I grew up sailing in San Diego bay, quickly becoming acquainted with racing. After dinghies, I started sailing 29ers, 49ers, and eventually 18 ft. skiffs. I was lucky enough to race these machines in the bay area frequently throughout high school, and fell in love with the sailing scene up there. I moved to Santa Cruz to attend college, and that's when I first became aware of the Moore 24's awesomeness and legacy.
During my undergrad, I rarely did much racing (thanks be to a surfing and kiting addiction), but towards the end of school I knew I wanted to buy a Moore 24. I chose the Moore because of its good looks, simplicity, and legacy. The fact that you can go race these whippets against living legends in a 30 boat fleet without breaking the bank still amazes me... Oh, yea, and then you can race the damn thing to Hawaii if you're feeling frisky! From the few times I had already sailed them out of Santa Cruz harbor, I became extremely impressed with how the Moore handles in the big breeze and swell. I also chose the Moore 24 for its great reputation as a single-hander.
During my senior year I purchased hull #101. Ironically, it was also during this time that I was approached to join the American Youth Sailing Force, San Francisco's entry for the Red Bull Youth America's cup. Thus, #101 sat neglected for the rest of the year while I trained and raced AC45 catamarans on the San Francisco bay (check out our YouTube videos!). After the AC summer, I returned to school and to my Moore, but I was broke and the boat needed some serious loving. With money and time being tight, I've been chipping away at the project by myself for the past few months, but progress has been very slow. Luckily I have had a lot of help and good advice along the way, and with some more time I hope to have #101 on the starting line sometime soon in 2014, with a fresh new look!
Every single person I have talked to in the Moore 24 fleet has been nothing but friendly, accommodating, and just downright cool - for that I thank you all! I owe a huge gratitude to Craig Smith, Ron Moore, Dan Cook, Jon Fraser, Morgan Larson, Steve McCarthy, and many more friendly Moore 24 owners and enthusiasts who have given me lots of help, good words, and have kept me stoked to be a part of this awesome fleet!
Cooper Dressler
