Offshore February March 1977
Offshore February March 1977
Offshore February March 1977
In the last few years, sheer violent economics have constrained many /OR sailors from buying
flat-out racing inventories Now, the /OR has taken steps to limit the number of sails its boats
can carry. You may be surprised to learn that one of the prime movers behind limited inventories
is Lowell North. Not that Lowell believes that fewer sails make a boat faster. Rather he feels
strongly that with a limited number of wide range sails, a sailor can extract substantially equal
performance for a substantially reduced cost
NORTH SAILS
NORTH SAILS (AUST) PTY. LTD.
FebruaryIMarch, 1977
FEATURES
Hobart 1976
The designs, they are a-changin'
New design for the serious cruising man
Biggles column
I N MEMORIAM
Vale 'Captain Jack'
RACING
U.T.A. Sydney-Noumea
TECHNICAL
Cover: A b o u t one half hour before running
i n t o 40 knots o f w i n d i n Bass Strait, Watson's knaviguessing know-how
'Ballyhoo' crew member, 'Zappa' Bell,
goes a l o f t t o install reef lines. The photo- OFFSHORE SIGNALS
graph was taken b y Rob Sterling o n colour
transparency f i l m and was reversed i n
p r i n ting. CLUB NOTES
M A R I N A NEWS
OFFSHORE - FebruaryIMarch 1 9 7 7
HOBART I976
by Tony Cable
Mid-February is far too late to give a blow by blow 4. Buy two Hobart Programs. It'is no good taking the
description of what happened in the Hobart Race. Rather, only copy with you and then have your darling ring up
the writer has some miscellaneous bits and pieces t o after a few days asking where you are. Without her
comment on. Race Chart she will have no idea where the Isle Des
Phoques is, despite the fact that you gave your
The past Hobart was the first 1 have done in the Bar - or
position as being on it!
more correctly, several hours were spent in the adjacent
Press Centre. Funny, when you are there all warm, dry 5. More seriously, I did learn that there are people in the
and sunny, you feel you wouldn't mind being out in the Press Centre whose job it i s to actually worry about
Strait in 40k. But then, on the other hand, when you are you! I f you retire, they are poised to coordinate
out in the Strait in 40k, you'd love to be answering the assistance and have the responsibility to advise as best as
phone in the Press Centre. possible your enquiring fans. Don't be slack in reporting
how you are getting on and your safe arrival. One
But this experience ashore proved well worthwhile. I
retired boat gave an E.T.A. Eden but while apparently
know that Race Officials always get a passing thanks for
in a position to easily do so, did not report a t all to
all the work that they do, but I wonder how many active
the Club for many hours afterwards. 1 know this
sailors really appreciate the total volume of work that
caused considerable worry among the Officials.
actually goes in to administering an activity such as the
Centre? As one well-respected member remarked, "Many 6. The Press Centre inevitably has to close shop, with the
members just think that the Hobart Race simply just result that there is no reporting of the whereabouts of
happens." I t was impressive to see how much work. the tail enders. Yet, there are many who obviously
attention to detail and efficiency that goes into this wish to follow their progress and continue to ring the
communication link. George Barton and his team deserve Club. Can anything be done to continue closing stage
much more praise than we tend to extend to them. information from Sydney?
Having answered the phone on several occasions after the Another novel experience while ashore was to watch the
various skeds, I came away with some of the following T.V. coverage of the start. The ABC gave a very good
reactions that I think merit some minor comment: account of many of the boats although, as one of the
commentators, Tiger Scott, said, "It was often difficult to
1. Before you go next time, give your wife or darling a
pick out particular vessels when scanning massed groups
conservative estimate as to how long your yacht will
of smaller boats."
take to get down there. If you are on Jindivik, indicate
to her that you will not get down there within days In contrast, I was most disappointed with the commercial
of Ballyhoo. On day 4 she will then not be disappointed direct coverage with Messrs. Ramsden and lngate commen-
when the Press Centre tells her how many miles you tating. I f you were in any other but several boats including
s t i l l have to travel. Ballyhoo, Apollo, Leda and Love & War, you would not
have appeared on the screen. The whole concentration was
2. Warn her that you might not necessarily be in by 8 p.m.
on these leading boats as they went up the Harbour. They
for the New Year's Eve party.
had a camera alongside Ballyhoo for many minutes as
3. Advise her that just because you do not report in for a she went down the coast, while the rest of the starters
sked or two, i t does not automatically indicate that were virtually ignored. This must have been frustrating
you have been lost with all hands - rather you may for the thousands who follow particular boats - if you
just have broken a generator belt. were under 45 ft, you just didn't rate a picture.
The ABC deserves every praise for the Hobart film. It was
Opposite: (above) Aboard 'Ballyhoo'shortly after cleari~lgthe long, creative, and a most welcome development over the
Heads. If the starters provide a11awesome spectacle for t11e rather stereotype efforts of past years. I particularly liked
spectators. tlze spectator fleet must be a terrifyirig sigl~tfor the the balance in it. When have we seen before a good
starters. (below) 'Ballyl~oo'slarneacross the Strait wit17 the
maximum lumber o f tucks it1 her m i n . Plrotos h,v"Ballyhoo' coverage of the tailenders and an enjoyable interview with
crew member. Rob Sterling. an effervescent crew of the last boat? (continued)
I I
Just before press date we had second thoughts about By the time this Offshore goes to press, last year's Hobart
I giving details of the Hobart on a day-to-day basis. While will have been sailed and resailed - wave sizes will have
the yachting press and other media have said much of increased and the breeze zoomed in by another 10-20knots.
1
what has to be said, there is nevertheless a need for t h k
However, for the record and the armchair admirals, who
I
Y
journal to present some material for the sake of history.
perhaps missed previous publicity and only read Offshore,
In general the '76 Race could be described as a fairly hard the following brief observations were made from Patrice 111.
one, with plenty of 35-40 k conditions, with some boats
Weather: Boxing Day was an absolute beauty -clear sky
experiencing, at times, 50 or 60 k puffs, although they
which promised a fair NE. breeze t o get the fleet down the
may not have been quite hard on it. Hands who had ex-
N.S.W. coast. The breeze was NE. as the gun went, about 6
perienced the 1970 blow still think that race was harder.
knots, but easted a little later which saved a few tacks in
I The start was in a light NE of about 8 k with Love & War,
Ballyhoo and the one tonner, Hot Prospect, leading through
getting out of the heads. Outside it became a true nor-easter
a t 15 knots and the fleet made a beautiful spectacle under
the Heads. The breeze freshened through the afternoon spinnaker as they were pushed south. The first night the
and by early evening i t turned t o a 25 k southerly which wind backed to the north, then west, and about 10 p.m. the
reached 40 k during the night. (continued page 7) forecast southerly came through up to 25 knots.
Dawn on Monday saw the southerly peter out with the
wind going to a light easterly, and as the morning
progressed, it backed to the north. About 1800 that night
the wind died a l l together. Patrice, Ragamuffin, Love & War
and Leda were in a close group abeam Cape Howe. It was
two or three hours before the forecast south west change
came in.
