Quarterly
Vol 29 Issue 2 Winter 2015
The Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron
www.rsays.com.au
ROYAL SOUTH AUSTRALIAN YACHT SQUADRON Patron Commodore Vice Commodore Rear Commodore Treasurer Committee Members General Manager
His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le AO Peter Cooling Last Tango Rae Hunt Mahalo Bruce Roach Antares Ian McDonald Rachel Geoff Wallbridge Solace Helen Moody Magic Beach Colin Doudy Circe Andrew McDowell
SERVICE DIRECTORY
161 Oliver Rogers Road, Outer Harbor, SA 5018 PO Box 1066, North Haven, SA 5018 Ph (08) 8341 8600 Fax (08) 8248 4933 Email: rsays@rsays.com.au Web: www.rsays.com.au Office hours: 9.00am - 5.00pm Monday to Friday 9.00am - 6.00pm Wednesday during Twilight Race Season 9.00am - 4.00pm Saturday & Sunday Closed Public Holidays and Easter Weekend RSAYS Foundation Racing Committee Cruising Committee House and Social Committee Juniors Committee Sail Training & Race Support Etchells Fleet Captain Trailer Sailers
Chris Mandalov Roger Oaten Kingsley Haskett Andrea Mead Mitch Mead Heidi Pfeiffer Wayne Knill Steve Lewis
TWO ‘IFS’, ONE ‘BUT’!
If you’d prefer to read your copy of The Squadron Quarterly online only, please inform Annette at the office and she’ll delete your name from the postal list. If you’re not currently a member, but would like to join The Royal SA Yacht Squadron, please contact Annette and she’ll ‘run you through the ropes’ of what is involved.
0417 847 836 0408 415 138 0419 844 772 0417 887 818 0447 333 001 8341 8600 8240 4615 0418 275 710
OPENING TIMES Dining Room, Jimmy’s Bar and Quarterdeck: The dining facilities are positioned beautifully, overlooking the majestic view of the marina from all locations. This attractive setting provides a warm and relaxing feeling year round.
Opening Hours:
Lunch from 12:00: Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays when advised Dinner from 18:00, Wednesday (Twilights), Thursday, Friday, Saturday (and Sunday on long weekends)
Private functions anytime by appointment
SQUADRON QUARTERLY TEAM Sally Metzer (Editor) Sue Buckley (Production), Barry Allison, Sandy Barker, Gill Hogarth, Wayne Knill, Jacqui LawSmith, Dick Richards, Bob Schahinger (Regular Contributors), Ann Hastwell, Anne Arnold, Fay Duncan, Gill Hogarth (Proof Readers).
Seaweed Gardening Group Slipmaster Finance Manager Accounts Administrator Member Services Hospitality & Events Manager Chef
Robert Henshall Julian Murray Joann Galios Kathy Bernhardt Annette Turk Kevin Grant Dave West
8332 0889 0414 365 294 8341 8600 8341 8600 8341 8600 8331 8600
Squadron Quarterly Deadline for Spring 2015 issue is 15th August 2015
Advertisements, editorial and photographs can be sent to Sally Metzer, Editor (sallymetzer@hotmail.com) or member.services@rsays.com.au or left at the Squadron Office. Material for an e-Bulletin may be forwarded to the Office at any time.
Squadron Quarterly Advertising Please contact Kathy Bernhardt - phone 8341 8600 or accounts@rsays.com.au
Squadron Quarterly Editorial
MUSTO COMPETITION WINNERS
Winner of the Autumn Squadron Quarterly’s Musto competition is Rhonda Wallis for her entry: ‘Must-have Ultimate Sailwear Tackling Offshores’. An Honourable Mention goes to Shayne Lindsey for the less nautical but more naughty entry: ‘Making Us Sexy To Others’!
Front Cover: All smiles! Commodore Peter Cooling applauding as RSAYS Patron, His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le AO cuts the ribbon to open our wonderful, newly renovated clubhouse.
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Squadron Quarterly
Winter 2015: Sally Metzer
Notes for Contributors
Articles submitted should be typed as a Word document in font Arial 10 point, 1500 words max. 1500 words plus 2 photos will cover two pages. Photos should be 1) in focus, 2) JPEG format at a high resolution (300dpi) and 3) sent separately and not embedded in a Word document. Articles can be submitted to the office for distribution to the Committee.
Disclaimer
With exception of statements made by duly authorised officers and the editor and members of The Squadron Quarterly Committee, all other statements and opinions in this publication are those of contributors and advertisers. The Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron, its Management and Members accept no responsibility for statements by non-authorised personnel.
REPORTS
From the Commodore .....................................................................4 From the Manager’s Desk................................................................5 Catering...........................................................................................9 Racing...........................................................................................10 Juniors..........................................................................................14 House & Social..............................................................................18 Cruising.........................................................................................19
CONTENTS Entry forms and Terms & Conditions available on our website www.rsays.com.au
REGULAR ARTICLES
Letters to the Editor.........................................................................9 Around the Cans............................................................................11 Sail Drive.......................................................................................11 Women on the water .....................................................................12 Squadron History: The Death of Grelka (1910-1955)......................16 Senior Member: Ian Moncrieff........................................................22 Sponsor Profile: Nautilus................................................................31 New Members: Stuart & Natalie Wells............................................34 In Tranquil Waters..........................................................................38 Berths for Sale & Lease.................................................................42 Events Calendar.............................................................................43
FEATURES
Clubhouse reopening.......................................................................6 Volunteers.......................................................................................8 Treasure Ships: Art in the Age of Spices...........................................8 Eileen Hardy Award Winner............................................................13 Seevogel: History of this historic boat............................................24 Half Toners....................................................................................26 Disabled Sailing.............................................................................27 Last Tango delivery........................................................................28 Round the World Clipper race.........................................................30 The Bookshelf: Circumnavigation!..................................................32 Pacific Pearl...................................................................................35 Snug Cove.....................................................................................36 Visiting Tassie boats.......................................................................39 Staff profile: Annette’s working life.................................................40 SA’s Biggest Morning Tea...............................................................41
EDITORIAL
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(08) 8341 8600 rsays.com.au 161 Oliver Rogers Road, OUTER HARBOR SA 5018
Winter 2015
Vol 29 Issue 1 Published Quarterly ISSN 1037-1133 Print Post Publication No. PP532154/00016
On with the woollies ‘n’ wet-gear, heat up the soup … winter is here in all its glory! But that doesn’t mean you can’t go sailing. Take the example of those intrepid members who’ve signed up for the Winter Series, with no worries! All it takes is a little guts ‘n’ gumption and a supply of dry gear to change into when the race and/or cruise is over! We’re planning on getting down to Emma as much as we do in the summertime. Even tied up to the pontoon is more fun than moaning at home. And it’s a great way to entertain your land-lubber friends, offering them a warming toddy after lunch at the Squadron yet-to-be-named Dining Room! It may take you all winter to read this action-packed edition! Our front-cover focus is on the opening of the newly renovated clubhouse … as it rightfully should be after all the work and effort that has gone into it! But we’re also featuring the recently announced Eileen Hardy winner, Janet Thornley, and a history piece on the Grelka Cup, which the Juniors vie for each year. The intriguing story of how a visiting Cornish couple tracked down their family connection with Seevogel is a good read, as are all the other stories in this edition. And we’ve another competition for you to enter, so no time to sit around freezing … get reading!
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FroM tHe coMMoDore As a recent Squadron tradition, Noelene took on her ‘mumadore’ responsibility and together with a great group of enthusiastic members polished our whole inventory of precious trophies. The RSAYS Racing Presentation Night followed on the Saturday with a sell-out event that stood out as the definitive social event on our racing calendar. It was a pleasure to have our past manager and cricketing legend Wayne Phillips MC such an entertaining event. It was also an appropriate opportunity to acknowledge our head chef Greg Vellios for his commitment to looking after our cuisine for the last six years. We wish Greg every success with his family venture in Western Australia.
Peter Cooling April and May are always busy months for Noels and me with Commodore’s duties. April saw a near perfect Easter event at Port Vincent. We were treated to some fantastic racing, excellent socializing and amazing food, including the ‘Commodore’s Shots’ (Noels and my winning contribution to the chocolate desert competition). We were lucky enough to have the perfect sail home on the Sunday avoiding the adrenalin rush those intrepid yachties who raced back and faced on the Monday. We also had the official opening of the Clubhouse by our patron, His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le. Once again I would like to thank all those members and staff who have supported what is truly an incredible result. The Dolphin Cruise, Anzac Day cricket match and Inkster Memorial race finished off a memorable season. May kick started with Cruising Yacht Club of SA Presentation Night, where we were entertained for the night by Commodore Geoff Boettcher and his wife Sue. I had the unfortunate task of presenting the Commodore’s shield back to Geoff in front of a very patriotic CYC crowd. There was some come-back for the Squadron later in the night though, when Aiken was announced winner of the very prestigious Premier’s Cup. The RSAYS Junior sail past and presentation was held the very next day. It gave me great pleasure to return the ‘three cheers’ from our junior members in their very well handled Pacers. We were then privileged to be involved in the presentation of their racing and achievement certificates. As a club we have embraced Junior sailing for well over 50 years. Our Juniors’ programme is a vital part of our club and is very well supported by an enthusiastic group of parents and the very hard-working Junior Development Committee, coaches and trainers. This program is very close to my heart as I started club life as a junior almost 50 years ago, and our daughter Maddie followed on. As a family we have met some wonderful life-long friends through the Juniors’ programme. Trophy Polishing returned to the agenda with our beautiful new and restored trophy cabinets.
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It was with much sadness that we awoke on the morning of Sunday 10 May to news of ex-Squadron yacht Raraku washed up on the South Coast. Fortunately all crew survived the terrible ordeal. It is a very personal reminder for all of us that the sea can be a harsh playground and we need to be ever prepared for our personal safety at all times, as were the crew of Raraku that night. As I pen my last Commodore’s report I would like to reflect on what has been a truly amazing experience for both Noels and myself. There have been a number of firsts during my term, some forgettable but some truly amazing. I would like to sincerely thank the strong team of RSAYS Ltd and Inc., management, the
committees, the special groups and the very supportive volunteers, staff and importantly those committees before us that have and will continue to build and foster the Squadron motto of ‘Seamanship and Fellowship’. Will I miss the role? … yes, but no doubt Noels, Maddie and Last Tango will have me covered for the foreseeable future. I am truly thankful for the fantastic support that has been given to both Noels and me from our family, members, friends and neighbouring yacht clubs that have accompanied my term. We are a strong club with a strong tradition and I am looking forward to watching the Squadron continue to develop as some very exciting projects take shape in the near future. Finally, a massive thank you to Noels and Maddie for their understanding and support. It has been a privilege and an honour to represent the Squadron as Commodore, and I look forward to enjoying with you the raising of the new Flag Officer Burgees and that special Past Commodores’ Burgee which will conclude my last official event on Saturday 6th September 2015. Catch you at the Squadron or on the water! Pete Cooling Commodore
Wine Dinner Henschke Exclusive Henschke Wine Dinner
hosted by Stephen & Prue Henschke Saturday 8th August Tickets $95 per head Five course menu with matched wines
including
2012 Mt Edelstone Single Vineyard Shiraz Tickets available on line rsays.com.au
(08) 8341 8600 rsays.com.au 161 Oliver Rogers Road, OUTER HARBOR SA 5018
FroM tHe MAnAger’s DesK By Andrew McDowell
Andrew McDowell & Staff Progress, Progress, Progress…… We are a club on the move and it’s all engines forward!
should have been passed by the majority vote by the time that this report is being read.
The recent Clubhouse Opening Day was a fantastic success and such a great opportunity to see our members glow with pride over what we have created. The day was suitably marked with many memorable moments that will etch it as another milestone in the long and distinguished history of the clubs progression.
Many of you may be aware of the onerous obligations surrounding the WH&S legislation. When assessing the club’s risk and policies, it became apparent that we needed to tighten up our control and monitoring of contractors and persons doing business on site. This is solely to ensure we are following our duty of care, and also ensuring that assessed risks are being managed and our policies in place are being adhered to. In light of this, we have introduced an approved contractor agreement that allows a regular contractor or business to apply for approval. They will be assessed as to their WH&S policies and procedures in place and will also agree to abide by the club’s policies and procedures. They will receive an annual approval, gate access and listing on our website as an approved contractor for a fee. This is not an endorsement of their workmanship but an approval to conduct work on site. Members can then access their details and be ensured that they have the correct policies and insurance in place. The four current contractors operating out of the slip and the two approved charter operators have received pre-approval and are exempt from fees as current members and/or tenants.
We are pleased to welcome our new Head Chef, David West, to the team and I am confident that he will bring a new lease of life and attention to detail from the kitchen. He has fitted in very well and looks forward to meeting members and introducing his passion for cooking with a new menu very soon. His experience and management of kitchen operations will be focussed on helping the F&B department achieve its goals and setting new standards in quality and service. 399 Year Lease Deeds of Extension have been sent and I have fielded numerous enquiries on the contents of the deed and allayed any concerns or misunderstanding on the document and its intensions. These have now all been executed. This is a significant achievement for these members and brings certainty around a long outstanding issue. The Management Committee has listened to the concerns of the first proposal for the amendments required to remove the GST obligations on berth sublicenses and we are confident that the revised proposal will receive unanimous support. At this stage it is looking very well supported by the berth owners and
Members will hopefully have noticed the 14 brand new polycarbonate marina carts. These are aesthetically pleasing and have come at a very economical price. We will still be replacing a few more heavy duty metal carts that will be custom-made to handle large loads as well.
We have commenced the extremely large repair and replacement program on Stages 1 and 2 armed with information learned from the very successful T-Head repairs to the F&G row. The sheer size of this task (In the order of 3500 linear metres) has lead me to investigate every possibility of cost savings as the economics of scale have helped with negotiating, but also mean that any expenses are multiplied drastically if not contained. The two materials required for the fender repair program are the timber walers and the ‘D’ Fender rubber. After exhaustive investigation I have found a poly manufacturer who can make the ‘D’ Fender in any profile specifications for around a quarter of the cost to buy from the wholesaler - a saving in the order of $30pm or $$100K over the whole project. I recently visited the Marine15 Conference and Expo on the Gold Coast to experience and learn from industry leaders and marine suppliers and I was buoyed by the knowledge others had of our club and its success and progress in recent times. Of particular note was our reputation as a club with high occupancy and high satisfaction rates. The Expo proved very valuable in gaining access to suppliers who mainly operate on the east coast and also to learn and experience new technologies and ideals that will allow us to plan and succeed into the future. Finally, we are very proud to have released our brand new club brochure for 2015-16 season. This very professional high gloss 52-page brochure showcases the club as a truly world class marina and boating lifestyle facility. The brochure is a fantastic marketing and promotional booklet that features a great wrap-up of the club facilities, membership benefits, history, functions and social activities. It is now available online and the hard copies are available for members to pick up from the office. I urge all members to take a copy home and show it to your friends and work colleagues to promote the great club to which you belong. 3000 copies will also be distributed to homes and business in Adelaide via the post. I look forward to reporting further progress as these exciting developments evolve and as always I welcome comments that are constructive, without partiality and in the spirit of ‘Seamanship & Fellowship.’
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cLuBHouse opening
Photos courtesy of Bryan Charlton
Flag Officers & His Excellency, The Governor inspecting one of the trophy cabinets
It was a day to remember in the history of the RSAYS – Sunday 19 April 2015, the official opening of the newly renovated Club House. Hundreds of members and guests enjoyed complimentary drinks and the sounds of a string quartet before assembling on the lawn, under dubious skies, for the cutting of the red ribbon by His Excellency, The Honourable Hieu Van Le AO, Governor of South Australia. Later they either lunched upstairs in the new dining room or dined on the Quarter Deck or on their own boats with food they’d brought or purchased from the colourful food trucks. Many then danced the afternoon away to the sounds of popular band, The Flaming Sambuccas.
The current Squadron Ltd and Inc. Boards were confronted with this desperate situation of a failing roof structure but they had the strength to propose and commit to, not only the extensive clubhouse reroofing, but also to support the extensive upgrades of: the internal access lift, upper level male and female toilets to service the dining room, upgraded kitchen facilities and layout, upgraded bar, refrigeration and airconditioning and revised entrance foyer and office reception area. This final cost-efficient design resulted in the total demolition and replacement of the first floor.
Here is an abridged version of what Commodore Peter Cooling had to say in his welcoming speech:
I would like to formally acknowledge and thank all those that contributed to making this renovation such a success’.
‘Your Excellency, Members and Friends
Commodore Cooling went on to thank everyone involved in the renovation project, from the members of the previous Management Boards and Committees to the Rear Commodore Bruce Roach, Board Member Geoff Wallbridge and General Manager Andrew McDowell, to members who contributed to the build, the companies involved, the RSAYS Foundation, the food and Beverage Staff, and to members and volunteers. *Full text can be found on the RSAYS website. He ended with these words ...
Official
Guests,
Today is a very special day for a special club that is rich in its 146 year history. It’s a day to recognize a clubhouse that has gone from near disaster to now a clubhouse that has been rebuilt in a very short time frame to enhance Squadron life. Today is about the future of the Squadron but it is also important to look back at the last twelve months and acknowledge all those that have made a significant contribution to the fantastic building we have today. It was late in 2013 that an investigation into a new trophy cabinet and ceiling upgrade revealed some very serious issues with the clubhouse roof structure. Major works were urgently required to ensure the roof was made safe and that the building passed the relevant building codes.
