Boat Name: Tidsfordriv, also Tidsfördrif, Race Idler

Sail: US 78, ex. S 35

Year Built: 1935 or 1937

Designer: Tore Holm

Builder: Tore Holm Yachtvarv, Gamleby, Sweden

Owner: Time and Memory

History: There were two 6 meters named Tidsfördrif designed by Tore Holm, both of which carried S 35 on their mainsail. The first Tidsfördrif was built in 1935 using a composite method of mahogany planking over steam bent oak with interspersed steel frames. She won the One Ton Cup at Sandhamn in 1936 under Tore Holm himself. A second Tidsfordriv was built in 1937 and came to the USA to compete in the 1937 Scandinavian Gold Cup held on Oyster Bay, New York skippered by Per Gedde against US 72 Lulu, N 63 Buri, and the Finnish entry, Inga Lill XXVI. US 78 Tidsfordriv is the 1935 design. Charles Nordling owned the boat from 1937 to 1947 and sold her to Richard Sheehan in 1948.

 

The below is a account from Ted Jones of Tidsfordriv's activities on Long Island Sound following the war:

 

"Dick Sheehan owned US 78, Tidsfordriv, and I sailed with him regularly from 1949 through 1952. She was an excellent light air boat and we were rarely beaten in the WLIS handicap class. When we raced the other Sixes at Seawanhaka Corinthian Y.C. in Oyster Bay we were badly outclassed. When we lost the mast in 1951, Dick attempted to buy Starwagon's spare from Jim Sheldon and ended up buying the whole boat. We had two boats to sail in 1952 and I frequently skippered Starwagon while Dick stayed with Tidsy. Both boats were sold later that year, Tidsy going to Detroit and Starwagon going to Rochester, NY. Tidsfordriv ("time for fun" in Swedish) had several nicknames, not all of them complimentary or repeatable.

I am not surprised to learn that Tidsfordriv II was destroyed, but I am confused by the sail number US 71 as she carried US 78 when Dick owned her. Also, she did not then have the "II" appended to her name. The boat listed as US 78 is a different boat. The history shown for US 71 agrees with my recollection of Tidsfordriv. She was designed by Tore Holm and chartered by Sven Salen (editor - unconfirmed) to compete in the Gold Cup at Seawanhaka in 1937. Her design favored light air, for which The Sound is well known, but not in September when the Gold Cup was usually sailed. Salen sold her in the US after her unsuccessful bid for the Gold Cup, and she eventually wound up in the hands of Sheehan. She was finished bright at that time with matched topsides planking. She had been fitted with a cabin top which bolted on over the forward cockpit but which we removed for most of each summer's racing. Sailing her was a great experience.

My son, Bill Jones, who lives in Seattle, has a half-model of Tidsy made by Dick Sheehan and presented to me as a Christmas gift in 1950 or '51. Dick was an excellent craftsman who took great care to make an accurate model. The topsides and bottom are of mahogany with a light wood (possibly ash) glued between to represent the boot top. I still have one of Tidsy's mainsail battens."

Tidsfordriv was owned in Port Huron by Donnell Shoffner and Robert Schultheiss.

This note about Tidsfordriv's unfortunate demise comes From Susan Beebe Rudman:
"US78 Tidsfordriv of Port Huron Yacht Club, owned by George Beebe, was lost to dry rot and destroyed."

The fuzzy photo below is of Tidsfordriv, with her cabin top in place, most likely on an American Yacht Club Cruise somewhere on Long Island Sound. Dick Sheehan is at the helm in the white hat. Photographer and date unknown.