Although the wind strength forecast was moderate (25-25
knots), it in fact gradually increased throughout the night.
Tuesday morning saw Bass Strait with lumpy green swells
and the breeze still out of the SW. at approximately 40
knots. Some vessels reported gusts to 60 knots, and with
the seas increasing, 15 boats were forced to retire.
First light Wednesday morning saw the gale abating and
going to the southeast at about 10 knots. We were off
St. Patrick's Head. During the afternoon, south of Maria,
the breeze again went southwest and wested further, which
saved quite a few tacks between there and Tasman Island.
I After petting around Tasman about 0200 on Thursday the
breeze was right on the nose to the Raoul. It was one very
tight leg from there to the Iron Pot. The river provided the
normal inconsistencies down to a calm. Eventually a sea
breeze came in and the easterly pushed us over the line. No
doubt the same breeze was welcomed by other boats
between Tasman and the finish as it only lasted for about
six hours.
Performance: An excellent result for designer Farr, partic-
ularly Piccolo, which was brilliantly sailed. An outstanding
By the morning of the 29th the l i s t of retirements had COME ON UP AND GET YOUR FEET WET!
increased to 8 with Trevassa, Cordon Bleu and Shenandoah
falling out. It was still blowing 30 k W. Apollo and Bally-
BOOK NOW -
DAY OR WEEKLY RATES
hoo were 56 miles NNE. Tasman followed 20 miles astern For the full fascinating
by Anaconda, then followed by Ragamuffin off St.
Patrick's Head. Matika 111 still held the lead from the
2-tonner, Dynamite.
Phone: SYDNEY
On the morning of the 30th the weather had moderated On the morning of the 31st there were 37 yachts in, with
to 10 k W, with slight seas. Storm Bay had withdrawn, the eventual major placings just awaiting confirmation.
making the total 12 (the final total was t o reach a record Weather flat calm - later the winds remained light and
15). Ragamuffin was halfway across Storm Bay with variable.
& War, and Patrice 111 5 miles astern. By 1330 In all, it to have been a good, fair race - hopefully
the breeze had again shifted to the SE. a t 15 k. Eight Southern Cross event will, similarly, have
next
yachts were home with Ragamuffin holding the handicap conditions that allow the better boats and crews to give
at that point. Back up the track, by some 21 5 miles, was
the best account of themselves.
Scarlet. All eyes were on Mulloka, Piccolo, Rockie,
Zilvergeest 111 and Chauvinist -the breeze was lightening.
:I
3
PICCOLO . . . . . . . . . . . . J Pickle!
ROCK. . . . . . P b R Kinggor
RAGAMUFFIN . . . . . . . S Flschel
I
P Kurls 323 54 39
R Gould & W Rockl~ll 446.10 44
N S Glrdte 4-03-2825
R J Klrbv 3-23-4516
I
P Smtlh 405.18 03
R 1 Thurston 4 01 15 25
E W k o n 4-07 06 32
11 I CHAUVINIST J Wareham 1 4-231207
12 OUEEOUEG P Belldedlng 403-3131
13 GHOST K & R BarryColler 4-16-3540
14 MULLOKA C J WlLKlNSON 4-204039
15 APOLLO W Rooklyn 3-17-1640
16 BALLYHOO J Rooklyn 307-5926
17 DIAMONDCUTTER A Sweeney 4 13-4248
HOT PROSPECT II Heuchmer Everlll
Moran B Co
LOTS WIFE R Montgomery
TAURUS A M Kelso
RAMPAGE E N Fuller
ANTAGONIST R G H~ckman
MATIKA Ill A Pearson
GERONIMO A G Lee
WAINUNU lV R A Lee
INVINCIBLE R H Cawse
MERCEDES Ill A T Clullon
KESTREL
FARROUT
HUON
- CHIEF
-
R H Fldock
P H Wlnkless
. . . . . H D CalVerI 1
I
BRER FOX . . R W Jackman
RICHOCET II . . . . . . . . .G L Flnlay
ZILVERGEEST Ill . . .
MATIKA I1
I
. . A J. Murray
. . . . . . . . . . Roxbura P'ntS 1
$I
371 BRUMBY
VITTORIA.
SARACEN ll
. . . . R & R ~'blnsor
. . . . . . . . .L. J Abraham5
. . . . . . . .J. H. Jamlesor
38
41
1 RUTHLESS
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DANCING MOUSE . . . . . . . G ~ c ~ a r r 4-22-32 vl
LEDA . . . . . . . . . . . .N~E ~ o s s o n 3-23-4029
. . . . . . . . . . P H.11 4.17S03
CHAOS . . . . . . . . . . .A. T Soence 4-17-41 02
34
::( ;;HL;FIEIOLT
42 BALANDRA W R Carpenle
L P Hardlnc
E Wllsor
45 VANESSA B K Jaoaa
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48
MFRCEDES lV
SuNDAhcE
BA4JO PATTERSON I
M E Rranam 4 13.33 57
CJ sm,in 5705729
J Jarre11 40542 25
::I
56
ICThLS
ANITRA MAY
WILDGOOSE
R P DelDl oqe
I I
5 10 27 49
R Wallpr9 4 23 54 25
D Russel 506 21 30
57
58 ( FREEDOM
OUASAR . . .
C T Mart!" 5-08-2121
B J Sulherlanal 4-13.3854
59 ANACONDA ll J Grub~c 3 22-2937
60 OBSESSION B Tatdrew 4 21 09 33
61 NlRlMBA R A N S A 5184503
62 CARMEN K Bourke 6 0026 00
63 1 NAND I1 . . R 0 ~ h a ~ m 1a 5-13-55
n 53
64 WILL1 WILL1 J Goodard 50341 35
65 SCARLET L F Job 5 21 51 49
66 ANNADRIE J Krop 5-0624 40
67 OUEST R Crulkshank 5 0702 17
68 ADRIAAUSTRALIS A Harry 50405 18
69 JlNDlVlK H Bohlll 6002526
NlJUMl R B Grenda 5092549
Rel~red Aztec. Belula. Cordon Bleu. Ktnlama. LOIIIWP. Lyndal. rilemt. Polarts. Prov~dence.Rogue.
Shenandoah. Smllle. Storm Bay. Trevassa. Woltam IV
FASTNET BIN77
the designs,
they are a-changin'
by Allen Blackburne
1866. What a year! Yacht owners were just starting to think decided to continue. She crossed Henrietta's track and
about contests, not around the buoys but out in the ocean. surged to a commanding lead, the skipper thinking he
These yachts were not as we know them today. They were knew the limitations of his boat.
fine vessels derived from the square riggers or the fast
Vesta passed the Scilly Isles first but still had 200 miles to
coastal pilot boats. A yacht in those days was not usually
go and, sailing too close to land, lost time intrying to
considered a yacht unless it was a t least 100' long.
weather the island approaches. Meanwhile Henrietta,
In the year of '66 three famous yachts took part in what further to sea and behind, hurling along a t 14 knots in a
was the first classic ocean race. They were Henrietta, Vesta freshening sou'wester, was to pass Vesta and shoot forthe
and Fleetwing, all about 106' long. Vesta was a centre- line. This she crossed a t 40 minutes past noon on Christmas
board schooner. Their respective owners were discussing, Day. The elapsed time was 13 days, 21 hours, 45 minutes -
one day, which was the fastest boat. Each asserted that his not bad for 1866.
was. O.K., put 'em up; a race around the buoys? No, a 100- The basic dimensions of Henrietta: 106'7" overall; 22'
mile race? No. The answer: across the Atlantic. $30,000 beam; 11'6" draft. Some boat.
said that Vesta could whip Fleetwing.