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‘Let’s celebrate this Clubhouse full of tradition that stands proudly in a truly unique environment surrounded by a working container terminal and busy shipping channel. This is a Clubhouse for all of us, our children and future generations. Please spread the word that the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron motto of ‘Seamanship and Fellowship’ is alive and is to be enjoyed by all’.
The Commodore giving ‘thumbs up’ to the Governor’s ribbon-cutting skills!
His Excellency, the Governor addressing the assembled guests
String quartet welcoming members and guests
Flag Officers & the Governor inspecting the dinghy shed
Members & guests enjoying lunch in the renovated dining room
Long-standing Squadron member Dr Alan Cotton spoke about his brother and Squadron Member Graham ‘GT’ Cotton, who bequeathed a very generous donation that funded the new entrance and reception area.
Ken Knolder, Joanne Klocke, Roland Frigot & Sue Beaufoy enjoying the celebrations on the Quarterdeck
Jan Butcher, Alf & Audrey Jarvis and Anne Lewis
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VoLunteers By Sally Metzer. Photo by Andrew McDowell
A job well hung! David and Lorraine Borg are diligent volunteers who love hanging around the Squadron… literally! This energetic couple is often to be seen doing jobs that no-one else has got around to, from watering plants and dusting leaves, to helping with the archives, polishing brass and so on. And now they’ve added another skill to their repertoire of volunteering offerings - hanging pictures! David explains how he got to doing this vast, tedious task that requires a perfectionist’s eye and a lot of patience. ‘I was part of a sub-committee (the ‘Hanging Committee’!) asked to review all of the Squadron’s art works and select and locate them to display. The first lot was done ‘professionally’ in the dining room at quite an expense. Lorraine and I decided that with about another 150 items or so to go, we could save the club some money by doing the remainder of the hanging ourselves.
Prior to Easter we hung all the excess Burgees in the dinghy shed to brighten things up a bit. We spent most of Easter rearranging and hanging 60 odd in the Gallery and about 50 in Jimmy’s Bar and the Racing Office. Apart from being confined to the gallery on Good Friday with access through the toilets only (because of the alarms), it all went according to plan. There were only a few ‘domestics’ over what went where and ‘that one is not level’ etc, but apart from that we worked well as a team. It was ‘all go’ leading up to the re-opening. Most days there was still something else to arrange. We are still finding odd pictures and the process will continue until we run out of wall space. Despite all the time and effort this job has involved, Dave and Lorraine says it has been a very rewarding experience. We members should all be grateful to the Borgs for the brilliant effort they’ve put in to give our Clubhouse more colour and character.
Now here’s a challenge: David says there is an anomaly in the Dining Room and he is prepared to buy a drink for the first person (Flag Officers excepted) who correctly identifies the mistake. Contact him via the office at member.services@rsays. com.au with your finding!
David and Lorraine ready for action!
treAsure sHips: Art in tHe Age oF spices RSAYS Members may be interested in an exhibition currently on showing at the Art Gallery of South Australia Treasure Ships: Art in the Age of Spices is the first exhibition in Australia to present the complex artistic and cultural interaction between Europe and Asia from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries – the Age of Spices. It includes 300 outstanding and rarely seen works of ceramics, decorative arts, furniture, metalware, paintings, prints, engravings and textiles from both public and private collections in Australia, India, Portugal, Singapore and the United States. The works of art selected reveal how the international trade in spices and other exotic commodities inspired dialogue between Asian and European artists. The stories of the slave trade, piracy and shipwrecks are presented, as well as illustrations of the astonishing beauty of Chinese porcelain and vibrant Indian textiles created for export around the world. The exhibition also examines the impact of the Age of Spices on the ‘discovery’ of the Australian continent and the commencement of English occupation in 1788. Treasure Ships: Art in the Age of Spices opens at the Art Gallery of South Australia on 13 June and runs until 30 August this year,
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Nagasaki School, Scenes of traders at Nagasaki, late 18th–early 19th century, Nagasaki, Japan, pair of hand scrolls (e maki): ink, colour and gold on paper; box: wood, paper and ink, scroll, (a) 34.0 x 652.0 cm; (b) 34.0 x 652.0 cm; box 12.0 x 19.5 x 39.5 cm; M.J.M. Carter AO Collection through the Art Gallery of South Australia Foundation 2014, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
cAtering report By Kevin Grant
candidates with interviews underway. We will advise the members of the successful candidate. March and April were successful months for events with excellent feedback from our clients. The good news is we have received additional bookings from clients who attended the functions and enjoyed our food and beverage service.
Kevin Grant Congratulations and well done to everyone involved with the sensational Clubhouse Opening day. I have received so many compliments from members and guests who attended the celebration. It was seamlessly run, enjoyed by all and an event the club can be proud of. I would like to thank my team as well as the club volunteers and management for their contribution to make the event such a success. It was an excellent opportunity to show members and their friends our new facilities and catering operation. News from the kitchen. Greg Velios, our Head Chef for the last five years, has resigned and is moving back to Western Australia to run the family café. I wish Greg and his partner Sally McIntosh who has worked at the Squadron for two years, all the best and thank them both for their years of loyal service. We have advertised for a Head Chef and have short listed potential
Happy Bride - Here is an extract of Deborah Butcher’s email: Hi Kevin Ben and I would like to thank yourself and the team at the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron for coordinating our wedding last weekend. The food was delicious and plentiful, the decorations were placed exactly how I expected and the staff were professional and friendly. Our guests had a great time with some saying that it was possibly the best wedding they had been to.
Photos courtesy of Sally Metzer
Thank you for your assistance leading up to our big day and your patience with my never-ending emails! Do you have a preferred website where I can place a glowing review? Signed: Deborah Butcher and Ben Wilson
Don‘t forget … Our very popular Paddock to Plate Roast, every Thursday night – a roast dinner for only $12.00 plus beer and wine specials. Excellent value for members! 6.00pm–9.00 pm bookings via office.
Members celebrating the reopening of the dining room
Letters to tHe eDitor Letter to the Editor 18 April 2015
Dear Madam, I refer to the obituary on Malcolm Kinnaird on Page 44 of Volume 9, Issue 1 of Squadron Quarterly. In the obituary the writer makes a statement that Malcolm Kinnaird’s yacht Catriona, designed by Alan Payne was ‘based on yachts of the Great Lakes’, this is not correct. As one of the partners in Alan Payne and Partners involved in the design of Cationa, I can say the design evolved from a brief we received from Columbia Yachts in the United States, to design a range of fast displacement cruising yachts. A quote from Alan Payne in August 1976 of RUDDER magazine states: ‘The general thought in the company was that if we took a clean sheet of paper and wrote down all the desirable qualities and then started on the design with the idea of spending the time and money that one spends on a racing yacht - combining it with a whole lot of testing – we might come up with a boat that looked different from anything that had been seen before’.
The result of this was an 8 metre (26 foot) prototype called Farrago built in South Australia and funded by Malcolm Kinnaird, a partner in Alan Payne and Partners at the time. We test sailed Farrago out of the Squadron and slipped it several times to fiddle with the stern shape and the area around the propeller skeg. Older members may remember Norm Butcher, Allan Smith and myself widening only the Port side of the transom and fairing it back into the hull as part of the test procedure. This caused some discussion at the Squadron bar, as to the bona fides of the boat builders and quizzical looks when the vessel went sailing. At the end of the testing, Malcolm had spent an amount of time sailing Farrago and decided a larger vessel on similar lines would be just the thing for a family yacht. Thus the Farrago design was refined, enlarged and became Catriona. At this point I can say that during this design process, no thought was given to whether the design would be based on ‘Yachts of the Great Lakes’.
a final shape, which we thought would have an easy motion at sea and that when heeled did not exhibit excessive helm, either windward or leeward and was easy to steer, both upwind and down. The initial shape involved some aspects we found beneficial in the design and testing yachts of the 12 metre class, combined with what we thought was desirable and marketable in the United States cruising yacht market at that time. From memory there were about three or four different length models marketed by Columbia Yacht Corporation, based on Farrago. Whether we achieved our objectives of a fast displacement cruising yacht, can be seen in the article ‘Catriona Goes South’ by Kingsley Haskett, on Page 24 of the same issue of Squadron Quarterly.
Yours sincerely, Howard Peachey, Member Royal Institution of Naval Architects (MRINA) Member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (MSNAME)
In designing the range of vessels for Columbia Yachts, we certainly did a lot of basic model testing, altering the shape of both hull and rudder to obtain
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2014-15 Winner
rAcing neWs Photos courtesy of Roger Oakley
By Heidi Pfeiffer
We have come to the end of the sailing season for another year with the sail of the Inkster Memorial Race and the celebrations at Presentation Night. The weather gods have definitely not been on our side this season, which has resulted in a high number of races being abandoned. This was the case for the last race of the Twilight Series which saw over 150 people stay for dinner and presentations including our sponsors, Porter & Co on behalf of Bethany Wines, North Haven Marine and Michael McMichael Motors. After being a prize winner most weeks throughout the Series, and taking a very large lead several weeks before the end of the series with no chance of other boats catching up, Nerana II were easily declared the overall winner for Twilight Series. The Inkster Race was once again a very close finish. Upon passing the finish line, both boats looked immediately to the Committee boat for the winner, with less than a second separating them first and second place. Lucette was lucky to have its nose slightly in front to take out the final race of the season, just ahead of 3 Cool Cats which missed out the previous year by a small margin.
Michael Bradley and Fish Factory crew The trophy polishing party saw more than a dozen lend a hand to polish our beautiful trophies ahead of Presentation Night. Thank you to Noelene and helpers as they continue to support this Squadron tradition. Presentation Night saw 200 people packed up stairs for the annual event including skippers, crew, sponsors, volunteers and flag officers. We welcomed Wayne Phillips to host the event, and as expected, there were plenty of light-hearted laughs at the expense of all those who attended, including himself! As always, boats have a chance to celebrate their
Chris Pratt & Lucette Crew
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TROPHY
3 Cool Cats Div 1: Horopito Div 2:Blue Diamond Aikin
Scott Mutton Mark Roberston Mal Denton Caillin Howard & David Oliver
Outrageous AMS: Blue Diamond PHS: New Morning III Lucette Blue Diamond
Steve Beaufoy Mal Denton Peter Vincent Chris Pratt Mal Denton
Mojo
Mal Mead
Mojo Trieste Janet Thornley
Mal Mead Tony Foster Balancing Act II
Fish Factory Medium Rare Super Heat Fish Factory The White Pearl Fish Factory
Michael Bradley Wayne Knill David Henshall Michael Bradley Andrew Waterman Michael Bradley
AMS: Lucette PHS: Vulcan Medium Rare AMS: Lucette PHS: Enchantress Vulcan New Morning III Blue Diamond Horopito AMS: Lucette PHS: Vulcan AMS: Aikin PHS: Vulcan Div 1: Aikin Div 2: Blue Diamond AMS: Lucette PHS: Vulcan Rimfire II Tearaway Vulcan Lucette AMS & PHS: Aikin Mojo Rimfire II Aikin Aikin Aikin
Chris Pratt Jim Howell Wayne Knill Chris Pratt John Willoughby Jim Howell Peter Vincent Mal Denton Mark Robertson Chris Pratt Jim Howell Caillin Howard & David Oliver Jim Howell Caillin Howard Mal Denton Chris Pratt Jim Howell John Moffatt Geoff Kneebone Jim Howell Chris Pratt Caillin Howard & David Oliver Mitch Mead John Moffatt Caillin Howard & David Oliver Caillin Howard & David Oliver Caillin Howard & David Oliver
Blue Diamond Lucette
Nives Vincent Chris Pratt
Vulcan Nerana II Div 1: Vicky J IV Div 2: Rival Nerana II Tucana
Jim Howell Chris Perry Trevor McHugh Stuart Shimeld Jan Perry Helen Moody
success of the season and take their trophies, even if it is only for the evening. This year we once again handed back the Commodores’ Shield to the Cruising Yacht Club after taking it back last year. Janet Thornley was awarded the Eileen Hardy Trophy for Excellence in Seamanship by a female racing sailor. Janet sails her own boat Balancing Act II each week in the Twilight and Women’s Series and on Saturday with New Morning III. Janet is generally up against male skippers and over the last year or so has made her mark in each series, with many complimenting her on her improvements
Mark Robertson and Horopito Crew
Alan Wilkinson Trophy – Twilight Cock of the Walk AMS Club Championship - MORTON TROPHY Bolton Wall Trophy – Cock Of The Walk (Inshore & Offshore Series) Bundey Cup Club Series - Reverie Trophy CS Inkster Memorial Trophy Easter Gulf Race Friday –PFL Hussey Memorial Trophy Easter Gulf Race Monday - Harold Dicker Memorial Trophy Easter Race - Correll Memorial Trophy Easter Race - Germein Memorial Trophy Eileen Hardy Trophy – Excellence in Seamanship by a Female Racing Sailor Etchells Cock of the Walk - Hawse Trophy Etchells Series 1 - One Design Etchells Series 1 - PHS Etchells Series 2 - One Design Etchells Series 2 - PHS Etchells State Championship – RJ & SR Duncanson Trophy Glenelg Gulf Race – C.A.T. Thornquest Trophy Gymea Trophy Haystack Island Race –George Eimer Memorial Trophy Inshore Series - Div 1 Inshore Series - Div 2 Inshore Series - Div 2 AMS Inshore Series –Div 1 AMS Island Cup Race – Mark L Mitchell Trophy Jubilee Cup – Nerida Jubilee Trophy Kaesler Cup Kintore Cup Le Hunte Cup Multihull OMR Series - David Hardy Cup Offshore Series PHS– Teachers Cup Offshore Series AMS trophy Orontes Cup Race Pacer Challenge Cup Plympton Cup Pt Lincoln Race PHS – Matthew Flinders Trophy Pt Lincoln Race AMS - Keith Flint Memorial Trophy Pt Lincoln RSAYS Fastest – Clive Fricker Memorial Trophy RSAYS Women’s Racing Trophy SA Champion of Offshore Racing AMS– James Howell Trophy TG Flint Memorial Trophy Twilight Series Trophy Winter Series Trophy Women’s Keelboat Invitation race Women’s Twilight Races – Alan Jordan Memorial
throughout each season. Well deserved Janet, and we hope to have many more excellent winners of the trophy for years to come. Thank you to our generous sponsors for their contribution throughout the season: Kaesler Wines, Musto, Nautilus Marine, Bethany Wines, Whitworths, North Haven Marine and Michael McMichael Motor. Also we are lucky to have boats both Miss Robyn and Wilbur to conduct races each week, with the helping hands of our dedicated race officers and volunteers who assist each weekend. Planning for next season is almost finalised
Volunteers & Race Officers
following the skippers and crew meeting. The skippers and crew meeting not only sees the all-important decisions on the next years racing season, but also changes to your fellow racing committee. Thank you to our outgoing members, Iain MacDougall, Chris Pratt and Nives Vincent for their involvement throughout the last few years. Roger Oaten, Bob Schahinger, Chris Mandalov, Andrew Waterman and Lloyd Cushway have been re-elected. Gerry Valk and Lisa Bettcher have been elected as new members of the committee. Changes to next season will see two separate divisions for the Twilight Series, and no overall winner as currently stands. The Ladies Helm Twilight Races will not see any changes to handicaps as all will remain unchanged following the race. Offshore races will be at the 1200hrs start time after trialling with an earlier start time this season.
take part. The first race saw light winds, but all involved enjoyed a lovely day out on the water. Events to come: The Plympton Cup on 14 June, warning at 0955hrs – this annual race is to West Beach and runs together with the Squadron Trophy race, the Le Hunte Cup. The Coaching series will once again be conducted in September. This event is a great way to introduce new people to the sport of sailing and to our club. If you know anyone who may be interested, please pass on details of the event as they come to hand in the e-bulletin and posters placed around the club. Feel free to take some posters to put up at your gym, supermarket or work. If you are looking for more crew, this is a great starting point just in time for the start of the season.
Jimmy Howell, Vulcan
Winter Series racing, combined with the CYC has commenced, with over 30 boats entered to
ArounD tHe cAns By Andrew Waterman back, Wayne Knill in Medium Rare was triumphant. The season started with the Squadron hosting the Etchells 2014 – 2015 National Titles held between 12-16 January. There were 34 boats from all the mainland states and an entrant from Hong Kong, with some exceptional sailors in the mix. Entries included Roger Hickman fresh from winning the Sydney to Hobart, John Bertrand, America’s Cup and Etchells World Title winner, Noel Drennan, also an Etchells World Title holder, along with many other notable World, Olympic and Americas Cup participants.
