Type: Bear Class Sloop
Unbearable Specifications:
LOA: 23’0″ / 7.01m – LWL: 18’0″ / 5.48m – Beam: 6’6″ / 1.98m – Draft: 3’6″ / 1.06m – Hull Number: #60 – Designer: Nunes Bros. – Original Owner: Mary Joe Foote – Current Owner: Graham Wheelock – Year Built: 1956 – Built By: Nunes Bros. Sausilito, California – Hull Material: Carvel construction with Douglas Fir planking Bronze fastened and White Oak frames – Gross Displacement: – Sail Number: – Sail Area: 258 sq. ft – Location: Richardson Bay Boatworks
Historical:
Unbearable is 22 foot Bear Class Sloop built in 1957 by Nunes Bros., Sausilito, California for Mary Joe Foote. #60 Saved from Sausalito Yacht Harbor by Bill Hansen in 2009. Now undergoing excellent restoration by Graham.
San Francisco Bay Bear Boat Association comments: http://www.bearboats.com/
“The Bear Class Sloop is a living piece of San Francisco Bay’s maritime history. Conceived by Ernest Nunes and Marty Martinson, the first keel was laid late in 1931 by the Nunes Boat and Ways Company, Sausalito, California. By the summer 1932, the new boat was ready for its first sea trial. On lookers reported that Commodore Cliff Smith of the San Francisco Yacht Club praised the effort, telling young Ernest Nunes, “That is a bear of boat.” The name stuck and a unique class, indigenous to San Francisco Bay, was born.”
By the late 1950s enthusiastic owners, competitive racing, and adventurous sure-footed sailing craft made the Bears the largest one-design class on San Francisco Bay. Never having achieved mass production, the Bear Class was truly home grown as new boats were added to the fleet by an assortment of professional and amateur builders. Active and highly competitive racing continued through the 1960s with as many as 65 boats in the fleet.
Provenance (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Crew & Notable Guest):
Owner/Guardian: (1956) Mary Joe Foote
Owner/Guardian: Graham Wheelock
Comments
Tim Maloney – November 21, 2015
This photo is of Magic – Bear #65. The Nunes Bear sloop is 23 ft. LOA, 6.5 ft beam draft 3.5 ft