Design in those days was an art. As far as shape went the
So off they went. The owners conveniently found that yachts themselves had the advantage of being large, so the
business or family matters kept them at home. History lines were always easy and undistorted. The major
relates that Henrietta encountered a gale and hove to some argument was deep keel "V" sections versus shallow,
200 miles from the Needles. Vesta struck the same gale but rounded form with centreboard, a form that originated in
OFFSHORE - FebruaryIMarch 1977 11
the designs, they are a-changin'
the northeastern section of the U.S.A. The deep "V" ideas The "J" boats were the next step. [see Offshore October-
came from the other side of the atlantic. The one thing that November 19761 In the America's Cup these large sloops
most yachts of this era had in common was huge sail areas were the centre of the development. They took the fine-
to which I will refer later. ended, long-overhang, heavy boat to its extreme. Keels
Design departed very little from the long-keeled "V" form became smaller and the sections were becoming tighter at
until the evolution of the larger class boats, and, more the turn of the bilge.
importantly, of the America's Cup boats, where the Bows were becoming very fine with long raking entries.
challenger still had to sail t o the event. The Americans were This was class-boat racing a t its most outrageous - 125'
developing the shallower boat, whereas the English sloops with huge booms and masts. The now-famous "Park
were relying on the heavier form. The clipper bows were Avenue boom" enabled the foot t o be adjusted by moving
being replaced by inceasingly-more-rakedbows that the slides athwartships. This was soon outlawed.
continued underwater into the keel. This meant that, to
Keels were becoming more of an attachment. In fact,
maintain balance in the yacht, sterns were also becoming
Wenonah, designed by Nat Herreshoff in 1892, separated
finer and longer, and rudders were moving progressively
the keel into a true fin with a spade rudder!
under the boat.
One of the obvious advances was the reduction in wetted One of the major contributing factors to change in shape
surface, thus making the boats faster. But these yachts were occured about the 1890's when people started to accept the
still heavy, carrying large amounts of ballast and even larger development of externally ballasted yachts as a viable
amounts of sail. alternative to having large amounts of ballast in the bilges,
as had always been. The success of Gloriana, also designed
The pinnacle was probably reached around the turn of the
by Herreshoff, eventually put paid to any further argument.
century when vessels, such as the Atlantic (185'1, Hamburg
The ballast was put externally with the bilges being pulled
(1357, Valhalla (245'), Apache (198') and Fleur de Lys
up even further, giving a beamy, buoyant hull with good
(a baby a t 108'), raced for the Kaiser's Cup from Sandy
stability as the ballast was located well down. This allowed
Hook to the Lizard. The Atlantic was a mighty ship with
a bigger sail area and, hence, greater speed.
graceful overhangs and 18,500 square feet of sail. Her day's
runs read like a fairy tale: 165 miles, 222, 229, 271, 112 I t i s from this point that yacht design has really evolved.
(a slow day), 243, 341,282, 279,243,309,282. She The days of the ship had passed, and yacht design moved
crossed the Atlantic in just on 12 days, a feat that has into a realm of i t s own. The general public became more
seldom been beaten. involved with smaller yachts, which were refined in
12 OFFSHORE - FebruaryIMarch 1977
Photo from Sailing Theory a n d Practice, C.A. Marchaj. Adlard Coles Limited 1964.
shape and concept, enabling them to compete against the Francis Herreshoff as a cruising boat, had a quiet life until
larger yachts. It was a t this stage that the handicapping of Robert Johnson bought her in the early sixties and raced
yachts started to play an important part in ocean racing - her (after she was modified). At the end of her racing career
handicapping becoming the paramount goal. she was 30 years old and held over 30 race records, 18 of
During the era of 1920 and 1950 some of the notableswere which still stand today! Not bad for 40 Years of develop-
arriving and dominating the ocean - Olin Stephens, ment. The Big Ti, although shallow-drafted, had relatively
L. Francis Herreshoff, John Atdin, Fife, Laurent Giles, and flat sections with a long and easy waterline - designed
William Atkins. Although some of the most renowned - -
disturb the water as little as possible.
yachts of all time were designed and raced at this time, the Another famous yacht was Dorade. This boat marked the
boats, with a few notable exceptions, were still heavy with beginnings of Olin Stephens. She was a yawl designed by
narrow beams and large amounts of ballast for stability. Stephens in 1930 and sailed by him to victory in the 1931
The 'Big Ti', Ticonderoga, a 72-footer designed in 1935 by Trans-Atlantic Race. At 52'2" L.O.A. and 37'0" L.W.L..
OFFSHORE - FebruaryIMarch 1977 13
the designs, they are achangin'
Dorade was one of the smaller boats in the 10 boat fleet It tends to be around the 50% mark. But with a 40'yacht
but beat every boat over the line, including at least two 72' that, in heavy timber, may have been, say, 26,0001bs with
Herreshoff boats. So size was coming down, and speed was 13,0001bs of ballast, we now have a 40'yacht weighing
going up. 16,0001bs with 8,0001bs ballast. Obviously to carry the
larger sail areas that the yachts carry now-days we have to
In England Laurent Giles was working up to what is
look for 'form' stability; the wide beam provides this.
perhaps the precursor of what was to come. The Myth o f
Malham was a light-displacement boat for her size and To get lighter displacement, the midship sections have been
carried a large rig but also carried a 50% ballast ratio on a pulled up even further till the turn of the bilge has all but
relatively narrow beam. (The 'Big Ti'was a t 30% ballast disappeared and we have the rounded hull form with Nat
ratio.) All of the ground work was laid in the early fifties, Herreshoff's fin keel firmly implanted on the bottom as a
and from that we have seen the development of new separate item. The profiles are now just about flat. This
materials which can utilize what was being thought of 25 provides a stern that will reach and run at maximum speed.
years ago. Technology has taken over and everything has to be
designed and built to the limit. Super-lightweight hulls of
Boats in the past were, universally, timber. During the late aluminium or Airex-foamcored fibreglass are the order of
fifties and early sixties we see such materials as fibreglass, the day. If extra weight i s needed it i s bolted on where
aluminium and high-tensile steel, along with cold-mounting necessary. The racing yacht has become a vehicle upon
timber, arriving. Here were mediums to develop which to put the best sails, rig, equipment and crew, and
something other than a heavy boat. So yachts tended to then go out and race against others who are doing the same
become lighter. One of the side effects of this was they lost thing. The good thing about all this is that it s t i l l gets back
stability. So (encouraged by the handicapper) the beam of to who i s steering, crewing, the wind and the waves. So, in
racing yachts started to grow. This i s due to the fact that that respect, things have not changed much. A man, his
one of the major contributing factors to stability i s the .
boat, the wind and the sea. . what a combination for
actual area of the waterplane, i.e., bigger waterplane = sheer thrills, a sense of achievement, a goal reached. Ocean
greater stability. The ballast ratio has not changed much. racing i s still the way to go.