Etchells 2014–15 Season This would have to go down as one of the more unusual sailing seasons. It was certainly the most frustrating set of weather patterns with either no wind or too much wind. Of the 17 Pointscore races listed, we sailed only ten including the State Titles held over three consecutive Saturdays at the end of November and early December. Of the eight scheduled races for the Titles, we managed to finish a mere three. Just enough races were completed to count as a Series with Fish Factory, skippered by Mike Bradley with Guy Maegraith and Jeff Mincham as crew, declared the winner. The Pointscore Series 1 saw Medium Rare and Super Heat equal on points but with a count
The top three boats flying the flag for the Squadron were Athena sailed by Mark Roberts in 19th position, Paul Henshall skippering Mystery Taxi in 20th placing and Caillin Howard sailing Stretch in 22nd. This is a strong result considering the standard of the visiting fleet. After a slight break to catch our breath, the Pointscore Series 2 commenced on 31 January
with 14 races scheduled and only nine sailed. Again we seemed to be hit every weekend with either no wind or strong winds. First place for Series 2 was Fish Factory skippered by Mike Bradley. The overall winner of both Series 1 and 2 was Medium Rare skippered by Wayne Knill. On two occasions during the season the Race Officer called races off due to strong winds. Later these were found to be well below the Class limit of 25 to 27 knots at the start of a race and a reasonable sea state, which in our case would be an incoming tide with a southerly breeze. I’m not sure if it’s a problem trying to hold Miss Robin on station in these conditions or a misunderstanding of the Class rules regarding the upper wind limits. With the present spiralling costs of preparing a boat for a season’s competition including general maintenance, club membership, boat insurance, nomination fees plus other sundry outgoings, most skippers want to get in as much sailing as possible. I’m hoping that next season we will see more competitive days sailing in the Gulf rather than the Port River.
sAiL DriVe Several Squadron Members, who are also active members of the Trailer Sailer Association of SA (TSA), recently attended the Association’s Annual Presentation Dinner at the Lighthouse Hotel in Port Adelaide. RSAYS Crew Member Mal Pearsons, owner and skipper of Electra, a 7.8 metre Ross, was first and fastest and also first on handicap in the TSA’s prestigious ‘Rosebowl’ race, held this year off the Outer Harbor Breakwater. Mal is pictured here with Squadron Member Kevin Kelly who was first on handicap in his Timpanny 770 Musetta for the TSA’s ‘Grecian Cup’ event, which was held in March in the same waters.
Both above events saw the TSA fleet stationed in the RSAYS Marina for a weekend of activities, including drinks on the Quarterdeck and dinner in the Squadron Dining Room or Jimmy’s Bar. Squadron Member Lorraine Hamlyn shared the ‘Women’s Classic Trophy’ with Pam Deane, both women having won their division of the race on corrected time. Lorraine, a past winner of the Trophy, was also first over the line in her Noelex 25 Grey Nurse. The race was held on the River Murray between Goolwa and Clayton, incorporating an overnight stop in Currency Creek.
By Trevor Hamlyn
Mal Pearsons, Electra, winner of the TSA’s Rosebowl race with Squadron Member Kevin Kelly, Musetta winner of the Grecian Cup.
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WoMen on tHe WAter
Barb Parker on Taniwha watching those telltales
Article and photos by Helen Kearney
25 years of Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta
With the support of the RSAYS Foundation, the Squadron is again sending a South Australian team across to Melbourne to compete in the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta (AWKR). Celebrating its 25th year, AWKR is Australia’s premier women’s only sailing event and is held annually over the Queen’s Birthday Weekend in June at the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron in St Kilda. This year, it is truly a national event with teams competing from almost every State in Australia and their first international team from New Zealand. There are 26 boats entered and they are expecting approximately 200 women participants. The South Australian team is looking forward to some fierce competition. They will be sailing again on Mrs Overnewton, skippered by Helen Willmer, and the team consists of Barbara Parker, Janet Thornley, Di Schwert, Melissa Barclay, Helen Moody, Helen Kearney, Julie Bernardo and Debbie Frisbie. For both female and male sailors, the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron at St The long table presentation. Photo courtesy of Heidi Pfeiffer
Kilda runs a pre-event lecture series to help expand your knowledge of sailing. You can find the series online at http://www.awkr. com.au/#!lectures-detail/c1ogm Read the next Squadron Quarterly to see how the South Aussies fared. Nautilus Women’s Combined Series The Nautilus Women’s Combined Series winner for the 2014/2015 season was Blue Diamond (Nives Vincent), on a count back and following in a very close second, CYCSA boat School’s Out (Mary Ann Harvey) and Taniwha (Barbara Parker) in third place. The series included an invitation race and the Squadron is keen to keep this tradition going. The date for this coming season is still to be finalised but it will be advised soon. We urge all of those who can’t commit to a whole season to join us for the invitation race.
Women ‘out contributing
there’,
achieving
Janet Thornley: presented with the Eileen Hardy Trophy for 2014/15. Janet is skipper of Balancing Act 11 and is the only woman at the Squadron who owns and races her own boat regularly. She has competed in Twilights and the Women’s Series as well as participating in the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta with the SA team over a number of years and will again this year. Nives Vincent: On Miss Robyn, the Squadron Start Boat for Twilights, calling race starts. Was appointed Principal Race Officer for the King of the Gulf regatta at Port Vincent in February this year. Helen Willmer recently took herself to Melbourne to be part of the BLISS (Brighton Lady Skippers) Regatta.
The series will be running again in 2015/2016. In an effort to get more boats involved, a novice (non-spinnaker) section has been introduced with accompanying handicapping allowance. The Nautilus Women’s Combined Series is a great opportunity for women to participate and to learn more about sailing and helming. So talk to your skippers and get them excited about joining in. The only requirement is that the skipper be a woman. We invite all women keen to learn and grow your sailing knowledge and skippers wanting to enter their yachts to get in touch with RSAYS Racing Officer, Heidi Pfeiffer.
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and
Winner Nivas Vincent with crew of Blue Diamond
eiLeen HArDY AWArD Winner By Janet Thornley
Photos courtesy of Alan Dowler
Winner of this year’s Eileen Hardy Award Janet Thornley tells us in her own words how she became involved in sailing and the difference it has made to her life. My first experience of sailing was in Year 7 Aquatics. I chose sailing as I wasn’t a good swimmer and it was the only option that was above the water! It turned out an excellent experience and certainly left me with the desire to continue with it at some point. Due to study and work commitments, this did not happen until many years later. During this time I did a couple of Whitsunday charters with friends that kept the love of sailing alive. When my nowhusband Alan and I moved in together, as well as inheriting two kids and two dogs, I inherited Ariel, a small trailer trimaran. We spent a lot of weekends cruising around Clayton, Goolwa and the Coorong. It wasn’t until Alan began building a bigger trimaran called Stickwoman that I thought I should learn something more about sailing. I did an adult ‘Learn to Sail’ course at the Brighton and Seacliff Yacht Club. A group of adults of all ages were learning on Pacers off the Seacliff Beach. The possibility of capsizing and my healthy fear of sharks enabled me to learn quickly! I remember one occasion our boat had capsized and next minute there was a helicopter over our heads. Both of us in the boat immediately thought “Shark!” and broke the speed record for righting the boat and getting back in. This was the first of many sailing courses I have completed and I learnt a lot about points of sail, wind direction and helming. Since then, to gain more knowledge I’ve become a bit of course addict, and a proud nerd! As far as racing was concerned, Alan and I raced Stickwoman in some Twilights but I didn’t really get into racing until I became a crew member on New Morning III. I started out crewing in the Women’s Series and this expanded into the Twilights and Saturday
races. I have learned a lot from past and present crew. Both Peter and Nives Vincent have been a tremendous support over the years. Bad jokes and “damn it Janets” aside, the crew are a great bunch to be a part of. In the last two seasons I have branched out into helming my own boats Balancing Act and Balancing Act II in the Twilights and the Women’s Series. There have been some highs and lows and it has been a huge learning curve. The support and advice from a wide range of people at the Squadron has been much appreciated. I feel as if I have gained some respect from you all, and that means a lot to me. A huge thank you must go to Alan who has been a constant source of encouragement and enabled me to continue with this amazing sport. We will be going cruising for a year. I am taking a year off work and heading off in December. The initial plan is to sail up the east coast and Tasmania, and possibly further afield, depending on how we go. Balancing Act II will be back at some stage, and I look forward to seeing you all out on the water.
A number of qualities were listed on the form nominating Janet for this year’s Eileen Hardy Award. These included that she: • sails and owns her own boat and takes part in the Women’s Series and the Twilights. • has total commitment to assisting with boat race preparation and ongoing maintenance; • is a great trimmer and coordinator on clutches, especially with spinnakers. She’s a good ‘lookout’, with an eye for detail; • is always a willing crew for other boats when she has time; • has undertaken all levels of the Coaching Series, is now a mentor (especially of many nursing and overseas students), and has completed a navigation course, a radio handling course and a first aid course; • has participated in three AWKR at the Squadron, has sailed many Adelaide-Lincoln Races as well as many offshore races. All in all, a most deserved winner!
Janet Thornley with previous Eileen Hardy Award winner Helen Willmer
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juniors’ report By Mitch Mead Photos courtesy of Stuart Davis
At the end of a very successful 2014-15 Juniors’ Programme, I am proud to have been associated with the many wonderful volunteers, parents and kids who have been involved. There have been so many individual success stories that it would be a shame to highlight any particular participant. Their successes can be seen in the list of the race results and the certificates awarded to each individual. The images are from the Juniors’ Camp on the Murray River, a highly enjoyable weekend of sailing, with all Juniors gaining valuable experience and having fun. Looking forward, we have openings for kids to join for next season. Enrolment forms are available from the Squadron office. Apart from the kids, we are always in need of volunteers to support the Juniors. If you would like to assist us, please feel free to contact me at: jsquadsailing@gmail.com
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JUNIORS’ AWARDS Certificates:
Awards:
Basic Skills 1
Sage Catlett
Encouragement Award: Kyla Davis
Sienna Davis
Racing Encouragement Award: Joel Catlett
Rosie Gordon
Louis Robertson
Grelka Cup (Long Race): William Donald, Bek Mead and Sage Catlett
Hugh Solomon
Lucinda Solomon
Basic Skills 1 & 2
Joel Catlett
Kyla Davis
Amelia Solomon
Basic Skills 1 &2, Better Sailing
William Donald
Better Sailing
Alistair Teagle
Better Racing
Sam Kovacic
Lachlan Mann
RSAYS Instructor Award: Rosie Gordon
Club Championship Series: 1st Sam Kovacic 2nd Will Donald 3rd Alistair Teagle
Fun race series: 1st Sam Kovacic 2nd Alistair Teagle 3rd Lachlan Mann
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squADron HistorY
Grelka
By Squadron Historian, Dr Peter Last
THE DEATH OF GRELKA (1910-55)— REMEMBERED IN HER CUP FOR JUNIORS Commodore Professor Mark Ledingham Mitchell (1938-45) was very generous, especially to junior sailing. In 1927 he imported a motor vessel named Grelka. She was built in Southampton in 1910 for Baron von Bissing of the German Embassy, and she twice won the annual motor boat race from Dover to Cowes, but in 1914 she was seized by the Royal Navy as wartime booty. She was 55 feet (16.8 m) long but with a beam of only 10’6” (3.2 m) and a draft of 4’6” (1.4 m).
Barcoo HMAS aground, Glenelg 1948
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Squadron Quarterly
Sir Mark Mitchell owned a house on Strawbridge Point opposite the wharf at American River, with two piles to which Grelka could be braced. For more than ten years her sailing master was Jack Wood, (Squadron Quarterly June 1994 and passim). Squadron Quarterly of March 2001 has his account of what happened at the end. ‘The engine room of Grelka housed an old 55 horsepower Parsons marine engine, which started on petrol and then ran on kerosene. The engine was in first-
class condition …. It had both magneto and battery ignition, with two sets of spark plugs. Fuel was stored in two 100-gallon tanks on either side of the engine. There was also a two-horsepower Lister lighting plant of 32 volts and its accompanying batteries, which was kept in a lead-lined box on the port side of the engine. A 12volt generator ran off the engine for the starting batteries. ‘The engine room was amidships. It was originally waterproof and fireproof, as at each end there was a steel bulkhead. The
extinguishers, of which we carried three of foam type and one of pyrene. One of the former was in the engine room, and it would be suicidal to venture down there. All the others were played on the fire, but it had spread forward through the bilge. Flames were shooting from the forecastle hatch. We could see that the main fuel tanks (which were nearly full) had not caught fire yet. They could blow up at any moment, so we lowered the dinghy. All hands except myself and Max Wall (the mate) clambered into the dinghy, which hung astern. Max and I tried to put buckets of water on the flames, but this only encouraged them. All hope of rescuing the yacht had ended. The extinguishers were empty, and the fuel tanks were set to explode. Mitchell Mark L
only entrance was from on deck, through a hatch in the skylight and down a steel ladder. Unfortunately, however, an old paid hand who looked after the yacht in the early days and kept her in immaculate condition, was reputed to get a little tired of pumping her out from three positions. To remedy this he knocked lubber holes in the bulkheads, so he had to use only one pump. There were two ventilators to the engine room, one on either side of the wheelhouse, which admitted air to the front of the engine … ‘Grelka left American River on 25 January 1955 … She carried a 11ft 6 in dinghy on a davit. There were three other crew members. We were to meet the owner at Antechamber Bay … and it was arranged to pick them up early in the morning and then to proceed to the Pages … to [fish] for sharks. Towards evening, HMAS Barcoo, a survey frigate, entered Antechamber Bay and also anchored there. ‘Early next morning (26 January) we picked up the shore guests, but the owner decided to go ashore and fish for bream in Chapman River, a freshwater stream which enters the Bay. We had an uneventful run out to the Pages on a hot day of about 95o F. The wind was slight, although there was a long swell running on the sea, as it always does when out of the lee of Kangaroo Island. After anchoring for an hour or so near the Pages, we weighed to return, at about 1030. ‘A contented crew lounged on Grelka’s deck as we cruised back. The engine was throbbing reassuringly, the sun shone brightly, and the helmsman sang lustily at the wheel. Suddenly, BANG! — a terrific explosion flashed from the direction of the engine room. I ran forward, and looked down the hatch into a raging inferno. All hands raced to procure fire
‘HMAS Barcoo was only smoke on the horizon, after leaving Antechamber Bay that morning. We could expect no immediate help from her, even if she saw our smoke. There was nothing for it but to abandon the yacht. Max Wall and I climbed overboard and swam to the dinghy. It was by no means certain that it would hold seven people. It did! Once more we were afloat, and we decided to make for Cape St Albans, being the nearest point of land, and we could not gamble on the Barcoo coming to our rescue. The time was about 1115. ‘We started our outboard engine and headed for Cape St Albans. At this stage, another terrific explosion came from the burning yacht, accompanied by huge columns of black smoke. Probably the main fuel tanks had just exploded, confirming that we left just in time. ‘We were about half a mile from shore when we saw Barcoo closing us quickly. At about 100 yards out she signalled us to turn round and head for the ship. We didn’t do that for long, because we were in another sort of trouble. On our stern tagged an 18-foot shark. By this time the outboard had stopped for good and we had to row. Cape St Albans was a lot closer than the Barcoo, so it was to the Cape we headed, with the shark silently following. He kept nudging the dinghy transom with
his head, then he went on either side of the dinghy and bumped the oars with his head. He then moved underneath the dinghy, presumably to upset it and started to bump the underside. At this stage we had to do something to distract him, so I dropped the outboard engine over the stern, and luckily he followed it down. The oars were applied with great vigor for the last hundred yards, and we headed the dinghy into a crevice in the rocks on Cape St Albans, where we scrambled ashore. ‘HMAS Barcoo lowered a launch and picked us up. We were treated very handsomely by the officers and crew of the Barcoo, and we will always be grateful to them. We were landed by launch at Penneshaw, and the Barcoo went back to the burning yacht, arriving as she sank, after a few shells were fired to make sure she wouldn’t be a menace to shipping in a narrow passage. ‘The reason for the explosion on Grelka will never be known. One theory is that a fuel pipe fatigued and fractured, causing a leak. Due to the hot weather and inadequate ventilation to the engine room, a spark from the brushes on the 12-volt generator could have ignited fuel vapour.’ HMAS Barcoo became notorious when she grounded north of Glenelg on 11 April 1948, in the great storm in which the jetty and aquarium were destroyed. Her captain was ashore at the time, for which he was court-martialled. Decrepit wooden swimming boxes survived in the general area now occupied by the Adelaide Sailing Club. An old woman came out of one, waving a hurricane lantern and calling, ‘You can’t come any further! It’s all land here!’ The vessel was eventually refloated, amid great public interest and significant humiliation for the RAN.
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Squadron Quarterly
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House & sociAL report Article and photos by Andrea Mead
I had forgotten how bad the Rocky Horror Picture Show was until we ran the movie at a ‘Members Only’ screening on Saturday 23 May. With around 30 members, we did the ‘Time Warp Again’, and revisited the cult movie of the ‘80s. To add to our ‘pleasure’, the daring fishnet clad transvestites, Peter Cooling and David Zowtyj, added to the fun of the evening. Wheelchair bound Dr Scott made an appearance, as did Columbia. With Heather McDonald as MC and goodie bags filled with props, members were kept on their toes participating with rice throwing, holding newspapers over their heads during the storm scene, and squirting water pistols to produce the effect of rain. Although, where I was sitting it seemed to be raining for the duration of the movie, with Jill Roach caught in the cross fire between Stumpy and Pete Cooling. We ‘toasted’ at the appropriate time by throwing toast in the air and snapped pink gloves in time with Frankenfurter.
