Tatoosh on the Loose
It’s been 40 years since the splendid 80-ft ketch Tatoosh graced the lagoons of French Polynesia, while owned by actor Peter ‘Easy Rider’ Fonda. From what we know, that trip was one of the greatest adventures of Fonda’s life. So naturally he was thrilled to hear that longtime owner Bob Cadranell, of San Diego and Seattle, and a boatload of buddies set sail for those islands again yesterday — officially the largest boat of 243 registered in this year’s Pacific Puddle Jump rally.
"I am so happy that Her Royal Highness, Queen Tatoosh, is going to be doing what she was meant to do," Fonda wrote in a note to Bob’s wife Molly yesterday. "Sail long distances over vast amounts of open ocean for no other reason than you simply want to. Couldn’t ask for better. And this is the boat that was made to do it very comfortably, and at 10 to 12 knots — hell, I pulled two hours of 13+ kts — with a full fore triangle of headsails, mizzen staysail, mizzen and mainsail. We were surfing, man!"
That’s a pretty good trick in 62-ton wooden classic. She was designed, by the way, by the aptly named Ben Seaborn, and launched in 1961.
Molly, who’ll serve as ‘comms officer’ while the boys are offshore, explains, "I’m not sure how long they will be in French Polynesia, as these guys are just hell-bent to get out on the ocean and sail, sail, sail." After a pit stop in Tahiti (a 3,400-mile crossing), they plan to turn north to Hawaii (roughly 2,200 miles), then angle back to the Bay Area (another 2,000 miles) where Tatoosh will likely be seen at the St. Francis YC and Pt. Richmond’s Sugar Dock late this summer.