Bangalore built in 1930 by Ross bros. in Benton Harbor, Mich. The designer, Philip Rhodes, ultimately made his mark as one of the most versatile yacht and ship designers of the 20Th century, if not any era. Nearly all of his designs are considered yachting and naval works of art and appealing to the eye. To his credit are boats as small as the Dyer dinghy and as large as Naval Hospital and cargo ships designed during and after World War 11. According to Richard Henderson, his biographer, "It would be difficult to name a type of vessel that Rhodes did not design at sometime during his career". Rhodes first love, however was always yachts, particularly sailboats from the Dyer to the magnificent Rhodes 77's.

Bangalore was designed early in his career from his little office he opened in 1925 on Park Ave. in NYC, called the hole in the wall. It was only his third cutter design over forty feet. He was still personally designing all his commissions from start to finish so Bangalore came directly from his hand. She was one of Phil's favorite designs for it was his habit to keep those designs he had particular affinity, at his home in Pellam, NY.

Bangalore was the reworking of the original design #750 that was developed for a NYC client in March 1928 for a yacht that was to be called AWA. The stock market crash caused the client to abandon the project and subsequently the plans were bought by Don Ross and his brother in 1929 who imported exotic wood from South America to their distribution warehouse in Benton Harbor, Mich. Don Ross made the agreement with Rhodes that no other yacht would be built from this design. Subsequently shipwrights from Gray's boat yard in Marblehead, Ma. took the train out to Benton Harbor and Bangalore was built that summer in the Ross bros. warehouse using only the finest materials and personally selected from their stock of Honduran Mahogany for the hull, Burma teak for the deck, Georgia Long Leaf Yellow pine for stringers and tongue and groove cedar for the cabin top. The stars were aligned and we have often referred to Bangalore's birth as a "happening".

Very little is known of her first six year life but in 1936, Bangalore was purchased by E.B."Ted" Lombard, a highly respected yachtsman and vice-commodore of the Chicago Yacht Club. And in 1937 Bangalore began an unprecedented string of racing victories beginning with Chicago to Black Lake, the Saugatuck race, Michigan City to St. Jo, Holland to White Lake, Waukegan, the QueQueen'sp, a 110 mile sprint from Wisconsin to Michigan, and the annual Chicago Daily News Regatta. But her greatest accomplishment was taking home her first Chicago-Mackinac by finishing first in class and first overall in 1938 and repeating the feat in 1939. From 1930 to 1963 Bangalore continues to hold the record for the consecutive number of Chicago-Mackinac races,(33), finishing first in class 5 times, second 3 times and a third in the Port Huron to Mackinac race in 1955. She was no less famous on the Great Lakes than another great Rhodes design, Escapade, who had the distinction of winning Port Huron-Mackinac 5 times in the 1950's.

Bangalore continued to race successfully throughout the 1960's and was eventually sold and retired to a life of cruising in Northern Michigan. After a succession of 3 owners between 1967 and 1983, Carvel Tefft and his brother Craig purchased her following a 10 day vacation aboard that summer. It was love at first site. She was still in very good condition having been looked after by her former caring and diligent owners but two years later, having the opportunity to carefully appraise all of her rigging, structure and systems, it was decided to do a complete restoration to prepare her for the next fifty years. No cost was spared and local shipwrights in Traverse City, Michigan, were hired. There Bangalore began a new epic. During the summer of 1988, she was brought to her new home on the East Coast, travelling via the Great Lakes, the Erie Canal, Hudson River, Long Island Sound and finally arriving in current home, Portsmouth, NH, where in 1990 she began competing offshore and successfully completed nine consectutive Newport-Bermuda Ocean Races. Additionally, running riggine was continually modernized, new high tech sails added each year along with state of the art elecronics Once again she achieved fame by finishing second overall in the 1997 Marblehead-Halifax race and repeating that feat in the 2000 Newport-Bermuda. Four of the nine Bermuda races she has finished in the top ten yachts. Bangalore's timeless design and performance rating,(ORR, PHRF & IRC), allows her to compete admirably in mixed fleets, old and new. If sailed right, she is in the money. And Bangalore continues to win silver in regattas from Maine to New York including the venerable Monhegan Island race, hosted by the Portland Yacht Club and the Northern and Southern summer Classic yacht series.

Bangalore has captured the hearts of all who have sailed on her. Last summer in Castine, Maine, in what we have become accustomed in many of her ports of call, an old gentlemen ambled down the dock and inquired, is that Bangalore? After an affirmative, he exclaimed joyfully, "I thought so...I sailed on her in the 50's in the Mackinac race! We always loved her". No wonder, her lines, her sheer, her grace, her rock-solid stiffness in a breeze are not soon forgotten. We who are trustees and therefore in a real sense, not owners of this work of art and maritime history, are sincerely grateful to have had the opportunity for such a long and rewarding experience.

The time has come for the current trustee's to pass the torch.

Recent Survey of Bangalore

Bangalore was recently surveyed by noted marine surveyor Jeff Stone. Below is a full copy of that survey.
174S14-08

Publish at Scribd or explore others: