Issue 23 - January Classic Yacht Association of Australia Magazine

Transcription

1 Issue 23 - January Classic Yacht Association of Australia Magazine CONTENTS CYAA REPRESENTATIVES 2 COMING EVENTS 2 LINDAUER REGATTA THE INCREDIBLE HISTORY AND TALES OF THE SIRIUS 4 THE TUMLARENS - PART II 10 ANOTHER TUM-TALE, JAMES FRECHEVILLE ON HOW TARNA WAS RESCUED AND RESTORED 16 DAVID ALLEN SAILING PROFILE 17 CLASSIC YACHTS MAGAZINE BOOK REVIEWS 18 31ST HEMPEL VINTAGE YACHT REGATTA 20 AUSTRALIAN WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL TASMANIA 21 ALWYN STILL SAILING ON 22 EUROPEAN NEWS 23 KOOMOOLOO 25 JAMES FRECHEVILLE, BOAT BUILDER FROM PAYNESVILLE EXPLAINS TRADITIONAL LAID DECKS 27 CLASSIC SHORTS 28 NEW MEMBERS 29 Our aim is to promote the appreciation and participation of sailing classic yachts in Australia, and help preserve the historical and cultural significance of these unique vessels.

2 Classic Yacht Association of Australia CYAA REPRESENTATIVES COMING EVENTS ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER CYAA Officer 343 Ferrars St Albert Park Victoria 3206 EDITORIAL Tony Frederick Design and Production Blue Boat NEW SOUTH WALES Philip Kinsella Tel (02) QUEENSLAND Ivan Holm Tel (07) , Mobile SOUTH AUSTRALIA Tony Kearney Mobile TASMANIA Kelvin Aldred Mobile VICTORIA Damian Purcell Tel (03) WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL - SOUTH AUSTRALIA March 2007, Goolwa SA Past festivals we have had, apart from the 250 smaller craft, up to three paddle steamers operating from the Goolwa Wharf. This year, there will be five paddle steamers, gathering over three days of huffing river behemoths (with on board visitor access!) that has possibly not been seen anywhere since the 1950 s. WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL - GEELONG VICTORI March 2007, Royal Geelong Yacht Club Anchors are up, and planning commenced for the second biennial Whyte Just & Moore Lawyers Wooden Boat Festival of Geelong. COLONIAL NAVY BOAT SHOW Sat 24th & Sun 25th March am - 6pm Williamstown Maritime Association Coinciding with the Williamstown Summer Festival, The Williamstown Maritime Association is proud to present its fourth Annual Boat Show, this year highlighting Victoria s Colonial Navy history. SYDNEY WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL 8-9 March 2008 Sydney s fun-for-everyone harbourside celebration will be bigger than ever with more than 100 superb boats, from graceful yachts to streamlined speedboats, a festive marketplace selling all things nautical and an outstanding display of boating products. AUSTRALIAN WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL Feb 2009, Constitution Dock COVER PHOTO With over 500 boat registrations for Festival 2007, who knows what the 2009 event will bring. The Cover Image is of Koomooloo is taken from Classic Racing Yachts in Australian Waters Wri en by Jock Sturrock with paintings by Bob Booth page 2

3 Issue 23 - January 2007 CYAA LINDAUER REGATTA 2007 This amazing opportunity was taken up by 14 sailors from Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria who flew to Auckland under the guise of The Australian Team This included such sailors as Doug Shields, one of the founders of the CYAA, Julian Bethwaite, Designer of the 49er Olympic skiff, Keith Glover, Owner of Wraith of Odin and champion multihull sailor and Mike Freebairn, Skipper of Koomooloo, recently sunk in the 06 Sydney Hobart. The two big gaffers in 35 knots. The four days began with an wonderful motor cruise aboard classic launches on the Waitamate and an exceptional Dinner hosted by the commodore of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron John Crawford. The Australian contingent was divided between four boats ranging from the ex-melbourne based Logan, Waitangi to The 107 year old Bailey 30 Gaff Cu er Thelma sailed by circumnavigators Lin and Larry Pardy. The fleet, especially the gaffers were tested on day one, as the forecast of knots became a reality of knots with gusts up to 45knots and solid rainsqualls. Waione and Prize, day two. Amazingly very few boats retired. The Alden Schooner Arcturus was in her element romping along with the fisherman set. It must be windy over there on the East Coast of the USA where she comes from. Day two provided a great contrast as the fleet had to work their way from one patch of breeze to another in the round Rangitoto Race. The course was around 25nm and provided a long hot day on the water following on from the body bruising conditions on the day before. Needless to say this was no longer schooner weather and the A and K class sloops came to the fore. On the final day the wind Gods finally got it right with a steady 20 knots of breeze, clear skies and the wonderful scenery of the Hauraki Gulf displayed at its best. With over fi y boats sailing hard over the three days we Australians can take a lesson from this rega a. We must get our act together in terms of Sponsorship. Lindauer did a wonderful job supporting the event and they in turn were supported by up to twenty minor sponsors. I am sure they all felt that their contributions have been worthwhile with great publicity for the event even to the extent of banners flying in the main street of Auckland. This sponsorship provided for a well organised rega a with excellent facilities and fantastic prizes. Without financial support such as this we in Australia Waitangi back on the Hauraki Gulf. are destined to continue as a small organisation relying on the efforts of commi ed amateur individuals to make things happen. There is no doubt that there is value for organisations who wish to support Classic Yachting, however as a group we need to be more proactive in ge ing the message out. Our sincere thanks must go to Tony Blake, Bruce Tantrum and John Street of the Classic Yacht Charitable Trust, and to Joyce Talbot the dedicated administrator of the CYANZ. Without the enthusiasm and hospitality of these generous people, our trip would never have been possible. I suspect that a few long-term friendships have been born. Look out for details of a reciprocal event for later this year to be announced in the next few weeks. All images by Terry Fong page 3

4 Classic Yacht Association of Australia PART I 0F II THE INCREDIBLE HISTORY AND TALES OF THE SIRIUS THE FIRST AUSTRALIAN YACHT TO CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE GLOBE. CIRCA Before you read this story, fill a large glass or cup with your favourite beverage, it s a long journey. In 1932 the celebrated Australian yachtsman, Harold Nossiter, won the Lipton Cup, one of Australia s most coveted yachting trophies. Nossiter was planning retirement from his Sydneybased importing business in order to circumnavigate the world by yacht. His own yacht Utiekah II was a good sea boat but had li le forefoot and would not heave-to, so she was condemned for the purpose. He felt he required a custom designed boat of advanced concept for the time, he took his ideas to J.D.Thistlewaite, a naval architect in Greenwich N.S.W. who converted them to paper and completed the design in The vessel was to be a canoe-sterned staysail schooner of some 35 tons displacement with accommodation for six. Length overall 62 feet, length on deck 53.5 feet, beam 13.5 feet, dra 7.5 feet and carrying 1600 square feet of sail. Her lines indicated a full-bodied hull of generous displacement. Construction was to be all timber with planking below the water line in Western Australian Jarrah and above in New Zealand Kauri. The keel, timbers and deck beams were to be of Spo ed Gum and the stem in Ti-tree. The design was handed over to J.Hayes and Sons, boat builders of Careening Cove, Sydney. The contract was signed in September 1933 and the keel was laid in February The boat was launched on 6th February 1935, in the presence of about 300 spectators and named SIRIUS a er the brightest of all navigation stars. The masts and rigging were erected once she was in the water and she was fi ed with an 18 horsepower Jersey City Standard petrol engine. Harold Nossiter took delivery in the April. It was only possible to make two short coastal cruises before the date fixed for their circumnavigation, 14th July With his two sons, Harold and Dick and a friend called Clive Russell, they sailed out of Sydney harbour on what was to be a 28,000-mile trip lasting 20 months. The journey took them north to Rabaul in New Guinea, then to Buton and Komodo where they saw the twelve-foot dragon lizards, (varanus komodoensis). Clive Russell the most inexperienced of the crew had a bad experience at the helm one night. He became confused and almost put the Sirius on a reef. Harold Nossiter awoke to the sound of the breaking waves and managed to start the engine in time to avoid disaster by twenty feet. A er this incident, the responsibility of steering alone at night affected Russell s nerves and he would wake at night in his cabin and flash his torch about looking for the compass, thinking he was still steering. Nossiter even considered abandoning the circumnavigation and suggested just circumnavigating Australia instead but the eldest crewmember, his son Harold was determined to continue and he urged on the rest of the crew. They pressed on to Bali and Batavia (Jakarta), Indonesia then Singapore and Penang where the Sirius was hauled out to have the hull cleaned and anti-fouled. They came off the slip on 10th November and set sail for Langkawi where they moored in Kuah on the 16th. There, Tunku Abdul Rahman, a son of the Sultan of Kedah and a Thai Princess were in charge of the district. The Sultans son and his wife, an Englishwoman made the crew s stay very pleasant and entertained them at their home several times. The Tunku who later became the first Prime Minister of Malaysia gave the eldest son Harold, a Malay Kris, which hangs on the wall in Harold s bedroom to this day. The next stop was in Colombo where, due to nerve-strain Clive Russell le the vessel. His father flew from Australia to take him home. On the next leg of the journey to Aden, the wind was almost dead a, with a confused and nasty sea. The crew were having difficulty steering as Dick Nossiter recalls with a chuckle. We told father it was impossible to steer that course but he insisted it could be done and he took control. While steering that night the yacht gybed breaking the boom. A er that whenever he told us that we were doing something wrong we could always remind him that he broke the boom! Dick was the Navigator and with only a sextant he guided the vessel accurately throughout, making good landfalls. They passed through the Suez Canal and across the Mediterranean stopping at Crete and Cephalonia then passing through the Corinth Canal. The rest of the trek across the Med was very hard with head winds and storms all the way. Off Italy, in a hailstorm, the cockpit and gunwales were full of ice. At Malta as they could not get her slipped, the midshipmen from HMS Australia offered to clean the bo om of the yacht by diving. They le the island with an addition to the crew, a young cat. They named him Oliver Twist as the animal was always meowing for more food. The journey to Gibraltar in page 4

5 Issue 23 - January 2007 CYAA On 20th May 1973 at 7 p.m. Sirius dropped anchor in Watsons Bay, Sydney. Harold Nossiter and his two sons, Dick and Harold became the first Australians to circumnavigate the world in a yacht. They had sailed Sirius 28,145 nautical miles, the first Australian built yacht to achieve this remarkable feat. April 1936 was hard with gale force winds on the nose and the cat had to be kept below. He became more and more annoying until one day he disappeared and was never found. Harold Nossiter later confessed that he perpetrated the dark deed, as he felt, in the ocean his troubles would soon be over-including our own as far as he was concerned- especially with the sea running at the time. They entered the Atlantic on 12th May and sailed past Cape Finisterre and across the Bay of Biscay to anchor in Plymouth on 2nd June. In the log book, Harold wrote, How apt are the words: For England home and beauty. The Sirius had come through the rough and tumble of the voyage very well indeed and as they subsequently found, showed no signs whatever of strain. They were not affected by seasickness during the voyage; never missed a meal and could always stay below in the worst weather without feeling any discomfort. While in Plymouth they had the yacht slipped at Cremyll where she was repainted and anti-fouled. A new boom was made to replace the broken one and the deck erections were scraped and varnished. Sirius was out of the water for eleven days so the crew took the opportunity to see some of the countryside of Devon and Cornwall. The Commander-in- Chief at Devonport and Lady Drax invited them to lunch one day and later the Admiral visited the yacht. A few days later they sailed to Dartmouth where Rear Admiral Holt gave them a mooring off the Royal Naval College. While there, Harold Nossiter visited London for the first time. He was impressed with everything including the Tube but a er this visit he avoided the suburban trains whenever possible, finding them poor, compared to those in Australia. The next port of call was Torquay, then Southampton. Harold Nossiter was very impressed with the magnificent yachts that he saw in the Solent and while they were moored at Southampton, which is not far from London, he took every page 5

6 Classic Yacht Association of Australia opportunity to visit the Capital and even visited France. He fell in love with the English countryside and was most impressed with Stonehenge and Hastings where he paused on the spot where King Harold fell. They le Southampton for Cowes on 9th July and moored near a black, dismantled yacht moored to a buoy. Nossiter thought she might be the Britannia so he rowed past her in the dinghy and found that she really was the late King s yacht. She still carried about her the remains of her former grandeur though dismasted and dismantled. He wrote in the log. I happened to look out at eleven p.m. to see if the sky was clearing and saw two destroyers standing by, quite close to us. A launch then came alongside the Britannia and silently towed her to the stern of one of the destroyers, where she was made fast to the warship. The day had been windy and cold, with rain and a threatening sky but at the time drew near for the end of the famous yacht, the sky cleared, leaving black clouds only on the horizon, as though in mourning for the fine old boat. The destroyer stood out in majestic outline in the night, with the black hull of Britannia lying some lengths astern. At eleven fi een p.m. the warship moved slowly ahead and like a departing spirit, the poor, dismasted yacht followed in her wake. So she, who had so well played her triumphant part, moved silently away to her last resting place. As the destroyer turned and moved faster ahead with her tow the clouds gradually passed away, leaving a bright, star-lit sky for the old yacht s end, which came a li le later when she was sunk by a bomb, six miles out at sea. The next day, Sir Philip Hunloke, the late King s Sailing Master, came aboard and handed Nossiter an invitation from the Commi ee of the Royal Yacht Squadron to use the Club House during their stay at Cowes, which they greatly appreciated. They stayed in England for three months, which gave Nossiter the chance to document the voyage from Sydney to Southampton in his first book, Northward Ho which was published in London by H.F.& G.Witherby Ltd. in 1936 and in Boston by Charles E.Lauriat Co. the following year. Meanwhile they sailed in Mr. Isaacs Bell s yacht Bloodhound with her designer, Mr. Nicholson, joining in a race against four of the J Class yachts (also designed by Nicholson) and came second. Nossiter s two sons Harold and Dick sailed as crew in the Bloodhound in several more races, winning the Channel race, the Queen s Cup and other races at Torquay and Gosport. They departed Cowes on 17th September 1936 to return to Australia via Madeira and Trinidad. It was on this leg of the journey that the Sirius was repeating a much earlier a empt to sail a yacht from England to Australia. THE MIGNONETTE A TALE OF SHIPWRECK AND MURDER. Her skipper Thomas Dudley related the story to Harold senior. A well-known Sydney yachtsman, J.H.Want, bought Mignonette in England. She was only fifty-two feet long by about twelve feet six inches beam, about the size of Sirius and she left Southampton on the 19th May 1884 for Sydney via the Cape of Good Hope. A very venturesome undertaking, in those days. Dudley was accompanied by two men and a boy as crew. The men s names were Stephens and Brooks; the boy s name was Richard Parker who was seventeen years old and looked upon the trip as a great adventure. The Mignonette put in at Madeira, as the Sirius did, and then sailed south. After crossing the Line she encountered bad weather and on 2nd July in a storm she was struck by a heavy sea. The yacht had been lengthened and at the point where the timbers were joined she broke apart and water poured into the unfortunate vessel. Dudley could see at a glance that the yacht was doomed and shouted to his terrified crew to launch the dinghy, a boat fourteen feet long. Imagine the confusion on this small storm-tossed craft. It speaks well for the men that they were able to launch the boat in the sea that must have been running at the time. They then endeavoured to provision the dinghy but time was short and with only two small tins of preserved food and no water the unfortunate seafarers were adrift on the ocean. Dudley was the last to leave the doomed vessel but wisely took with him the sextant and a binnacle. The dinghy leaked through a hole, which had been knocked in its side when she was launched and they had to bail the boat constantly. The skipper was very resourceful and used every loose piece of timber aboard the dinghy for a sea anchor and they rode the seas thus. When the weather cleared they used their clothes for sails, keeping a sharp lookout for passing vessels but none were sighted. During this time they had only the two small tins of vegetables for food and a turtle caught and eaten raw. The only water they had to drink was what they collected when it occasionally rained. After sixteen days at sea in the open boat they were in a pitiful state of starvation, so bad indeed, that it occurred to Dudley, after being without food for seven days and with no water, that their only chance was to draw lots as to who should sacrifice himself for food for the others and he made that suggestion but Brooks would not agree. The lad, Parker, was very ill page 6

7 Issue 23 - January 2007 CYAA and helpless at the time and according to Dudley would have died in any case. The captain finally proposed to put an end to the boy s life. The lad was slain and the starving men drank his blood and ate the flesh, which kept the three alive until they were picked up on the 28th July by a German barque when the boy s remains were found by their rescuers, at the bottom of the boat. At this time Dudley and Stephens were in a state of collapse and had to be carried aboard the ship. When they were landed at Falmouth, about six weeks later, they were charged with murder but Brookes was acquitted, as he was no party to the slaying of the boy. Dudley and Stephens were however committed for trial, found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. In the end they were reprieved on appeal and only sentenced to six months imprisonment. After serving his time, Dudley went to Australia and started a business as a sail and tarpaulin maker and prospered. His end came in a strange way, as he was the first man to die of the Bubonic Plague, when it first broke in Australia. The Nossiters continued on to Trinidad, the locals told them that the Island was outside the hurricane zone. This was despite the fact that one had struck there as recently as 27th June It had caused extensive damage to the coconut plantations, the derricks of the oil fields, had destroyed houses and sank vessels. However the Trinidadians would not admit this was a hurricane, as they pride themselves on being outside the hurricane belt. The crew soon moved the yacht to Monos Island where the vampire bat is found and they visited the Pitch Lake which they walked across watching the Negroes digging out the pitch with picks while other labourers carried the lumps weighing up to eighty pounds on their heads, to trucks which hauled it up to the refinery. On the 1st December as they approached Panama they saw hundreds of floating trees and stumps. They had many narrow escapes from running into huge logs in the dark. Fortunately there was not a heavy sea and hard wind at the time as many of the larger logs would have stove them in. As it was they received a few glancing blows. The then proceded through the Panama Canal where they were measured at a cost of $10 and paid their tolls of $15.75 including pilotage, making a total of $ In Colon the Sirius was hauled up on Wilson s slip at Foulkes River, for a final overhaul, before proceeding on the long run across the Pacific Ocean. Whilst being piloted back to Cristobal by Mr. Wilson, the owner of the dock, he steered too close to a point and they grounded. A er several unsuccessful a empts to get off the mud, Harold signalled a passing banana boat for a tow. They were pulled clear but the antifouling along the keel was scraped off and marine growth quickly grew there. They le Cristobal under power with a pilot and a friend and passed through the first lock. As the ropes were cast adri, the pilot at the wheel ordered full speed ahead. The water swirling in the lock swung the yacht around and with the engine at full power they rammed into the wall. The bobstay, of 1 3/4-inch wire rope, snapped and the Sirius hung on the wall of the dock by her bowsprit, made of Australian spo ed gum. The rushing waters then picked up the Sirius and deposited her back in the lock, without breaking the fi ing to the stem or the gamin iron. The Port Captain, Captain Rodges kindly offered to straighten some rigging screws and replace the bobstay, so they were soon ready to sail. They entered the Pacific Ocean and reached Cocos Island on New Year s Day 1937, anchoring in Chatham Bay. Five days later they hoisted sail and made for Santa Cruz (Indefatigable Island), one of the Galapagos Islands, some four hundred miles distant. The whole way the wind and current were against them so they had a long beat to windward. Nossiter chronicled the return to Sydney in his second book Southward Ho which contains many stories and legends of the sea. Here is one example. I remember page 7

8 Classic Yacht Association of Australia a few years ago a story told to me by the brother of a man who was going home late one night from Sydney to Pyrmont and who saw the captain of one of his father s schooners called the Meg Merriles get into a rowing boat and row across to Pyrmont. He was rowing across himself and called out to the captain but receiving no reply, followed him in his skiff. He saw the captain land and although he ran a er him along the road, he could not catch him and finally he saw him disappear into his co age. Next morning at breakfast he mentioned the incident to his father, who was surprised, as he believed that the vessel was up the north coast. He went down to the captain s residence later but his wife said he had not returned and the son was chafed by the family, who said he must have been drinking. The following day the Meg Merriles came into port with the flag at half-mast. The mate reported the skipper was lost overboard, off Port Stephens, on the same night and at the same time as the captain was seen by my friend s brother going into his home. In the Galapagos Islands a German named Kubler took care of them and showed them around. He took Harold and Dick hunting wild pig and showed them how to catch lobster by simply feeling for them under the rocks and pulling them out one by one. He also took them to catch a giant tortoise, called a Galapagos by the Islanders. Kubler killed one weighing about five hundred-weight (254 Kg.), which he said was upwards of five hundred years old. The Indians at that time were killing them in large numbers and Harold wrote in the log that these creatures would soon be extinct. They dined on the liver of the one they killed for several days. There was one more stop before leaving the Galapagos Islands, at Isabella (Albemarle Island) where they caught several turtles for fresh meat and fat, which was boiled to make oil for cooking. Then came the longest leg of the journey, three thousand miles to the Marquesas Islands. All the way from the coast of America to Australia they never saw another vessel under way. The log was over reading compared to Dick s noonday observations so Harold hauled it in and found that two of the blades were bent. There were bite marks on the blades and as this was the third time the log had been a acked by fish, he decided to dispense with the log as they only had one spare. When they were fi een hundred miles from the nearest land they saw a large number of whales. Harold then recalled a visit to Twofold Bay, on the New South Wales coast, a few years earlier. He visited the remains of Boyd Town, built by an adventurer named Boyd who came from England to Australia in a yacht called the Wanderer in 1842, to develop the pastoral and whaling industry. Wanderer was the first yacht to sail to Australia. An old whaler told Harold that many whales were found in Twofold Bay in past years and many killer whales assisted in the capture of the whales. Only a few of the killers were le by this time and were known by name. When the killers sighted a whale they would drive him into the bay and signal to the whalers of his presence by jumping out of the water. The whalers would then go out in their boats, assisted by the killers, which prevented the whale from going to sea and harpoon the poor monster. When the whale was at bay the killers would bite out the tongue and lips, which must have been a delicacy, for that is all they bothered about, leaving the carcass to the whalers. It was the porpoise that kept them company on the lonely tracts of ocean and made them feel less cut off from the rest of the world. Leaping in front of them and crossing the bow, having no fear of the hull moving through the water and missing them with only inches to spare. The flying fish was another friend. Each morning a few would be found on deck and they tasted good when fried in turtle oil. The record number collected one morning was approaching the Celebes when the crew gathered about seventy. Exhausted birds o en came aboard and rested on the yacht. They were usually quite tame and let the crew pick them up. One poor bird stayed with them for quite a time and Harold was sorry to find it dead on the floor of the saloon one morning, where it had fallen from its perch during the night. A er nineteen days at sea they reached Fatu Hiva (Magdaline Island), the most southerly island of the Marquesas Archipelago. One luxury the Nossiters carried aboard was a wind up gramophone and some 78-rpm records. They would o en play some music for the natives, the first western music they had ever heard. Here in Fatu Hive one of the younger men started to do the Hula Hula when they gave him a li le music. In return they were given breadfruit and paw paws, then one a er another, visitors came with presents of oranges, tomatoes, watercress, pineapples, and every fruit and vegetable they grew. Harold gave them tobacco and cigare es but they really did not want anything in return. They also had a camera and Harold would develop the film on board straight away, ge ing the negatives printed when they reached port. Here in Fatu Hiva the natives were a happy, smiling race but a er a day there, Harold noticed that many were diseased, especially the men, with nasty sores, elephantiasis and leprosy. The crew had shaken hands with all on the beach, the night before and never knew how many were afflicted. Later they were told by a Government official at Atouna that this island was closed and they should not have gone there. A er this Garden of Eden they had a pleasant sail, close-hauled, to Hiva Oa (Dominica Island). Then to Tahu Ata (Saint Christina Island) for a few days before returning to Hiva Oa. When they weighed anchor here on 21st February they carried the mail for the island of Nuku Hiva (Marchand Island) where they arrived a er an uneventful voyage. page 8

