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176th australia day regatta 2012
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Honouring the nation’s annual celebration of watersport: The Australia Day Regatta’s burgee flying proudly below the White Ensign on the Flagship of the 175th Regatta.
Let me first express the deep appreciation of the Australia Day Regatta to Sir James Hardy Kt OBE, who was President of the Regatta for the previous eight years. During that time, Sir James displayed the leadership qualities he had so amply demonstrated in business and in yachting, both in Australia and internationally.
Australia Day celebrates and honours – for all Australians – the establishment of this nation, whose modern history commenced with
European settlement on the shores of Port Jackson. As in previous years, we salute the Gadigal and Cammeragail aboriginal tribes and recognise them as fine custodians of Sydney Harbour, which is a priceless natural resource.
Many of the etchings and engravings from the earliest days of the colony show the ships that brought settlers and supplies after their hazardous voyage from England. Sailing vessels, often quite small, were used by pioneer navigators such as Matthew Flinders to explore the coastline of Australia. Larger sailing ships and later steamers, serviced the expanding colony, providing important transport links on the New South Wales coast stretching from Eden, Nowra and Port Kembla to Newcastle, Port Stephens, Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour.
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It is not surprising that this maritime history should have stimulated sailing and other recreational activities on Sydney Harbour. Early residents of Sydney travelled by ferry to bushland picnic grounds. Others joined in the competitive sailing events conducted by the host of new clubs established during the 19th century. This early history is represented by the participation of many yachts of traditional or classic design in the Regatta, including the spectacular Historic Skiffs.
A key feature of the Australia Day Regatta is one of celebration. The Regatta as we know it commenced in 1837 as the Anniversary Day Regatta, founded to celebrate the establishment of the Colony of New South Wales. It later became known as the Australia Day Regatta, being held on 26 January each year.
I acknowledge the wonderful support provided by our other host clubs, which enable Australia Day to be celebrated on close to 20 different waterways. I also acknowledge the Armed Services, whose participation plays such an important role in our celebration. I particularly thank the Royal Australian Navy, which provides our Flagship for the Regatta. Finally, I thank our sponsors, particularly the Commonwealth Bank, through Commonwealth Private, for their most valued sponsorship support.
I extend to all participants my best wishes for a happy and successful Australia Day.
Charles P. Curran AC
President
From the president
Front Cover Photo: Honouring the nation’s annual celebration of watersport: The Australia Day Regatta’s burgee flying proudly below the White Ensign on the Flagship of the 175th Regatta
2012
176th Australia Day Regatta
Thursday 26th January 2012, Sydney Harbour
1100-1800 City of Sydney Sesquicentenary Trophy short ocean race, Sydney to Botany Bay and return, conducted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. Starts north of Shark Island, finishes south of the Flagship moored off Rushcutters Bay. 1315-1600 176th Australia Day Regatta, Sydney Harbour, sponsored by the Commonwealth Private Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Conducted by the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron and the Sydney Amateur Sailing Club on behalf of the Australia Day Regatta Inc. Open to all classes of keelboats, old and new, fast and slow, small and large, spinnaker and non-spinnaker divisions, and including boats from the RSYS, SASC, SFS, CYCA, RPEYC, MHYC, GSC and RANSA fleets. 1430-1800 Lord Mayor’s Cup for modern 18-footers – Australian 18-footer Sailing League1300-1700 Centreboard Regatta, Rose Bay – Woollahra Sailing Club
Botany Bay1200-1600 Centreboard Regatta – Georges River Sailing Club1200-1600 Keelboat Regatta – Botany Bay Yacht Club & SSROC Councillor’s Challenge1200-1600 Catamaran Regatta – Kurnell Catamaran Club1200-1600 Families Afloat Flotilla – St George Motor Boat Club1200-1600 Centreboard Regatta – Yarra Bay Sailing Club
Brisbane Waters, Gosford1350-1600 Keelboat and Centreboard Regatta, including Sailpast – Gosford Sailing Club
Hobart, Tasmania1200 Australia Day Sandy Bay Regatta – Sandy Bay Sailing Club
West Harbour – Sydney1000-1600 NSW Radio Yacht Association Regatta – Drummoyne Sailing Club1300-1600 Centreboard Regatta – Greenwich Sailing Club1300-1630 Centreboard and Twilight Keelboat Regatta – Greenwich Flying Squadron1300-1700 Keelboat Regatta – Parramatta River Sailing Club1300-1700 Centreboard Regatta – Hunters Hill Sailing Club
Lake Illawarra1230-1630 Centreboard, Sailboard and Trailable Yacht Regatta – Illawarra Yacht Club
Lake Macquarie1300-1600 Keelboat, Trailable Yacht, Multihull and Centreboard Regatta – Wangi Wangi RSL Sailing Club
Manly1130-1400 Sailability Regatta – Manly Yacht Club
Pittwater1300-1700 Keelboat and Dinghy Regatta – Avalon Sailing Club
1330-1600 Multihull and Keelboat Relay Regatta – Royal Motor Yacht Club Broken Bay
Chipping Norton Lakes
1300-1600 Centreboard Regatta – Chipping Norton Lakes Sailing Club
Other Australia Day Harbour Events0830 Aussie Swim, Farm Cove1100-1150 Ferrython – starts Fort Denison, around Shark Island & return under the Harbour Bridge1200 21 gun salute at Fleet Steps, Farm Cove1400 RAAF F/A 18 Hornet flyover, Sydney Harbour1430 Red Beret parachute display, landing in Farm Cove1500 Tall Ships Race, Bradleys Head to Harbour Bridge 1600-2130 Jazz on the Water concert, Pyrmont Park, Johnstone Bay2040 Darling Harbour Australia Day Spectacular
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Schedule of Events
awareness of the presence and actions of others on the water are essential elements to ensure a safe and happy day. The sport mixes the generations, young and old, with common goal. The pleasure derived from doing one’s best as a team and an individual is a great reward.
