A Wildflower II For Skip Allan?

As most Latitude readers know, Skip Allan of Capitola, one of the best racers and cruisers that has ever come out of Northern California, scuttled his Wylie 28 Wildflower in rough weather on September 1 on his way back to California after winning the Singlehanded TransPac. The whole story appeared in the October Latitude.

There are many people, ourselves included, who don’t think the world is quite right with Allan not having his Wildflower. After all, he’d been racing and sailing her since before Latitude started publishing, and that was nearly 32 years ago.

Fortunately, one of the people who also feels that way is Tim Redfern of Spokane, Washington, who owns a Hawkfarm, which is close to being a sistership to Wildflower. He sent us the following letter:

"Tim here from the Sail Loft up at Lake Pend Oreille in northern Idaho. I have my Hawkfarm 28 advertised in your current issue, which, lo and behold, also had the story of Skip Allan’s adventure and the loss of his boat. I have no idea if a replacement Wylie is something he might want right now, but if it is, I would make a heck of a deal — like maybe transport costs only. I would be proud to know that my boat had gone to a very fine home in the hands of a brave, wise and caring — and still alive — sailor such as Skip Allan. My Hawkfarm has a diesel, folding prop, 13 sails, and all sorts of other goodies. I can be reached by email."

A tip of the Latitude hat to you, Tim, for such a generous offer. As for the transportation costs, we know lots of folks — ourselves included — who would be happy to chip in for them. So it’s up to you Skip. If you’re moving in some other direction, that’s cool. But if you’re not, please don’t give us any of that ‘I couldn’t accept such an offer’ crap. As Tim said, he’d be proud for you to have the boat, and we — and everybody else who knows you — know exactly what he means.