Gulf Coast from Texas to Cuba on longer trips.

I had always been interested in boats. My friend and I rode our bikes from Esplanade and Bayou St. John to the lakefront almost every day to drool over the boats in hopes some kind soul would offer to take us for a sail. It never happened. I had lusted for one of the SYC retired Fishboats named “One Tack”, but my Father would not let me buy it. Pee Wee Sheldon did, and I finally got to sail it. I loved that boat. I checked on it constantly, bailing it out and cleaning it. Pee Wee, often let me take it out for a sail.

One night, my girlfriend and I, (now my wife of 50+ years) were checking the One Tack. She was Bobbie Rebennack from St. Mary’s Dominican High School She had dated Jerry Rees before I started taking her out. Her brother is Mac Rebennack, a.k.a Dr John the Night Tripper of New Orleans music fame, and her Dad had been a member of SYC when she was younger. Bobbie used to sail on her Aunt’s Seabird yawl, which we came to own later.

Anyway….. it was such a beautiful night, nice gentle offshore breeze and just perfect. We decided to go for a little sail. We had just gotten out about a mile offshore of Krupps pavilion when a line squall hit us out of the North East. The winds reached 80 M.P.H. as reported by headlines in Times Picayune, New Orleans States and New Orleans Item Aug 17, 1951, (Their were 3 separate papers than, 5¢ at the time). Check it out, was an interesting story. This storm hit so fast it was incredible. It caught people shrimping on the seawall and washed them off and 3 died.

Being caught in a gaff rigged boat was a problem. My girlfriend could not lower the gaff rig in such winds. She could not hold the boat on course while I did. A dilemma! So the only thing I could do was ease the boat over, since the NW winds were blowing us right toward the rock breakwater around the yacht harbor. We had one ring buoy between us, one arm each holding on. As we went over the a turnbuckle caught me and cut from my shoulder diagonally down to my hip. To make it worse, I came up under the sail. The waves were so high, every time we were in the trough we hit bottom, the next wave crashed down on us. The Coast Guard came out for us, but when they tried to throw a line it was blown right back at them. I guess they hadn’t had the benefit of Sea Scout training to know you can’t throw a line into the wind. They were hitting bottom too, so they left us out there. I don’t blame them.

Fire trucks were along the seawall with cargo nets for us to grab onto in case we were blown into the seawall. We could see auto headlights turned on also, to shine lights so they could spot us. At one point we were blown to a little beach by the lighthouse and the seawall. I don’t know if it’s still there, haven’t been there in years. There was no swimming. I was a Red Cross swimming instructor, but we just went wherever the wind blew us. It blew us right into the New Basin Canal.

We came up under Bart’s Restaurant, climbed up the barnacle encrusted pilings onto the dock. All electricity was out, and people were using candles in the restaurant. I knocked on the window to be let in. People couldn’t believe there were idiots out there in that storm.  Next morning my Dad wanted to know where we were in that night. I told him and he said “I know, you’re on the front page of the paper”.

The faithful One Tack followed right behind us, we found her in the Basin the next day, only damage was a broken mast. Bobbie’s purse was still on board along with everything else. Oh well, it was time to modernize to a Marconi rig anyway. We stepped an L-16 rig and lived happily ever after. (Where is the One Tack now??? Anybody know?)

Another sea-story…….. your article mentioned about the 47 hurricane which passed right over the yacht harbor. We had all been out there tending lines on the boats we knew. The water was up over the concrete walks. As we checked lines, we found quite a few soft shell crabs on the docks. We gathered them and the only thing we could find to cook them in was butter. Best soft shell crabs I ever had! Boy… do I miss that N’awlins seafood!

As the eye of the hurricane passed right over us, the skies got clear and blue and just a nice breeze. Those two nuts you mentioned in your article were Jerry Rees and Pee Wee. They decided it was a nice breeze for a sail, so they took of in a little 15’ boat and headed OUT of the harbor. Nuts was a good word…. they got caught. Somehow they secured the boat to a piling and made it ashore.

I guess I was never very active in the club. I was a day sailor. Head on a cushion, one foot over the combing, tiller over a shoulder, cold Dixie, just cruising along in my Lightning (#315). Racing wasn’t my thing. Besides, right at that time I left to go away to school (1949).  Right after that I was married and not as much time as I used to spend  on the lake. I did have a series of Lightnings, but never raced them. My last boat was a 36’ Yawl which I sold when I moved away to Ohio, then on to Southern  California. My sailing days were just fond memories, which you happily revived when I stumbled across your page on the net.

Happy sailing to all……..

-Norton Druilhet