Saga of the Returning Tide

J son Antill de cri e he proce and work done on ringing he 1968 cla ic, B r ool , ack o life and preparing he oa for he 2020 World Champion hip, where hey won o h he Cla ic divi ion .

Tommy Spithill: “Jas, what about an old 6 Metre for Woody Point?” Jason: “Mate, I know of a 5.5 Metre on the harbour for sale, I think the rigging was good.” John Bacon: “Yeah, I’ll help you tomorrow. It’s only an East Coast Low, should make the trip quick.” And so it began... H aving not been sailed in some time, and not having ventured outside the heads in decades, it’s fair to say Baragoola could have done with some prior preparation. But, hey we know boats, so after an hour of working out the rigging and pumping out the rain water we were off.

Even until today, the speeds we got that day down some pretty big waves without a spinnaker are unmatched. At that moment we all knew there was something special about this

boat and the 5.5 Metre class.

The next scheduled event was the Woody Point Race, (a Wednesday Summer evening ritual that requires its own article). This was the main purpose for Tommy wanting a classic wooden yacht and it had become a legendary performer, so much so it stopped the restoration programme in fear of a handicapper retribution.

Once back at its home at the Royal Prince Alfred the history of Baragoola (the Aboriginal meaning is ‘flood tide’ or ‘the returning tide’) began to emerge. Commissioned by a club stalwart Russell Slade back in 1967 for the trials for Mexico Olympics the following year, along with Carabella, both Britton Chance designs; other new boats built for the trials included Crest for Carl Halvorsen (which my father Rob Antill competed on) and Kings Cross. It’s quite something that all of these boats are now in competitive condition in Australia racing together.

The rules of the 5.5 Metre class were evolving and following the Games the class planned to allow a separate keel and rudder, so all of these boats were designed as such but initially requiring a hung rudder off the keel. The difficulty

in steering these transitional designs particularly downwind led to the revolutionary mast base rolling system to allow the rigs to drop forward like the Star boats. With their separate rudders, hull chines, narrow beam and rolling masts Baragoola and Carabella, as well as a few other late 1960 Britton Chance designs, had really set the vision for what the latest designs would eventually evolve to nearly 40 years later.

Controversy on team Carabella on the eve of the 1968 trials left Bill Solomons without a boat. A recent chat with his son Greg informed me his mother was instrumental in making Bill make the call to charter the 1964 Gold Medal winning Barranjoey (note correct spelling). An overnight tow from Pittwater to Botany Bay and the rest is history. Without the skill required to steer the new designs the old Barranjoey triumphed and was headed to Mexico.

In learning the stories, and then experiencing the boat’s ability, we were not surprised to be competitive in our first nationals back in 2016. Enter Larry Eastwood our local wooden boat enthusiast armed with power tools, screws and some driftwood we picked up in the harbour. The stresses of competitive class racing took its toll, but Larry kept us in the competition. Thanks also to another supporter of the programme over the years; Andrew Withers (Sydney Marine Brokerage), was our crew, keeping us at the pointy end of the fleet having a great race with the mighty Kings Cross, then owned by Mark Lutowski.

So now we were excited and in came the fourth half share owner; Damian Macey entered the mix. the most experienced crew at the RPAYC, sailing for many years on Skagerak and he wanted a piece of the mighty Baragoola.

For the next year we were able to refine the systems, and add some new North Dacron sails. Tommy recruited a great sailboat instructor from the Americas, Mike Hanson and with Tommy and Larry on other duties, Damo, Mike and myself took on the 2017 Nationals again on Sydney Harbour. Hoping to beat Kings Cross, we actually came out National Champions, pipping the mighty Skagerak.

But winning wasn’t the success of the event, we were getting more and more interest in the class and the 2018 Nationals was to prove a tipping point with Rob Fielding and Peter McNamara joining us

Clockwise from top left: Baragoola left in a sad state on a mooring in Sydney Harbour in 2015 • Hull painting • Removal of raised floorboards • Ready for the 2020 Worlds at the Royal Prince Alfred YC • Larry

Eastwood working on the floorboards • Tommy Spithill and Jason bringing Baragoola back from Sydney • Below: Tommy with John Bacon • Opposite: Jason Antill, Larry Eastwood and Damian Macey during the 2020 World Championship in Newport. Photos this page: supplied

and adding newer boats, whilst John Bacon again kept a close eye on proceedings.

Once again the Baragoola shone, although not quite winning with a count back to second overall to the previous year’s runner up, Skagerak, but again the success was the competition and camaraderie.

In saying that, we weren’t set on having had our glory days, and set a goal for the classic world championships, at that point still hopeful of having the regatta at our home waters on the Palm Beach Circle.

Getting the boat ready for that presented a whole new set of objectives. As many of the overseas competitors will attest to, sailing on the Palm Beach Circle puts a whole new rigour on the boat and we were very much aware of the work that would need to be done.

Whilst also important to look the part, as should all good classics, we also needed it more functional. This principally involved lowering the floorboards to the original height and installing a new centre console. Larry again took centre stage and over the next 18 months the boat was transformed, whilst still available for the Wednesday night ritual.

The 2020 Worlds were on our back door, and whilst we were preparing to be as competitive as we could the news came to us that Carabella was on its way. With Carabella, Kings Cross and Baragoola once again together, it was game on.

Once again the success of Baragoola was not winning but how it was able to bring such a fine group of people together to enjoy the camaraderie and competition centred around just a small piece of boat ownership. A big thank you to Scotty O’Connor (current owner of Kings Cross) and Alfredo Delli, from Carabella, whose teams made it a great event on and off the water.

The next challenge is Europe.