Our regular wine tasting evenings are still enjoyed by many members and a great evening supporting John Willoughby and Bay of Shoals Winery again proved to be popular. Around 50 people stayed on and enjoyed John’s wines over dinner. The opening of the newly renovated clubhouse was the highlight of the House and Social Committee’s calendar over recent months. The weather produced a few anxious moments in the lead up to the day. Apart from a brief moment, unfortunately just as the Governor Hieu Van Le was making his speech and cutting the ribbon, the weather was sunny, warm and inviting. Music by the ‘Flaming Sambuccas’ continued until early evening while members sipped drinks on the Quarter Deck. As the band packed up,
the sun disappeared in the west signalling the end of another perfect day at the Squadron. Thanks to the staff and many volunteers who assisted the House and Social Committee in organising this event. Events, which are being organised over coming months by the House and Social Committee, include: Members’ ‘Thank You’ Function, Sunday 19 July Christmas in July, Saturday 18 July Wine Dinner, Saturday 8 August Flag Raising and Commodore’s Dinner, Saturday 5th September. This will be a formal event, so dig out the black tie and long frock and we’ll see you there for a fun night supporting our new Commodore.
Commodore & Vice at the Rocky Horror Picture Show
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Barb Beacham & David Zowtyj
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David Zowtyj, Rae Hunt, Barb Beacham & Garry Brown
Andrea Mead, David Zowtyj & Phil Stump at the Inkster Memorial pirate party
All Cruising Report photos courtesy of Phil Stump
Kingsley ‘Bones’ Haskett Greetings from the Chair and committee members of your Cruising Committee. As I pen these words, preparations are in hand for me and crew to fly to Hobart and sail Catriona back to the Squadron. This trip will be via the east coast and north coast of Tasmania, weather permitting. The crew has changed slightly from the delivery crew to Hobart and the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in February. They will be Adrian Donald, owner, his grandson, me, Jeff Hunt, Bruce Wetherall and Trevor Manoel - a good crew, all told. The Easter Regatta at Pt Vincent was well attended with over 30 vessels either
in the marina or at anchor. The racing was in ideal conditions and with four Beneteau 47.7’s racing and the Beaufoy’s 44.7, keen competition was assured. The weekend was condensed somewhat by a forecast strong change of 40+knots west by south westerly. As a result most boats left on the Sunday. Mahalo sat it out and had a beaut sail home on Tuesday with a single reed in the main and a number 2 Yankee cut head sail on a reach in 20-25 knots. All events at the Easter Regatta were well run and well attended and the total eclipse of the moon only added to the occasion. The inaugural Dolphin Day event, organised by the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary Committee 11 April saw a flotilla of Squadron yachts joining the celebrations at the Inner Harbor at Pt Adelaide. The next event for Cruising was Anzac Day but government work at the Quarantine Station precluded our visit and outdoor picnic lunch as held in past years. So this year it was to be the Sand Bar Cricket Match on the spoil ground to the west of the container
cruising report terminal. The weather was cold and blustery, but 16 brave souls including the Manager, Commodore and Vice Commodore had an enjoyable, limited over cricket match until forced out by the rising tide. We retired to the Quarter Deck for food and drinks, a bit wet and cold, but a good time had by all. Our next cruise was to Garden Island Yacht Club on 16-17 May. Always a good welcome and good company, weather and tide permitting. The June long weekend involved a return visit from Garden Island Yacht Club and a combined cruise to the Port. The sad loss of Raraku on the reef and beach at Nora Creina in the South East is a timely warning of sea safety. All the crew are safe but a good vessel lost. Enjoy the sea but respect is eternal vigilance. Yours in seamanship and fellowship. Bones
Dolphin Day – 11 April 2015 By Phil Stump
The Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary Committee invited the Squadron to organise a flotilla of yachts to add to the spectacle of their Dolphin Day celebration in the inner harbour at Port Adelaide. The Cruising Committee didn’t need too many excuses for a trip up to the Port and organised a special bridge opening along with promoting the flotilla. Although at short notice, it was great to see seven Squadron boats with plenty of bunting flying. Last Tango, Mahalo, Erica, 470, Toy Yot, Illuka and Leonessa passed through the bridge’s at 12.30pm to a small but happy welcome from those attending the Dolphin Day.
Crews from Squadron boats moored at the free marina at McLaren Wharf next to the Light House enjoyed Dolphin Day festivities and a quiet drink or two with other Squadron Cruisers and members who just happened to drop by and enjoy the day. When it was time to depart Toy Yot led three of the fleet back under the bridges at 1800 while four stayed and enjoyed dinner and the ambience of historic Port Adelaide. Great fun Cruising…
Erica had invited a number of friends with young children to come for a sail and they were all excited when we saw our first pod of four dolphins just outside the Squadron basin. There was not much sailing, but a perfectly glassy day allowed for dolphin spotting as several more pods were sited on the way upstream and even more when we arrived in the inner harbour. Those Port River dolphins amazingly knew it was their day and really excited the crowds by turning up en mass.
Squadron Quarterly
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cruising report
Cruising fun on a Sandbar – ANZAC Day 2015 By Phil Stump and Lynda Walsh The 100th Commemoration of ANZAC Day started for many with a Dawn Remembrance service for all those who have fought for Australia in wars and given their lives so that we can live our life.
Phil, Kingsley, Michael, Lynda, Helen, Peter H and Tayah. This would also be a Cricket Match in which careful consideration would be paid to Drinks, and play was interrupted twice to ensure proper attention to this matter.
This year, with the importance of the 100th ANZAC Commemoration, the Cruising Committee replaced our regular Torrens Island event with an attempt to bring back the Sandbar Trophy. Unfortunately no one could locate the trophy and the opposition called bad weather. However fourteen brave (or maybe a little crazy) souls and a fielding dog named Tropie boarded the good ship Gladys Mary for the pleasant trip from the Squadron to the Outer Harbor Sandbar.
Facing the first blistering ball from Andrew, who gave up his warm office to see what happens at a cruising event, the Commodore struggled to connect bat to ball. However he eventually went on to score some runs. Bones also showed he was no slouch with a ball and scored a handy wicket. Rae took the prize for the most elegant underarm bowler and Tayah hit the ball the furthest into the wind, which by then was blowing 25 plus knots. Peter Hansen claimed to have been hit by the ball but it turned out that he had lost control of his thirst quenching glass of red. A container ship turning in the breeze also looked like it was joining in the cricket match on the Sandbar!
Given we needed 22 players for a real game, and four of those attending claimed to be spectators; Sue, Lillie, Peta and Jeff, we were down to only 10 players ; Peter C, Rae, Andrew,
At the close of play, examination of the Scorer’s card showed that everyone had won, which was a very pleasing result, although some people won more than others, this being the result of superior ball hitting ability. This was not considered a fault however, and they were not disqualified. So with four players, Peter C, Peter H, Tayah and Andrew, tied on runs we needed a countback on wickets taken. Andrew’s blistering bowling proved too hard to match and he was declared the cold but happy winner of the Sandbar Cricket Match of 2015. On our return across the river, the tender absconded and shot up river. The Commodore, encouraged by his trusty dog Tropie, recaptured it, and all was well. We suspected that the loyal tender was concerned for the safety and comfort of the yachts in the Inkster Memorial race, some of whom appeared to be lying flat on the water! An adventurous and at times amusing day was enjoyed by all who attended.
Garden Island Yacht Club Welcomes RSAYS – May 2015
By Phil Stump
To enjoy cruising you don’t really have to go very far as the Squadron Cruising Committee recently proved. Our cruise to the Garden Island Yacht Club on 16-17 May encountered breathless days, which turned out to be just perfect for the 2-3 hour cruise from the Squadron to Garden Island. This visit requires you to check the rising tide before going too far past the Black Pole. Pax was determined to set off early closely followed by Four Seventy and Iluka who also wanted to help deepen the channel on the way in for those following. It was great to see Homya, Stardust, Natuna and Oatsea getting into the cruising spirit. The Commodore skippering Last Tango showed a large contingent the way in the glassy conditions, including: Erica, Aqua Lass, Wonga 2 and Magic Beach.
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In all, 13 boats made the trip with about 30 crew but these numbers swelled to nearly 50 Squadron members and friends including crews from Outrageous, Trieste, Aquitaine, Solomon Ophir and Antares for the Saturday BYO dinner and a live band put on by Garden Island YC. Garden Island members are extremely welcoming whenever we visit, and it was great to see many sharing stories of their love of boating. Those who managed to survive the night of partying set out on a brisk walk to the Torrens Island Markets to sample the vast array of fresh produce on sale. This market certainly has a large following, with the public seeking bargains of fresh fruit, veg and seafood. Cruising events don’t happen without the support of our volunteers and Michael
Rossiter and his Athena crew are to be congratulated on working with the Garden Island YC team to put on another great cruising event.
cruising report
Port Adelaide Cruise - June Long Weekend Wow, the dinner cruise on the Queen’s Birthday on the long weekend of 6-8 June, involving members of both the St Kilda and Garden Island yacht clubs, developed into a major event! It came together so well that we nearly over succeeded! Some 24 or so visiting yachts evenly spread between the Garden Island and St. Kilda clubs were found visitor’s berths at the Squadron on the Saturday afternoon, resulting in a splendid evening dinner, with over 100 in attendance. It was ‘full on’, with the Garden Island club band in peak form, complimentary port for the Commodore’s Loyal Toast, a fascinating vintage aviation photo display, excellent food and service, and at least one sprained calf muscle on the dance floor! Commodore welcoming Garden Island and St Kilda Boat Clubs
The superb weather continued on the Sunday, with more Squadron yachts adding to the host of vessels now determined to find marina berths at either Dock 1 or the Fisherman’s wharf locations at Port Adelaide. This happens to total 40 spaces for future reference! Some chose to drive around for the evening dinner to ease the predicted congestion, and thus we just had enough berths for all. Port Adelaide marina berthing was however full. One committee member who chose to drive around, thus sparing a berth, and collected a parking fine for the trouble, parking of all places behind the Fisherman’s wharf building! Be warned. The marina gates were not locked, although the bureaucracy could not take a Garden Island Club band
bulk booking for the bridge openings and were thus given plenty of phone or radio calls. Sunday evening saw an estimated 90-100 at the Port Dock hotel, with fellowship and seamanship in full swing. Speaking of both seamanship and swinging, it was really great that the newly returned yachtsmen from the Tasmanian circumnavigation & Wooden Boat event were in attendance. Thus Bones, the chair of the cruising committee, was able to welcome all and speak a few reassuring words about Bass straight for the gentle hearted. It was again a splendid evening to close a great weekend. Wally, St Kilda Boat Club
Athena makes headlines… and Michael receives praise from his peers! Not only has the 15m steel silica composite ketch Athena made the front cover of the May edition of the national news bulletin produced for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, but her builder/ owner Michael Rossiter and the RSAYS have also been favourably featured. The author, Stan Gaffney has followed the building of this yacht quite closely over the many years of her making. He was one of the members of the Institution who assembled at the Squadron for a viewing of Michael’s pride and joy on 21 March. Stan remembers having attended a barbecue in 1975 at Michael’s Salisbury home when Athena was but a bare steel frame in the adjacent paddock. Members of the Institution again visited the boat in November 2007 when the masts had been fitted, the hull painted, much of the interior finished and with soft furnishings in place. Michael entertained them then with a wine and cheese tasting evening and a PowerPoint presentation of the hull construction. Athena was launched on 23 December 2009 and arrived at the Squadron on 2 January 2010 after a fraught trip when the
new propeller shaft bearing seized. (Ed: This drama was documented in SQ March 2010)
on following your dream, seeing it to fruition, and also for promoting the Squadron so admirably!
The basic building process of the boat Contact Michael on: mikerrr@ozemail. is outlined in the article, no doubt of great interest to the select professional readers. com.au if you wish to read the full article. Michael’s partner Lillie Seddon is also mentioned in the article, referred to as Athena’s ‘First Lieutenant’. “That’s quite a promotion from my usual role as deckhand’, laughs Michael & Lilly aboard Athena Lillie. After the recent viewing, the Mechanical Engineers and their partners went to ‘the Yacht Squadron’s newly refurbished dining room, overlooking the yacht basin, where many a lamp was swung, for a delightful evening repast’. Well done, Michael
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senior MeMBer By Barry Allison
IAN MONCRIEFF Barry Allison asked RSAYS Member Ian Moncrieff about his experiences with sailing. Ian first sailed on a yacht with a strong Tasmanian heritage and now at 90 years, Ian lives on and sails his Jeanneau Sunshine 38 Pied Piper 11 each summer in Tasmanian coastal waters. Here is his story. Small yachts hollowed out from oregon offcuts and decked with plywood were my first boatbuilding projects at about 11 years of age. They each had a tin keel with a lead bulb, dowelling spars, a tiller, and a jib and mainsail courtesy of mother. It was great fun sailing them in the nearby Broken Hill mine ponds. Later, when I was at school in Adelaide, Norm Howard asked me to crew on his Derwent class yacht, Neried which was about 22ft long. Norm had imported the hull from Tasmania and with the help of the Searle brothers’ boatyard in Pt. Adelaide was completing the fit out. I don’t remember making any significant contribution to the completion of Neried but just being around that boatyard and witnessing the skills of the shipwrights, the diversity of tools, and the smell of the timber is an experience that has remained in my memory. My sail training started with Norm and like many other chaps I owe him a lot for the opportunity he gave me.
made for great family holidays and friendships. I built 5 Lazy E’s because I enjoyed doing so and it helped to expand the fleet. Somerton Yacht Club was, and still is, a great family club. I was elected Commodore for a number of years and later awarded a Life Membership of which I am very proud. My son David crewed for John Gilder in the 420 Class. They were Australian Champions and runner up World Champions in season 1972-73. His brother Tom owned and skippered a Gwen 12. I joined the Squadron in August 1976, having purchased a Joe Adam’s ¼ tonner hull. Tom Thumb, a Tasman 26, became my entry into ‘big boat’ sailing and 3rd Division Racing. Commuting by train from Blackwood to work at the Bridgestone factory at Salisbury each day gave me quiet time to design all the parts I was building at night and on weekends. This and my subsequent Pion, Pied Piper, a Division 2 and ½ ton racer, are described in my article in the Summer 2014 edition of Squadron Quarterly, page 21.
Sailing was interrupted by the sudden sad death of my wife Annette in 1991 after 40 years of a great marriage. This was followed in the same year by the tragic death of son Tom. The Squadron ‘family’ gave me wonderful support during that sad time. I cannot speak highly enough of the kindness shown to me. Through sailing and the desire to get on with life I met another wonderful woman some years later and was lucky enough to marry her. Many readers will know Di through her Squadron Quarterly involvement. During Bunny Preston’s Commodoreship 198385, women were constitutionally admitted as Senior Members of RSAYS and time has shown this to be a wise decision. During and since Commodore Annie Rogers’ positive action while in office many women have seriously and successfully taken up sail training, racing and cruising. Their involvement in Squadron affairs has helped us move forward as a great club. In 1992 I helped deliver a 50’ Racing Association vessel, one of Syd Fischer’s Ragamuffin’s from
I left school in 1942 at the age of seventeen to join the Royal Australian Navy and served until 1946. I went back to school, rowed with the Adelaide Rowing Club, got a job and met a wonderful girl, Annette Wylde, who agreed to marry me. We created a home and family before the sailing urge returned. I started building Lazy E class (14 foot) racing dinghies designed by Englishman Jack Holt of Heron fame. With others at Somerton Yacht Club I worked to establish the Lazy E class with the Yacht Racing Association SA. The class became popular Australia wide and club, inter-club, state and national championships developed. National Championships around Christmas in various states
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Ian and Di
Ian and David on Seabird Sydney
In Queensland in 1998 we became the excited if naïve owners of a 1988 Jeanneau Sunshine 38. Thus began a new voyage of discovery for it was my first second hand boat, and not well maintained as we gradually found out. She had been sailed from the Mediterranean by her previous French owner. As we extensively cruised the Queensland coast and later New Caledonia, Vanuatu and the wonderful Louissiade Archipelago of eastern PNG, we restored her. Now we can be quite proud of her seaworthiness. We found the world of cruising wondrous and though we had left it too late to cruise farther than our local South West Pacific we have been fortunate to cruise afar with friends. On the beautiful Marionette IV with RSAYS members Marion and Roger Holden in Turkey and Greece, slipping sneakily from one to the other despite historically uncomfortable border arrangements.
Hawaii to Sydney. This was a 35-day voyage on a boat with minimal comfort, built strictly for racing, stopping only at Canton Island, Suva, and port of entry, Coff’s Harbour, before Sydney. My five companions were experienced yachtsmen and great company. An extremely notable trip was as crew on Lara 111 a 39’ Cavalier belonging to RSAYS members David and Dee Henshall. I joined her at Lizard Island, Far North Queensland, and visited many interesting ports, and islands en route to Darwin Sailing Club. Then from Darwin to Ambon in the famous race followed by cruising to Bali and the Bali to Djakarta tall ships race. David and Dee kindly allowed my new fiancee Di to accompany us from Ambon. This was a trip of a lifetime with David teaching us both much about cruising and boat maintenance. Dee was excellent at provisioning and keeping a crew wonderfully fed. In 1996 I was elected vice Commodore during Jamie Cowell’s period as Commodore. It was an interesting time as the Squadron had accumulated a large debt to our bank. This led to a period of forced austerity, Member sacrifices including a general call, a reduction in Member services, services provided by volunteers and very careful management. Changes to our management structure were introduced along with more financial transparency. All helped to restore a healthier financial situation. When my two year term ended I did not seek Flag re-election for, by then I was well into my 70’s, and Di and I decided to take up longer term cruising before my ‘use by date’ expired.
