This Old Cal 20 Has a Bright Future

Last fall Scott Lamson tore a Classy Classified ad out of Latitude 38 and said to Paul Kaplan, "Here’s a Cal 20. You should buy it."

Lamson and Kaplan have been friends for a long time. The 40 Years in Review feature in the April issue of Latitude 38 included a photo of the two of them coming back from the ill-fated, horribly windy 1982 Doublehanded Farallones Race on Paul’s Nordic 44, Nordic Cowboy.

Paul Kaplan, whose name you may recognize from Bay Area businesses KKMI and City Yachts, had a Cal 20 when he was 15. He’d saved up enough money to buy a car but wasn’t old enough to drive, so he bought the Cal instead. His non-sailing parents made him sign a lengthy agreement about how he could use the boat, and off he went. 

He had it for about five years, until he was 20. "Chrissy and I would sail up to the Delta," he said. "It took us three days to get home one time when it was really windy. There was an active racing fleet, and we made great friends for years. We were under 21 so they all bought us alcohol." Chrissy and Paul are still together and now have a grandson, 2-year-old Will Deuyour. Scott Lamson’s son Scotty and young Will are the new owners of the 1964 Cal 20 #347 Sprite.

"It’s come full circle for Chrissy and me. The Cal 20 was on the same dock as Santana." ‘Big Boat Row’ stretches between Marina Blvd. and St. Francis Yacht Club, looking out onto a briny little beach. "We bought the boat from two brothers who bought it brand new in 1964. On the Cityfront with an upwind berth we’ll never use the motor."

"There’s an insane transfer fee for the slip, more than the price of the boat. And you can only transfer ownership once. So we created a legacy by endowing our grandkids. Scotty, who’s in his 20s, is the senior partner with Will. He promised that if he had a son he’d name him Scott."

Off went Sprite to Paul’s boat yard for sprucing up. "We painted it the original colors and even had the sign painter trace over the old name. We added a companionway seat and hand holds and made a cork that goes into the plug for the engine well. When you own a boat yard you can do that sort of thing." Kame Richards of Pineapple Sails is building new carbon sails. "Steve Seal and I go way back. I got a new boom and some other parts from him."

Chrissy and daughters Sarah and Erica, son-in-law Nick Deuyour and grandson Will will sail Sprite. "We’ll do a bit of racing," admitted Paul — they’ve kept the boat class-legal. Chuckling, he called former Cal 20 fleet captain and perennial champion Richard vonEhrenkrook "such an enabler."

Look for a feature on more boat yard projects in the June issue of Latitude 38.