9 Issue 23 - January 2007 CYAA The route across the Pacific took them to the Atoll of Takaroa in the Tuamotu Archipelago where they picked up the next load of mail and headed to Tahiti, then Bora Bora in the Society Islands. Then to Raratonga, Cook Islands and Nukualofa. Tongan Islands. By this time Nossiter was becoming fed up with the way his crew would, in his words chase around a er those filthy black girls whenever they went ashore. Some times the crew failed to return to the yacht on time for their planned departure and Dick s sons now say, I m sure we have half-brothers or sisters and cousins all over the South Pacific. The last part of the journey was the toughest, as they sailed down the East Coast of Australia, they encountered a severe storm with force twelve winds from the south. They had to lay ahull with enormous waves breaking ahead and a of them but none came crashing onto the decks. A er three days the current had actually taken them 10 miles further south, towards Sydney. They dropped anchor in Watsons bay at 7 p.m. on 20th May 1937 and Sirius earned her place in maritime history as the first Australian Yacht to circumnavigate the globe. From then until the outbreak of war, Sirius was a well-known racing yacht. Unfortunately, the fore mast which was made of Norwegian Spruce had dry rot and Harold s son Ben had to chop it down. Ben was the youngest of the four Nossiter sons and he became a pilot in the RAAF. He went to England in 1941 and flew Spitfires in the RAF. During the war Sirius was impressed into service with the Australian Army Small Ships Division and used as a training vessel at Bribie Island. A er the war she was returned to Harold Nossiter who sold her to J.S.Booth and she returned to the racing circuit. Part II of the Incredible History and Tales of the Sirius will appear in the next edition. Acknowledgements: The Australian National Maritime Museum, H.F.& G.Witherby Ltd. and Charles E.Lauriat Co. for excerpts from the books Northward Ho and Southward Ho by Harold Nossiter Snr. Harold and Jean Nossiter, Harold s son Tony and Jean s niece Heather Patchet. Richard Dick and Nancy Nossiter and their three sons Ben, Steven, and Hubert. Laurie Crowley and his son Randal. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (interview with Bill and Margarete Co er for Blue Water Australians ). David Plant and Sri. Also the many people who have stopped as they pass by in a marina and said, Do you know, this was the first Australian yacht to sail around the world? True. page 9

10 Classic Yacht Association of Australia THE TUMLARENS PART II Following on from the last edition where I spoke about the first Tumlarens at the Royal St Kilda Yacht Club. I will now move through to the jolly times just prior World War II. Once again I thank among others Bert Ferris, Historian at RMYS for his excellent research Written by Tony Frederick, Zea no was a big year for the fleet, it saw H.C. (Mick) Brooke win the first seasons aggregate points sailing Acklorean (no 98) this started the keen racing we have seen for all these years, which continues to this day. Sadly Acklorean was lost, destroyed at her mooring in a storm in early The sixth Tum was launched this year, Gotnum (no 93) now Galatea built by J Edwards off Charlie Peel s moulds, for a Dr Li lejohn sailed out of Brighton by the doctor s son and a B Needham. Nearing the end of the first season Yvonne (no 94) was purchased from Commodore Joe White and renamed Doffie by new owner Don Banks. October 1938 also saw the industrious boat builder Charlie Peel finishing a second boat for Commodore Joe White, named, you guessed it, Yvonne (no 97) skippered by Alick Rose she went on to win her first two races that year. Also in that year Doffie ex Yvonne (no 94) and Zest (no99) provided a novel site at St Kilda, one boat was painted all white on the starboard, and green on the port with a red boot top, and the other with white bo om and green topside starboard and the same colors reversed on port, finished off with a red boot top. Jack Savage completed a new boat in 1938 but it remained un sold until August 1940,when Eric Walker purchased her and named her Avian (no 96) she was painted Red (as she still is) with a copper bo om. The next season saw all Tumlarens painted a different color, which brightened the sailing at the top of the bay considerably. World War II stopped development in the class, but racing continued on with five or six boats regularly sailing, with skippers and crew being interstate and overseas yachtsmen on leave from the services. A permit was required from the authorities to venture out on the Bay at this time, due to the military activities in Williamstown and at the docks up the river. The Tumlarens were the only active keel boat class on Port Phillip to race through this war time period. O o Tucks Zest won all before her to become undisputed Class and Club champion, during that period Gotnum was sold to Dr (later Sir) Hugh Devine, renamed Ulrica she was fi ed with an auxiliary and sailed around to Westernport for recreational fishing in Bass Strait saw keen Tum sailor Tom Banks build two magnificent Tumlaren models. One was placed in a large glass case and presented to the club as the T.L. Banks State Tumlaren Championship Trophy, where it still resides in magnificent isolation outside the gents toilets at the top of the stairs. The other, was raffled for a wartime charity and is currently in a private collection not more than a kilot from the other also saw Zara (no 112) purchased from Adelaide by Les Walker, she was amateur built as Beth by P. O Grady in During this difficult time, the Tumlaren Class was always active and could be seen at most small boat club Opening Days and Rega as. We must remember that the Tums were in their day the state of the art racer, and were invited to participate in many club events, as much as a draw card as an active competitor. A popular annual event was the Sunday a ernoon event at Black Rock YC the Tums raced down from St Kilda in the morning, and competed in change of crews, novice skipper and teams races in the a ernoon. There was also a race sponsored by the crews of the Tumlarens where three boats were sailed by the Clubs race officials with trophies and prizes donated by the crews in appreciation of the fine work done by the officials during the year. In a bold a empt to promote the class in 1945 a brochure and booklet was produced and sent to all leading Yacht Clubs in Australia. Boxing Day 1945 saw the first of the post war seaside carnivals, celebrated with the Tumlaren fleet racing to St Leonard s in a strong northerly. Zest, Marie and Zara completed the course and returned to St Kilda only to be hit by a strong southerly change with wind gusts of 54 miles per hour. Marie and Zara were dismasted and the passenger steamer S.S. Nairana bound for Tasmania rescued the crews. Zest saw the change and dropped main and shortly a er jib and surfed back to St Kilda under bare poles. The next morning Marie and Zara were sighted off Middle Park and were towed into the moorings with li le water in the bilges and items le in the cabin sole perfectly dry. The Tumlaren class tried but failed to establish itself as a onedesign class on Sydney Harbor in the post war years. The then editor of Sea Cra magazine Norman Hudson became involved as he intended to control the Sydney aspect of the class, obtaining commissions on all royalties paid for plans sold, and boats built. However Royal St Kilda YC as sole Knud Reimers representative for Australia refused to allow him to do this, and there a er there was a negative reaction to the class in Sydney and from Sea Cra. The season saw three new additions to the fleet, Kel page 10

11 Issue 23 - January 2007 CYAA Tumlarens moored at Royal Geelong Yacht Club A.N.A. Regatta Compliments Michael Wood. Atherton purchased Zane (no 111) an early Clausen built cra from Adelaide. And Dondu (no 200) renamed Dingo she was amateur built by owner Clive Harrison on Peel moulds, and went on to win the club championship that year. And Saga(no201) now Vahine was built by Ken Amstead for David McPhearson of RYCV. The 1947 season saw plenty of Tum action on the water. Avian entered the stormy RBYC Lady Nelson 100 mile overnight race and finished fi h on handicap and first in division. Good Friday saw the fleet race to Mornington for the Easter holidays, a er an uncomfortable night and fearing worse to come, the decision was made to return to St Kilda, when the change hit Tarna went to sea, she tried to reduce sail but her main halyard jammed and she careered around the bay for most of the day. Doffie ex Yvonne (no 94) was inshore when she saw a larger yacht go ashore to her lee, so she went to sea under jib in the wild confused seas, the majority of the fleet also had a wild day but being the great sea boats they are the Tumlaren fleet returned to St Kilda unscathed. Season saw Zea (no 308) added to the fleet, built by Bo eril & Fraser for Bruce Robinson under the supervision of Charlie Peel. Zea is currently the authors boat. September 1949 saw Snowgoose (no 309) now Yeoman launched at Jack Savages yard, for Bill and David Low of RYCV. Snowgoose is an interesting boat, as it required a concession from the trustees to build her from Spruce planking, as the favored Oregon was un available or very expensive due to the continuing war time shortages. This required the plank thickness to be increased to allow for the lesser weight of the Spruce. Around this time other a empts were made by owners to deviate from the Knud Reimers original plans, but the trustees would have none of it. O o Tuck a empted to introduce an intermediate jib between working jib and genoa. And Jack Greig applied in 1946 to remove the cabin top, and have a large open cockpit, as this was being rejected he actually removed the cabin top, the trustees again rejected this plan and banned him from racing until the cabin was restored. Jacks plan was based on allowing the crew to have a be er view of the races, as the custom in the early days was to have the crew remain below decks when not engaged in their duties. By season , the class had become well developed with good fleets in Melbourne and Adelaide, three boats in Sydney, one in Fremantle and another under construction in Hobart. Royal St Kilda YC through the Owners Association issued a challenge for the Tumlaen championship of Australia, despite Joe White and the prominent Adelaide boat builder P. Clausen offering trophies, the series came to naught. Season 1950 saw Snowgoose and Zest tied on points for the State championships, which Zest won in a sail off. That same year O o Tuck skipper of Zest who had been unbeatable for nine seasons moved to the new International Dragon class saw Trommie ex Doffie sold to Adelaide, but the return of Marie ex Acklorean (and of course again renamed Acklorean) return to St Kilda from Geelong, and Ulrica return from Westernport purchased by Bill Bridgeford, where she had been since the War. The officers of the Cerberus Sailing Club at Flinders Naval Depot issued a challenge in 1955 page 11

