At 12:14 AM 5/17/01 -0700, Kakki wrote:
>I always thought that "yankee yachts" in Joni's
>context might have meant American leisure-class boaters (tourists) who
>wandered into British Columbian waters on weekends.
Hi Kakki,
While the lyric (IMO) covers a broad spectrum of U.S. watercraft, there was
a sailboat manufacturing company, Yankee Yachts, based in Southern
California, which took a classic plan by the renowned Sparkman & Stephens
designers and turned it into a fine yacht with a near cult-like following.
The Yankee 30 sailboat was an outstanding attempt to balance the needs of
sailors: speed/ease of sailing and durability/safety/comfort.
The company also made other, larger boats but the Yankee 30 was the
flagship. On any given trip to this area's waters (Washington State/British
Columbia) you may see examples of this popular boat. Yankee went out of
business in the 1970s but the design was picked up by other boat builders,
especially in the Northwest, and may still be produced today.
And to respond to IVPaul's comment:
>Unless it's about the hockey team in Vancouver, I doubt
>you'd EVER hear an American use that word
Around these northwestern parts of the U.S.A., it *is* very common to use
and hear the word "Canuck." Years ago it was considered derogatory but its
usage today is often in a more playful context, as friends and
acquaintances from across the border will call each other "Damn Yankee" or
"Damn Canuck." Gotta be careful of the inflection, though. ;-)
Scott