Illustrations from Sailing T h e o r y and Practice, C.A. Marchaj. Adlard Coles Limited, 1964.
- - -
tic~?Wn
PETERSON YACHTS PTY. LTD.
The following longer-than-usual article is being On the topic of the new boat, Johnson says he knows of
no other vessel of similar construction and design with
printed in fir11 for two reasons. Firstly, it is the the hull strength of the new Venus.
first cruising-orientated story we !zave run for some
"The nearest thing to our boat," Johnson says, "is offered
time, and those cruising entl?usiasts in the Club by a firm in the Midwest. They lay up a minimum of 13
will be happy to see their primary interest being layers of fiberglass in the hull. We lay up a minimum of
given a goocl airing. Second/-y, and more import- 14 around a core of %" of polyvinyl chloride foam. The
antlj3,it contains a wealth o f salty advice for the result i s that we have about three times the hull strength of
would-he ocean cruiser by a veritable Argonaut, any production boat being built or offered for sale in
Paul Jolzrzsorz. North America," he adds.
In his shed at the old Royal Navy Dockyard in Bermuda, I
asked Johnson about his boat. The first question that
came to mind was if there is a market for first class cruising
boats, aren't other designers capable of creating them?
"Of course," he said, "but few designers have been to sea.
Obviously, there are exceptions to this like Olin Stevens,
Britt Chance and others. But they are primarily racing
people. What we are doing is approaching the cruising
boat from the point of view of cruising people.
modern materials, when you could take a new design "You don't have to have flare, of course. Alternatively, you
which will be better if the new designer knows what the could have waves coming over the bow and running straight
ocean really is like and how you want your boat in order to over the stern. That design will get through the water
live comfortably out there?" fast, but it's a bit ridiculous when you have a family who
want t o s i t out on deck and enjoy the scenery."
"You talk of modern design, but your boats appear to be
traditional in design. Why is that?" 1 wondered. I had a chance to pose my next question. "You were born
on a double ender. You have always sailed double-enders
"The new boat and the others are alike in that above the
and you continue t o design and build them. Do you think
water, sitting in harbor," Johnson continued, "they both
look like big, fat, old-fashioned boats. The reason for the you will stick with this type?"
above-water appearance is that there are certain things "Yes. But I think double-enders are quite different to
that have proved their worth because they are convenient design than other hull forms," Johnson declared. "I doubt
and useful but don't get good yacht-racing handicaps. if I could design anything else successfully. I think I
"As for hulls under the water, while many of the old understand double-enders and know more about them
designs were good, we have learned a lot since the old days than most people.
and we have new materials available. "Because double-enders get popular in cruising circles
sometimes, people start designing them, and they're usually
"Our new boat i s designed under water to give very, very
awful. They try to tie in ordinary design theory with
good directional stability. That i s of utmost importance
when you are crossing oceans. double-ended boat design. You really can't do that.
"A double-ender and a canoe stern are different. In canoe
"To get good directional stability out of a boat, you must
stern, the boat goes on beyond the rudder. Although i t
have a good metacentric shelf, that is, you must have a
good relationship among the different shapes as they comes to a point at the end, the rudder is still inboard.
change through the hull. When the boat heels over or rolls, "But in a double-ender, the rudder i s at the stern, and the
the underwater shape relative to the next bit to it all the shape at the waterline must be fine to avoid excessive
way through shouldn't change violently. If it does, that buoyancy aft."
means that the boat changes direction violently.
"For example, if the boat heels and one end of it develops
buoyancy and the other end doesn't, i t means that the
boat must change direction."
"Cruising people are not usually the kind who can
"Wouldn't you say that your boat is similar to a Colin
Archer?" I asked. afford to pour money constantly into a boat that
"First remember that Colin Archer designed a number of
was designed for some other purpose."
boats, each for a different purpose," Johnson answered.
"He was a very brilliant man. The designs he made for
ocean-going were fantastic. But we have different things
now from which to make boats. I would like to think that
Johnson continued, "Sail plan i s a factor, of course, but it
what I am doing now with the same size and type of boat
is true that a gaff-rigged double-ender is not terribly efficient
would be the kind of thing he would have done with
sailing closer than 45" to the wind. But one has to make a
these new materials.
choice about the kind of boat he wants and why he wants
"Archer's 40' double-enders were incredibly heavy. They it. Do you want a day-sailor or an ocean cruiser?We have
were over 30 tons. They were designed to go thumping decided to build ocean cruisers. When you're at sea and
through great big seas and they had the weight to do it. it's blowing trade wind style at 20 to 25 miles an hour and
He also designed the boats with a massive amount of flare has been for six months, the seas are high and the waves
forward. When they ran into a big wave, they got lift from are breaking. If you try tacking at 50° to 60". the motion
the flare forward and had the weight to keep going. of the boat is horrid. Everyone is uncomfortable, kids are
"If you bring, nowadays, this design to almost half its size seasick, wives want to go home, people get thrown out of
and much less than half i t s weight and try to drive the their bunks, things are breaking and snapping and falling
boat through a sea, the bloody thing will stand on end. I t all over.
doesn't need all that flare. That i s the last thing you want "So what do you do? By coming away from the wind a
to give it. Every time i t hits a wave it will stop. bit, the motion i s eased, the boat i s a lot less strained and
"When I designed my 28' boat, I bore this in mind. She has the crew i s happier.
very little flare forward, but we're still very dry. She hits a "When you do that in a boat that i s sold as a racing-cruiser,
sea and will rise, but the bow doesn't take off and stop you've lost your advantage as a racer to get even a tolerable
the boat. boat to cruise in. Your boat is really neither racer nor
"But on the 42' boat, I have increased the flare considerably cruiser.
because she weighs 20 tons. She needs the flare to keep the "That situation i s getting worse. For a long time,
boat dry a t sea. manufacturers have been selling boats as cruisers that
OFFSHORE - FebruaryIMarch 1977
'l'c'/lus: 4 2 ' ~ 211 tons ~tlith1 0 tons o!'hollust. S h e is con.strttcfct1 o f 13 lu~~c,r.\
14'r 6 ', tli.~plucc~.~ ,I,/ jrhrc,,y/uss urr~lrtldcl,r
AEGEAN RALLY
Sail for Australia in the Aegean Rally in chartered yachts.
Crew members for the Aegean Rally will be on
the basis of first to book.
42 GLORIOUS DAYS-$2560
Total cost-all inclusive
Shipway and Mark Tosterman as ing yachts, which will have come as a
Navigator. surprise to most Australian owners. If
Syd Fischer has ordered modificat- the intention is to use these radios for
ions to Ragamuffin in a move to lower scheduled position reports it will
the rating. Alan Blackburne is wielding certainly make the progress of the
the computor and has called for Fastnet Race much easier to follow,
ballooning through the depth stations, not to mention the upgrading in safety
U.T.A. SYDNEY-NOUMEA
increase in water1ine beam, reshaping standards; the last item is that the new
I.O.R. limitations on sails in force RACE
the keel and relocation of internal
ballast, all aimed a t a rating reduction after the 1st April will apply to the
in the order of 0.4'. Admiral's Cup.