12 Classic Yacht Association of Australia to Royal Melbourne YC to a teams race, sailed in turn in Naval dinghies in Westernport and Tumlarens at St Kilda. The RMYC members won the Copper Jerry Pot trophy donated by the Navy and this became a popular annual challenge for many years also saw Chandra (no 321) now E rick built at Ronstrans for Fred Freedman, and Sirrocco (no3 22) now Ellida, purchased by John Wa from South Australia, where she had been amateur built by J Williams. Season 1955 saw the first rig change in the class with Alan Crutchley owner of Snowbird now Yoeman, removing the forward lowers and shortening the lower crosstrees. This was so successful that Selim Nurminen skipper of Yvonne soon followed suit, the following season the entire fleet was rigged accordingly. This started a trend for change, as in season 1957 sheet winches were finally permi ed, to keep up with the modern trend of the Dragons. The a er bulkhead of the cabin was allowed to be removed and the cabin top could be reduced in length by 450 mm, Jack Greig and O o Tuck almost got what they wanted so many years before. Also at this time, the spinnaker pole was reduced in length by one metre, and the foot of the genoa jib was reduced by 350 mm, this greatly increased the workability of the boat. Before this handling of the cra was rather primitive, as I stated before crews mostly remained inside the semi enclosed cabin, seeing li le of what was going on outside. The forward hand was posted at or in the forward hatch and would launch and retrieve the spinnaker from there, cleating the double ended halyard at the base of the mast. The spinnaker pole was a ached to the mast with a rope sno er, and had no topping li or kicker, being held as level as possible by the forward hand, off the wind a crewmember sat on the main boom to fla en the sail. In a very modern adaptation for 1957, Alan Crutchley of Snowbird introduced the first spinnaker turtle bag, possibly the first seen in Victoria. Snowbird was again prominent in 1959 when she outperformed all other Royal St Kilda yachts in the Williamstown to Geelong passage race, finishing a close second to the scratch yacht the international 9.31-metre rating Acrospire IV to win the Doc Bennell trophy. Season saw the first synthetic sails and longer top mainsail ba ens allowed by the trustees. A er yacht owner s constant lobbying since 1949, the Tumlaren Class association was finally formed at Royal St Kilda YC. This was done to promote the class, represent the views of members, and to encourage and bring together those interested in the class; the association still exists today, but meets infrequently. The fleet increased again in 1968 when Zinita (no 323) was built by J&O Whi ley for David Phillips. In March 1968 the St Kilda club challenged three NSW Tumlaren skippers to race on Port Phillip against three Victorian skippers, all seemed set until the appointed date when only one NSW skipper turned up, forcing the abandonment of the races. Season 1969 O o Tuck (Zonja) saw that the strain of a heavy solid timber mast, on the ageing hull was having a detrimental effect, so he stepped an International Soling Class rig into Zonja. At the same time the owners petitioned the trustees to allow alloy masts for This was refused, and O o was instructed to restore Zonja back to her original rig. The greatest test of boat and crew came in the 1969 Australia Day Williamstown to Geelong passage race. The fleet was caught off Wilson s spit in a 52 knot gale, which lasted for several hours, followed by a period of flat calm then another gale of similar velocity, with gusts of 74 knots as measured at Point Henry signal station. Of an entry list of 250 yachts 100 started and only 14 finished, three of which were Tumlarens. The years 1960 to 1970 saw the keenest racing the class had yet experienced, Len Digby in Yeoman, Selim Nurminen in Yvonne, Arthur Ethridge in Zea and O o Tuck in Zonja, fiercely contested class, club and invitation races through this time. Through the 1970 s, boats came and went, the most interesting being in 1974 when Zinitas owner for some unexplainable reason removed his yacht to a farm shed where she, remained until sold to a Sydney buyer in In 1976 Howard Fox bought Zefir (no 318) now Zephyr amateur built in 1953 by RP Stephens Adelaide, Zefir is the only Tumlaren built with Reimers original designed steel frames, which the current owner tells me have been removed, and replaced with timber. Easter 1977 saw Yeoman severely damaged in a storm when she was driven ashore, but was rebuilt, and back in the fleet in 1981 to be skippered by the 74 year old veteran Selim Nurminen, winning the state championships that year. Following the death of Tumlaren skipper John Wa his yacht Ellida was donated to the Squadron to be used as the Squadrons first training vessel, and was first skippered by Rod Benne in Season 1978 saw Tumlarens do well in many combined club and intra club events; this was highlighted in the 1978 annual Combined Classes Moomba Championship of Port Phillip, where Tumlaren yachts Yvonne, Selim Nurminen, Dingo, Albert Solly and Avian, Bill Gash, shared first, second and third places overall separated by only one minute. It was Selim Nurminen and Bill Gash who would fight out one of the longest and greatest rivalries in the history of the class. page 12

13 Issue 23 - January 2007 CYAA The state championship was decided in the final heat off Williamstown in March of 1975 and this race was long remembered by Tumlaren crews as a most remarkable race. So close were the points between Yvonne Selim Nurminen and Avian Bill Gash that either yacht had to win to become champion. In a strong 30 knot Southerly, nine yachts faced the starter, on the first leg Yvonne s starboard lower main shroud failed, after a hurried lashing was made she continued on in the race. Yvonne rounded the weather mark second last, with a long shy leg ahead, in desperation, and in conditions no one else dared Selim gave the crew instructions to set a spinnaker. Yvonne surfed from sea to sea and rounded the next mark just astern of Avian in second place, but making no impression on her in the square run. Knud Reimers A GREAT CHAMPION AND A GREAT RIVALRY It is rare in any sport to see one person so totally dominate, as did Selim Nurminen in his Tumlaren Yvonne, his dominance started in 1947 and continued until 1976, he was still winning State championships in 1988 at the age of 81. Season Selim Nurminen skippering Yvonne equaled a long standing record, winning the RMYS converted Cactus Cup for the fifth time since its inception. At this time the dominance of Yvonne was creating concern in the fleet. We need to understand that up to this point the crew of a Tumlaren spent all or most of the race below decks in the cramped cabin, however Yvonne s crew sailed on the weather deck, a practice considered un sporting at that time, and many attempts had been made to have the practice banned. By season all crews had copied Yvonne and sailed on the weather deck. And with newer gear, fittings and sail handling techniques appearing at this time the racing became keener, between Yvonne Selim Nurminen, Avian Bill Gash, Zonja Wally Johnston, Pest Doug Jenkin and Ettrick Robert Stock. So keen was Robert Stock that he sailed Ettrick up from Geelong to contest all the championship races, then sailed her home again at the completion of the heat. On the windward beat Avian forged ahead as Yvonne was nursed up the course through the large seas. On the next shy run Yvonne repeated her previous efforts and caught the stern of Avian, and on the last short beat to the line, crossed ahead to take the championship. Season again saw the championship decided on the last race with the champion Selim Nurminen in Yvonne and challenger Bill Gash in Avian fighting out the last leg of the last race. Sailing to windward in a freshening breeze the much improved Avian engaged Yvonne in a close tacking duel, with both yachts tacking over 20 times, before finally breaking off to cover a threatening and fast approaching Galatea. Yvonne again winning by the narrowest margins to Avian with Galatea close astern. Season a new champion emerged with Bill Gash in Avian finally defeating Selim Nurminen in Yvonne to break an eleven championship streak, not before seen since Otto Tuck in Selim Nurminen continued on over the following years to compete in club and Tumlaren championships in Yvonne and later in Vahine in which he tied with Bill Gash for the State Championships. Selim was by then 81 years old, he must be credited as the class s most outstanding skipper. His record with Yvonne helped make her the greatest performer of any keel yacht on the RMYS register, and it is claimed the greatest performing keel yacht on Port Phillip. She was Club champion in seasons , State Champion to 1976 and was runner up five times. Selim Nurminen became the first Tumlaren Class Association Life Member in page 13

14 Classic Yacht Association of Australia Ewen Bell Ewen Bell THE MODERN ERA Season 1985 saw Zara return from Sandringham purchased by Rob Lowe, bringing the fleet numbers up to a record 14 Tumlaren at StKilda, also that year the club administered Ellida was sold to Garry Moylan due to high running costs. On opening day 1987 the Tumlarens led the Squadron fleet to celebrate their Golden anniversary at StKilda. The Tumlaren Association having received a Commemorative Plaque from the designer in 1983, decided to commemorate the 50 years on Port Phillip by having the Plaque mounted as the The Knud H Reimers Trophy won that year by Bill Gash in Avian. That year also saw the addition of Anna (no 57) by Tim Cooke purchased from Adelaide, and David Kerr became state champion in Dingo. David was an ex South Australian State champion in Lightweight Sharpies, and in later years sailed as sheet hand for Bill Gash in Avian with Selim Nurminen s daughter Monica as forward hand. Over the following years the fleet was reduced in numbers with sales, retirements and the growth of newer classes and the allure of low maintenance plastic yachts. Bill Gash in Avian dominated the small fleets of the late 1980 s and 1990 s and was challenged by Kim Chipman in Galatea and later Yvonne, plus Richard Downey in E rick and Mike Dolphin in Acklorean being regular competitors. Season saw the end of class races as the reduced Tumlaren fleet was included into the divisional racing events, and because of modern day safety requirements, the class was restricted to only local club events. The following years Zonja was purchased from Adelaide by Geelong yachtsman George Mullinger and not long a er Anna returned to Adelaide. In a summary of the class, RMYS historian JH (Bert) Ferris identifies three distinct types of hull forms. This happened due to differences in the method s the boat builders used to interpret Knud Reimers dimensioning when lo ing out lines. These were Peel style, with a fuller more buoyant bow. WHICH BUILDER WHICH BOAT The three notable Tumlaren boat builders in Australia were firstly Clausen and Sons of Port Adelaide, Charlie Peel of Williamstown and Jack Savage and Sons of Williamstown. Ronstrans built one boat and possibly more, but I can t find any and amateur builders built their share right across Australia. Of the notable Tumlarens built and raced in Australia Clausen built Acklorean, Tarna, Zanne and Anna, but is credited with building at least 6 boats. Savage built Zonja, Avian and Snowgoose. Peel built Yvonne 94 &97 Zest, Zea, Galatea and Dondu. Ronstrans built Chanda now Ettrick. It should be noted that often the boats were built under supervision in these yards. Galatea was built by J Edwards on Charlie Peels moulds. Dondu was also built on Peel moulds by her owner Clive Harrison. Zea was built by Botteril & Fraser under Charlie Peels supervision. The so called amateur builders were P O Grady of Adelaide who built Beth (now Zara), Ken Amstead of Melbourne built Saga (now Vahiene). J Williams of Adelaide built Sirroco (now Ellida). J&O Whittley built Zinita. Zefir (now Zephyr) was built by RP Stephens in Adelaide and Haze was built in Fremantle by RT Haynes. Most of these so called amateurs were most likely local boat builders building a one off Tumlaren as an order, not really all amateurs at all. Savage style had a fla er bow. And in Adelaide the Clausens style was more a V section bow, and the boats were also 75 dearer than the Victorian boats, as Clausens rebated the bow and stern planking inside the line. Bert Ferris believes but for these anomalies to the designs, closer and be er racing would have resulted. Over the years the Peel type boats dominated results, so there is hope for Zea yet. page 14

15 Issue 23 - January 2007 CYAA Ewen Bell TODAY Melbourne remains the base of the strongest Tumlaren fleet outside of Europe, and still has a Class Association. Four Tumlarens remain on moorings at St Kilda Zea, Galatea, Zest and Zara. Zest being the most active, in recent times Tarna was sold to James Frenchville at Paynesville and has been restored, and the famous Avian keeps company with helicopters and is being restored at Docklands by Roger Dundas. Sadly Acklorean the very first Tumlaren at St Kilda was totally destroyed on her mooring in a wild gale almost 18 months ago, parts of her recovered hull and rig live affectionately with Tumlaren lovers across the state. The class is now growing under the support of the Classic Yacht Association, with regular appearances of Zephyr and Ellida in the classic fleets. Tumlaren records interstate are quite remarkable, up until the advent of modern ocean racing ratings, Tumlarens fi ed with self draining cockpits were consistent ocean racing entrants. Merve Finn skipper of Haze (313) sailing out of Fremantle won every ocean race in her state, this included the Ro nest Island race, Brumby race and the Cape Naturaliste race. On one spectacular occasion, in foul weather and with fears for her safety, Haze remarkably was the only yacht to finish the race. At about the same time New Zeland Tumlarens Vanquer, A Pickmere and Valliant, F Marks won many ocean races. The class has survived in Melbourne for so many years due to the well organized class association, strict one design control by the trustees, and by having so many top skippers active in the class namely Olympians H.C Mick Brooke, (Rome 1960) Graham Drane, (Melbourne 1956, & Tokyo 1968) Bob French (Torbay 1948 Melbourne 1956 & Rome 1960), Peter Boulton Li le Americas Cup skipper of Quest and champion skippers, Alick Rose, Dick Ba arbee, Alf Fackrell, Jack Greig, O o Tuck, David Low, Bert White, Alan Crutchley, Len Digby, Bill Osborne, Bill Gash, David Kerr and the unique Selim Nurminen. The present cra if well cared for should last many years, but sadly the status of the class will never match that of its hey days when Tumlarens were the modern racing yacht on Port Phillip. WHAT S IN A NAME? Over the years as yachts changed owners, moved around the country from club to club,new owners often changed the yachts name. In Joe Whites case he kept the name forcing the new owner to re name the yacht. Joe was attached to the name Yvonne he owned two yachts with that name Tumlarens no 94 and 97. So needless to say Joe Whites Yacht Yvonne (no 94) had no fewer than 4 names in her rich life. She was also known as Doffie, Trommie and H.V.W. no other boat had so many names. Acklorean (no 98) was Marie then back to Acklorean. Snowgoose (no 309) became Yeoman. Zest (no 99) became Pest then back to Zest. Gotnum (no 93) became Galatea. Dondu (no 200) became Dingo. Chanda (no 321) became Ettrick Saga (no 201) became Vahine. Sirroco (no 322) became Ellida her half model still hangs in the members bar at RYMS Zefir (no318) is now Zephyr. Does my bum look big in this? Ewen Bell page 15