During the Australia Day Regatta yachts compete for the honour of winning some notable trophies, but the competition is only part of the day. Above all it is a day to get out on the water and enjoy the celebrations of Australia Day with family and friends.
Of course, a Regatta of this size would not be possible without the help of many people – the yacht clubs which organise the various events, the volunteers who give their time throughout the year and on the day, our principal sponsor the Commonwealth Private Bank and the advertisers in the programme. In particular, the Australian Defence Force provides enormous support on the day by providing the Flagship for the Regatta and displays for the people of Sydney. The Management Committee thanks everyone who helps to create such an outstanding and memorable event.
Come and sail with us in the 176th Australia Day Regatta on 26 January 2012 and enjoy a day of fun and spectacle.
John JeremyChairmanAustralia Day RegattaManagement Committee
Chairman’s welcome
On 26 January 2011 the 175th Australia Day Regatta was sailed on the waters of New South Wales and, for the first time, Tasmania. In NSW some 700 boats took part, sailing on offshore waters, Sydney Harbour, the Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers, on Pittwater, at Gosford, Botany Bay, Lake Macquarie, Lake Illawarra and Port Hacking in boats of all sizes ranging from ocean-going racing yachts to radio-controlled models. The 175th Regatta was a special celebration to mark a particular milestone in the long history of the event which has been sailed every year since 1837. Classic yachts, some of which have taken part in Australia Day Regattas for many decades, were given pride of place on Sydney Harbour and they provided a great spectacle of sail. The weather also added to the occasion with a sea fog rolling in during the morning and lingering for the start of the Regatta.
Of course, all Australia Day Regattas are special. Australia is a maritime nation – we are literally ‘girt by sea’ and until relatively recently everyone who came to this country to join those who had lived here for many thousands of years came by sea. Today, we are still totally dependent on the sea as the vast majority of our trade is carried by ships. What better way, therefore, to celebrate the foundation of modern Australia than on the water.
The boats competing in the many regattas sailed since 1837 may have changed but many aspects of the modern sport of sailing are timeless. When the lines are cast off or the mooring dropped each vessel, large or small, is her own world separate from the shore and dependent for her safety and success on the skill and knowledge of her skipper and crew. That is true whether the voyage is for trade or pleasure, cruising to a beautiful anchorage or joining others in competition.
Like all competitive sports, yacht racing demands skill and, in the larger boats, teamwork. Attention to the weather and
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Mr Adrian Hondros Executive General Manager Commonwealth Private Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Mr Malcolm Levy Commodore Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron
Mr Garry Linacre Commodore Cruising Yacht Club of Australia
Councillor Clover Moore MP Lord Mayor City of Sydney
Mr Graham Nock AM OBE
Air Vice-Marshal Mark Skidmore AM Air Commander Australia
Major General Michael Slater DSC AM CSC Commander Forces Command
Mr Bryan Smith Chairman Sydney Ports Corporation
Mr Justus Veeneklaas Life Member Australia Day Regatta
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2011-2012
President, Charles Curran AC
Chairman, Mr John Jeremy
Deputy Chairman, Mr Charles Maclurcan
Honorary Secretary, Mr Peter Hemery
Treasurer, Mr Fred Bevis
Assistant Secretary, Ms Joan Watson
Committee Members
Mr John BiffinMr Colin ChidgeyMr John CurtinJudge Colin P Davidson OAM
Mr David DavisMr Bruce GouldMr Steve OomMr David SalterMr André van Stom
PATRONHer Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of New South Wales
ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS 2011-2012
Mr Charles P Curran AC (President)
Mr John Jeremy (Chairman)
Mr Mark Bethwaite AM President Double Bay Sailing Club
Mr Howard Elliott President Yachting NSW
Mr Angelos Frangopoulos Chairman Australia Day Council
Rear Admiral Stephen Gilmore AM CSC RAN Commander Australian Fleet
Sir James Hardy Kt OBE Life Member Australia Day Regatta
Mr Bill Hogan Commodore Sydney Amateur Sailing Club
Advisory council
131 Sailors Bay Road, Northbridge NSW 2063, Australia. Tel +612 9958 1474, Fax +612 9958 6208. www.awedwards.com.au
A W EDWARDS
Ninety year’s track record in successful building and
fitout projects that reflect our company’s integrity,
dedication and quality
For 100 years CBA has played an integral role in the lives of Australians and the growth of our proud nation, which is why Commonwealth Private is once again proud to be the principal sponsor of the Australia Day Regatta. There is no better way to celebrate what it means to be an Australian than sailing through the waters of our majestic and panoramic Sydney Harbour.
