Boat Name: Saga
Sail: US 73, ex, K 49, ex. KC 34
Year Built: 1936
Designer: Bjarne Aas
Builder: Bjarne Aas
Owner: Kimo Mackey, et.al.
History: Built in Fredrikstad, Norway for Eldon and Kenneth Trimmingham of Bermuda who promptly won the 1936 Prince of Wales Cup in Hamilton, Bermuda. Saga competed in the first King Edward VII Gold Cup, also held in Bermuda. "Saga" lost to Briggs Cunningham's US72 Lulu, but an interesting story resulted from this series. Cornelius Shields came to Bermuda to compete in the same series with US 65 Challenge. When arriving at Hamilton, Bermuda on a ship, Cornelius Shields saw Saga out practicing and was so inspired by Saga's beautiful lines and gracious overhangs, that he couldn't get Saga out of his mind. Upon returning to New York, with Saga his inspiration, Mr Shields commissioned Bjarne Aas to design the International One Design and build 25 of them. The "Bermuda Gold Cup" is now a major stop on the Professional Match Race Series tour and still competed for in the IOD. Saga left Bermuda and sailed with the large fleet on Long Island Sound in 1938, then moved to San Francisco for 1939 and 1940, owned by Myron Spaulding. She made her way to Seattle for Ray Elliot, who sold her to the Murray brothers, who then passed her to Kirk Hull. Kirk placed second in the 1958 Toronto Globe & Mail 6 Meter North Americans in Bellingham with Saga and later won the event in 1961 in Tacoma. Saga competed in the initial World Cup in Seattle in 1973 placing 7th of 20 for Bill Buursma (third among the Classics), and made a good showing in the 1979 World Cup, also in Seattle, where she placed 16 of 25 (second among the Classics) for Paul Longridge. She went to the 1983 World Cup at Newport Harbor, where she was the oldest competitor by 37 years. In the lumpy, challenging conditions of the Pacific Ocean, she still managed to place 13 of 15 and collected the Djinn Trophy for the highest placing Classic. In recent years, Saga has often been the boat to beat, having won the King Olav V Cup in 2001 and the Sir Thomas Lipton Cup in 2002. US 73 Saga recently went through some extensive upgrades to her frames and other work to her mast step and sail plan. For details on the project, go to Jespersen Boatbuilders.

Update 2010: Saga has been undergoing some restorative work over the past 2 years. The photos below show her new cockpit layout, new deck beams, new cockpit sole and new transom. All photos taken in early summer, 2010.