Entries close
Some items which have surfaced in March 31st.
Admiral's Cup correspondence are:
firstly, an additional short race has
been added to the programme, and the
Don't miss out
intention is that it will be sailed over a
course largely outside the Solent. The by being late
notice merely says that the start will with your entry
be by committee boat somewhere near
Cowes. I assume from this that the
start will be towards either Yarmouth
or Ryde depending on the tide and
over a course which then leaves the
Solent; secondly, that V.H.F. trans-
ceivers have to be fitted to all compet-
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John Halliday, the much-regarded "Copt. Jack", passed married and, like many other young yachtsmen, had to
away on 30 August, 1976. give up the sport for a number of years.
In his day he had a great influence on ocean racing and on When the Cruising Yacht Club was formed in 1945 his
the C. Y.C. He readily comes to mind as one of those who interest in racing revived. He acquired the sloop Ellida,
which he raced with the Club in coastal events ranging
established much of the tradition of the Club and was a
from Port Stephens to Jervis Bay. He took Ellida to
standard setter in sailing. Quite a number of yachtsmen Hobart in 1949, at which time she was the smallest yacht
owe much to the opportunities given them by Jack. to have competed in the event. She was 34ft overall, had
In the next Offshore there will be more comment on this a beam of 9ft and draft of 6ft. "I think this was my most
great man. In the meantime, the following extract will exciting race. I t was a thrill just to have arrived." His crew
help us recall him. in that race comprised four under the age of twenty-one,
and a naval navigator. Ellida took third place on handicap,
Legacy of Seamanship after Trade Winds and Waltzing Matilda, in a fleet of
fifteen starters.
'pp 103-4 Australian Ocean Racing, Murray Davis, Angus 81
Robertson 1967. Reproduced by kind permission of the publishers.
Ellida sailed again to Hobart in 1951 and 1953, and in 1954
Jack Halliday bought Carol J, a Sparkman and Stephens
John Halliday 40ft sloop, which he raced successfully in local events. She
ran third in the 1954 and 1956 Sydney-Hobarts, won the
Jack Halliday considers himself fortunate in the number Montagu Island race in 1955, and was second to Solo in
of Sydney's top ocean racing skippers and crewmen who, 1956 and 1958.
on their way up, crewed with him in a long l i s t of events.
These yachtsmen include his own son Malcolm, who One of Jack Halliday's most vivid memories is of a Montagu
sailed with him in most of his races as mate; Graham Island race: "We had rounded Montagu when we were hit
Newland, who later won the Sydney-Hobart race twice in by a phenomenal squall. It swept from Mt Dromedary,
Siandra; Trevor Gowland, who crewed in Gretel and knocked down one yacht so that her racing pennant trailed
Freya, and was in the 1965 Admiral's Cup team; and in the water, while another had to cut her halyards. We
Peter Green, mate of Lorita Maria. "They are all still going took off at an amazing speed, water pouring over the
strong, and I get a kick from their successes," says bows and surging down the deck. The helmsman could
Halliday. feel no pressure on the tiller, and everyone was holding on
to shrouds or the runner. I tried to count the crew and we
Graham Newland recalls a Hobart race with Jack Halliday: were one man short. But there was nothing we could do.
'We were in Bass Strait, and it was blowing a bit. We'd The squall seemed endless, but when it finally eased, our
blown out three spinnakers, and I was feeling a bit missing crewman appeared from for'ard. He had been
hesitant about putting any more up. So I asked the lying on the genoa to prevent it washing overboard. Much
skipper what he thought I should do. He said: 'Just keep relieved to see him, I asked him what he was doing up
putting them up'." there. 'I wanted to be first ashore when we hit the
Halliday recalls his ten years of serious ocean racing as the beach,' he said."
most enjoyable period of his life: "I also made some Jack Halliday gave up serious ocean racing about 1964,
lasting friendships. Nothing enables you t o learn about and from his retirement he looks back with much fondness
the real person behind the facade like several hard days' on boats, men and races. Here i s some advice from him,
racing at sea." distilled from years of experience:
Jack Halliday was brought up in a Sydney suburb beside "Offshore racing is a testing experience in which a mistake
the harbour where it was usual for boys to swim or sail or let-up i s fatal to your chances. Endurance and
when old enough. He started sailing when he was ten, in compatibility are the prime requisites, and in the top
a friend's double-ended 12-footer, which he had helped boats skill at the helm and in for'ard work are essential.
to build. Later he sailed in 16-footers, until his father The skipper should be a seaman, preferably a helmsman,
gave him and his brother a 21ft straight-stemmed, gaff- but primarily he should be an organizer and leader. He
rigged lead-keeler. He has many happy memories of should try to keep the crew happy with regular meals and
camping holidays spent in this boat on the upper, then watches, and ensure that men sleep off watch so that they
unspoiled, reaches of Sydney Harbour.
are alert in the vital closing stages of the race. Most yachts
The Hallidays' next boat was Scotia, a 40ft racing sloop carry a navigator, but skippers should learn this art, so
built in New Zealand by Logan to what was probably a that they are not altogether dependent on the navigator
Fife design. Scotia lasted only a brief period. Jack Halliday while discussing tactics."
OFFSHORE - FebruaryIMarch 1977 23
ROYAL HONC KONC YACHT CLUB
By Peter Rysdyk
II II
Write, phone or call for Free Book List.
Mail Orders & hard t o get orders a specialty
Berm.
from Hobart on the 48' yacht Geronimo.
The crew was: Rolf Mische, Mike Bourke (Sarge), Nick
Clayton (all regular racing crew), Richard (Navigator),
I
Roy, Sarge's children, Simon (13) and Kylie (9).the two
girls who occasionally crewed on the boat, Chrissy Freeland
and Lyn (Squeaks) Keep, and myself, Phil Walsh. We also
picked up two passengers at Hobart to be taken to
Bicheno, Jane and Graham Richardson.
January 3rd, 0930 hrs. Departed Hobart for Dunnally
Howe Canal which was a short cut to Triabunna, cutting out
I.
about 60 miles. Half tide, so we attempted the narrow
gate to the bridge but bumped sandy bottom - oops!
(sorry Geoff). Waited for high water. Caught two flat-
head. Nick eventually convinced everyone that the one
that got away was bigger than the others but not as tasty.
1800 hrs. Passed through Dunnally Canal - paid toll (4
cans), bumped bottom again under motor. Sailed to
Maria Is. Broke aluminium casting on inboard end of
kite pole. Dropping 8' it nearly wiped out the foredeck
crew.
2000 hrs. Arrived Maria Is. Stayed night (1 hr. anchor
watch).
January 4th, 0700 hrs. Tied up to wharf at Maria Is.
Went ashore and inspected ruins and Sarge's ancestors'
Fl~nderrI I graves in cemetery.
1200 hrs. Left Maria Is. for Triabunna and the crays!
