‘Brigadoon’ Celebrates Her 100th Birthday
This past weekend Terry Klaus, family and friends gathered on the docks at the St. Francis Yacht Club to celebrate the 100th birthday of one of the Bay Area’s most revered classic yachts, the L. Francis Herreshoff-designed schooner Brigadoon. She was built in 1924 in Massachusetts and brought west by Sterling Hayden in the late ’40s. The Klaus family has owned and cared for her since Terry and his wife Patti purchased her in 1976!
Brigadoon was, as always, looking magnificent as dozens of celebrants came to honor her long legacy on the Bay under the stewardship of the Klaus family. Her early history up through the ’90s was told in a story by Woody Skoriak in our June 1996 isuue.
It’s hard to imagine how many people have managed to sail aboard Brigadoon since her early days on the East Coast, to her time with Sterling Hayden in California, and to the following owners, leading up to the Klaus family. Through Terry Klaus’ 48 years of ownership she has probably taken hundreds of people sailing and participated in countless Master Mariners races, and continues to look far younger than her 100 years of sailing.
Brigadoon has also benefited from the capable hands of Terry’s daughter, Lindsey, who’s a skilled helmsperson, caretaker and supporter of the Master Mariners on the Bay. With 100 years of history to maintain and keep sailing, Lindsey Klaus is a key force in keeping her shipshape and sailing.
If you’d like an opportunity to touch and climb aboard Bay Area sailing royalty, she’ll be ready to welcome all Bay Area sailing fans at the Master Mariners Wooden Boat Show, coming this weekend at the Corinthian Yacht Club for one day on Sunday, June 23. She’ll be joined by dozens of other Bay Area classics showing off their varnish and the warmth of wood, though, no doubt, Brigadoon will be the queen of the show. Happy birthday to her!
Many of us on the crew of Schooner MAYAN have been sailing with and against BRIGADOON for decades. She’s lovely girl and looking great for 100 years old!!
A wonderful boat and a wonderful family as well!
I did TONS of work on Brigadoon and I totally love that Terry’s daughter Lindsey is going to keep the beautiful family tradition alive and well. Brigadoon is a very lucky girl !
wonderful to see this celebration in L38. as well as the link to the 1996 article where more history i didn’t know of brigadoon was told.
the details of who did what and when usually reminds of the intersecting histories of these boats, and the few names that show up again and again around them. in this case, i see that bob sloan added the topmasts and sails when sterling hayden owned brigadoon. i recently learned that bob sloan also owned DAUNTLESS in the mid 60s, using the boat as collateral for the loan that built SPIKE AFRICA!
it’s a small world. though no dead black cats have been found so far.
July, 1992, when I was editor of STFYC’s Mainsheet (volunteer job) I put Brigadoon on the cover. A caption inside the ‘Sheet, read: “Ship-Shape: Terry Klaus’s classic Herreshoff 50, signal flags on deck, ready to dress ship for the 4th.” Wish I could copy the image to this post.