Hale Field's RENEGADE

BCC Forum
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I have suggested to our friend Cris Field Todd that some photos of Renegade in the Forum?s Gallery would be a great addition. She has digitized some of her family?s photos and allowed me to put them in the Gallery. They are now in the BCC section although they should maybe be in the Other Boats section?

Cris? dad Hale Field was very involved in the early prehistory of the BCC. There?s an interesting interview with him by Cris Caswell for Sea magazine on this website (under Reviews, then Old Reviews).

In a forum thread ?Design Date Bristol Channel Cutter? in 2008, Roger Olsen wrote:

?Lyle actually designed a 28 foot boat for Hale Field back in 1950. When Hale saw the plans he said the boat was too big so Lyle designed another boat that was 24 feet long. This became RENEGADE. It also was the same plans sold to the Pardeys. Years later, 1973/4. Sam Morse wanted to build a boat to compete with the Westsail 32. He first searched in Oxnard where they were building the Dreadnaught 32 (copy of the Tahiti Ketch). The owner (name slips my mind) told Sam that he was aware of a 28 foot boat designed by Lyle Hess. Sam approached Lyle. Lyle showed Sam the original design for Hale Field. Sam loved it and bought the rights to build.?

Cris and family enjoyed sailing Renegade in local waters (based in Newport Harbor, CA) and Hale raced Renegade very successfully. Years later, Cris was in the process of building a Westsail 32 when she drove past the Sam Morse yard in Costa Mesa and recognized the BCC hull out front. She immediately bought a BCC hull and deck, and CHAUTAUQUA, a gaff rigged beauty was built. Cris and Dick Todd sailed her to Baja twice, the second time going on across the Pacific to NZ where they settled down and bought a wonderful home in North Cove, Kawau Island in 1990. The Pardeys had bought their place in North Cove in 1986. Cris has known Lynn and Larry since the Renegade years, and sailed into North Cove Kawau Island to visit with them, and to rally with 5 other BCC?s there at the time. CHAUTAUQUA and SHAULA cruised Mexico and French Polynesia together in '88-'89.

Images of Renegade can be seen here: http://www.samlmorse.com/forum/gallery/album79

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Great photosand what a rich history. Appears she started life as a gaffer and was later re-rigged bermudean. I hope the new owner brings her back to her glory days conditon.
David
Rose 76

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David,
Are you referring to Chautauqua or Renegade? The former has always been a gaffer as far as I know and Renegade was always a gaffer also and won the Ensenada race on corrected time twice.
Dan

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Dan,
I was confusing the two. Chautauqua is the gaff rigged BCC that recently sold at auction on the West Coast.

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Gee Dan, Many Thanks for the Renegade photos and stories .

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I see the problem now! John put the wooden RENEGADE photos in the BCC gallery section with the BCC RENEGADE photos. There is a BCC named RENEGADE–not a gaffer and she has red sails. We met that RENEGADE some years ago in Bundaberg, Australia. I think he said he had contacted someone–maybe Cris? or Cris’ mom?–for permission to use the name, and was given an OK.

There is a RENEGADE folder in the Other Boats section of the Gallery, with one very poor black and white photo of gaffer RENEGADE, which probably should be removed now that we have better photos.

So John Cole, the last two photos in the BCC RENEGADE folder belong there, and the rest should be moved to the RENEGADE folder in Other Boats. Thanks.

David, sorry I didn’t realize the basis of your comment on a conversion to marconi rig.
Dan Shaula

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John Cole,
I’ve sent you a private msg.
Dan Shaula