Clarke
1130 hrs. Ran aground at Triabunna 150 yds. off wharf.
Not one of the 20 or so boats saw us as they had all left
for the derby. We stayed only long enough t o get more
provisions (grog) and dropped Jane and Graham off.
1900 hrs. Left Triabunna - no crays. Major bun fight
anyway, to find a parking space at that wharf with 20 other
yachts there.
0100 hrs. Arrived Schouten Passage. Slept night and caught
biggest flatties of the trip. Then locals came along and
gave us the proper bait - great!!! but, alas, no more fish
(great bait). Weather was fine - everyone getting burnt.
Water intake for motor cooling was clogged with weed
from when we went aground. Someone had to go over the
side and clear it, water temp. feeling about OOC (guess who
Hendrlk went?).
C LIGHTHOUSES 1030 hrs. Left Schouten for Wineglass Bay
1130 hrs. Arrived Wineglass Bay. Ran aground on hard
sandy bottom. Got assistance from a couple of land
lubbers aboard a hired 32' ketch (husband and wife) with
their crew of 2 seadogs (port & starboard golden cockers).
1530 hrs. Arrived Bicheno. What a place - no beer, no After we were all prettied up we hung in for a little drink
girls, nothing to see, only 15 yachts trying to fit in a space . with the cruising crew of Apollo in the Casual Bar (grubs
only wide and deep enough for 3. Nearly ran aground and yachties are allowed). Graham Freeman, Nick Cohen
again!!! and myself had a game of golf on the course - 9 holes.
Nick won and drunk free grog all night, Frizzle came
1710 hrs. Left Bicheno. Out to sea. Next stop??? second, me 3rd. The crew off Ruffian (M.H.), a Cole 43',
January 7th, 1430 hrs. Still a t sea. No. 3 headsail. 25 knots arrived a little while later and a great night was had by all
northerly breeze. Position 45 miles east of Flinders Is. a t the Bermagui Country Club.
Working 2 hrs. on 4 hrs. off. Watches are Phil & Squeak's. 1600 hrs. The southerly we were waiting for has arrived
Rolf & Chrissy & Richard, Sarge & Roy. Nick feeling and we're off (all 3 of us). Judging by the crowd of on-
sick; in fact he has rarely left his bunk since we left lookers on the wharf it must be the event of the year.
Maria Is. We think it's the flu. Ah ha! I just spotted
Nick on the fore deck changing a heads'l. He must be 1630 hrs. We're motoring north with full main only.
feeling better. Very light southerly. Bally came alongside just now under
motor, slowed down to have a chat for 10 minutes or so.
January 8th, 0030 hrs. Just after the last entry the breeze I think they had as many girls on board as guys - great
swung through the south to the SE. and increased to 20 way to cruise.
knots. Cancelled the kite, jibed and poked out the No. 1
rig. to starboard. Average speed 8% knots with squirts to January I l t h , 0900 hrs. A few hours after the last entry
11. Heading 330'. A school of dolphins swam along side we set the bullet-proof (2.2 oz. storm kite) then peeled
for about 20 minutes just before sunset. Nick came up on to 1.5 oz. At 2100 hours we dropped the 1.5 oz., reached
deck just now and i s enjoying a quiet steer. with No. 1 rig and full main. Average speed 8% knots abeam
of the 'gong. Nick hit a record 14 knots (really lifting a leg).
1450 hrs. At 1000 we were headed by a 20-knot NE.
breeze so we set the Yanmar staysail instead of a slow beat 1000 hrs. Reset 1.5 oz. kite.
to windward. Oops! Water on the fore deck. Now abeam 1350 hrs. Still running under 1.5 oz. kite. Breeze dying,
of Gabo Is. Rolf visited there one year - great place. Two bearing 1 9 0 ~Squeaks
~. had a few practices a t
houses, a nice big lighthouse and a couple of antennaes working the peak through a couple of jibes which she
used for transmitting weather reports to ships that pass in fumbled a little but she's pretty hot now, a real worker
the night or whenever. Our course is to stay close to the Chrissy going well too and should be able to show Buster
coast to avoid set, and follow it to Eden 35 km away. Rickard a few tricks.
1600 hrs. Up goes No. 3 again. We were only making 4 kts Beautiful day, sun shining, everybody really tanned. We
under motor against 2 knots of set. Were now getting 7 can see the big smoke on the horizon and can nearly hear
under sail slightly sprung only 30 miles out of Eden. the tooting of horns in traffic jams. Sighted more dolphins
Everyone wanting a shower. E.T.A. 2115 hrs. a while ago but they didn't want to know us - a bit shy.
2013 hrs. Motoring last half mile into Eden. Breeze i s now 1430 hrs. Noticed a bit of disturbance in the south so
10 knots from NE. Seas flat. We hope to be staying here a down with the kite and poled out No. 1 rig, for safety,
while, long enough for a shower and meals and, of course off Cape Bailey.
Sarge, a quiet little drink. There seem to be a few boats 1445 hrs. The breeze swinging through the east. I hope
here already. I hope i t s not like Bicheno! we can make it. Speed 9 knots, breeze 15 knots from 80'.
2400 hrs. Arrived 2030. Left Eden. Walked up huge hill heading 0-05', engine ticking over; we don't want it to
to country club presented ourselves a t the door: instead swing NE now - not after such a beaut ride from
of the friendly welcome we were used to, the girls were Bermagui. Cape Bailey abeam - nearlv home.
out on their ear; Simon had to sign a Statutory 1830 hrs. That's it. What a great trip.
OFFSHORE - FebruaryIMarch 1977
U.T.A.
SYDNEY-NOUMEA
YACHT RACE
by Peter Rysdyk,
Nournea Race Director
Know-how
A Happy New Year to all: Let's hope that CYC's current
progress i s continued. All the signs are right, anyway, with
the Noumea Race and the Southern Cross the highlights of
\ SOUTH ATLANTIC
the calendar.
In the last issue, Alexandra Wilson gave credit t o the hard
working crews of the mark-laying vessels, which took me
back to the days when laying offshore courses was a big
deal, fraught with adventure. For the 1972 One Ton Cup,
we used a total of 11 powerboats for the race organisation!
The whole system has been beautifully refined to i t s
present level of efficiency. Do you remember the per-
manent offshore marks, originated by MHYC and sub-
sequently taken over by YA? - marks that persistently
refused to stay in position, or even stay there at all!
A number of them disappeared without trace, and the
system was abandoned in favour of the Olympic-type
course laid on the day.
Over the New Year holiday I visisted, by car, the town of
1770, which i s situated on the banks of Round Hill creek.
Round Hill Head was the first point of landing in
Queensland by Captain Cook i n 1770 - hence the name
of the town. As I drove along the track which passes for
a main street, my eye was taken by a strange object in the
front yard of one of the houses.
Look back at the sketch and it will be obvious that if Hedley Watson
angle A is less than 90'. the initial course must be south
and west. PA is a meridian, as is PB. So the initial course i s
~ 8 4 ' 27'.8W or 264O.46.
That was the long method of finding the initial course,
but it also gave us the distance. What does the short
method look like? For this, we use the ABC tables in
Nories.