Having recently been acknowledged as a leader in our industry for the third year running, we appreciate the hard work and dedication that’s required to make the Australia Day Regatta, the world’s oldest, continuous annual sailing event a success.
At Commonwealth Private we share this passion to achieve and we look forward to celebrating what it means to be Australian.
On behalf of Commonwealth Private, I wish you and your families a most enjoyable Australia Day.
Adrian Hondros Executive General Manager Commonwealth Private
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Sponsor’s message
Over its 176-year history, three Sydney sailing clubs have played a large role in the running and continuing good health of the Australia Day Regatta.
Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron
Sydney’s most famous yachting club will celebrate its sesqui-centenary in 2012. It commands an impressive foreshore site at Wudyong Point on the eastern side of Kirribilli, with majestic views across the Harbour. Its huge flagstaff (salvaged from the collier Bellambi), crossed-whalebone arch (originally from a whaling station at Twofold Bay), and ceremonial cannon are familiar landmarks to all Sydney sailors. The RSYS was founded when nineteen yachtsmen met in the office of The Hon William Walker MLC on 8 July 1862. A year later the Commodore received a letter from the Colonial Secretary’s Office notifying him of the Prince of Wales’ willingness to become Patron, and issuing an Admiralty Warrant authorising the use of the Blue Ensign of Her Majesty’s Fleet.
The Squadron achieved international recognition as the challenging club for Australia’s first attempt to win the America’s Cup in 1962. Today, more than 100 yachts race in its regattas and championships in a host of divisions including one-design fleets of Etchells, Dragons, and Ynglings. The club site, first occupied in January 1903, now boasts splendid facilities ranging from a restaurant, bars, bistro and wine cellar to the expansive pontoon and hard-stand. Membership of the RSYS includes reciprocal hospitality privileges at some of the world’s most celebrated yacht clubs. Annual activities include the popular “Squadron Cruise” in April and the prestigious Hardy Cup match-racing series for under-25 sailors.
The clubs that have helped make it possible
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Sydney Flying Squadron Historical SkiffsThe RSYS hardstand facility
The RSYS clubhouse and flagstaff
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Sydney Flying Squadron
The Sydney Flying Squadron – the oldest open boat sailing club in Australia – nestles on the shore at the end of Careening Cove at Milson’s Point on the north side of Sydney Harbour. The formation of the club was a response to the growing popularity of skiff racing in the 6, 12, 14 and 18-foot classes. A meeting in a Sydney hotel in 1891 established racing rules that included handicap starts and the freedom for each boat to carry a coloured identifying emblem on their mainsail. The original “prime mover” of the Squadron was successful local businessman and sporting enthusiast Mark Foy, himself a keen sailor.But much to the outrage of SFS members, their boats were then banned from the 1892 National Regatta because they carried emblems “that encouraged gambling and spoiled the look of the white sails that adorn Sydney Harbour”. Mark Foy was determined to fight the ban and organised a successful opposition regatta financed by advertising, and for which he personally donated the entire prize money. Many of the SFS skiffs were crewed by first grade rugby players who played football during the winter then turned to sailing at the end of the season. The club still embodies its original egalitarian spirit to encourage sailing as a pastime to be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of their financial or social background.
Sydney Amateur Sailing Club
“The Amateurs”, as it is fondly known, has officially existed since 1872, but the men whose colonial spirit formed it had already been sailing together (and against each other) for years. It began with just four boats and twelve members. 140 years later the register lists 210 boats and there are around 400 members. The club’s oldest active sailor, Bill ‘Southerly’ Gale, has raced with the club for more than 60 years. The first SASC club-house and boatshed was completed in 1883, built on a plot of land granted to the club at Bennelong Point, facing Circular Quay. In 1962 the club settled at its current site at Mosman Bay with the priceless advantages of good deep water right outside the back door, and plentiful mooring space.