16 Classic Yacht Association of Australia ANOTHER TUM-TALE, JAMES FRECHEVILLE ON HOW TARNA WAS RESCUED AND RESTORED It all started when my business partner, Tim Heaney and I were playing RIVA at the Geelong Wooden Boat Festival. We had blasted down the bay from Melbourne in the Super Aquarama that we had recently restored, passing a long parade of yachts heading south, it was a grand trip for a powerboat as there was little wind and the sea flat. As we approached Geelong a little green sloop appeared through the mist, ghosting along under spinnaker, she was a Tumlaren we knew that much, they gave us a wave as we zoomed past at 30 knots. Bloody stink boats! In the course of the weekend Roger Dundas and his green Zephyr were to moor next to us and we got to talk boats, Tumlarens in particular, as you do when you are at a proper boat festival and especially when you are parked next to a Tum. My wife Carol had come down to join us for a day and I just casually mused that it would be great to have a Tum gracing the waters of the Gippsland Lakes. Bobbing alongside the RIVA Zephyr was looking resplendent, her crew was in party mode and the sail past had been picture perfect. Carol and I had been shipmates on an H28 and a 30 gaff cu er a lifetime ago and she too appreciated the lines and motion of a real sailboat. When she u ered something positive on the subject I immediately took it to be spousal approval. I asked Roger if he knew of any Tums for sale and in three days I had three possibilities and in less than a week I had bought sight unseen Tarna Tumlaren no 91. She was languishing on her mooring in St Kilda supporting a three year growth of muscles, kelp and weed. Her covers had all but ro ed but she was still afloat. At the time of removing Tarna to our yard, we were in Melbourne for the Williamstown Heritage Festival, to display our new build mahogany gentleman s racer Rosita designed by John Hacker in At this time Rosita was work in progress, and it looked like Tarna was also destined to be work in progress. It was blowing bags from the North and we didn t want to end up on the pier when we dropped the mooring, so armed with a spade and a rope sling and Tim supporting me, I dug the growth from the hull. It took nearly an hour and I was alive with li le bugs when I finally got back on board. At least we were able to tack clear of St Kilda and enjoy a brisk sail to Williamstown, where we had made arrangements with Savages yard to haul the boat and truck it to Paynesville. It was an interesting sail as we had to contend with ropes and wire that wouldn t go around sheaves, luckily the rig held together which was a great relief and the bilge pump worked. It rained that night and I despaired that we hadn t made proper accommodation arrangements. I phoned my wife that evening to say I was planning to sleep with a new girlfriend, She didn t mind as the new woman was a 1937 model and had a ton of lead in her bum. The next day Tarna was duly transported to our boatyard and blocked up. Basically she was pre y sound but suffering from years of neglect. We had scored a log of celery top pine while at the Hobart Wooden Boat Festival and felt that a laid deck would be just the ticket. Some mahogany trims and some new string and wire would also be in order, so over the next eight months we po ered around, making the old girl presentable and worthy of her pedigree. And like any good old tart she needed a coat of jam. It was quite amazing how many old crackers came out of the woodwork to have a look at the boat and reminisce of their time spent racing Tumlarens. It seems that everyone has a Tum story, re launching was satisfying, she didn t leak too much but we did forget to check the bilge pump. The rig went back together and we bolted things down on to our flash new deck. She looked a treat and we eagerly anticipated creaming down the lakes with a full spread of sail. Tarna, in her 69th year is now back sailing. She looks sensational and we are having so much fun. page 16

17 Issue 23 - January 2007 CYAA DAVID ALLEN SAILING PROFILE David Allen was born in Ouyen, some forty years ago: the hottest, driest place in all of Victoria a place that probably hasn t produced too many sailors. With a soil conservationist father, his family moved around the Mallee quite a bit. He loved the bush, remembering a carefree childhood, predominantly spent with his brothers, on bush bike tracks around Charlton and Bendigo. At 13, he began to ask for a motorbike and his dad cleverly brought home a dinghy. David wasn t disappointed. A strong sense of adventure, nurtured by Arthur Ransome seafaring stories such as Swallows and Amazons, made him ripe for the challenge. With a connection at Lake Cairn Curran, his dad had planned to teach his boys to sail. However, David and his brother, Michael, had other ideas: hijacking the boat, and teaching themselves. At 16, his father s work took the family to Melbourne, where David a ended Koonung High School. In 1982, a er finishing his Year 11 exams, he answered a North Sails ad for a sailmaker, thinking it might make a good summer job. Cu ing out sail numbers all day was pre y mundane, but he felt privileged to witness the pioneering technology of those very first computer-designed kevlar sails for Australia II. John Bertrand was his boss and Australia II and Challenge 12 were in Melbourne training for the 1983 America s Cup it was a very busy time and he was definitely thrown in at the deep end. It also marked the beginning of his education in keel boats. By 1985, he was in Sydney building new sails for South Australia and Kookaburra, before taking a job with Kookaburra s America s Cup challenge in Fremantle. That AC was lost to DC, sadly, but he had made some great friendships, helping to pave his way into a professional sailing career. Mike Fletcher recommended him to Peter Hollis as coach and sailmaker for Peter s Olympic Star boat campaign in Majorca. A erward, he joined the European sailing circuit in Capri with Dave Powys (Kookaburra) as sailmaker and crew on Monaco, a 40 foot One Toner. He recalls working inside that boat, bolting down fi ings, as it travelled 100km/h on the autobahn from France to Kiel for the One Ton Cup. Peter de Savary s Blue Arrow America s Cup campaign was next, but ended, disappointingly, in a courtroom somewhere. So, on a whim, David bought a ticket to Africa and spent several life-changing months hitch-hiking through Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zanzibar and Kenya before being kicked out of Uganda a good story, if you have an hour. He was greeted with snow in London upon his return, carrying a big black Ugandan bicycle (the African Queen) and a ten pound note. He was summoned to Capri for the European circuit once again, this time on Indulgence. A er the One Ton Cup in Naples, he sailed the boat to Antibes, in the south of France, where he met Greg Ise, Boat Captain of 80 foot maxi, Il Moro di Venezia III. Greg, formerly of Stars n Stripes, remembered him from Fremantle in David raced and managed the sail program on Il Moro for the summer of 89, competing in the Maxi World Championships in Sardinia, Palma and Saint Tropez, where they broke their mast and came second. He joined Swedish boat, The Card, for the Southern Ocean legs of the 1989 Whitbread Race from Fremantle to Auckland and around Cape Horn to Punta Del Este. Once there, Paul Cayard called him back to Venice as Il Moro di Venezia s America s Cup sail performance analyst. The team had a long preparation, competing in the Maxi World s on Passage to Venice (formerly Windward Passage II) in Newport, Miami and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, before se ling into their AC preparation in San Diego. A er 3 intense years, Il Moro lost the Cup to Bill Koch s America_ and David returned to Melbourne for a long-needed break. The next three years were spent sailing, coaching and making sails for his teacher and guru, Mark Rimington. A er racing against Dennis Conner in the Etchell State Championships in Brighton, he was invited to join Stars n Stripes as Sail Roger Dundas page 17

18 Classic Yacht Association of Australia CLASSIC YACHTS MAGAZINE BOOK REVIEWS Peter Heaton was regarded in England for many years as the man who knew all about boats. From an active service background in the Royal Navy during the Second World War he started to sail, write and paint about them. His first book Sailing was published in 1949 and in the author s words This book caters for the beginner and describes in detail the technique of choosing, buying, fi ing out, sailing and storing a yacht, in detail and in simple language. It includes many of the long forgo en sea shanties and sea-lore. Coordinator for the 1995 America s Cup. Another second place, famously losing to the Kiwis, but he rejoined Dennis and co-skipper, Chris Dickson for the Whitbread race onboard Toshiba. During time off from his pre-race preparation in Newport, Rhode Island, he immersed his growing passion for the classics in the old world of the J Class yachts at the Herreshoff museum, in nearby Bristol. Eight months later, screaming down a wave at 30 knots in the Southern Ocean, a two-metre wall of water wrapped him, ribs first, around the jockey pole. He broke four and his race was over. Dale Winlow, Il Moro friend and captain of 106 luxury yacht, Adesso, was quick to pick up on David s downtime, inviting he and wife, Colleen, on many delivery trips to exotic locations around the globe. When, a er the birth of their first child, Mike Smith asked David to skipper Kookaburra in Cowes for the America s Cup Jubilee in 2001, a circle was complete. It was a fantastic experience, and, for any classic boat enthusiast, it was not an event to be missed. David o en dreamed of owning a Fife eight-metre, having admired Fulmar in Monaco some years ago. However, his Tumlaren, Ellida, suits him just fine - particularly as he can happily sail it alone if he can t convince Colleen to crew. Now with two children, Jude & Elsie, he has spent the last eighteen months building his new house in Williamstown. He s looking forward to finishing it and so is his wife so that he can rejoin the other Tums out on the water. This book, and his second book, Cruising, published in 1952 were the first two books I bought on sailing and years before I set foot on a boat. I bought them in 1955 just a er I started work at Dymock s Book Arcade in Sydney because, although I didn t know anyone with a boat, as child I watched yachts and dinghies on Sydney Harbour and was taken by the grace and beauty of sailing. I have memories of seeing Astor and Winston Churchill moored in Rushcu ers Bay before the first Sydney to Hobart race in Although the books are wri en for beginners, they carry the stamp of a naval officer in the language and discipline of carrying out tasks. There is no other way except the navy way, even on yachts! Re-reading these books prior to my conducting offshore assessments for Yachtmaster candidates I cannot help but realise how valuable and precise his text is. Nowadays we look for shortcuts, GPS, instruments for everything and fast track courses, and overlook some of the basic skills that sailors had to rely on in days gone by. Here is an example of his writing from the book Sailing and the chapter Helmsmanship, Trim and Ballast. When I saw every other yacht passing me as if I was standing still, I was first annoyed and then puzzled. I blamed the boat, the cut of the sails in fact I laid the blame everywhere but in the right quarter myself. The answer can be summed up in one word helmsmanship. Helmsmanship is an art and must be acquired. The helmsman must develop good hands just like a horseman. Just as a good helmsman feels his mount, so does the good helmsman feel his ship. He knows whether or not she is correctly balanced and trimmed, and can sense at once whether she is going well or labouring under too much canvas or is going sluggishly under too li le. page 18

