The Log of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club

Knowing that a serious set of East Coast sailors were headed for California for the 1928 March racing, the members of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club wanted to make sure there was some competition. As documented below, a dedicated syndicate commissioned the famous Norwegian designer and builder Johan Anker to create a competitive boat similar to recent Seawanhaka Cup winner, N 27 'Noreg'. The result was the lovely US 37 'Synnove', seen here being unloaded from  the S. S. 'George Washington' at Los Angeles on February 23, 1928. Along with the brand new Potter design 'Harpoon', launched less than 2 weeks before, the Southern California sailors felt they had a least a fighting chance against the experienced and savvy Eastern contingent. Only 2 days later the American-Hawaii liner S. S. 'Minnesotan' deposited the 3 boats from the East; US 29 'Lanai', US 32 'Priscilla', and US 33 'Clytie, as well as the R boat 'Live Yankee'. San Francisco sailor Arthur Rouseau had now aquired S 2 'May Be', and Stuart Haldorn another Estlander design, D 34 Ay Ay Ay. Now there were 9 sixes entered for the races and soon we'll see how it all shook out.

 

Of special note with the acquisition of 'Synnove' is the force behind all of this effort, who goes unnamed in this and other articles. He is Dr. Albert Soiland, a naturalized Norwegian, which reveals one of the reasons Anker was chosen over Estlander for the design and the origins of the name 'Synnove', which in the Norwegian language translates to Sun Gift.