We need: Latitude of A = 33' 54's
" " B = 22' 54's
Difference of longitude = 61' 35' (W)
We enter Table A with 33' 54' as latitude, and 61' 35'
as Hour Angle.
We enter Table B with 22' 53' as declination and 61'
35' as Hour Angle.
Then, A = 0.365N
B = 0.4858
like a steel 'I' beam. You increase the strength of the two
skins by having the spacer in between. The filler could be
almost anything, but foam i s preferable for a number of
reasons. With wood, you run the risk of it shearing under
the glass upon impact. But foam resumes its shape after
a bang. It is designed to bond securely to the fiberglass.
With wood, it could come adrift because wood doesn't
allow for any movement. In addition to its incredible
impact strength, the foam i s flexible; it i s shockproof,
won't sheer, withstands water and has great insulating
ability.
"This latter feature, incidentally, means you need little in
the way of heating or air-conditioning devices. And, the
foam virtually does away with the condensation problems
normally found inside fiberglass boats.
"So the choice for the 'meat' of our sandwich was PVC
foam. We put a minimum of seven layers of fiberglass on
either side of it giving us a strength in the hull equal to
foam sandwich so I asked him why he changed and to what you would have on a 100' boat.
talk on the technique he i s using.
"The only comparable boats in our class as far as we
"There i s a great deal to be said for the wooden boat. I t know have only about the same amount of glass but no
has disadvantages such as being susceptible to worms and foam.
decay, but wood basically i s a very good material to build
a boat from.
"But it i s very hard to get good wood today. There is no
question that the teak you get today i s not of the same "One of the things not fully appreciated about the
high quality you got 30 or 40 years ago. And it is very gaff rig is that when a boat is sailed 45" to 100" or
expensive.
over, the gaff rigged mainsail developed more power
"When we first started building the new boats, we tried to than the so-called Bermudan or Marconi rig of the
find Alaskan yellow cedar, but we couldn't get it. We tried
same area. The Bermudan rig became popular as
other woods, but anything we could find was less than the
best. We thought if we used one of them, it would be wise a result of yacht racing and rules that have little
to put a sheathing on the outside with something like to do with comfortable cruising."
polypropylene cloth and epoxy resin to protect it from
worms and to give it strength. The inferior wood we finally
located would have required a heavy sheath. We realized
that if we had to cover something with plastic, it made "Each boat will have, if wanted, a different interior
sense to use something other than wood inside. accommodation. However, we do intend to install two
bulkheads for structural reasons. We are also assuming that
everyone will want the galley and the navigation area aft
"Once you get out of traditional materials you of amidships for minimum motion. Other than that, the
have to shake off many of these old ideas about accommodation can vary quite a lot. After everything i s
boat design. Otherwise, you're wasting the advan- in its place, we start fitting her out.
tages of the new materials." "A lot of time and labor and a tremendous amount of
material is involved in putting one of these boats together.
Such a boat i s not cheap, but it is a boat built for ourselves
"We would cover not only the outside but the inside as and our families. I t should be the best boat of her size
well to get strength. The spacing medium we came up with anywhere. I t is a boat for a lifetime."
was PVC foam. The best in this line i s Airex which i s made Why did you adopt the gaff rig? I asked.
in Switzerland. We consulted Tom Johannsen at Chemcryl
Plastics in Toronto, an Airex distributor, and were "We spoke earlier of the desirability of sailing off the
convinced that foam was the best choice, all things wind most of the time at sea to maintain comfort. One of
considered. the things not fully appreciated about gaff rig i s that when
a boat i s sailed 45" to 100" or over -the gaff rigged
"As a spacer between fiberglass layups, the foam triples mainsail develops more power than the so-called Bermudan
the strength we would get from the fiberglass alone without or marconi rig of the same area. Any closer than 45' to
adding substantially to the weight. windward, the gaff rig loses, but farther off, it gains power
at a tremendous ratio over Bermudan. (next page)
"In this foam sandwich, you create something very much
on a cruising boat unless it's a furling sail. And a furling Since Venus and Moon were created, four more hulls have
sail is not a prudent thing t o have on a cruising boat." been built in Bermuda from the original plug. John Frith
I says he is interested in building more in America for
Johnson's boat is made of three-quarter inch Airex foam serious cruising people. "It i s not a boat for people who
core with a minimum of seven layers of fibreglass on talk about going around the world. It i s a boat for people
either side. Isn't that overdoing it, he was asked? with very serious intentions o f going around the world,"
"We thought the boat was over-built when we started. It Frith said. "If there seems t o be a reasonable number of
is. That's what we want. There is nothing about the these serious sailors, we can arrange t o make the boat
construction that bothers me. I f something happened, it available. But we would be doing a disservice t o people
would do damage t o the whole population o f the boat who want a big boat t o steam around the harbour in.
long before the boat would break up. They would be wasting their money. There are plenty of
boats on the market for luxurious day sailing. We would
"You have two kinds o f people interested in cruising," like t o hear from people about Venus. They may write
said Johnson when asked about the little 22 h.p. SAAB t o us: Venus Yachts, P.O. Box 918, Cortez, Florida 33522,
engine he has t o power his 20-ton vessel. "One of them USA."
I alreadv
Hundreds seamen, aircrew, and yachtsmen
ot
owe their lives to Beautort
inflatable Ilferafts, available
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Beaufort rafts are manufactured in Australia
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and are capable of being stowed in small spaces.
They are A.Y.F. approved. Distributed by: BEAUFORT DISTRIBUTORS
engine but we have not lost our spirit competing in Geronimo this year.
and will be racing next year". A WA LEADERS I N
Children's Christmas Party Report MARINE ELECTRONICS
On a sunny Sunday early in
I had hoped that the New Year would December, a howling southerly was
bring in a resolution by all yachties t o matched only by seventy howling kids,
have their entry forms in before who were 'lollified' and entertained by
closing dates. Alas, it has not incredible magical acts a t the annual
happened. What about it fellows? Cruising Yacht Club children's Christmas CAPT. COOK
Party. MARINE SALES €t SERVICE DEPOTS
Many were involved in helping to Leichhardt 560 8644 Port Adelaide 47 4822
Newcastle 25166 Whyalla 45 9975
make this party a success, and our Wollongong 295881 Fremantle 352881
For our first race of the year on the thanks must go to Mr. Jason Lea of Melbourne 6996144 Hobart 34 5412
Brisbane 44 1632 Launceston 455155
22nd January we had a combined Darrell Lea's for providing the sweets Townsville 796155 Baroko 3177
C.Y.C.1M.H.Y.C. fleet of 60 in a race OS - RT Lae 42 1548
for the kids t o gorge themselves on.
OFFSHORE - FebruaryIMarch 1977
Also to Mr. John Walton, of Waltons, take back with him to the North several enthusiasts who also helped
our thanks for choosing the presents Pole - presumably for next year! us. The girls in the office and that
and delighting all those who great marketing team, the Ladies
- Robin Landis Auxilliary, gave vital help. Finally,
received them - although Dominique
James (5 months) was heard to our printers, Wymond Morell, who
Publications Committee
comment that he didn't appreciate met our requirements to do the job
Now that the work associated with in half the normal time and came up
Santa's humour for giving him a
the production of the 1976 Hobart with such fine quality. To all, on
present for a five-year-old.
program i s over (we now merely have behalf of the Club, thanks.