19 Issue 23 - January 2007 CYAA Sailing and Cruising were published by Penguin Books in paperback. A Century Under Sail: Selected photographs by Morris Rosenfeld and Stanley Rosenfeld. Published in Large format hard cover, 252 pages, 230 photographs. As new $100. This father and son team have brought to nautical photography a unique insight and sensitivity in every image they created. For this book, Stanley Rosenfeld has selected over 200 black and white photographs that reflect the enormous scope of the Rosenfeld File, the largest single collection of marine photography in the world. With spectacular highlights from the America s Cup races, this book features the great schooners of the turn of the century, the magnificent J-boats of the 1930 s and the powerful 12 metre boats from recent Cup races and array of boats of all shapes and sizes. The Rosenfeld s photographs also depict some of the most exciting moments in yachting history and offer rare glimpses of well-known designers and owners of another era. German Frers. A Passion for Design by Barry Pickthall Large format hard cover, 198 pages, illustrations, colour photographs, fold-outs of designs. Limited edition, number 1038 signed by author. As new $90. German Frers has designed some of the most successful racing yachts in the world and small production cruisers, a range of Nautor Swan yachts to 250 super yachts. Although his name is synonymous with the first-generation maxi yachts such as Whitbread winner Flyer, Matador, Kialoa V, Ondine V11 and the Australian- owned Windward Passage 11, he was always in the winners list at Admirals Cup races for many years. This book is full of yachts that we have seen and sailed against and the photographs of Ragamuffin, Di-Hard, Hitchhiker, Shockwave, Fremantle Doctor, to name just a few, leap from the page. Until I read this book I didn t realise the influence German Frers had on Australia s place in the world stage of yachting. This is a marvellous book for the enthusiast who wants to know the background of the modern super yachts such as Hyperion and the other 200 plus yachts that we never see in Australia. This book also traces his family background from Denmark to Argentina in search of a be er life. His father, also called German (pronounced hair-man) designed his first boat in 1926 and soon established a reputation for design and success on the River Plate. There was no doubt that the son who bore his name would follow in his fathers footsteps. Classic Racing Yachts of Australia, paintings by Bob Booth and text by Jock Sturrock. This is a special book with superb paintings, line drawings and details of the following yachts: Solo, Vim, Gretel, Caprice of Huon, Freya, Mercedes 111, Balandra, Koomooloo, Stormy Petrel, Apollo, Ragamuffin, Helsal, Gretel 11, Ginkgo, Love and War, Southern Cross, Piccolo, Ballyhoo, Australia, Siska 1V. There is also a special section on the yacht designers and a summary of races. It is an edition limited to 500 copies of which this is copy number 82. It is signed by the author and artist. 172 pages, 20 colour plates and 20 black and white illustrations. The size is Elephant folio, fully bound in blue/green calf, gilt le ered spine with raised bands. The book measures 770mm high and 360mm wide and comes boxed. $1500. Teki Dalton sells out-of print- and limited edition books, with an emphasis in boats and sailing, from au He runs a sailing school in Sydney and is the director of the Gallipoli Yacht Rally that a ends the Anzac Day services at Gallipoli in chartered Turkish yachts. More details at page 19

20 Classic Yacht Association of Australia 31ST HEMPEL VINTAGE YACHT REGATTA S H O R N C L I F F E 1 0 T H & 1 1 T H J U N E This year s Old Gaffers drew the biggest and most diverse fleet for more than a decade. Among the new comers were 66 Sydney Hobart Race entrants, Maria Van Dieman (Gary Blackburn) and line honours winner Fidelis (Nigel Stoke), John Brown s magnificent Herreshoff ketch, Windward Star, two recently launched gaffers Zeta (Terry Newman) and Flotsam (John Morrison), and Dulux (Mick Reed), a replica of a 1930 s 18ft Restricted Sharpie. The 60 year old schooner Bluenose (Gerard Forde), and local ketch Wotama (Albert Jeays) made welcome returns. While the entry list boded well, the weather forecast did not; 20 to 25 knots Nor easters for Saturday, and a similarly powerful sou west change by Sunday morning. This was guaranteed to sort the men from the boys, and while Saturday was a fizzer the forecasts did in fact reduce the starting fleets from the 46 that had entered. As the blue peter dropped for Race 1, 38 yachts slipped away into a light nor easter which soon dropped out. Due to this, and a wrongly set wing mark, the race did not live up to expectations, but Keith Glover s 61 Alden Ketch Wraith of Odin was able to reverse her previous years bridesmaid tag by beating arch rival Koomooloo (Mike Freebairn) across the line. Behind them were, Dulux and the two Heavyweight Sharpies Antiquity (Brian Hutchison) and Fiona (Richard Jeays). Fidelis missed the start, but gave an indication of the boat speed that had made her unbeatable for so many years. By Sunday morning, the gusty westerly ruled out the centre boarders and a reduced fleet of 25 headed out onto Moreton Bay for Race 2. The gusty 20 to 30 knot winds claimed the H28 Galadriel s mast just before the gun, but the reasonably flat seas set the scene for what was probably the best racing ever seen at this rega a, as the fast 3 of Koomooloo, Wraith of Odin and Fidelis lead the fleet around the windward mark with a comfortable margin. The wing mark was set for reaching which relieved skippers of decisions about kites, and it was along these legs that Fidelis showed what waterline length is all about. By the end of the 1st lap, she had caught Koomooloo only to lose the lead again on the 2nd windward leg. Also reveling in the conditions, were Peter Kerr s Tasman Seabird, Pagan, the Flying 15 Roast Beef (Craig Hoffman), Laurabada (Ivan Holm), the sloops Maria van Dieman and Sequana (Max Su or) and Rob Virtue s dragon, Fairwyn. Fidelis regained the lead again downwind but the Koomooloo boys put in a supreme upwind effort on their 68 Sydney Hobart winner to set up what they must have thought would be an unassailable lead. For most of the last leg it looked like they would take it, but Fidelis powered over the line to win by a mere 2 seconds with Wraith of Odin 30 seconds in arrears. A fine performance by Minot s Light saw her win the Ted Rice Shield for handicap honours in the Gaff Rigged division, and a wet but happy Craig Hoffman steered Roast Beef home to win the Willams Trophy in the Vintage Division. Nomad and Windward Star took out the minor handicap placings. Wraith of Odin won the Wooden Boat Association Shield for Best Presented Overall for the fourth year in a row, while Windward Star won the Marco Polo shield for Best Presented Vintage Yacht. Four Winds was a well deserved winner of the National Trust Shield for Gaff Rigged yachts, and John Morrison s long term project Flotsam won the Wasson Shield for Small Boats. Takahe s wenches on the winches won them the Best Dressed crew Award. Rega a coordinator Charlie Jeays gratefully acknowledged the support of Hempel s Marine Paints, Australia Wide Boat Sales and Deagon Slipways in making the 31st Hempel Vintage yacht Rega a so successful. page 20

21 Issue 23 - January 2007 CYAA AUSTRALIAN WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL TASMANIA 9 T H 1 2 T H F E B R U A RY It was obvious the seventh Australian Wooden Boat Festival held in Hobart on the 9th/12th February would be a total success. Registrations for the 4-day Festival closed over subscribed on the 30th October last year, and the waiting list was started. Over 508 registrations were received from owners of wooden boats and dinghy s from all over Australia and overseas. I was a lead volunteer supervising the registrations of all boats and dinghy s with a team of dedicated volunteers in the HQ building, the Waterside Pavilion. How pleasing it was to see the smiling and happy faces of proud boat owners safely tied up and off to our Waterside Pavilion to register and receive the show bag of goodies including brass plaque, flag, passes to the Festival, boat owners manual, special offers and complimentary bo le of wine for the Boat owners welcome function. HM Bark Endeavour and four other tall ships lead the huge fleet of Festival boats in a spectacular parade of sail on the first day of the Festival. A large team of Naval Reserve and Festival dock Volunteers were on hand in inflatable boats and dockside to guide the parade of sail boats into their berths. What a memorable and wonderful sight to see the entire Hobart waterside docks alive with colourful flags and beautiful wooden boats tied up for the four-day carnival. Highlight s of the Festival included a working Shipwrights Village with demonstrations of caulking, making of half models, oar making, lo ing and the Wooden Boat School with students demonstrating their acquired skills in Carvel traditional wooden boat building. The maritime marketplace was a popular venue and so many beautifully cra ed clinker dinghies on offer from the skilled local shipwrights. Seataste featuring Tasmanian seafood cooked by five local chefs was and immediate success and the food Piazza serving sensational Tasmanian food had patrons scrambling for available tables and chairs. There was the sounds of the sea, the live music and performances at various locations on the docks. Jazz legend, Don Burrows was among over 30 musical events. The magnificent replica of the 16th Century Dutch ship Duy en was present as part of her 400th anniversary voyage. She was joined by three traditional bluff-bowed sailing boats from Holland with their Dutch crews. Sailing was offered to the public on these sailing boats over the four days of the Festival. The Quick n Dirty event was outstanding and crowds were seven deep to witness the school kids providing wonderful entertainment in their makeshi dinghy s in Constitution dock. Model boats were also a crowd pleaser and the dedicated model builders have supported the festival since its inception. So many wonderful boats were present, The May Queen, built in 1867 in Franklin Tasmania from Tasmanian Blue Gum, The Port Fairy, built in 1857 and away from home for the first time in her 150 year history. Zephyr, Australia s oldest registered yacht was launched in Port Adelaide in 1873 and Avon celebrating her hundredth year at the Festival was built at Blunts, Williamstown as explosives lighter and originally named Victory. Every boat registered had a story to tell, and was the best in the Festival. I feel proud with the other 400 Volunteers to salute the 60,000 a endees, the boat owners, the sponsors, the Festival management and the board of Directors commitment. I look forward to Kelvin Aldred page 21

22 Classic Yacht Association of Australia ALWYN STILL SAILING ON Within the Classic Yacht division Alwyn the 85 year old heritage listed Tasmanian One Design A classer took on the Lipton Cup Regatta as a challenge to not let the Tasmanian classic yachts of the 1920s era down. Like all actively racing classic yachts of today, to make it to the start line of CYAA races requires ongoing maintenance and the sometimes occasional major structural work. With Alwyn, there was an eight week rebuild of the stern section that stood in the way of making it to the first heat start line. The rebuild of her stern deck structure and deck shelves was due to a CYAA winter series race altercation. With the repairs made and a new stern section now revealing the original and some new oiled deck planks, giving a more wooden boat feel she was able to make it to the start line with only hours to spare. Both heats of the Saturday events were sailed in light airs. As a crew we were nervous about the light conditions as the Alwyn prefers a more solid breeze, the goal was to just stay in touch with the fleet. At the finish we didn t think we stood much of a chance, however managed to produce a mid fleet result on corrected time. There was some off water drama with the heat results and a er questioning a DNC result we were told se did not finish within thirty minutes of the first boat and it should have been a DNC. Hmmm, well these things happen however we had to remind the race commi ee of Sailing Instructions Amendment No 1. The a ernoon heat went be er than the first. A decision to use a spinnaker on the final leg rather than goose-winging the genoa making the difference between first and fi h place on corrected time. Heading out to the start of the final heat we knew all we had to do was again stay in touch with the fleet, not do anything silly and a podium finish might be on the cards. We started slightly late on port gybe, slowly make our way to the first mark. The leg to R2 was sailed well following the shore line to avoiding tacking and to keep momentum. With a constant li along the shore, R2 was reached with only six tacks. A building breeze worked in our favour however was too shy for a kite to P3 and did lighten for half the leg. From P3 to Gellibrand the work was on with an extremely shy reach where we came very close to dropping the kite, however a few lucky shi s enable us to carry it to the finish with only one gybe. We returned the Alwyn to her home at Hobsons Bay Yacht Club, and made the journey to Royals hopeful for a possible Alwyn, Lipton Cup Marie Louise III, Lipton Cup third at best. When the announcements were made and third was announced, we figured our podium chance had sunk. When first was announced, we were shocked and pleased for Alwyn to be still Sailing On Being awarded the overall winner of the Lipton Trophy Rega a Classic Division, Alwyn maintained a Lipton Cup connection between performance racing of yesteryear and today. Launched in 1923 Alwyn was considered to be leading edge Tasmanian hull and keel design for that time. The history of the design known as the Tasmanian One Design started in the early 1900 s. In 1911 the RYCT was looking for a design that could be built for 200. The original hull lines came from an article about a William Hand Jnr. knockabout in the February 1900 edition of the Rudder magazine. Yachts built to the original design required modifications to suit the local Derwent conditions. A er these modifications, done for the RYCT by the talented local designer Alf Blore, the hull lines were then known as the Tasmanian One Design A Class. Photos by Roger Dundas page 22

