1977 Frers 58′ Sailboat

Swiftsure I has a particularly notable history for a 1977 sailboat. She was designed by renowned German naval architect German Frers and built by Southern California builder Carl Eichenlaub, launching in 1977 as a 58-foot aluminum offshore racing yacht. She was owned and campaigned by Sy Kleinman, and by the early 1980s had become a prominent West Coast racing boat. Her crew included some of the best sailors of the era; Paul Kamen served as tactician, navigator and watch captain for many years, including the 1981 St. Francis Yacht Club Big Boat Series, when Dennis Conner was skipper.

Her racing record is impressive. Swiftsure finished second in class and 15th in the fleet in the 1985 Transpac, and she placed seventh overall in the 1984 Kenwood Cup. She was also a regular competitor in the St. Francis Big Boat Series during the 1980s and early 1990s. The contemporary 1987 Transpac program specifically identifies her as a German Frers design, built by Eichenlaub and owned by Kleinman, confirming her identity and racing pedigree.

After decades as a racing thoroughbred, the boat eventually came into the hands of John Taussig, who purchased Kleinman’s former Swiftsure and sailed her from Long Beach to Seattle in the early 2020s. Taussig began restoring the historic yacht for use as a maritime medical training vessel, giving the old racing machine a remarkably different second career. As reported by Latitude 38, the plan was for Swiftsure to spend summers in the Pacific Northwest, spring and fall in the Bay Area, and winters in Southern California.