Nevertheless everyone enjoyed the the task of planning the '77 isslie!), I Tony Cable
afternoon, particularly the parents, am writing to thank the members Chairman, Publications Committee
who were able to enjoy the sun, while of the Publications Committee and
their proteges and future forward- many others for their efforts in Crew Pool
hands were held spellbound by Tim making this the finest and most The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia
Coombs with magical acts lasting well profitable issue of the Hobart Pro- has created a "Crew Pool" for i t s
over one and a half hours. Tim expects gram yet produced. promising U.T.A. Sydney-Noumea
to be inundated with calls for Yacht Race starting on Saturday
One cannot, here, thank every helper
permanent bookings t o look after 7th May, 1977, and coinciding with
individually; a number would have
children of families for such a period. school holidays.
given many hours to the project. But
The day would not have been our Editor, David Colfelt, must be The strong interest shown so far by
complete were it not for Santa, who specially commended for his most yacht owners could cause a shortage
arrived right on time. Charlie, the creative effort, also Neil Bennetts, of hands, and to avoid this the crew
tender driver, acted as reindeer and O.C. advertising; who spent a consider- pool was started. Yachtsmen
complete with red nose acting as a able time on this activity. Each of the interested in a berth or, for that
port navigation light, guided a rather other members of the Committee matter, skippers wanting crew, write
trim-looking Santa into the park contributed much in the areas of t o The Naumea Race Director, Cruis-
where he carried out his time-honoured policy, editorial, administration and ing Yacht Club of Australia, New
duty. distribution. Beach Road, Darling Point, 2027,
It was all worthwhile, for after Among the others to be acknowledged with particulars of name, address,
handing out all the presents, Santa are Peter Harrigan for his cartoons and age, experience and available time
received no less than three letters to Bob Ross for his article - first two of (from two weeks up t o two months).
Learn
Navigation*
0
& i i
AUSTRALIA'S
T O M MORRISSEY
and STAFF
FOREMOST
of
...
f l ~ ~
--
4
Kirsten of San Francisco is basically diesel lurking down in the engine room The yacht was shipped from Gdynia
a Colin Archer design with the coach- gives her seven or eight knots at 106 on the Baltic Sea, to Las Palmas in
house eliminated. This makes her a horsepower. the Canary Islands, a l l Polish ports
high-wooded double ender with cutter being icebound at that time of the
Affair left Florida in December, 1973
rig. And she i s built of ferro-cement, t o cruise the West lndies and the Carib- year. Krystyna travelled as a passen-
a material that Colin Archer probably bean until October 1975. She then ger in the same ship and, on 28th
never dreamed of. March 1976, departed Las Palmas on
passed through the Panama t o the
With a length of 32'6" on deck she Pacific. For a year or so she wandered, the first stage of her single-handed
measures 41 feet from bowsprit tip mainly in the southwest Pacific area. voyage. Sailing through the West
to sternpost and has the broad beam Her passage from ~ o u m e at o Coffs lndies she made the Panama transit
inherent in her class. This i s quite a t o the Pacific. Then, using the
Harbour took five and a half days, and
lot of boat which took four and a half she arrived in Sydney on 30th Marquesas, Tahiti and the Fijis as
years t o build. Her owner, Stan Pease, stepping stones, she headed for
December last.
built her. A Volvo 2 cylinder motor Sydney, to arrive at Rushcutter Bay
The whole cruise is said t o have been on 10th December, 1976.
spins the propellor on the rare occa-
free of problems, the main worry
sions when it is used, and, unlike some
being lack of breeze. Only the lady
visitors, she has the minimum of elec- There were a couple of longish
owner, Theo Spectorsky and the
trical gadgets. passages in the Pacific. Forty days
skipper, Jeff Munger, remain of the
Kirsten left San Francisco in February original crew which sailed from from Panama to the Marquesas and
1976 and cleared San Diego for Tahiti Florida. They propose t o cruise the thirty four days from Suva to Sydney
in March. On the first night of this Australian east coast and the Barrier are times that reflect the weather en-
passage she struck violent weather Reef before heading for Malaysia. countered on the way. Light-to-
which cost her her topmast fitting. After that, a Red Sea and Suez Canal moderate breezes prevailed with,
Hence she was seventy five days on passage is possible. sometimes, flat calms. This seems to
the way from San Diego to Papeete. be the pattern met by all recent long-
distance visitors to the marina.
After a couple of months in Papeete
the yacht proceeded t o Moorea, The sloop Mazurek was built at the
Tikehau, Taha'a, Raitea, Huahine, Joseph Conrad Yacht Yard in Gdansk,
Bora Bora, Maupite and Raratonga. Poland -that i s pronounced 'Gdaesk' Nearing the Australian coast Mazurek
The passage from Raratonga t o for those of you who aren't too well met her worst weather so far, when for
Sydney took fifty seven days, rid- up on the Cyrillic alphabet. ten days the breezes came at forty t o
ing the south-east trades most of Of fibreglass construction, Masurek is forty-five knots. This caused the
the way. As she i s a roomy ship 9.5 metres by 2.7 metres which, if skipper no concern for the ship
these long spells at sea appear t o cause my mathematics are correct, i s 31'8" handled the conditions well. Krystyna
no great hardship for the crew which by 9 feet. But she looks narrower than has enthusiastic praise for Sydney
consists of Stan Pease, his wife, Joan, that on deck owing to a considerable Radio who issued frequent weather
and daughter, Karen. quarter-rounding at the gunwale. A reports, all of which were accurate.
10 horse Volvo is used for mooring She intends to sail north-about and
They hope t o sail north of Australia will probably complete her round-the-
and into the Mediterranean by way and suchlike harbour manoeuvres.
world voyage by way of the Cape of
of Suez. But future moves are not Plenty of smaller craft are privately Good Hope.
tied t o any hard-and-fastschedule, owned in Poland, but I understand this
and that i s the ideal attitude for any- does not apply to deep-sea yachts.
one making a long cruise. Masurek, owned by the Polish Yach- I think that she i s the first woman
ting Association, has been made single-hander to visit the marina on a
available to Krystyna Chojinowska- long ocean venture. Joseph Conrad
Another American visitor i s the sixty Liskiewicz for her present voyage. would be astounded, but when he
foot.yawl, Affair, of Chicago. Krystyna's husband, who designed recovered from the shock I fancy he'd
Designed by Ronald Carter, she was the boat, was in charge of construc- voice the admiration most seamen
built at the Cheoy Lee Shipyard, Hong tion and she explained that she is (sorry, seapersons) feel a t this feat.
Kong, in 1965. A 6 cylinder B. & W. sponsored by the Association. (continued page 39)
40 OFFSHORE - FebruaryfMarch 1977
BOB HOLMES
THE YACHTSMAN'S
BROKER
PERSONALISED PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Mitchell Cotts Airfreight Head Office: 194 George Street, Sydney Telephone: 27 8621 Telex: 25533