BOATS AT THE CLUB

This is another in the series of articles aimed at providing you with an insight into new boats and other boats of interest at the Club. Contact Pat Catley through the Club if you are interested in having your boat featured here.

Seastar

Seastar is a Bavaria Cruiser 32, recently brought into the Club by Paul and Stella Foley. Her arrival brought additonal pleasure because the yacht formerly lived at the Club and was once owned by our President, Dominic Rinaldi. Dom sold the boat several years ago and it was taken to Melbourne. However, the boat was destined for the CYCSA because late in 2020 Paul and Stella found the yacht on-line, took a punt and brought her home, sight unseen. She was renamed Seastar after Stella whose full name is Stella-Maris which means Star of the Sea. This is a yacht with every available extra for easy sailing and comfortable cruising. The three cylinder Volvo engine has a diesel tank that holds 150 litres and the sail-drive has a two blade fixed propeller. She has a multifunction navigation system with auto pilot and depth sounder. The hot water system is linked to internal and external showers and a sink which are all connected to a fresh water pump with accumulator tank. The water tank holds 150 litres with a 70 litre holding tank so there is always plenty of water. In the galley is a two burner gas stove with oven and a fridge and Seastar also has a 240 volt shore power system with battery charger. Seastar is fitted with a VHF radio with stereo and audio system plus a 240/12 volt television. The electric anchor winch makes mooring in a bay an easy task and those on board are protected from the elements by a matching grey dodger and bimini. The folding wheel gives more space in the cockpit with a pedestal and table. A multi-function navigation system is useful for long trips, especially when the auto pilot is set on course and the depth sounder ready to warn of shallow waters. Paul and Stella began their sailing journey as newlyweds 41 years ago when Stella borrowed money from her Dad to buy Paul a 125 sailing dinghy as a surprise birthday present. They learnt to rig her on their front lawn from a book, took her down to Port Phillip Bay and learnt to sail by falling out too many times to remember. Luckily, Stella’s brother bought a Catalina 320 moored at the Royal Brighton Yacht Club, and they crewed for him for a number of years before moving to Adelaide. Paul had wanted a yacht for many years and last year his family said “This is the time Dad, do it!” Once again Stella found their boat on-line straight away. Paul was worried that she might do the surprise present all over again so he agreed to the purchase and the boat was theirs. Their eldest son Dan sailed on Kinetic Energy a few years ago which led Paul and Stella to the Club for lunch one Saturday. Sitting in the bistro for lunch and being looked after and shown around by the friendly staff, they knew that this was the Club for them. They found it more relaxed with a friendly vibe and more modern than other clubs they’d been to that day so there was no question where Seastar’s new home would be. Both Paul and Stella have completed the VHF course with Andy Shipp who was pleased to see them having been to their son Dan’s 21st birthday. They love belonging to the CYCSA where they’ve made many new friends and now having introduced their three grandsons, Alfie, Teddy and Will, Paul and Stella are looking forward to many happy years of family sailing. Thank you for allowing me to feature your boat and I wish you fair winds and gentle seas while sailing on Seastar.

Pat Catley

Sailing with the grand-kids

secret mens business...

In January 2021, past Commodore and current Board Member, Geoff Boettcher brought his new Secret Mens Business (SMB) into the CYCSA. This yacht is the seventh SMB that Geoff has owned. His first was built and launched in Adelaide in 1996. She was a 42-foot Murray Burns Dovell design. Prior to that he owned Sundance, a Davidson 40, which was sold after losing its mast in Sydney. The latest SMB is easy to spot with her golden orange hull as she slips with ease through the water. The interesting and unusual graphics on the topsides were the choice of the previous owner whose designer used some Hawaiian influence. SMB 7 is a PAC52 previously named RIO. The boat was derived from a TP52 mainly as a one design yacht for the west coast of the USA. She was designed in Germany by Judel/ Vrolijk, leading designers for the TP class, and built in Dubai by Premier Composites and then launched in the USA in 2017. The hull is the same as the World Champion TP52, Platoon. RIO was commissioned by an experienced yachtsman from San Diego who used it for coastal racing on the US west coast. Geoff was keen to buy the yacht and had two of his professional crew sail on her in the US. They reported it had not been sailed that often and was in near new condition. Geoff’s broker negotiated the sale of SMB 6 and though unseen by him, Geoff bought RIO. A team of professional yachtsmen in San Diego dismantled the yacht and prepared it for shipping which included fumigation for COVID. The yacht was shipped from Long Beach, California in December 2020, arriving in Melbourne in early January 2021 where it went through quarantine before being trucked to Adelaide. She was renamed Secret Mens Business (SMB) and hit the water in time for the Premier’s Cup in which the yacht was successful. SMB was not fully prepared for Lincoln and suffered boat speed in certain wind conditions. Below decks the boat is totally stripped out with basic bunks only fitted to comply with IRC rules when racing offshore. The 52 foot yacht came with a large inventory of near new regatta sails but new reaching sails were needed to be purchased prior to the 2021 Adelaide to Port Lincoln race and regatta. The PAC52 has a taller rig with more sail area and a deeper keel drawing 3.5 metres thus making the boat a turbo charged version of a TP52. She is a very sophisticated yacht capable of speeds up to 30 knots with high 20s readily achievable under the right conditions. SMB is sailed with a crew of 14 or 15. The boat weighs 6.9 ton of which approximately 4.5 ton is in the fin keel and bulb. Her beam is 4.41metres and the mast approximately 23 metres above the waterline. Deck equipment and electronics are state of the art and with some modifications the yacht could be Hobart ready. Geoff’s love of the sea goes back to his early years spent sailing dinghies starting with 8 foot Holdfast Trainers that were built by Geoff’s father in the back shed before moving into Gwen 12s then crewing on Sharpies. It wasn’t long after Geoff began sailing that surfing caught his attention and with the call of South Australian beaches too hard to ignore, his sailing was put aside for several years. At the age of 30 Geoff’s interest turned to keelboat racing and with that an opportunity to crew onboard Adria, a 48-footer in the 1975 Sydney to Hobart yacht race. It was the first of many Sydney Hobarts for Geoff where he went on to sail in the race 24 times, 16 of which were on board his own yacht. The previous SMB 3.5 won the SydneyHobart in 2010 and the yacht was later shipped to the UK for the 2013 Fastnet race, a milestone in his life he will never forget. Geoff now feels it’s time to hang up his Musto wet weather gear and enjoy a warmer climate. SMB 7 will race in the Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island regatta this August and also regattas in Melbourne and Geelong as well as local racing at home including Port Lincoln. Thank you Geoff for this insight into a magnificent yacht. I wish success to you and your crew.

Pat Catley

Photo credit Down Under Sail