Shark Attack!

Is it a blue fin shark, a great blue, or what?

So there I was on my little photowalk in Wichita KS last week and I came upon a location that showed some interest. Clicking away at some interesting angles and all of a sudden I see this little object. Poised and ready to attack the first thing in its path.

It is part of a larger picture which has three siblings. While this is named after the Kansas mythical mascot Jayhawk, its sibling Kanza was named after the Kanza Indians from which the State of Kansas gets its name. The Jayhawk' other sibling defeated the Italian II Moro di Venezia back in 92'.

Is it:

A. A SGTD - Self Guided Torpedo Device

B. The survivor of a world class piñata contest.

C. A counter weight

D. A power pack to propel men under water.

If you answered C you would be correct! It is the keel counterweight for an America's Cup yachts.

You can see the larger picture to the left how it is attached to the keep of the yacht.

The image to the right is a longer shot of the whole boat. So why is it sitting in Wichita Kansas you ask? Believe me, it was the question on my mind too. Actuallyy the Jayhawk was the first America's Cup yacht to be built by an aerospace manufacturer. It was constructed of carbon fiber (high tech stuff in 91') by Hercules Aerospace near Salt Lake City, Utah.

Ok... So where is the Wichita connection... Ready? Bill Koch was the head of the America3 Foundation which build three (oddly enough) Americas Cup Yachts for the 1992 campaign. The Kanza, the America3 (this is the one that beat the italians, and you guessed it... The Jayhawk. With a little web browsing, I found out that Bill is the son of Fred who founded Koch Industries in Wichita KS in 1940 who invented a crude oil refining process. BINGO!

There's the money. Daddy warbucks came up with the brainiac idea that made the family gabillions to which Willy parts with the brothers Koch and a sizable sum of cash and parties on the high seas. Ok.. The facts might be a little skewed but you get the point.

Anyhow, Bill must have felt the home town strings pulling because that is where he decided to let the Jayhawk come to rest overlooking the banks of the Arkansas River.

I gotta tell-ya, there is always a story behind the photo.

Cya... Doug