Later with Jeannie and Colin Harrison on their excellent Catalina 38. joining them in north east USA just a few weeks after they had bought her off the internet. A Catalina rally at Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut meant exploring a thriving activity of nautical industry, history and display. We sailed past Manhattan on the East River in NYC taking pictures of the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty from the boat. In Chesapeake Bay we saw old boat yards continuing to feed the appetite of the hungry American boating fraternity. We could see what could have been achieved with upgraded Searle/Porter boatyards to add interest, skill and history in Pt. Adelaide. We marvelled at inland waterways as we sailed on Linda and Tom Orlow’s racing Benneateau Northern Light on Lake Michigan. We have been lucky to sail in Asia too. Fay and Mike Harman had us aboard their cat Minke 11 for a marvellous time in Malaysia, including Penang, where we sighted Helsall 2 in the same marina. (She now nears refit completion as a serious racer/ cruiser in Pt. Adelaide) And we spent a week with French Italian cruiser friends in Thailand. They had been living aboard Creod for a mere 24 years at that stage and not yet completed a circumnavigation! Cruising at a different and wonderful level. After I survived a couple of rounds of malaria in the tropics we eventually sailed Pied Piper 11 south to her home base at the Squadron, put on a solid dodger to avoid Southern Ocean greenies, and she settled in quite well. We enjoyed Gulf cruising and KI but within a couple of years Tasmania was calling where we had cruised with
Pied Piper II at home on the Franklin Dick Jay and Marlene (now Tassicker) on Crusader over a decade earlier. King Island for cheese and horse racing, Macquarie Harbour and taking Pied Piper 11 twenty nm up the Gordon River, and the wilderness of Pt. Davey were magical destinations. The offer of a swing mooring in Oyster Cove in the d’Entrecasteaux Channel in south east Tasmania convinced us to keep Pied Piper 11 permanently in Tassie. We enjoy wonderful sailing, and many destinations in the real maritime capital of Australia. Having reached the age of ninety, the relatively protected sailing grounds of south east Tassie are ideal for our more modest sailing adventures with visiting friends and family. Di and I will always remain members of the Squadron for it is wonderful to be part of a club that is moving ahead in all departments. Finally, I am reminded of the late Keith Flint’s valuable advice which I pass on for what it’s worth: ‘When you think you know all about sailing, it is time to stay home’.
Always a Boat Builder? After the early models in Broken Hill as a lad, Ian built more boats; 5 Lazy E racing dinghies, the 26’ Tom Thumb from hull up in the 1970’s, the 32’ Pied Piper from hull and deck in the 80’s and then he substantially upgraded Pied Piper II. With Di, he also built an Iain Oughtread design Auk Dinghy as a tender to PPII. Now 90 years of age, he has just ordered plans for a Derwent skiff. Here Pied Piper is lifted over the backyard bush en route to Outer Harbor for completion.
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see VogeL By Peter Fietz
Seevogel and Wesley Harris: The Cornwall Connection The article by Dr Peter Last in the Autumn Squadron Quarterly about the early Port Lincoln races referred to Wesley Harris and Seevogel, the boat being described as the ‘pride of the fleet’ at that time, and carrying sail number SA1. In the last few months, interest in Wesley has been accumulating independently outside the Squadron. As a small boy growing up in the Barossa, ‘Mr Harris’ was my dentist. My enduring memories from that time are of his black Ford V8 Customline, the pain inflicted by his slow-speed, belt-driven drill, his nurses (always attractive), and his waiting room decorated with a nautical theme. The walls were covered with photographs of sailing craft (particularly his beloved Seevogel), models in glass cases, and knots of all variety nailed to the door into his torture chamber. Now, 60 years later, I still remember him explaining the monkey fist, telling me what it was for, how it got its name, and showing me how to start tying one.
A.Y. Seevogel annual outing 24 Feb 1940 (photo from Walter Fietz’s album)
the Tanunda rifle club would take an annual trip to sea with Wes, initially aboard his Mermaid, and later in Seevogel. Walter’s photograph albums have neatly-annotated photographs of some of these voyages, with dates and crew lists (including a ‘Miss Sperling’, who we later found out became the second Mrs Harris). I had always been amused by a picture of Wes aboard Mermaid, his head framed by a life buoy, the tail ends of two small fish (‘the day’s catch’) clamped between his teeth, and in his right hand, a man-sized bottle of Coopers ale—here was a dentist any boy could admire.
an-Dinas near St. Columb in Cornwall. St. Columb is close to Newquay and Perranporth on the Cornish north-west coast. He migrated to Australia in about 1932.
Wes retired in the late 1950s, possibly to Port Vincent, and I never saw him again. But I grew up with a lasting interest in Seevogel. I saw her only once, at Easter 1964 at Port Vincent, where Jenny & John Cuthill, photo courtesy of Peter Fietz I and two mates were sleeping rough, not out of any legitimate interest in sailing, but simply following a natural teenage instinct to explore more variety in the gene pool. I had always wondered if Seevogel still existed and where she might be.
started rolling. Jenny said she hadn’t known much about Wes’s sailing interests but she thought it was significant and coincidental that all her family sailed. Her husband John had sailed in the Capetown to Sydney leg of the inaugural 1973 Whitbread, and is actively involved with the pilot gigs of Cornwall’s Newquay Rowing Club.
Wes, as he was known throughout the Barossa, and my uncle were good mates. Walter Fietz was a pharmacist in Tanunda, and he and Wes shared interests in orchid growing and rifle shooting (and probably beer drinking). A half a dozen members of
We discovered only recently that Wes had spent the early part of his life in the UK. He was born and lived on a small farm at Castle-
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In September last year, a ‘Letter to the Editor’ appeared in a local Barossa newspaper. Jenny Cuthill from Perrenporth was seeking information about her greatuncle Wesley Harris, immigrant to Australia, dentist in the Barossa. It was a simple matter to reply to her with the little I knew and send her copies of photographs from Walter’s album. At this point the ball
The nautical theme continued: Jenny and John’s son Jim is currently here in Adelaide with his family while Jim is Supply Chain and Quality Director at the Australian Submarine Corporation. Jenny and John were planning to visit Jim in January this year, and this added impetus to the question of Seevogel. Two phrases came to mind: ‘I’m not a sailor but I’ve got some friends who are’ and ‘it’s not what you know but who you know’. So I
Wesley Harris photo titled The Skipper with the day’s catch (photo from Walter Fietz’s album)
contacted an old mate, Michael Rossiter who sails Athena. I worked for him on Oberon submarine projects at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, and after he retired we worked together on Collins projects. Michael offered to track down Squadron members who might know anything about Seevogel. Kingsley Haskett was up to his ears in preparations for embarking to Hobart for the Australian Wooden Boat Festival but he agreed (apparently happily) to sit down
in the Squadron dining room one evening with my wife Rhonda and me, and Michael and Lillie. He provided us with a wealth of background on Seevogel (interspersed with his views on Government attitudes to boatyard proprietors, deep-sea diving, MG cars and family origins). Rhonda was able to record a fair bit of the conversation for the Cuthill family to digest when they arrived.
One and All, which Jenny Cuthill told us was built by Bill Porter from Padstow in Cornwall, just ‘around the corner’ from Perranporth.
By the time the Cuthills had arrived in Adelaide, Michael had located Seevogel and obtained access to her mooring. If we had ever wondered about the point of all this, the answer was plain to see in the obvious pleasure the Cuthill family got from finding Seevogel. It was also pretty exciting for us non-seagoing types.
4) A Gordon (Dusty) Haskett enlisted and trained in the same WW2 infantry platoon with my uncle, Howard Fietz (Walter’s brother). They served together at Tobruk and El Alamein.
The Cuthills’ visit was relatively short, but we still managed to share in a family evening meal; spend a day at Echunga for the motoring enthusiasts’ All British Day (Perranporth was also the home of Donald Healey, father of the Austin-Healeys); and spend a pleasant afternoon with Michael and Lillie aboard Athena; followed by a tour of the Squadron and another excellent meal in the Squadron’s new dining room. You meet a nice bunch of people among the seagoing fraternity.
We’d like to thank Squadron members for their help and hospitality, particularly Michael and Seevogel as she is today, photo courtesy of Peter Fietz Kingsley. If anybody has any information about Wesley and Cecilia Harris, and especially about any of their three children, Jenny Cuthill would certainly be interested. We are contactable through the Squadron office or Michael Rossiter. As a footnote, we were amused to hear that: 1) John Cuthill discovered a friend he hadn’t seen since primary school days. The friend is now living near Adelaide, and had sailed on Seevogel a number of times. 2) Dr Peter Last’s article on the Lincoln races indicated that Seevogel’s sail number SA1 is also now carried by the
3) Kingsley and I worked on the same defence project in 1970, developing the Barra sonar buoy at Mt Gambier in Kilsby’s deep water sinkhole—Kingsley getting wet and me staying dry.
Small world…
Seevogel’s colourful history Compiled by Peter Last and Kingsley Haskett Seevogel, which means ‘Sea Bird’ in Afrikaans, is a distinctive vessel with a carved and painted parrot originally positioned on her port and starboard bow. She was built by Peter Clausen at Peterhead and launched in 1939 for Wesley Harris. She was the largest of the Gauntlet class, designed in 1934 by HG May of Berthon Boats Co Ltd. A disagreement in the early 1900’s led May to design and build a cruiser racer to beat his rival Morgan Giles design – literally throwing down ‘the gauntlet’. Hence a new cruising class name was born. Gauntlets ranged from 6 ton to 26 ton, with Seevogel being one of the largest. She was second in the fourth SydneyHobart race of 1949, and ninth in 1950, the winner being Colin Haselgrove’s Nerida. Seevogel returned from the latter to win the inaugural race to Port Lincoln in 1950, and she raced both inshore and offshore in most Squadron events. Her second owner was Fred Brinkworth, who added a coach-house, effective, no doubt, but not an aesthetic enhancement. Don Frazer bought her next in 1985, followed by Michael Harry and a succession of hands before descending into serious neglect, posing a challenge for restoration.
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HALF TONNERS We have all heard about Chook Smith’s numerous offshore adventures and more locally, successes in his half tonner Rouseabout in the 1970’s. Binks built the hull, and Chook finished her off in his backyard at home in readiness for the Squadron Opening day on 1 November 1975. Racing over the next few years became very competitive between Pions and the Spencers. One particular race is worth recalling – the Long Race for the 1977-78 State Championships which was a 200 mile race in the Gulf St. Vincent. Unfortunately only two starters fronted up for the start – Brian Snowden’s Redback and Rouseabout. The wind was a fresh sou-easterly and it became very obvious from the start that both boats were out to win, and looking forward to close match-racing. The beat to Glenelg at night was an exciting affair with the lead changing several times in a tack-for-tack duel. Redback rounded the Glenelg breakwater slightly ahead of Rouseabout in a dying breeze. However, a fresh 30 to 35 knot sou- easterly developed for the run to Ardrossan. Off Outer Harbor, both boats were planing along at 10 to 12 knots with a sea building, and both very close together. Then disaster – Rouseabout blew out her shooter, throwing the boat into a wild broach to leeward, gybing the mainsail which unfortunately had a preventer attached, causing the boat to stay on its beam ends with the spinnaker pole stuck in the water with the spinnaker still set. An able fore deck hand climbed up on deck to releases the preventer, but by then the spinnaker had blown out. After much cleaning up and setting another spinnaker, they set off after Redback.
Pole in the Water and Spinnaker Still Set - No Wimps in Half Ton Racing By Barry Allison (with assistance from Brian Snowden) Having caught Redback, it became obvious that they too had experienced problems, having blown out their one and only spinnaker, and later losing their blooper on a fatigued headsail halyard. As their other headsail halyard had parted earlier in the race, and the poled out genoa had displayed a nasty three corner tear, Redback decided to retire from the race. This left Rouseabout as the lone competitor to sail the remainder of the race under reduced sail with the wind staying fresh to strong for the bash back to Outer Harbor and the warm Squadron showers. Chook admitted afterwards that if they had sailed the 200 mile course in the same way they did the first 50 miles, they would all have been exhausted by the finish. But then this is what makes great racing.
Calling Half Tonners Where are the Boats and Crews? Following on from the very successful Half Tonners luncheon in December last year, some interest has been generated in having a pre-season luncheon in October this year to further develop activity within the Half Ton fleet in South Australia. Many owners today are no longer keen or able to sail competitively, but could be more interested in the more relaxed activity of just cruising in and around our coastal waters. So the intention is to see whether there are enough Half Ton sailors about to form a group to pursue and continue this great relaxing past time. Meanwhile, past Half Tonners may know the whereabouts of some of the following yachts – Brian William’s Lexin design Kohwai; Paul Barlow’s Pion design Valhalla; Lloyd Morris’ Duncanson Offshore; Keith Adams’ Cole32 design Peacock, and finally Tony Hooper’s Xantippe – just to name a few of the yachts that are still afloat and spread around the State. Brian Snowden phone 8248 1321 will happily accept any information on these yachts.
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DisABLe sAiLing inc. By Deirdre Schahinger
naming Northlink Northlink is a Day Options program which comes under the Disability Services in the Northern Directorate, and provides meaningful activities to the participants. One of the activities is sailing. This is enjoyed enormously by both ambulant participants on Freedom and nonambulant participants in the Hansa 3.03 dinghy. Last year Dis-Able Sailing Inc. was successful in applying for an Office of Recreation and Sport grant. Through the Sailability Australia network we were able to purchase a second hand Hansa 3.03 dinghy from Sailability Blairgowrie for just the right amount. As the dinghy is stored in the open, Disability Services sponsored the cover with naming rights.
Bob & Deirdre Schahinger
on the Quarterdeck. Also in attendance were the Area Manager Disability Services Jane Tulip, Vice Commodore Rae Hunt, DisAble Sailing President Peter Aspinall and Margaret Ashton represented Sailability SA. Bob Schahinger and one of the regular non-ambulant participants entered the dinghy, using the personal hoist donated by the Squadron Foundation in 2013, and sailed round to the visitors’ berth. Held in place by Peter Aspinall, the libation was administered by Rae Hunt and Jane Tulip named Hansa 3.03 sail number 852 Northlink, accompanied by applause and cheers. Everybody was invited to the Quarterdeck for light refreshments with fellowship and friendship.
Naming day was on 16 March and by 1100 hrs all the Monday Day Option participants and Dis-Able Sailing volunteers collected
An evening with
TIM JARVIS
AM
Saturday 1st August
3 Course Dinner
Special screening of Shackleton “Death or Glory” hosted by Tim Jarvis AM Expedition Auction Book signing Network drinks Tickets $58ph (08) 8341 8600 rsays.com.au 161 Oliver Rogers Road, OUTER HARBOR SA 5018
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Musto Marion at the helm
LAst tAngo DeLiVerY By Roger Holden
Stand and Deliver!
How the Kelly Gang, whales and wild weather kept Last Tango on her toes The elements were against them, as was a tricky auto pilot, but popular Squadron couple Roger and Marion Holden fought the odds and brought the Commodore’s boat to her new home. Roger recounts the journey… Just like those lovely playful dolphins we cherish so much in our Gulf waters, they came out to play on a very chilly morning. The difference in this instance though, was that unlike a dolphin, the mother weighed probably between 35 and 40 tonnes and her baby probably almost as much as Last Tango. Babies are big when you’re a humpback whale. They were off our starboard bow when Marion spotted them. At us they came, breeching, barrel-rolling and spouting in absolute exhilaration. We expected them to dive and head away. They didn’t. Just a few metres off the bow, mother took a screamer, barrelling out of the water from nowhere and then splashing down by our side sending cascades across the deck and sea. How she missed us, we shall never know. Milliseconds out in her timing and we would have been fish-meal for the sharks off the Solitary Islands just north of Coffs Harbour. Just milliseconds ...and Last Tango, would no doubt have been headlined ‘Lost Tango’ as they searched for the wreckage while the Coolings – Noelene and Commodore Peter — would no doubt have been anxiously scanning insurance papers back in Adelaide to ensure adequate coverage for their lovely new boat. That was not to be the last time we encountered one of these magnificent creatures. Several weeks later with Squadron friend Warwick ‘Steamboat Willie’ Williams at the wheel, we charged into one just north of Batemans Bay, shuddering our way across its body and coming almost to a halt as the sickening wallop suggested a catastrophe in
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the making. Behind, we saw a fin roll lazily over as the huge body wallowed from the impact. Two days later, the ABC reported that a six-metre dead whale had washed up on the beach near Batemans Bay. Given the timing and co-ordinates we provided, experts from the whale monitoring organization Orcca told us that it was almost certainly the one we had hit … but that it was probably already dead when we ploughed into it, victim of a ship or much larger craft than ours. The task of bringing home Last Tango began in Mackay in late September. Marion and I had hoped to be back in Adelaide with her by Squadron Opening Day, an outside chance at best perhaps, but one deadline we dearly wanted to meet so the Coolings could show off their delightful Jeanneau 40. We failed. By a week. Despite wonderful support from Warwick (Southport to Eden) and John Wickham (Eden to Adelaide), weather and events conspired against us to miss that deadline and tinged our journey and hopes with a little regret. To some extent, added stress with the responsibility for the short-handed delivery of an unfamiliar boat for friends was to blame. After all, try to imagine what life would be like for us in the Squadron if we had managed to sink the Commodore’s yacht? A very conservative approach began the moment we took over in Mackay.