23 Issue 23 - January 2007 CYAA E U R O P E A N N E W S VELSHEDA PROVES SUCCESS OF 1933 NICHOLSON DESIGN The Yacht Velsheda has once again proven that the J Class design from 1933, which weighs 180 tons and features a deep, long keel can still perform against modern yachts under IRC. With a variety of wind conditions at the Voiles de St Tropez Rega a last week ranging from 5 knots to 40 plus knots, Velsheda finished with two seconds and a third to give her third place overall in the 22 strong Class One fleet. She was only beaten by Morning Glory and Moneypenny, two modern highly campaigned yachts. Whilst less manoeuvrable than smaller yachts in her class, she still has the power to stretch away on the longer legs of the course. Pictures and Video of the yacht sailing in 35 knots on the J Class Association website: LULWORTH AWARDED THE 2006 LA BELLE CLASSE PRIZE On the occasion of the La Belle Classe gala, organised in Saint-Tropez by the Yacht Club de Monaco, in collaboration with Hublot, the Swiss watchmaker and Official Timekeeper of the YCM, Lulworth has been awarded the 2006 La Belle Classe Prize. The jury, guardian of the spirit of La Belle Classe, under the presidency of the explorer Jean-Louis Etienne, was composed by two Official writers of the French Navy: Patrick Poivre d Arvor and Pierre Schoendoerffer, the General Manager of the French Navy museum Jean- Noel Gard an Official painter of the French Navy Marc P.G. Berthier and Daniel Charles and André Labarregravere, both French navy historians. During this evening, seven Classic yacht owners joined the club: Dennis Conner, four-time winner of America s Cup and owner of the Q Class Co on Blossom II (1925), the Spanish Mariano Garcia Montes, owner of Ivanhoe (1938), the Sco ish Dennis Multon, owner of the vintage motoryacht Romola (1903), newcomer on the Mediterranean circuit a er a restoration work in Turkey, the American Kimberley Meredith, owner of Rowdy (1916), the English Peter Saxby, for Partridge (1898), Eric Night for Keep Trust (1947), as well as Johan Van Den Bruele, owner of Lulworth (1920). All of them proved their will to be part of this very selective club which gathers only about fi y owners of yachts among the most prestigious, by signing the charter of La Belle Classe. Being a member of La Belle Classe is a real commitment in favour of a Yachting of courtesy and respect where rega a rhymes with fair-play, naval etique e with savoir-vivre and elegance with show. Created last year during the Monaco Classic Week, with the support of H.S.H. Prince Albert II, President of the Yacht Club de Monaco, the La Belle Classe club has the mission to federate and encourage owners of Classic yachts to protect our maritime heritage, to respect naval etique e, the sea and the environment and to promote cra s of high quality in order to pass on to future generations an inestimable cultural heritage as well as a certain Art of Living the Sea. Jean-Louis Etienne, president of the Jury, presented the 2006 La Belle Classe award to Lulworth (1920), the world s largest gaff-rigged Classic Yacht, which succeeds to SS Delphine (1921), a 79-metre steam ship, having belonged to the Dodge family and powered by one of the most extraordinary engine in working order still existing. The best of the Sailing world, a dream that came out of the bank of the Hamble river, of the passion - that I hope unlimited - of those who have made her live again. An incredible sailing experience. Thank you! commented the president of a jury fallen under the charm of this exceptional yacht. Lulworth made this year her comeback on the rega a circuit a er 70 years of absence. Her restoration in La Spezia (Italy) lasted 5 years and cost approximately 15 million euros. Lulworth regained her past magnificence: the plans are those of 1926, from the early years of Lulworth. Half of its original structure and 80% of her interior have been saved by using traditional methods. Lulworth s Specifications (original name: Terpsichore) Year of building: 1920 Designer: Herbert W. White Shipyard: White Bros. Length overall: m Length on deck: mlength at water level: m Upwind sail area: 828 m 2 Total sail area: 1,450 m 2 All the owners of La Belle Classe will meet in 2007 in the Principality of Monaco, for a new edition of the Monaco Classic Week (from 12 till 16 September 2007) h p:// page 23

24 Classic Yacht Association of Australia LES VOILES DE SAINT-TROPEZ WOODENBOAT.COM.AU The site of the prizegiving ceremony for the 8th annual Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez (and the 25th anniversary of the original La Nioulargue) took place in a spectacular se ing under the walls of the ancient Citadelle, with a view overlooking the bay of Saint-Tropez. André Beaufils, President of Les Voile Organizing Commi ee welcomed the competitors, along with the Jean-Michel Couve, Deputy Mayor of Saint-Tropez. Hundreds of guests hiked up to the vantage point where the awards for the week of racing were presented. Phillipe Masset, General Director of Rolex France awarded the Trophee Rolex and a Rolex steel Submariner timepiece to the yacht, So Fong. The 26 metre (85 ) dark-blue hulled schooner had the lowest score for the week of racing of all the classic division yachts over 16 metres. So Fong, designed by the legendary naval architects, Sparkman & Stephens, was built in Hong Kong in 1937, and has been owned for the past five years by Bruno Entrecanales of Madrid, Spain. The final race on Saturday provided perfect conditions for the boat. Skipper Perico Villalonga-Hook a ributed the win to the great Spanish crew, though in fact he has assembled a capable crew who are also from Italy, France, and New Zealand. Villalonga-Hook added, We need knots of wind to really get the boat going, and Saturday they experienced just that. So Fong has competed in a several of the classic yacht rega as this year, including PalmaVela (Majorca), the Copa del Rey (Vintage Sails in Mahon, Menorca), and Regate Royales in Cannes. The yacht is expected to cross the Atlantic next year to compete in the classic circuit in northeastern USA in the summer/fall Woodenboat.com.au is an Australian website dedicated just to wooden boats. The monthly newsle er is packed with special news about wooden boats. woodenboat.com.au is designed to spread the word about ALL wooden boats - to get beyond the club or association level and help introduce more people to the wooden boating world. Mark Bergin, a keen wooden boat owner and the founder of woodenboat.com.au, o en had trouble finding information about wooden boating events, where to get the boat serviced, where to buy a new boat and how to connect with other wooden boat owners. He knew the information was out there but not in an easily accessible format. Mark runs one of Australia s original online publishing companies, so it wasn t hard to make the jump from knowing the information was around, to collecting it all together in the one online place. Boat listings were a key area that needed a ention. Frankly, most of the other online boat listings are not about wooden boats so si ing through page a er page of other listings isn t much fun. Mark said. We wanted to make a For Sale Listing system that helped the user get a good overview of the market, to know what s available and quickly see if a gem has just listed. Before woodenboat.com.au it was just too hard get information about the local wooden boat scene. The other online boating sites are too focused on Grand Prix racing. That s cool stuff, but it s not about wooden boats - that s where woodenboat.com.au comes in to its own. In the Epoque Gaff, Class A (EAA), First place overall for the week was the 33 metre (108 ) Fife schooner, Altair. Close behind in second place was the gaff cu er, Moonbeam IV. The big boat class was quite competitive with five of the eight yachts competing near the top of the leader board at some point in the week. For the 2006 Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, 287 yachts and 3,000 sailors competed in Modern and Tradition Divisions. For more information including final results please visit page 24

25 Issue 23 - January 2007 CYAA KOOMOOLOO Ray White Koomooloo was one of the oldest and certainly the most beautiful yacht competing in the 2006 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Her varnished mahogany hull shone out among the modern boats, built of fibreglass and carbon fibre, as she headed out into the Tasman Sea on Boxing Day. Koomooloo was well positioned in the fleet as she passed the seamark off Sydney Heads and it came as no surprise to me when her name appeared at the top of the IRC leader board on the first evening and again still early on the second morning. Yet, just over 20 hours a er the Boxing Day start, skipper Mike Freebairn and his crew were forced to abandon Koomooloo as she began to sink. Far to sea, some 60 nautical miles off the coast from Bateman s Bay, they sent out a Mayday call, and were rescued by the British yacht Adventure which had immediately turned back to render assistance. Later that a ernoon they were transferred to the NSW Water Police launch Alert and taken to Eden. A gu ed Mike Freebairn described the heart wrenching decision to step off the boat, something that had been the love of his life. We did everything we could to save the boat, Freebairn said. We are all pre y devastated. It s been my life for ten years. My father Don and I have restored every nut and bolt. Freebairn described how, beating to windward in around 22 knots of south westerly breeze, Ray White Koomooloo had fallen off a backless wave in lumpy seas. The water started coming in. We started ripping up the floor boards trying to find where the water was coming in. We couldn t locate the problem. We started bailing for a while, then I decided for the safety of the crew that we d be er abandon. We thought the boat was pre y solid, said Mike who reported knots gusting to 28 knots from aboard Adventure. When Freebairn and his crew transferred to Adventure, Ray White Koomooloo was still floating but Mike wasn t expecting the Kaufman 41 to remain afloat for much longer. Freebairn praised the crew on Adventure for their assistance during the crew recovery. Adventure will not be penalised for assisting Ray White Koomooloo. When they reach Hobart they have the option of pu ing in a request for redress which will go to the International Jury to decide how much time to award. It is a sad ending to a fine and internationally successful ocean racing yacht; in particular Mike Freebairn and his father Don, from Brisbane s Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. They had spent a decade in lovingly restoring the 41-footer and it made its comeback to the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race in the 2004 race, retiring in heavy conditions. Last year, in more favourable weather, Koomooloo sailed a splendid race, winning IRC Division on corrected time and 22nd on IRC overall results. At one stage, she looked a possible winner of the Ta ersalls Cup repeating her victory of By the way she was going, the classic sloop was again looking a strong prospect for victory in a race that favoured to smaller and older boats on progressive corrected times. Sydney yachtsman Ted Kaufman designed Koomooloo, with acknowledged input by the late Ben Lexcen (Bob Miller) as a bigger version of his Admiral s Cup yacht Mercedes III. Master cra sman Cec Quilkey built the boat, with its page 25

26 Classic Yacht Association of Australia Andrea Francolini superbly varnished mahogany topsides, for young Sydney yachtsman Denis O Neil, who skippered her to victory in her first Hobart Race in Navigator that year was the renowned Richard Hammond, who went on to sail in 40 Sydney Hobarts. The following year Koomooloo was selected in the Australian team to defend the Admiral s Cup in England, along with Syd Fischer s new Ragamuffin and Ted Kaufman s Mercedes III. Two-thirds of the way through the Fastnet Race, Australia seemed to have the Cup won, but the long final race turned into a dri er and the American team squeezed the Australians back into second place. Koomooloo was again chosen for the 1971 Admiral s Cup, this time under the ownership of CYCA Commodore Norman Rydge junior, with ace helmsmen Jock Sturrock and Mick Morris in his crew. Again the Australian team look set for victory going into the final race, the 610 nautical miles Fastnet. With 141 miles to sail, Koomooloo was holding third place, with the Australians sailing well as a team. Within the next mile, however, her rudder blade broke off and she was forced to retire. The Australian team placed third overall in the 1971 Admiral s Cup behind Britain and the USA. Koomooloo competed in the 1970 (placing 4th), 1971 (8th), 1973 (6th), 1973 (43rd), 1974 (10th) and 1975 (39th) Sydney Hobarts under various owners, but was then retired from ocean racing until the Freebairn s bought her and began their ambitious task to restore her to past glory. As mentioned, she made a comeback in 2004, retired in heavy weather, won her division in 2005 and was looking good to do well again this year under her favourable (and well deserved for her age) IRC rating. Many people will be saddened by the fate of such a fine boat her past and present owners, her designer and builders, the many yachtsmen who have crewed aboard Koomooloo over the past 38 years. Not to mention those of us who have had the pleasure to look closely at the boat at the CYCA marina or in Constitution Dock or on the water as she has headed south. But then, a be er grave than ending up a ro ing hulk up some backwater or creek. Thanks to Peter Campbell and SAIL WOLD ( com) for this article originally published on the a ernoon of 27th December page 26

