Special Trophies
In 2005 a new Award and Competition were initiated by Scott Laundry to honor the designers of our boat, the Buccaneer 18.

One regatta selected from around the country is designated as the MDG Regatta and the winners names are added to the plaque. In addition, the Commodore selects an individual or couple who have contributed to the advancement of the Buccaneer 18 Class and separately their names are added to the plaque and on the base of the Quaich trophy.

Rod Macalpine-Downie & Dick Gibbs Trophy
The Buccaneer one-design Competition will be named for MacAlpine-Downie/Gibbs. The names of the captain and crew that win the regatta shall be recorded on a perpetual plaque.  The winners will have the honor of holding the plaque until the next competition.  The time and location of the MacAlpine-Downie/Gibbs Cup Regatta shall be at the discretion of the BCA Commodore.  The regatta will be a venue other than the Buccaneer North American and Mid-Winter championships and will be designated a class-sanctioned regatta. The hope is that this will serve as a high profile regatta that can help foster or acknowledge growth. It may also serve to provide geographic balance.

The 2015 MDG Trophy was awarded by the Kenosha’s Fleet 15 at the August 15 and 16 Kenosha, Wisconsin, Regatta. In subsequent years, the MGD Trophy will be awarded by the Fleet that will be the host of the next BNAC.

Rod Macalpine-Downie & Dick Gibbs Cup (aka The Quaich)
One-design racing helps sustain our Class, but so do dedicated people that help it survive and thrive.  

Some Buccaneer sailors directly reflect Dick Gibb’s dedication to the preservation of the design. Others plow energy into the Buccaneer spirit that is part Corinthian, part pirate, and mostly fun. While many contribute, there are usually a few who stand above.  Each year one of these Buccaneers will be designated the “Cup-Bearer” for the MacAlpine-Downie/Gibbs Cup.  The BCA Commodore will select the Cup Bearer for distinction and contribution to Buccaneer sailing.  The Cup Bearer will have his or her name recorded on the perpetual plaque.  The Cup bearer will also retain the award cup for the year.

In a nod to Rod’s Scottish roots a Scottish Quaich (pronounced quake) has been chosen for the award cup. The Quaich is a shallow drinking vessel that is traditionally used to offer a drink of welcome and farewell to travelers. It is sometimes called a “cup of friendship”. The Quaich is ideal for an award to be associated with Buccaneers gathering from afar and for

J.R. (Rod) Macalpine-Downie — 1934-1986
By Dick Gibbs, his design partner (beginning in 1964).
Born – Appin, Argyll, Scotland.
Gained his interest in sailing and science from his father, an offshore sailor and specialist in hypervelocity artillery shells and armor to resist his newest weapon.

Rod won the King’s Scholar Award at Eaton. He majored in biology and seriously considered a career as a concert violinist. One of his professors at Eaton said he remembered him well, because an IQ can be accurately tested to 170, but his went off the scale.

While chicken farming in Scotland in 1961, he saw a Shearwater Cat, and although he never designed a boat, concluded he could do a better job. The first boat was Thai MK4 which won all six races of the 1962 European, “one of

a kind” regatta. He followed that with the winning of the first International Catamaran Challenge in 1963 and had seven more consecutive wins.

He was the first with the UNA rig and wing masts. A series of crossbow designs won five consecutive competitions. Players Fastest sailboat, Trophies at a top official speed of 41 knots, the last of which sailed in 1984, unofficially at 60+ knots. At the time of his death, a new crossbow was underway, which he believed was capable of 70+ knots. The partnership with Dick Gibbs in 1964 put 80 boats in to commercial production, resulting in 15,000+ boats. Of all his designs, it is probably the BUCCANEER that ended up being the most popular and commercially successful. Dick Gibbs 1929-2009 .

American boat builder and designer best known for his partnership with Rod Macalpine-Downie. The Gibbs Boat Company was located near Toledo Ohio. (Destroyed by fire 1n 1961 and then re-established in La Salle Michigan.) Besides a number of other boats, Gibbs was building a number of racing catamarans, and it was probably at this time that the partnership began.

Gibbs Boat Co. was purchased by MFG sometime around 1972, and Gibbs became the head of the SailMFG division. Gibbs also had his own sail loft where the sails for a number of the MFG models were made. After SailMFG was closed and sold in about 1979, Gibbs and Macalpine-Downie developed a number of boats for Chrysler Marine. The most successful of these was the BUCCANEER 18. The two worked together until Macalpine-Downies The 2019 “Quaich” recognition went to Hugh Armbruster, the former owner of Nickels Boatworks who purchased the molds from Harry Sindle and began building the boat at Nickels.