Day one: Very strong SE trades… stay put. Day two: awfully strong SE trades…. stay put. Day three: The ‘gotta goes’ have set it. Leave harbour, even stronger SE trades, try to get a heavily-reefed main up for the first time, give up, return to berth. Day 4: damn the fresh trades, out the harbour, up with the reefed main, slam- dunk 45 miles to Curlew island, arrive in the dark (anchor between the island and the long sand spit…. only do that in the pitch black if you are stupid and/or have been there before). Relax! We are on our way, only some 2000-odd miles to go. From Curlew, Last Tango sang her way delightfully down the coast to Southport, and we sang with her as we dropped into Bundaberg, spent a night under Little Woody island in the Great Sandy Straits, slipped out over Wide Bay Bar at 3pm because a strong wind warning issued for the following day would have delayed us mightily, by-passed Mooloolaba because you don’t go there in the middle of the night with 30 knots up the backside, sheltered under Bribie Island then motor sailed our way down the inside passage to Southport .
John rugs up for the Bass Strait watch
We guess if there was a specific time when schedules and excellent progress began to unravel, then off Cape Byron has to be it. Until Southport when Warwick joined us, the crew consisted of just Marion, me and the autopilot. The latter waited until the most easterly point of Australia was abeam and then quit. Thank heavens for Warwick, cheerful, uncomplaining and ever reliable. He arrived with a not unreasonable wish list for the journey south… “Lots of broad reach sailing, please. Lots of warm weather.” Warwick got off in Eden, both wishes clearly denied. Not one broad reach, often just long hours of helming in cold, boisterous conditions. Next stop Coffs Harbour and then on to Port Macquarie, because we’d heard from Carol and Peter Kelly who were moored there, that there was a particularly good autopilot mechanic. Pause a moment. Those versed in the somewhat overly-romanticised history of Australia well know that when the Kelly Gang insisted you stood and delivered, you did as you were told and delivered. As most of you know, these modern day Kellys are just as demanding as Ned’s lot but perhaps not all that particular it must be said… as long as it’s red wine, white wine, or wine with bubbles in it OK by them. Come with clear intent and hand it over. Warwick rugged up already and it is only just south of Byron Bay
And so it was in Port Macquarie where Home James heading north caught up with Last Tango heading south. As you would expect, the crew aboard L.T. did what comes naturally and bowed to orders from the former commodore and his wife in hilarious supplication. Mind you, there were one or two mornings when some of us thought that Ned’s gallows from Old Melbourne Gaol in 1880 might well be put to further productive use. Such is life! The upshot of all this was that the Kelly Gang finally departed on Home James and headed north in front of a very vigorous southerly change, leaving us no longer with the benefit of an accommodating nor’easter and in the hands of a mechanic who determined after several days anyway that the problem was hydraulic and therefore outside his expertise. He sent it off to Sydney and we never saw it again until Eden, 600 miles away. Quieter northerlies returned long enough for us to reach Port Stephens, stick some
Off Cape Capricorn, the Great Hunter Gatherer reels in supper
more patches on a frayed section on the main, slip into Little Manly Cove in Sydney Harbour for a few hours rest and then move on to Wollongong to wait out winter’s next treacherous kiss of misery. At Eden, John Wickham flew in to provide the companionable expertise and muscle necessary for the long haul around ‘subAntarctic’ Victoria. Eden was the low point. Trapped once more, this time for a fortnight as relentless fronts howled through Bass Strait at the rate of three a week. We planned to go without the pilot, but were forced to wait. I have to confess – in despair one night I even talked of finding a safe haven for Last Tango and flying home until the relentless winter westerlies decided that summer southerlies might get a look-in. Then came Opening Day at the Squadron. While friends enjoyed the frivolities at Outer Harbor, we spent the afternoon on a mooring as shuddering gusts throttled the life out of the annual Eden Whale Festival. Highlight of our afternoon was throwing ourselves off the stern and into the dinghy to rescue the outboard as rotation at the end of the painter became a certainty. It was on the eve of a determined departure that the news was phoned through – the autopilot was on its way. At last, several days later with a great deal of help from the autopilot, we were able to hammer our way south to Gabo and then ease sheets for Refuge Cove on Wilson’s Promontory.
It carried us through fields of cray pots in the blackness. It even waited patiently on standby as we hurtled north under heavily reefed jib and hacked off a pot and lines wrapped around our rudder. For 150 miles, it ignored the constant hammering of a polystyrene buoy trapped under the quarter, it sailed us into Antechamber Bay on Kangaroo Island and waited yet again for us to anchor and then bury our nose in ice-cold waters from the dinghy as we cut away rope so that we might run the motor in a time of need. Aah, the Squadron, what joy, what a stunning welcome. Friends took our lines, friends passed over the champagne. And there they were. Noelene, Peter and Maddy, delighted to have Last Tango in their hands again. What a family. So warm and so gracious. All so very Squadron. No wonder we love the place. No wonder we love the Coolings. Why, maybe given a delightful boat like Last Tango we’d even be prepared once more to head the wrong way across a wintry, miserable Bass Strait wouldn’t we? Well, now just hang on a moment… perhaps you’d better pass over another glass of champagne while we give that idea a little bit more thought, please.
We saw out the last vestiges of a mighty blow in the little cove at the southern end of Waterloo Bay and then moved on to Port Fairy. We made it. Easily. Easily, that is, except for the autopilot, which saw us clear Wilsons Prom and then entered a self-imposed sulking exile for the 210 mile trip. It was off Portland when the autopilot decided to work again. And work it did, all the way back to Adelaide through big swells and 30 knot winds on the challenging quarter.
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Round the World Clipper Race By Campbell Mackie
The Saturday afternoon sail that will take a year. members, we will wave goodbye to our loved ones and embark on one of the 12 identical boats to start the first leg, heading nonstop to Rio. This will be the beginning of an odyssey that will end back in the UK in July 2016. The one saving grace, that I hope will mitigate the chance of the locks being changed at home, is that the fleet will arrive into Sydney in mid-December prior to participating in this year’s race to Hobart. So the Mackie family will celebrate Christmas in Sydney and watch the start of the Hobart with a stronger than normal interest. For those who want to know more detail of the race the web site www.clipperroundtheworld.com will be of interest.
Sometime around September last year the longest boat restoration in the history of Christendom was drawing to an end. Simultaneously the sale of our business and full retirement was fast becoming a serious prospect. I was feeling distinctly ill at ease and then I saw a notice in the Squadron email bulletin about the Clipper Round the World Race. A 40,000 nautical mile race designed for amateur sailors and non-sailors alike who seek to experience the challenges of competitive blue water sailing. What if I did a few of the legs and dealt with the desire to run the easting down in the roaring forties like the grain ships that once sailed to South Australia? I began making discreet enquiries and soon discovered that another Squadron Member had already committed to being a ‘rounder’. Alby Watson is a little more senior than me so I thought if he is up for it so should I be. Being a ‘legger’ just would not cut the mustard. A chat with Squadron member Bruce Macky, a ‘rounder’ from 2010 convinced me that I would regret passing up the opportunity. The topic was broached with the boss. Her response was that if something is worth doing its worth overdoing. And so was born the moniker of ‘the Saturday afternoon sail that takes a year’.
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To a sailor, this event is what Everest is to a mountaineer. It is a unique adventure that will be my celebration marking the end of one journey and the “HIGH QUALITY WORKMANSHIP ... beginning of the next. It is a test of self ...WITHOUT THE HIGH PRICE” which I believe will be immensely rewarding. In other words it’s a huge self-indulgence. I write this on the eve of my departure to Sydney for a month of training on a retired Clipper vessel stationed there, and interestingly registered as an RSAYS vessel. In late July Lorna and I will head to the UK where Alby and I will meet our fellow crew members and complete our level 4 training on the 70’ Tony Castro designed yachts purpose built for this edition of the race.
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with Third Party legal liability insurance to start my restoration project. In fact, they were totally unhelpful until I approached Nautilus. Mark and Trish from Nautilus actually wanted to help. They actually took the time to listen to my situation and provide me with Third Party legal liability cover on Esprit so that restoration could proceed in the Squadron pool. Good to know a company actually is interested in bringing boats back to life. You could say I am a happy customer!’
‘What separates us from other insurance companies and insurance agencies is our ability to offer commercial insurance for shipwrights, marine mechanics, riggers, marinas, yacht clubs, boat retailers, boat brokers, chandlers, boat equipment retailers, importers or wholesalers and Ian Power slipping Esprit boat builders.
Jesper Munch
Nautilus Marine is a valued major sponsor of the RSAYS involved with such events as the Winter Series and the Ladies Summer Series. What do we know about this eminent insurance company that is the choice of many Squadron members? Nautilus Marine commenced business in April 2005 with the vision of offering an alternative for boat insurance in the Australian market. More importantly, the company acknowledged a need for boat owners to have another option for pleasure craft insurance. Nautilus started from a zero base and Trish Flaherty, Regional Manager – SA, NT & WA, says they knew it would take time to get brand awareness.
Two Squadron members are happy to sing Nautilus’ praises. Jesper Munch, owner of Rozinante 111 has only been with them for a little more than a year. He says he was attracted by the rates, which he says are the best, especially as racing is included. ‘Not that I have done any racing yet, but it’s great to keep your options open!’ he laughs. Ian Power of Esprit says he was caught in an insurance ‘Catch 22’ situation when it came to restoring his vessel. ‘One cannot obtain insurance cover needed to get onto a slip or into a marina berth. But the catch is that one cannot get insurance cover without a survey (which means slipping or entry to a marina). My project boat was pretty sad when I purchased her and it appeared that marine insurers were not interested in helping me
To obtain more details on Nautilus Marine please visit www.nautilusinsurance.com.au. Trish says to mention that the Nautilus digital magazine is complimentary to anyone! Jesper Munch’s boat Rozinante III
‘Our original forecast to achieve a solid market share of policy holders was five years. However, the market has reacted above all expectation,’ she says. ‘What we expected to achieve in five years has actually happened in three years!’ Trish says this makes Nautilus Marine the fastest growing marine insurance provider in Australia, also making Nautilus Marine an influential player in this market. Nautilus Marine has national representation with offices located in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia and over 55 staff nationally. It offers insurance on various classes of pleasurecraft
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tHe BooKsHeLF By Dick Richards
CIRCUMNAVIGATION!
Ocean passages to exotic and fabled landfalls or preparing for an extended voyage and a perfect gift for armchair travellers and yachties. The journal may be the first published record of a successful circumnavigation in a relatively small yacht by South Australians.
‘The despair of being dismasted midAtlantic contrasts with the delights of stopovers in isolated coral lagoons and the Galapagos Islands. Fierce electrical squalls, a violent waterspout, a gang of Venezuelan thieves and assisting the French Navy in a South Pacific rescue all tested their capabilities. Whether struggling up the Red sea, islandhopping in the Aegean, Caribbean and Pacific or joining Trinidad’s Carnival revellers, their interactions with locals highlight the unique global experience of circumnavigation.’ Rob Gale and his wife Suzanne, well known former Members of the RSAYS, spent nine years circumnavigating the world in their yacht Caviar, an extended 12 metre version of a Cavalier 37. The record of this fascinating adventure is skilfully, often amusingly told by Rob with pithy annotations by Suzanne. There are more than 70 well-chosen photographs in the text that give an intimate glimpse of some of their memorable adventures. Maps of the journey around the world are placed evenly throughout the manuscript. The book is extremely entertaining, interesting and well written, a ‘must read’ for a stormy night ashore or on board. It is also charged with useful information, an inspiration for anyone contemplating
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Rob’s long affair with the sea began as a child on Arno Bay on the West coast of South Australia, fishing in a small wooden dinghy with his father whose philosophy was ‘Fishing is just an excuse for going out in boats.’ Even Isaac Walton would have approved! Sailing dinghies and crewing on deep keelers followed and eventually he and Suzanne acquired Moonraker, a Duncanson 29. They cruised local waters extensively and then traded up to the Duncanson 35 Airborne, which is still at the Squadron. In 1984 they took a years’ leave to sail to the East coast, wintering in the Whitsundays. Perhaps it was in the Whitsundays that Rob developed his life-long passion for scuba diving. They also found that their marriage was still intact following their first long voyage in a relatively small yacht! Eight years after the East coast cruise the couple decided to take early retirement, bought and fitted out Caviar, leased their house and embarked on their extended sea voyage: Suzanne felt that ‘I wanted to achieve something significant and to me that meant a circumnavigation of the world. With much trepidation about having such an ambitious goal...’ Rob wrote ‘We still had no definite plans. It was like backing out of our garage and contemplating the options while leaving the driveway.’ One of their many dreams was to visit Venice in their own boat, an ambition that they realised, one of the many highlights of the voyage. Perhaps their flexible attitude to the journey was one of their best secrets and a key to their success. From time to time they varied their plans to take extended unplanned diversions on advice from fellow circumnavigators. During the course of their venture they did experience some moments of high drama and even considerable danger but the record of their nine-year exploration is filled with tales of exhilarating sailing, exciting landfalls, warm encounters with people of many nationalities, spontaneous hospitality and wonderful anchorages in exotic locations. They sailed to some 55 major destinations and visited more than 60 countries, each landfall described in detail
but without repeated notes on sail changes and navigation. The book reveals that both Rob and Suzanne’s former professional lives were important during their voyage; Suzanne is a pharmacist whose skills proved to be invaluable in dealing with sickness and injury, not only their own needs but with others in the cruising fraternity and also some deprived communities in remote locations. Rob’s training as a medical scientist coupled with his deep interest in the natural world adds joy and excitement to the tale. His acute observational skills and his accurate identification of geological features, plants, trees, birds and particularly each variety of whales, dolphins, fish and the myriad of inhabitants of the reefs and bays they visited are extremely interesting. His diving adventures are inspirational but his considerable skills were also valuable for anchor checks, untangling fouled propellers and recovering ground tackle wound around bommies for other yachts as well as Caviar. In conversation Rob surprisingly said that his passion for scuba diving outranks his love of sailing! The boat was very well fitted out for the circumnavigation with every electronic aid including radar. Later in the voyage but while still on the east coast of Queensland a Fleming wind-vane steering was fitted, aptly named ‘K’ after Kaye Cottee who used one on First Lady, a sister yacht to Caviar.
The voyage began with a shake-down trip to Tasmania, sailing down the west coast and around Maatsuyker Island, to cruise the Tasmanian east coast and then north to the Whitsundays, Cairns, and beyond. ‘...idyllic outer-reef trips were the highlight of our first year on Caviar’. At Lizard Island they backtracked to Townsville where the boat was hauled out at a ship yard and stored for the cyclone season. On several other occasions during their long voyage around the world the boat was wintered on the hard while the crew flew off to interesting destinations not accessible by water. The accounts of these separate adventures enriches the book and at the time must have helped the crew to avoid ‘cabin fever.’ On shore they took in the sights and enjoyed food, wine, music, Museums and Art Galleries. chorages. While in Bali they flew to Java, the first of their many interesting overseas excursions spent away from Caviar. The journey continued to Singapore then north through the Malacca Strait and along the coast of Malaysia to Penang, Langkawi and southern Thailand where they spent two pleasurable months. At this point a year had passed and they contemplated staying in From Ambon they sailed west to Sulawe- the region but ‘having joined a multinational si, south to Flores and on to Bali with many fleet of circumnavigators, their enthusiasm idyllic days and nights spent in remote an- swept us westward.’ The next year brought them to the Mediterranean via Sri Lanka, INTERNATIONAL The Maldives, Saudi Arabia, COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS PTY. LTD. Egypt, Israel, SALES • INSTALLATIONS • SERVICE and Cyprus. Another leisurely Electronics & Communications year was spent exploring the Aegean followed by Turkey, Italy, France and Spain. From Cadiz they sailed to Madeira and the Canary Islands, south along the coast of Africa to Dakar before heading west Let John & Margaret Moffatt (Rimfire II) look after your across the Atlanboating needs and take advantage of John’s many years’ tic, 2630 miles experience in electronics & boating. to the Caribbean island of Marine Radio & Satellite Phones, Navigation Instruments, GPS, Antigua. During AIS, Autopilots, Radar, Echo Sounders, Fishfinders, Plotters, a fierce squall Sonar, EPIRBS, Marine entertainment systems, fifteen days out Thermal Night Vision Cameras & Satellite TV. Marine Radio Surveys for charter & other commercial craft & their backstay Ocean Racing Compliance. parted and they lost their rig ‘... in Realising that most of us don’t spend all of our time at sea, agonisingly slow ICS also have outback HF, UHF & 27Mhz radio, commercial two way systems, satellite phones, aircraft VHF, Ham Radio motion the mast equipment, aerials, cables & installation materials. arched forward until it snapped 8 Nile Street Port Adelaide South Australia 5015 Ph: 08 8447 3688 and fell over intcom@internode.on.net Fax: 08 8341 1453 www.intcomsys.com.au the bow. A devFrom Townsville they sailed to Darwin where they joined over 70 other boats in the annual 600 mile Darwin to Ambon race. Their arrival in Indonesia marked their first foreign landfall. Suzanne voiced her pleasure in meeting the local people and enjoying their company ...’ one of the pleasures of exploring other cultures ...’
