Category: The Boat

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Photos from the book-

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Because the new edition of Project Cheers is not printed on gloss paper, the images lack luster. In this slide show, the images have greater clarity, (even one in color) and appear in the order they do in the book. Permission to reproduce the photos was granted by the copyright heirs, including for photos by Fritz Henle. See fritzhenle.com for more of his photographic legacy.

Plate 1:

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‘Cheers’ under construction: Bernard Rhodes stands by one of the incredibly slim hulls. Photo; Newick

Plate 2:

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‘Cheers’ aka being laminated. Spruce glued with resourcinal glue. Photo; Newick

Plate 3:

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‘Cheers’ under construction showing the 12mm ply bulkheads bracketing the centerboard trunk, mast, and ‘aka’. Note the 6 laminations in the ‘aka’ (left) Photo; Newick

Plate 4:

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Wallford Galloway, who did most of the building. Photo;Fritz Henle

Plate 5:

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Dick Newick makes some last minute adjustments to one of the masts prior to launching. Photo: Fritz Henle

Plate 6:

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The Launch. Photo: Fritz Henle

Plate 7:

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“Cheers!” (l to r) Pat Newick, Jim Morris, Tom Follett, Dick Newick, Tootie Morris, Dick Eames. Photo Fritz Henle

Plate 8:

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The team prepares ‘Cheers’ for an early sail. Photo; Fritz Henle

Plate 9:

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Capsize test carried out before sponson was fitted. In calm water Cheers floated with her masts horizontal. Photo; Newick

Plate 10:

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This shot of the same capsize test clearly shows how small her wetted surface is. Photo; Newick

Plate 11:

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Looking a bit pensive; Tom Follett prior to setting off on his first solo excursion. Photo Fritz Henle

Plate 12:

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Tom Follett leaving St. Croix on his first long solo trial. Note the absence of sponson and anti-dive plates. Photo; Newick

Plate 13:

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‘Cheers’ moving along at a fair clip during early trial off St. Croix. Photo; Fritz Henle

Plate14:

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‘Cheers’ on an early trial, showing foresail with an experimental sprit instead of a boom. Number 2 jib is set. Compare this picture with plate 19 which shows ‘Cheers’ with her sponson fitted. Photo; Newick

Plate 15:

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Another shot taken during early trials, showing large light weather foresail. Photo; Fritz Henle

Plate 16:

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This close-up taken during early trials, shows the cockpit layout and the netting very clearly.

Plate 17:

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‘Cheers’ showing her paces during trials before the anti-dive plates and sponson were fitted. Photo; Fritz Henle

Plate 18:

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Close-up of ‘Cheers’ in action during trials. Photo; Fritz Henle

Plate 19:

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A close fetch at high speed during trials. Photo; Fritz Henle

Plate 20:

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Sponson and anti-dive plates fitted. Photo; Newick

Plate 21:

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A close-up of one of the anti-dive plates. Photo; Fritz Henle

Plate 22:

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Tom Follett leaving Christiansted St Croix, Virgin Islands for England on 31st March, 1968. Photo; Fritz Henle

Plate 23:

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‘Cheers’ lying alongside her tender ‘Andiamo’ at Millbay Dock, Plymouth prior to the Transatlantic Race. Photo; Peter Wier

Plate 24:

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This shot shows the table opposite the berth. Photo; believed to be by Peter Wier

Plate 25:

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Tom Follett’s quarters for such long voyaging were cramped, to say the least. Here you see his bunk in the windward hull. Photo; Peter Wier

Plate 26:

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Home after the race. ‘Cheers’ looks just as spick and span as when she set off. Photo; Newick

Plate 27:

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The contestants in the 1968 Single-Handed Transatlantic Race. (photographer unknown)

Plate 28:

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‘Cheers’ racing with Newick’s third trimaran, the 36ft Trice, in some breeze. ‘Cheers’ is considerably faster under these conditions. Photo; Newick

The original cover image:

Cheersbookcoverpic-sm
This was the original cover photo for the book Project Cheers, published in 1969. It was taken by Dick Newick in St Croix, USVI. You can see Buck Island in the back ground.

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Thank you to Halsted Morris who found the Henle album and had it digitized. Locating and digitizing other photos was a challenge and many of the above are secondary scans.

Drawings of the boat can be found on “The Boat” page.

Maps can be found on “The Event” page.

 

The Boat

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Cheers is a 40ft Proa designed by Dick Newick specifically as an entrant in the 1968 OSTAR, a single handed transatlantic race. Cheers was given an award by the Ida Lewis Yacht Club, Newport Rhode Island, for being the first U.S. yacht to finish a Transatlantic Single Handed Race and the Amateur Yacht Research Society honored the team with a special award for research.

Where is Cheers today? Here is one video from Victor Laurent.

Cheers profile drawing
Profile drawing of Cheers by Dick Newick

The book, Project Cheers, details the concept, construction,

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testing, and subsequent voyages from 1967 to 1968. There are three story tellers, three parts of the book; Jim Morris, Dick Newick, and Tom Follett, each detailing their specific points of responsibility and experiences during the project.

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Proa Cheers maneuver diagram by Dick Newick
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Cheers early drawings by Dick Newick
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Tom Follett’s shakedown cruise on Cheers.

See more photos from the book.

more to come…

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This photo spent years on Dick Newick’s wall. It was totally washed out to sepia tone. It has been recolored digitally.
Cheersbookcoverpic-sm
This was the original cover photo for the book Project Cheers, published in 1969. It was taken by Dick Newick in St Croix, USVI. You can see Buck Island in the back ground.

…

The book

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Project Cheers is a story of brilliant organization and endeavour

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by three men dedicated to an idea which many thought crazy. That idea was a fantastically fast twin hulled craft called Cheers, designed specifically by Dick Newick to win the Single Handed Transatlantic Race in 1968. In the hands of Tom Follett, one of the most capable (and modest) small boat sailors in the world, who endured great discomfort and danger, she put up an astounding performance in the race, sometimes reaching quite hair raising speeds, to finish a very close third. The fact that she did not win can only be attributed to bad luck. —quote from the original book jacket of “Project Cheers”, first published in 1969.

Read a book review of Project Cheers HERE

Cheersbookcoverpic-sm
This was the original cover photo for the book Project Cheers, published in 1969. It was taken by Dick Newick in St Croix, USVI. You can see Buck Island in the back ground.

Buy a soft cover copy of the new edition of Project Cheers, by Jim Morris, Dick Newick, and Tom Follett. Available NOW. You can also pick up a copy at the NW Maritime Center Chandlery in Port Townsend,  and get one while visiting Small Craft Advisor Magazine, or Port Townsend Watercraft.

A hard cover copy of the new edition of Project Cheers, by Jim Morris, Dick Newick, and Tom Follett is being considered if there is adequate interest. You can contact ptwatercraft @ gmail.com to express interest. (no spaces in email address)