A fairy tale of a journey, lead by Dragons all the way
by Steve Simon
My family had a summer home on Lake Balaton in Hungary and I don’t remember a time when I was not sailing. In my teens I was racing a European dinghy class, the Pirate. After getting my engineering degree and my first job in 1951 I acquired a Scandinavian type 22M Cruiser/Racer and raced her regularly. A few years later, in preparation for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, I decided to have a Dragon built, to try to qualify for it. I did, after a successful racing season in 1956, but history interfered. I had to leave her behind when I had to get out of Hungary after the Russians crushed our ill-fated revolution.
I arrived in London around the end of November 1956. Local sailing friends took me to the opening of the London Boat Show, where I was introduced to Uffa Fox, the Publicity Chairman of the show. We hit it off so well that I was appointed as his deputy on the spot. (We, so called Hungarian Freedom Fighters, were then in the spotlight.) He, in turn, introduced me around, which lead to a guest membership at the Ranelagh Sailing Club. I was given a guest membership and a Firefly, which I raced on the Thames throughout the winter. Uffa and I kept up our friendship. At the end of March 1957, I had to say good by to him, as I was leaving for Canada, having accepted a job offer from Montreal Engineering Company.
I have arrived in Montreal on a weekend in mid-April 1957 and started my new job on the following Monday. On the next day, Tuesday, I received a phone call, the caller introducing himself as Reg Stevenson, a Dragon sailor at the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club. He mentioned that Uffa Fox, a mutual friend, had asked him to look after me as a newly arrived Dragon sailor. He invited me for lunch the next day, Wednesday. I thought that he is joking when he said over lunch, “The first thing to do now is to get you a Dragon.” He told me about a Dragon sailor, Bob Chase, owner of Chaser, D42, also the Consul General of the USA, who was transferring, and he was selling his boat. Reg recommended that we have dinner with Chase the next day, Thursday, at the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club to negotiate a deal. After a pleasant dinner the deal was cut at $2000. On the way home I mentioned to Reg that, even though I have a good job and some savings, but nowhere near that price, he told me not to worry. He is a banker, I should come to his bank the next day, Friday, and we will sort it out. At the bank meeting he gave me a lecture on how, in Canada, one doesn’t have to have money as long as one’s credit is good. To establish me, he signed for me a loan of $2000 saying, “You pay it back, then I give you more, then you pay it back, then etc.” The following day, Saturday, I gave a cheque to Bob Chase and, exactly one week after arrival in Canada I was the happy owner of Chaser D42. I joined the Pointe Claire Yacht Club and raced her through the Summer of 1957.
In March 1958, I took a more responsible and lucrative position in Toronto. On my return from a month of product training in the US, there was a repeat of history waiting for me, in the form of a letter, signed by Arnold Massey and referred to mutual acquaintances, all Dragon sailors. He wrote that he purchased Tomahawk D50 from the syndicate, which has sponsored her to represent Canada in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. Also that, being an avid sailor but not a racing skipper, he would appreciate if I would join him and race Tomahawk for him.
Which I did, and I also enjoyed the privilege of becoming a member of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club on June 9, 1958, sponsored by him.
Then came a time to have my own Dragon and, in subsequent years, I have become the happy owner of Corte D60 and Intrigue D131, enjoying my membership in this great fraternity.