ICS
SEA
LAND AIR
ICS
astating, vision – a ghastly blend of horror and disbelief!’ The dramatic description of this disaster, the injury that Rob endured to a foot and their escape to Antigua under greatly reduced circumstances but assisted by a jury rig and the prevailing currents is very sobering, but also inspiring. In Antigua’s English Harbour their luck turned when an insurance assessor discovered that the failure of the rig was due to a faulty backstay fitting. To their great relief the manufacturer assumed full responsibility for the dismasting and met the entire cost of replacing the rig: mast, boom, sails, radar and all other damage to the boat. From Antigua they spent months island hopping through the Caribbean, then north to Bermuda, a long sail to New York where they even attended a ‘ball game’ during their twelve days moored in the centre of the city. From New York they ventured further north to Cape Cod and Maine. In America they received an amazing amount of hospitality from the many circumnavigators they had met and cruised with on the other side of the world. Sailing south once more they entered the Intracoastal Waterway ‘a 1000 miles of motoring to Florida.’ From Florida they returned to the Bahamas and eventually headed west to Panama. More highlights remained for Caviar when she crossed the Pacific, but to read about their magical days in the Galapagos and their longest but fascinating passage you must find a copy of the book!
Rob Gale Australian eBook Publisher 2014 291 pp, 10 maps, 73 photographs, glossary. Hard copy available at North Haven Marine, 1/23 Alexa Road North Haven. $35
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NEW MEMBERS By Stuart and Natalie Wells next day, so we left at 0100 hrs and enjoyed the lights of Adelaide while heading south. At dawn Wongga II and Last Tango were close by and a calm Backstairs passage lay ahead. So calm in fact that Natalie was able to do her nails – base, colour and topcoats! Christmas Cove was a sheltered spot for the first few nights. John and Annie from Miss V joined the rest of us for a walk and lunch/tasting at Sunset Winery. The walk back was a little tougher with us carrying a few reds back to stock up the on-board cellar! A day sail to Antechamber Bay was quite brisk and the Penneshaw Pub was a welcome respite for dinner.
Friendly and helpful RSAYS trailer sailer members, plus the Squadron’s better facilities and secure storage led this adventurous couple to sign on as members too. Welcome, Natalie and Stuart! Our sailing experience started in the early eighties. Along with windsurfing we also sailed at the Henley Sailing Club. Initially Natalie, a fellow Science student, invited me to crew on her Cherub, quite a feisty little dinghy named Freedom Express. After a couple of seasons with numerous capsizes with the spinnaker up, it was traded for a Mosquito catamaran. This boat provided many exhilarating experiences with us on a wire and the windward hull skimming the water. By now I had become more than just a crew and we were wed! Two children ensued and other priorities took over. The years passed by, our two sons grew up and then a chance meeting with Roy Martin rekindled our interest in sailing. He invited us to visit a TSA event on the Finniss River during the 2012 October long weekend. It was such a lovely evening with so many delightful people that we bought a boat within the month. A 1991 Noelex 25 from Port Lincoln was purchased, a decision we have never regretted. After picking it up over a weekend, it was given a big clean up and name change from Swampy, (they explained they were Port supporters!) to Where’s my Water? Our first outing, the Trailer Sailer Association Rosebowl Race, was along the coast, starting and ending at the RSAYS. Trevor and Lorraine
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Hamlyn, long term Noelexians, kindly assisted with our first rigging and although we didn’t break any records, we did finish the race. Steve and Anne Lewis showed us their Noelex, Odette, with its simple modification that enables the set-up of a queen size bed, a modification that has been highly valued. When we are not holidaying, our Noelex is moored at the Hindmarsh Island Marina, which we find easy for weekend overnighters. The Noelex has really become our holiday house. Clayton, Milang, Narrung and the Coorong have all been frequented. During the longer Christmas holidays we have sought destinations further afield and have crossed Backstairs Passage twice in January. The first time was in 2014 when we launched at Wirrina and sailed to American River, spending a few wonderful nights at Baudin Beach. The trip was so enjoyable we were keen to return this year but were looking for a launching pad with better facilities and secure storage for the car and trailer. Having enjoyed a number of TSA events at the RSAYS we decided to join. Our plan was to spend this New Year’s Eve at Browns Beach, in the company of Odette. The day before we had the luxury of a leisurely rigging and provisioning of our boat, thanks to the excellent facilities at the Squadron. By dinner, we were able to relax at Jimmy’s Bar. A warm welcome from Helen Moody, who was joining Steve and Anne on Odette, ensured a very pleasant evening. MetEye was suggesting an unfavourable weather change later the
New Year’s Eve provided an easy sail to Browns Beach. Upon arrival a visit to Wongga II highlighted the beauty of timber yachts and their ability to have copious stores of gin. The festivities had begun! Mass abandoning of vessels made a noteworthy sight, as a flock of rubber duckies headed to the beach, laden with Christmas leftovers and bubbly, ensuring a very convivial evening. The average age of crew would have made an interesting study though, as a decree that the New Year would come in at 2200 hrs was very popular. Many of us quite rapidly headed back to be rocked to sleep on board. The rest of our trip took in Boxing and Emu Bays, crossing Investigator Straight through Sultana Passage and up to Port Vincent where a thunderstorm dumped us on the beach in front of the kiosk. Where’s my Water? had lived up to her name! All in all an excellent adventure, hopefully with many more to come.
NEW MEMBERS Category Boat Name First Surname Senior David McGill Senior Wave Dancer Bruce Robertson Senior BD277S Shannon Toomey Senior Catherine Bails Family Wombat II Brett Hill Family Partner Wombat II Carolyn Ramsey Associate Jim Theodore Intermediate Angus Johnson Crew Alex Macorig Crew James Snook Crew Nives Vincent Crew Warwick Noble Crew Stephen Sutton Crew Nicholas Chapman Crew Mark Hennessy Crew Rohan Pratt Junior Rosie Gordon
pAciFic peArL By Dick Richards
Welcome to this new-comer! Pacific Pearl, a Hans Christian yacht, has newly arrived in the Squadron. Cruising skippers and traditional yacht aficionados at the Squadron are delighted to welcome the large blue-hulled yacht Pacific Pearl into the pool. She was brought to Adelaide by Paul Mercer who also owns the generously proportioned motor vessel Robert Bruce moored nearby. Her previous owner was a US Navy Captain who sailed her from California to Singapore. The Hans Christian yard was established by the late John Edwards during the 1970s in the US. It has been said that Edwards was inspired by the lines of 16th century Dutch Jaghts but his designs are also reminiscent of traditional North Sea pilot boats and the classic designs of Colin Archer. Hans Christians are heavy displacement fibre glass yachts with solid teak fit outs on deck and below and are designed for comfortable deep-water cruising. They are renowned, and much admired throughout the world for their handsome, practical design and their sea-keeping ability. Robert H. Perry was an early designer for the yard but many other marine architects
were used at different times, Harwood Ives, Scott Sprague and Tommy Chen. Scott Sprague designed Pacific Pearl as one-off project. Pacific Pearl is a 17.4 (57’), 4.3 m (14’ 2”) beam cutter rigged ketch weighing 23 tons dry. She was launched in 1986 but the hull, deck, spars and interior were completely refurbished by specialists in 2009 – even the extensive timberwork was hand rubbed before refinishing. The vessel has a centre cockpit, long bowsprit and a canoe stern with distinctive solid teak bulwarks and suitably large winches, solid deck fittings and a strong cutter rig on the foremast. She is powered by 110 HP Yanmar diesel and is equipped with a bow thruster. An interesting feature of the yacht is the distinctive design of the brackets for the two bow and the stern anchors which allows them to be deployed and catted without leaving the cockpit.
She has two heads and two showers, a ‘king sized’ bunk in the master cabin and very comfortable berths elsewhere, a generous well equipped Nav station, large galley and a well-proportioned saloon with comfortable seating. The boat has many other refinements including a water maker, washing machine, radar, autopilot and extensive safety gear. Paul said that ‘after her refit she was hardly used on a swing mooring in Sydney Harbour and suffered from lack of maintenance but I have now got her back in good condition and am looking forward to cruising in the coming summer.’
Below decks she is beautifully fitted out in Burmese teak with Holly cabin sole.
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Starwave moored fore and aft, dinghy and tidepole
snug coVe Article and photos by Mark Sinclair
A large-scale survey of Snug Cove Snug Cove is captured in the excellent oblique aerial photograph now moved down to Jimmy’s Bar following the renovation of our clubhouse. It is a secluded anchorage on the north coast of Kangaroo Island, some 100 nautical miles from Adelaide and 80 from Port Lincoln and is very familiar to many club members. When the summer south-easterly winds prevail it is a pleasant overnight sail from Port Adelaide. Unfortunately Snug Cove is only shown on paper charts AUS780 and AUS343 which are at the relatively small scales of 1:150,000 and 1:300,000 respectively. No unfortunately Chart AUS345 has been withdrawn. Chart AUS 780 extends from Althorpe Islands to Backstairs Passage and on it Snug Cove is less than 2mm wide and so no detail is provided. No wonder it is reported to be hard to find! Snug Cove is described in Australia Pilot Volume 1 which states ‘Small coasters lie in depths of 1.7 to 2.7 m (6 to 9 ft), close to the beach on the N side, secured head and stern.’ James Cowell’s ‘Anchoring and Anchorages in South Australia – A Guide to Cruising Anchorages within Easy Reach of Adelaide’ provides very good advice as does Graham Scarce’s ‘A Cruising Guide to Historic Gulf Ports – Volume 2’ which also includes history and a ‘mud map’ (approximate scale 1:5,000). Although no soundings are shown, general information regarding depths is in the text. There are also a number of articles on the web, but most of these seem to be restating earlier observations. I was unable to locate any large scale chart of Snug Cove and thought it would
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be interesting to conduct a sketch survey. I departed RSAYS at 1730hrs on Friday 6 February 2015 sailing singlehanded in my yacht Starwave. As I headed across the Gulf close-hauled under plain sail (full mainsail and number 2 genoa) the 12 – 15 knot southerly breeze backed to the southeast so I could weather Troubridge Island and providing an enjoyable overnight sail to Cape Cassini. At dawn the wind dropped out and at 0800hrs I started the engine and continued under power, arriving at Snug Cove on Saturday 7 at 1240hrs. I moored in the basin in Snug Cove with bow to seaward using the main anchor and a kedge over the stern. At low tide I set up a temporary tide-pole on the beach and by comparing the observed tides with the predicted tides at Port Lincoln, was able to determine the approximate height of Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT) in Snug Cove. I could now correct all soundings relative to local chart datum using observations from the tide pole. During the afternoon I sounded the basin from the dinghy using a leadline for depth and, bearings from Starwave along with vertical sextant angles from the waterline to the top of Starwave’s mast for position. I sounded the basin in a star pattern at 20 metres intervals and in 30 degree segments centred on Starwave’s moored position. On Sunday morning I completed the sounding by dinghy and then at low water surveyed the accessible coastline of Snug Cove on foot, also using magnetic bearings and vertical sextant angles from Starwave. This completed the survey of the basin and during the afternoon I weighed anchors and sounded the approaches to Snug Cove in Starwave using GPS and echosounder. That evening I
plotted the results and on Monday morning I filled in the few remaining gaps. Fred Howes in yacht Susani came into the cove for breakfast, having spent an uncomfortable night at anchor in Western River Cove. After a pleasant gam I recovered the tide pole and departed for Adelaide in Starwave while Fred and crew Brett proceeded westwards towards Port Lincoln. Snug Cove is a jug-shaped cove open to the northwest. The main anchorage is in the basin which is almost circular with diameter of 150 metres, with depths which gradually increase from the shore to about 6 metres. The throat of the jug is constrained by rocks on either side and is only 60 metres wide with a depth of approximately 7 metres. The seabed then drops away regularly through the Outer Cove to the mouth which is approximately 110 metres wide with depths of 12 metres. The approach to the cove is framed by the conspicuous Conical Rock and Low Rock close by on the eastern side and Two Rocks on the western side, between which the depths are approximately 15 metres. In the centre of the fairway the depths decrease regularly as the anchorage is approached which is consistent with a sandy seabed. There were three moorings in the basin (February 2015) which severely restrict swinging room when at anchor. The moorings have been laid on an approximate east–west line. At the time of survey, the central mooring was in a depth of 3.4 metres and was located close to the centre of the basin; the second mooring was located 40 metres to the west in a depth of 4.3 metres and the third mooring was located 60 metres to the east-northeast in a depth of 2.3 metres
Snug Cove chartlet 2
(all depths below LAT datum). I had moored Starwave midway between the central and eastern moorings. If it is decided to pick up one of the moorings, consider anchoring up near the throat of the cove then laying back and using the moorings to secure the stern. If there is a vessel swinging from the central mooring without a stern anchor then only the east or west moorings can be used, preferably to hold the stern, or alternatively it may be possible to anchor in the Outer Cove in a depth of 10 metres with up to 40 metres swinging room or also use a kedge anchor. Please note that I have no experience in anchoring in the Outer Cove and good lighting would be necessary to be visible to vessels entering or departing a night. Mariners should take careful note of James Cowell’s and Graham Scarce’s advice regarding the danger of being in the cove in a northwest gale. Also of note, when I was in Snug Cove I was unable to raise any station on VHF, HF or mobile phone, so keep a close eye on the weather. During the two days I had the cove to myself I enjoyed frequent visits of a large blue grouper, observed a large seal conducting a circuit of the basin and while I was sounding inshore in the dinghy in less than one metre of water a large ray at least two metres from wing to wing passed underneath; needless to say, I remained very still. On Monday a fresh south-easterly was blowing and prior to departing Fred Howes recommended I keep close inshore in the lee of the north coast of Kangaroo Island until at least abeam Cape Cassini and this was very good advice. Despite the forecast being for a wind from the southeast, the breeze blew almost straight down Investigator Strait and I was only able to keep in relatively calm water by motoring 1 – 2 cables off the coast in depths between 10 and 20 metres on the echo sounder. At 1740hrs I anchored on the east side of Boxing Bay under Marsden
Point light (as recommended by James Cowell), although as I ran into the anchorage the lighthouse disappeared behind the high ground on the foreshore and a large anvil shaped rock on the beach made a good alternative headmark. The following day I got underway at 0500hrs and was soon making good 7 knots plus with a strong southeast breeze on the beam. Just before dawn I shipped a wave in the cockpit and became unexpectedly wet, and then surprisingly the breeze quickly dropped out and at 0730hrs, I was becalmed, ironically still wet from my earlier soaking, and with wind farms visible on both the York and Fleurieu Peninsulas. After motoring for two hours, a light south-easterly breeze set in at 0930hrs which gradually strengthened and veered and from 1100hrs I enjoyed a spinnaker run all the way up the Gulf of St
Vincent, with the Aries wind vane steering the entire way, berthing at RSAYS at 1745hrs. Halcyon days! Please note, the chartlet should be used with caution. Conducting a sketch survey single-handed in a fresh breeze with a lag between measurements of depth and position while controlling the boat or dinghy means that positions of soundings and the coastline are only approximate. A full seabed search has not been conducted, there are some gaps in the coverage and lesser depths than charted may exist. Also, having discussed this survey informally with some members at the club I have already heard a number of interesting anecdotes and a wealth of experience at Snug Cove over many years which far exceed these brief observations here.
Temporary tide gauge established in Snug Cove
Squadron Quarterly
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in tranquil waters carpenter joiner. The apprenticeship was for 4 ½ years, with no pay. To earn pocket money Peter remodelled people’s old clocks. After finishing his apprenticeship he worked building staircases, and then was drafted into the Navy. Peter served in Copenhagen and Greenland. After leaving the navy he returned to staircase making. His interest in rowing started while he was at high school, where he became junior champion for Denmark in double skulls and then rowed in 4’s and 8’s. Peter competed in the European Rowing Competition in Macon, France in 1951 and came second, then in 1952, competed in the Olympic Games in Helsinki.
Peter Lauridsen By Ken Cock
Peter was born in Lolland, Denmark. Lolland is the fourth largest island in Denmark. The family farm was right on the coast, hence his love of the sea. At 15 years of age his father arranged an apprenticeship in Copenhagen as a
Peter made a decision that changed his life completely and came to Australia, arriving in Melbourne in 1959. He was told that there was plenty of work in Whyalla so took off to check it out. He arrived there when it was 105 degrees in the shade, and the only work available was repairing coal wagons. He stayed there for half a day then came to Adelaide.
Peter often told us the thing that sold Australia to him was how friendly the people were. He was invited to a BBQ and told to bring a plate, which he thought was strange, perhaps they didn’t have enough plates. Nobody told him you were supposed to put food on it. He worked for Emmett’s in the joinery shop at Forestville, and then worked as a subcontractor for Ian Wood Homes. From there his interest in boats led to working for John Duncanson, becoming his foreman. Peter was involved in building some of the finest wooden yachts which were noted for their lines and workmanship. Among them were boats such as Gambian built for Ron Boswarva, Celeste for Alan Jordon, Balamarav for Dean Smoker and Tiriki for Chapie Charlesworth. Peter then went into a partnership with One off Constructions and Fairisle Pty. Ltd. Building fibreglass boats. After that he went out on his own establishing Scandia Yachts, where he designed and built many beautiful boats.