27 Issue 23 - January 2007 CYAA JAMES FRECHEVILLE, BOAT BUILDER FROM PAYNESVILLE EXPLAINS TRADITIONAL LAID DECKS At the 2005 Geelong Wooden Boat Festival Dinner, a forum of boat builders was asked what was their preferred method of laying a traditional, laid deck. General consensus was that a solid plank deck over beams, clamp and carline was the way to go. I disagreed and said so. A year later Roger Dundas remembered what he called my impassioned argument and asked me if I would pen a few words on the subject for CYAA members. I don t remember it being impassioned but it was pragmatic. On the subject of laying a traditional looking deck modern techniques ensure integrity and longevity, and I like to sleep in a dry bunk. Plank decks, unlike plank hulls are hard to keep watertight. This is purely because of the nature of wood. It does not like the cycling nature of being wet, mostly by rain and then dried out by the sun. Stresses are introduced and manifest at fastenings and seams. Quite simply, water gets in. It is mostly fresh and that creates the ideal environment for wood rot. I should know; fixing ro en decks and cabins would be a major part of our business. Even older laid decks over plywood can and do have problems due to breakdown of sealants (if any were present in the first place) and the working of fastenings. And sometimes these fastenings are found to be ferrous, surely a recipe for disaster. On a timber boat I like plywood decks, it makes for a strong, stiff and stable structure. There is no argument that a plywood deck securely fastened and bedded to beams, clamp and carline adds immensely to hull rigidity, o en negating the need for extensive use of knees and cross bracing. The big plus is that water does not go through plywood, plywood decks are easy to lay and have fewer seams to work and leak. Sheathing the plywood with epoxy and glass is a very effective way to ensure moisture ingression is not possible and laying a traditional looking deck over the top can add to structural strength and also makes it look even be er, offering dry bunks and good looks. It is important to understand the materials used in deck and cabin construction. Wood moves and thinner wood moves less, so it follows that a thinner laminate of timber over a plywood deck will last longer before requiring maintenance at seams and fastenings. We construct two types of laid deck and the variants are bedding compound and plank thickness. For a light service deck, say on a speedboat or yacht we o en elect to use thin timber strips (less than 5/16 ) epoxy bonded to a plywood sub deck. We may or may not use permanent fastenings depending on extent of spring in planking. Invariably we machine a rebate to the plank before laying and then pay seams with either tinted epoxy filler or a polyurethane sealer. On mahogany runabouts we use a contrasting timber to highlight the plank seams. This is simply made by ripping up a sandwich of 2 mahogany and silver ash glued together. Most of our deck repair/replacement work is on cruisers where we lay a thicker plywood decking and then fasten and bed a beech or teak overlay. It is much easier to bend (spring) thicker timber without edge set. It is even easier if we steam bend as we go but this does sometimes add to job time. For this thickness we always use a polyurethane bedding compound which allows for the subtle but inevitable movement that occurs on all horizontal timber surfaces. Whatever we do, we assess every job individually and act accordingly. The deck layout is all important. Planks may be sprung around the rail cover board and nibbed at the king plank, or straight laid and nibbed to the cover board. As a rule we spring planks for yachts and straight lay for work boat. Cover boards and king plank can be of planking stock or painted, which is what we did on our Tumlaren Tarna s new celery top deck. Around deck openings we sometimes include a margin board and sometimes not. What is important is that there is continuity throughout the job. A whole book could be wri en on how it is all done, but for me it is structural integrity and a dry bunk that wins every time. You can go to www. boats.com.au to view pictures of the Tarna restoration including her new deck. page 27

28 Classic Yacht Association of Australia CLASSIC YACHT STILL A WINNER IN OFFSHORE RACING SIR JAMES VINTAGE WIN ON SYDNEY HARBOUR WRITTEN BY PETER CAMPBELL WRITTEN BY PETER CAMPBELL Morag Bheag, a classic yacht designed 43 years ago by Illingworth and Primrose, the Illingworth being Captain John Illingworth RN, founder of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, is still proving a winner at sea. Skippered by John Maclurcan, Morag Bheag clinched both the IRC and PHS Division 3 spring pointscores of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia s Short Ocean Pointscore but only by the closest of margins. Morag Bheag, a 34-footer was designed by the UK-based naval architects Illingworth and Primrose in 1963 and was launched on 2 May 1969 for John Maclurcan s father. Following service with the Royal Navy in World War II and his victory with Rani in the inaugural Sydney Hobart Race in 1945, Illingworth returned to England to become a noted yacht designer, working closely with Laurent Giles and later Angus Primrose. His most successful yacht was Myth of Malham, a two-times winner of the Fastnet Race. Morag Bheag and another classic yacht, Kevin O Shea s former World One Ton Cup champion Stormy Petrel deadheated for first place on corrected time in the IRC Division 3 of SOPS. The dead-heat was sufficient to give Morag Bheag a one pointwinning margin in the spring pointscore, but had Stormy Petrel s corrected time been one second less she would have won the race and taken the series on a countback. * The International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) announced that it has reached an agreement with Robert McNeil of Coronet Restoration Partners (CRP) that will result in the restoration of the historic schooner Coronet. The school acquired the 110-year old vessel in 1995 and has housed and stewarded the boat for the past eleven years. Restoration efforts were suspended in September 2005, but will resume again with the ownership of the vessel transferred to CRP in exchange for CRP restoring the vessel at IYRS using IYRS graduates and regularly making Coronet available for public benefit. America s Cup skipper Sir James Hardy skippered his gaffrigged cu er Nerida, a past Sydney Hobart Race winner; America s Cup winning tactician Hugh Treharne helmed the restored 27-foot gaff yawl Killala, launched in the late 1890s to begin a sailing career on Tasmania s Rivers Derwent and Tamar that included a remarkable passage from Hobart to Sydney in They were just two of skippers of 55 boats that took part in the 2006 Gaffers Day, Sydney Amateur Sailing Club s biennial dedicated rega a to yachts that hoist a spar and classic Bermudan rigged boats sailed on Sydney Harbour in late April. The Amateurs, is the only club in Australia that regularly conducts racing for gaff rigged yachts and classic yachts, but Gaffers Day is a special event, organised for many years by the now 80-year-old Bill Gale who still races the original Ranger, designed by his father Cliff some 75 years ago. There were seven Rangers competing in Gaffers day. Wearing a reefer jacket and peaked cap, Sir James was a fine example of sartorial elegance afloat at the helm of Nerida, a 45-foot gaff cu er built for his late father Tom Hardy before World War II. The former America s Cup, Admiral s Cup, Olympic and World Champion yachtsman steered Nerida with great skill to win Gaff Rigged Division 1, overtaking the fleet to get the gun from Reverie, Nigel Beryln s gaff cu er and the original Ranger, built 75 years ago, with Dragon sailor Ian Macdiarmid at the helm for owner Bill Gale. First place in Gaffers Division 2 went to Pagan, a doubleender that was sailed from Canada to Australia before World War II and his now owned by James Dean. Second and third were two of the smallest gaff-riggers in the fleet, the 17-foot Nanygai, skippered by Mark Pearse, and Beatitude, a 12-footer gunter rigged dinghy sailed by Ian Richie and one crew. Another Sydney Hobart Race winner of the early years, Nigel Stoke s 61-footer Fidelis (line honours in 1966) won Bermudan Division 1 from Ian Kortlang s classic International 7-metre class sloop Antara. There were many other historic and elegant yachts out for Gaffers Day. While Nerida, the Sydney Hobart Race Overall winner in 1950 when owned by Colin Haselgrove, page 28

29 Issue 23 - January 2007 CYAA is now close to 70 years old, there were many older boats in the fleet, including the beautifully restored 27-foot yawl Killala, built in the late 1890s, and Redpa, a 31-foot gaffer built in Both raced in Tasmania in the early part of the 20th century. Redpa features a long bowsprit andf spoon bow and carries a huge mainsail. Then were was Howana, the gaff sloop that yacht designer Joe Adams and his wife sailed around the world, and the 24-foot net boat Gumleaf, owned by Orion Alderton. Three other Tasmanian built boats out for Gaffers Day were Sjo Ro, an International 6-metre class yacht built by Percy Coverdale in the 1930s and the Derwent classer Mermaid, owned by Martin French and still carrying the sail number D11 on her mainsail, and the famous Caprice of Huon, owned by David Champtaloup, which twice represented Australia in the Admiral s Cup and finished second in an early Sydney Hobart Race. NEW MEMBERS Tim Helliwell - Carola,Victoria Scott Hawkins - Seamist, NSW Lindsay Holland - Zara, Victoria Stephen Price - Sparkle, NSW Brendan O Leary - Werona, Victoria Adrian Fechner - Ghost, SA Gordon Bartley - Galatea-M, NSW Timothy Melville - Serifa, Victoria Michael Bryant - Viking Maid, QLD William Vautin - Christine, Victoria David Todd - Lucy, Victoria James Frecheville - Tarna, Victoria Gary Bradshaw - Four Winds, QLD Martin Bryan - Athena, Victoria Spencer Carpenter- Rival of Belmont, QLD John Smith - Windward, NSW John Smith - Shona, NSW Jeffrey Shawcroft - Toroa, Victoria Chris Pulham - Acrospire II, Victoria. Albert Park YC. Peel designed 25 Gaff rig Cutter, built 1911, sail no A1 Robert P.S. Gunter - Menida, Victoria. Blairgowrie YC Designer Al Mason Built Marconi Rig Sloop Greg Chambers - Maid Marion, SA s Carvel 23 gaff rig Arthur Vandenbroek - Natani, SA. RSAYC Randel designed 1966 King Billy Pine, Qld Maple, NZ Kauri, 30 Sloop Robert Smedley - Anyndah, SA, Port Adelaide SC Albert Strange design, 1928, carvel Bermudan Cutter rig Terry O Reilly - Setanta, SA. RSAYS J.Bailey design, 1949, Jarrah 42, Bermudan rig Dr Charuwan (Solo) Murphy - Crew, Victoria William Toy - Crew, Victoria Neil Boyd - Crew, Victoria Peter Bowe - Crew, Victoria Bill Davis - Crew, Victoria Ian Tringham - Crew, NSW Stephen Pepper - Crew, Victoria Bernard Barrett - Crew, Victoria Kenneth Lacey - Crew, Victoria Annie Bryan - Crew, Victoria Sharon Lee Forrest - Crew, Victoria Nicolas Cable - Crew page 29

30 Classic Yacht Association of Australia CLASSY PAINT FOR CLASSIC BOATS Need paint for your classic yacht or powerboat? Consider the International Coatings quality range to protect your precious investment. International Coatings have epoxies, primers, topcoats, deck-paints, anti-fouling paints, and varnishes to suit all sizes and styles of vessels. Ask for your free 56 page Boat Painting and Product Guide - available from your local chandler - or check out the website yachtpaint.com for more information. In Victoria, Graeme Geary from the GGM Group uses and recommends International paints. See Graeme and his team for all your classic boat maintenance and repair needs: 23 Aitken Street, Williamstown Phone (03) page 30

31 Issue 23 - January 2007 CYAA FOR SALE SERIFA Savage 32 Built in 1964 This magnificent and competitive yacht is ideal for racing or cruising. Major restoration in mid 1990s and is in excellent condition. POA Contact Timothy Melville or HEATHER BELLE R93, Designer Lyle Hess Launched Dimensions LOA 24 6 Beam 9 3 Dra 4 8 Construction CarvelNyatoh on Yellow tallow Wood. Copper fastened Gaff main, Jackyard topsail, jib staysail, Genoa on furler. All spars clear Oregon. Volvo 2cyl MD7B. Many Extras. POA. Contact Andrew Wilson. Home , Work , Mob page 31