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38
Squadron Quarterly
Email boltyots@senet.com.au www.blueskymarine.2ya.com Alexa Road North Haven SA
Visiting Tassie Boats By Sandy Barker You may have noticed the two small yachts berthed out the front of the Squadron clubhouse recently. One was Cynecia, a 7.7m Alan Wright designed Tracker, a triple diagonal timber yacht. The other was Sundowner, a 7.6m 1987 fibreglass Top Hat. Just as every face tells a story, so does every yacht. The following covers a ‘blink in the eye’ of these two tiny floating achievers. Luke Toonen from Flinders Island, Tasmania, had retired from a lifetime of working in Marine Industries, servicing rigs. He had owned Cynecia for 30 years and their ‘intimate’ experiences had taken them to almost every part of Tassie and Flinders Island. Like most yachties, his passion for adventure constantly niggled at him for more, so two years ago Luke decided that he and Cynecia would leave the comfort of Tasmania and circumnavigate the big island hovering above it… the rest of Australia. Far, far away, disheartened computer programmer Rob Lovelace of Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, wanted more than the daily prediction his work provided and dreamed constantly of sailing. Something he had no knowledge about and had never dabbled in. Unable to continue with the status quo, Rob retired voluntarily and bought Sundowner, with a plan to sail to Lizard Island, Queensland. Here he would reassess and figure out what to do next. It was a brave undertaking by a ‘newbie’, especially as a loner. These two men had never met and had no connection until a chance anchoring early in both their voyages at Eden, in the south east corner of Australia. Rob was having difficulty understanding the workings of his steering vane and fellow traveller Luke was more than happy to assist. Realising they were both solo sailors heading the same direction, they decided to tag each other as a support team up the east coast as far as Lizard Island at least. Friendships are often something that come unexpectedly and develop without realisation. By the time they reached Lizard Island, Rob needed no encouragement to continue and join Luke circumnavigating the rest of our vast and vibrant coastline. After crossing ‘the Bight’ from Esperance through to Streaky then Coffin Bay, they arrived in Adelaide where they took a breather at the RSAYS. That’s where we found them. With little time to talk, my husband Trevor asked a few pointed questions.
What would you say was your best experience? Without doubt they said it was meeting so many extraordinary people along the way. Strangers who were always ready to help, even hand over their car to allow them to shop; and the incredible similarity amongst all boaties, no matter the size or worth of their boat – their passion was the same and this interest crossed the divide of dollars.
What’s next? The boys are looking forward to returning home after two years. Luke’s wife remained in Tasmania while he travelled, occasionally able to meet him at select destinations. Rob at least is planning to set off again. Next time he will circumnavigate Tasmania before returning to South Australia. He had no idea we had so many good sailing grounds. Few do… that’s our secret!
Best place visited: The Kimberley – they are truly amazing and brilliant for yachties. The landscape is extraordinary and there is so much to see. The fishing is incredible and going through the Horizontal Waterfalls is an experience not to be missed. Worst experience: For Rob it was hand steering the whole day in washing machine conditions from Jervois bay, after his steering vane broke. For Luke it was while at anchor at Coffin Bay. A storm hit and both yachts dragged in the 40 knot winds. Rob’s anchor managed to take hold, but Luke had to motor to hold station… creating a very stressful night. They also found crossing the bars up along the coastline difficult. Favourite marinas: Fremantle and our very own RSAYS.
What’s the deal for boats visiting the Squadron? The Squadron offers a range of welcoming options to visiting boats looking for a berth from casual visitor rates in one of our convenient visitor berths from $27.50 per day to leasing a berth for any length of time (POA). We also offer a great deal for those wanting to drop in for lunch or dinner with a free overnight berth with any restaurant booking. Boats partaking in cruises from neighbouring clubs are given the Royal treatment by special arrangement with our Cruising Committee with free berthing up to 72 hours for organised events. They are encouraged to use our bar and restaurant facilities too. For more information and/or to make a booking please contact the Squadron Office on 8341 8600.
Squadron Quarterly
39
STAFF Profile By Annette Turk, RSAYS Member Services Coordinator Alison. After a couple of years as a stayat-home home mum, I went back to work part time as a receptionist at the local YMCA. I did everything from supervising functions to evicting some young sailors who thought they could crash a function to chat up girls!
Most members probably know little about Annette’s life away from her work. What does she do when she’s not answering our questions and solving our problems in the Squadron office? “When I’m not at my desk, I help as the ‘roadie’ for my friend who makes wind-chimes out of teapots and cutlery. We get to travel to country and interstate markets and meet a variety of people. I also enjoy going to a variety of concerts and shows, and when time permits, my daughter Alison and I like to go shopping in Melbourne for a ‘girl’s weekend away’”. Read about Annette’s career path that led her to her position at the Squadron, and what attracted her back after a break some years ago. The only connection between my previous jobs and being the Member Services Coordinator at the Squadron is working with academics in the education system. This has always been the favourite part of my work – I love dealing with people face to face. I started my working life as a collator in the printing department at Salisbury College of Advanced Education. As a 17 year old straight from high school, it was interesting and challenging working in the education system with academics. It was a great job in an industry that was evolving fast as new technologies were being invented and improving the way printing was being done. I worked at the college for nearly nine years until I left to have
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Squadron Quarterly
I then moved to the Co-Op Building Society (now the Bendigo Bank), and worked in various branches for several years before becoming Manager at the St Peters Branch. After a few years, I was head-hunted to the Head Office where I stayed for the next seven years. I worked in several departments including Payment Systems where I supervised a team of six and dealt with customers’ account queries. Some days were challenging while others it was hard to keep a straight face with some of the funny things customers said or did! After leaving the bank I worked in Computershare, a share registry company for around four years. As centralisation and electronic processing replaced manual processing, the company made many people redundant, including me. I didn’t take this personally. I saw it as an opportunity to try something different. Part of the redundancy process included career counselling, through which came the job interview to work at RSAYS. I started in April 2004. It is coincidental that I ended up working here, as I used to go sailing here in the early 70’s with my father-in-law Reg Turk in his Duncanson 37 Nunkie. The General Manager David Harries told me it would take a full calendar year of events to ‘get the hang’ of how the Squadron works. He was right! The social events, various committees, expectations
of the members and management and the organising of my first Opening Day all seemed so daunting at the time, but are now just part of my everyday role. I left the Squadron after four years due to family pressure to get a job closer to home. I was travelling for over an hour each way from Morphett Vale every day. But I loved my job and after two years being miserable working at a building company, I couldn’t believe my luck when the Member Services job became available again. I couldn’t get to the phone quick enough to apply to come back! The rest is history as I’ve been back for over five years now and wouldn’t leave RSAYS for anything – unless it was a substantial Lotto win! I have made many friends among the members and staff at RSAYS, and enjoy putting a little extra effort to make sure members feel welcome and have their queries dealt with, with a minimum of fuss. I enjoy every opportunity to spend time with the members at functions such as Opening Day and Presentation Night as I can meet people I may not normally see in the course of my working week (Sunday to Thursday). To me this is not just a job – I feel a part of the club. My thanks to everyone for allowing me to be a part of the Squadron in my own way, not just as a staff member but on a more personal level too. I look forward to many more years with you at RSAYS.
S.A. MOTOR TRIMMING CENTRE ( ALL TRANSPORT UPHOLSTERY ) ABN: 86 040 424 049
PO Box 336, Woodville, S.A. 5011 Ph: (08) 8244 5751 Mob: 0428 841 935
sA’s Biggest Morning teA By Sally Metzer, Cancer Council Ambassador Photos courtesy of Polly Metzer
Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea may become an annual event Following the success of the first Cancer Council Morning Tea held at the Squadron on Thursday 28 May, it’s likely that this popular fund-raiser may be held again in the future. Around 50 generous people got together in the Dining Room to support the many RSAYS members affected by cancer, either as sufferers, survivors or supporters. Guests kindly ‘brought a plate’ and enjoyed sharing delicious cakes, biscuits, buns and sausage rolls over a cuppa (or a glass of bubbly!) There were festive flowers, balloons, banners and posters all in the blue and yellow colour theme, with Cancer Council cups and raffle tickets to buy as well as cancer information leaflets.
Anthea Cowell, Di Moncrieff & Sally Metzer
Musical entertainment was by provided by pianist Will Metzer of ‘Jazz It Up’. Nearly $1,500 was raised for cancer research by those attending, and also by some online donations from members who couldn’t make it on the day.
together!” Let’s do it again next year and help beat cancer!
Thanks to the RSAYS General Manager, Andrew, and Hospitality & Functions Manager, Kevin, and staff for their support, and to everyone who came and donated generously, especially Sue Buckley who donated the major prize of stylish selfdesigned silver earrings to the value of $70. As one guest put it: “A great effort at relatively short notice and so quickly put
Biggest Morning Tea raffle prizes
Some of the many supporters
Will Metzer ‘jazzing up’ the morning!
Squadron Quarterly
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bErths for sale
RSAYS - BERTHS FOR SALE May 2015 LENGTH (Metre)
BERTH TYPE
8.2 Hard Stands Best Deal - HS10 (Tarmac) 9.2 Dry Stand Best Deal - DS01 10 Marina Best Deal - I24 (Double) 11 Marina Best Deal - C16 (Single) 12 Marina Best Deal - A03 (Double) 13 Marina Best Deal - E07 (Single) 14 Marina Best Deal - I08 (Double) 15 Marina Best Deal - F10 (Single) 16 Marina Best Deal - J12 (Single) 18 Marina Best Deal - SI14 (Double) 20 Marina Best Deal - H01 (Cat) 22 Marina Best Deal -SI11 (Single Super) 25 Marina Best Deal - SI07 (Single Super) 27 Marina Best Deal - I27 (T-Head) 30 Marina Best Deal - SI05 (Single Super) Best Deal - SI03 (Single Super)
From $6,900.00
PRICE RANGE
$5,000.00
$6,900.00
To $7,000.00
$5,000.00 $80,000.00 $38,500.00 $38,500, All offers considered $66,000.00 $38,000.00 $38,000.00 $89,000.00 $50,000.00 $50,000 Reduced $100,000.00 $55,000.00 $55,000.00 $120,000.00 $90,000.00 $90,000 Reduced, All offers considered $195,000.00 $74,500.00 $70,000 Reduced, All Offers Considered $195,000.00 $120,000.00 $120,000 Reduced, All Offers Considered $175,000.00 $150,000.00 $150,000 All Offers Considered $130,000.00 $130,000 Neg $220,000.00 $160,000.00 $160,000 Reduced, All Offers Considered $225,000.00 $225,000 SOLD! $370,000.00 $370,000.00 $450,000.00 $450,000.00 $450,000 SOLD!
For further information please contact Andrew McDowell - General Manager Email: general.manager@rsays.com.au or Phone: 08 8341 8600 Prices and availability are subject to change without notice All Berth Sales are subject to Terms and Conditions
RSAYS - BERTHS FOR RENT May 2015 BERTH LENGTH (Metre) 10 10 11 12 13 13 14
PEN
BERTH TYPE
BERTH NO
Double Double Single Single Single Single Double
MARINA MARINA MARINA MARINA MARINA MARINA MARINA
I24 I18 D17 D12 E05 E07 I01 & I01A
$ $ $ $ $ $ $
80.58 80.58 88.63 96.69 104.75 104.75 112.81
15
Single
MARINA
F06
$
120.87
$ PER WEEK
15
Single
MARINA
F10
$
120.87
16
Single
MARINA
G02
$
128.92
16
Single
MARINA
G06
$
128.92
18
Double
MARINA
SI14
$
145.04
NOTES
SUITABLE FOR CAT BERTH
For further information please contact Kathy Bernhardt Email: marina.services@rsays.com.au or Phone: 8341 8600 Prices & availability are subject to change without notice All Berth Rentals are subject to Terms & Conditions TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR PERMANENT RENTAL OF BERTHS, ALL VESSEL OWNERS MUST BE CURRENT MEMBERS' OF RSAYS
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Squadron Quarterly
Sun 5
Mon 6 Tue 7 Thu 8 Fri 9 Sat 10 Sun 11 Tue 14 Thu 16 Fri 17 Sat 18 Sun 19 Tue 21 Thu 23 Fri 24 Sat 25
Sun 26 Tue 28 Thu 30 Fri 31 AUGUST Sat 1 Sun 2 Mon 3 Tue 4 Thu 6 Fri 7 Sat 8 Sun 9 Tue 11 Thu 13 Fri 14 Sat 15 Sun 16 Thu 20 Fri 21 Sat 22 Sun 23 Tue 25 Thu 27 Fri 28 Sat 29 Sun 30 SEPTEMBER Tue 1 Thu 3 Fri 4 Sat 5 Sun 6 Mon 7 Tue 8 Thu 10 Fri 11 Sat 12 Sun 13 Tue 22 Thu 24 Fri 24 Sat 25 Sun 26
2015 Club Night -‐ $12 Roast Dinner Club Night -‐ $12 Schnitzel Shorthanded Series Lunch from 12 noon & Dinner from 6pm. Please phone 8341 8600 to book Shorthanded Series Volunteer Thank You Event Lunch from 12 noon, please phone 8341 8600 to book House and Social Committee Meeting Racing Committee Meeting, Junior Committee Meeting Club Night -‐ $12 Roast Dinner Wine Tasting Dinner from 6pm Please phone 8341 8600 to book Lunch from 12 noon & Dinner from 6pm. Please book phone 8341 8600 RSAYS Fixed Mark RSAYS Ltd & RSAYS Inc Meetings ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING -‐ RSAYS Inc Dinner from 6pm, meeting at 8pm Please phone 8341 8600 to book for dinner Club Night -‐ $12 Schnitzel Shorthanded Series Lunch from 12 noon Please phone 8341 8600 to book Christmas in July Please phone 8341 8600 to book Lunch from 12 noon Please phone 8341 8600 to book Combined Committee Chairs Meeting Club Night -‐ $12 Roast Dinner Club Night -‐ $12 Schnitzel Youth Trophy Presentation Shorthanded Series Lunch from 12 noon & Dinner from 6pm. Please book phone 8341 8600 Series Presentations at CYCSA Cruising Committee Meeting Club Night -‐ $12 Roast Dinner Club Night -‐ $12 Schnitzel 2015 Lunch from 12 noon & Dinner from 6pm. Please book phone 8341 8600 Evening with Tim Jarvis Port Line Cup Regatta Lunch from 12 noon Please phone 8341 8600 to book House and Social Committee Meeting Racing Committee Meeting, Junior Committee Meeting Club Night -‐ $12 Roast Dinner Wine tasting, Dinner from 6pm Please phone 8341 8600 to book Henschke Wine Dinner Lunch from 12 noon Please phone 8341 8600 to book RSAYS Ltd & RSAYS Inc Meetings RSAYS Ltd Annual General Meeting Club Night -‐ $12 Schnitzel Shorthanded Series Lunch from 12 noon Please phone 8341 8600 to book Lunch from 12 noon Please phone 8341 8600 to book Club Night -‐ $12 Roast Dinner Club Night -‐ $12 Schnitzel Lunch from 12 noon Please phone 8341 8600 to book Guest Speaker & Dinner from 6pm Lunch from 12 noon Please phone 8341 8600 to book Cruising Committee Meeting Club Night -‐ $12 Roast Dinner Club Night -‐ $12 Schnitzel Lunch from 12 noon & Dinner from 6pm. Please book phone 8341 8600 Lunch from 12 noon Please phone 8341 8600 to book 2015 Racing Committee Meeting, Junior Committee Meeting Club Night -‐ $12 Roast Dinner Club Night -‐ $12 Schnitzel Lunch from 12 noon Please phone 8341 8600 to book Flag Raising & Commodores' Dinner Lunch from 12 noon Please phone 8341 8600 to book House and Social Committee Meeting RSAYS Ltd & RSAYS Inc Meetings Club Night -‐ $12 Roast Dinner Club Night -‐ $12 Schnitzel Lunch from 12 noon & Dinner from 6pm. Please book phone 8341 8600 Keels & Wheels Lunch from 12 noon Please phone 8341 8600 to book Cruising Committee Meeting Quarterly Meeting of Members Club Night -‐ $12 Schnitzel Lunch from 12 noon & Dinner from 6pm. Please book phone 8341 8600 Lunch from 12 noon Please phone 8341 8600 to book
2015 EVENTS CALENDAR
JULY Thu 2 Fri 3 Sat 4
Squadron Quarterly
43
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LVD173. *Recommended drive away prices for Captur Expression petrol manual and Captur Expression petrol EDC (auto), each with non-metallic paint and Captur Dynamique petrol EDC (auto) in non-metallic or metallic paint. Valid for vehicles ordered between 05/02/2015 & 28/02/2015 while stocks last. Renault reserves the right to vary, extend or withdraw this offer. Offer not available for Govt. buyers. 5 years unlimited km warranty applies to all new Renault passenger vehicles and to all new Renault Sport models where order, purchase and delivery are all after 1 July 2014. Demonstrator vehicles receive balance of new vehicle warranty. Roadside Assistance terms and conditions apply. Call our Customer Service Team on 1800 009 008 or view the Terms and Conditions statement at www.renault.com.au/drivingpeaceofmind for details. Scheduled services capped at $299 per service for 3 years or 45,000km (whichever comes first) on new or demonstrator passenger models and 3 years or 30,000km (whichever comes first) on Renault Sport models (incl. Clio R.S. 200 and Megane R.S. 265). Offers based on standard scheduled servicing from new and normal operating conditions. If the vehicle is not presented within three (3) months of the due date for the scheduled service, the vehicle forfeits the right to that capped-price service under the program. MNR0541