True to its name, the underlying spirit of “The Amateurs” is determinedly Corinthian and boats are not permitted to carry sponsorship or advertising of any kind. The club has endured so successfully because it harbours no great ambitions to expand its assets, services or racing program. By inclination, it is a club for wholesome yachts in the 30-40 foot range, with a particular emphasis on the traditional principles of seaworthiness and an eye-pleasing design. This fondness for classic yachts and the history of the sport underpins the continued support for the Australia Day Regatta by the SASC and its members.
Mark Foy
The SASC was founded in 1872 and its clubhouse is located on the shores of Mosman Bay
Sydney Flying Squadron Clubhouse at Milsons Point
Perpetual Trophy & Medallion Winners
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Classic Yacht Trophy RaceAntares, Robert Keesen and Dennis Wood
City of Sydney Sesquicentenary Ocean Race TrophyHandicap winner on PHS CYCA: Great Xpectations, Rod Wills
City of Sydney Lord Mayor’s CupLine honours modern 18ft skiff fleet: Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, Michael Coxon
TNT Trophy1st on handicap Historical Skiff Fleet: Tangalooma, Peter Le Grove
Victor Everson TrophyScratch winner in the historical 18ft skiff: Australia IV, Eric Priestly
Australia Day Council Trophy1st on handicap, Ranger division/traditional: Antares, Robert Keesen & Dennis Wood
Catalina Yachts Trophy1st on handicap, Catalina Yachts Division: Mio Dio, Michael Cole
RANSA Trophy1st on handicap Division 3, RSYS: Gingerbread Man, Doug Russell
Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron Trophy1st on scratch (subsequently awarded to largest fleet of one design yachts (1997)): Karma, Gary Wogas
Switzerland Insurance Australia Day Challenge Cup1st on handicap Division 1 RSYS: Barracuda, Greg Nelson
Hunters Hill Council Trophy1st on scratch in division with the greatest number of starters at Hunters Hill: In Meliora Contende, James Burman
Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club Trophy1st on handicap in division having the greatest number of starters on Pittwater: Iluka, Neil Mattes
The Sydney Australia Day Regatta Sponsors Cup (HC Dangar Memorial Cup). The handicap winner of the division having the greatest number of starters in a keel yacht.
Perpetual Trophies and Medallions won in the 175th Australia Day Regatta held on Sydney Harbour on 26 January 2010 and at satellite Australia Day Regattas on other waterways in New South Wales were presented at the Sydney Town Hall, where winners were guests of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Councillor Clover Moore.
RSYS conducted regatta: Arcturus II, Peter Davenport
Hood Sailmakers Senior Sabot Shield (1996)Line honours in the Senior Sabot (1-up) Div at the Sabot Regatta: Slippery Little Sucker, Matthew Lang
Northam Family Trophy (1998)Line honours 2UP Div Junior Sabot at the Sabot Regatta: Little Demon, Sang Jin Goodridge & Sam Davis
Australia Day Council Youth Sailors Trophy (1999)Handicap winner in the largest fleet of a junior class: The Fox, Lachlan Kesting (Yarra Bay 16ft Skiff Sailing Club)
Australia Day Regatta Centenary of Federation Trophy (2001)Handicap winner Gaff Div SASC members: Reverie, Nigel Berlyn & John Barclay
Geoff Lee Ocean Race TrophyLine Honours CYCA Ocean Race: Brindabella, Jim Cooney
Davidson Family Trophy1st on handicap Div 2 RSYS: Balmain Tiger, Neil Hamilton & Brian Wood
Bass and Flinders Trophy Fastest Yardstick time of all catamarans and centreboards in Botany Bay: Sea Change, Emily Junk Doug Prosser ShieldOn behalf of all winners at Illawarra Yacht Club: Amy Snowden
Avalon Sailing ClubScratch Manly Junior Div: Vincent Van Go, Margot Mason & Max OughtredScratch Flying Eleven Div: Sparta, Jim Colley & Tom ColleyScratch Spiral Div: Inner Circle, Shane ConlyScratch Laser Standard Div: 148662, Martin LangdenScratch Laser Radial Div: 193018, Max VosScratch Open Dinghy Div: B Sting, Josie Roper & Daniel WatsonScratch Wooden Boat Div: Wyargine, Malcolm BradfordHandicap Wooden Boat Div: Cariad, Mick MorrisScratch Open Yacht Div: Sequel, Michael Doherty
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Botany Bay Yacht ClubHandicap Endeavour Div: Wundurra, Brian ChristensonHandicap Open Div 1: Manic, Luke BoothHandicap Open Div 2: Wasabi, Stephen MclennanHandicap Councillors’ Challenge Cup: Windy Point, Peter Bennett
Cruising Yacht Club Of AustraliaHandicap Short Ocean Pointscore Phs Div 1: Lithium, Brett HaywoodHandicap Short Ocean Pointscore Phs Div 3: Alpha Carinae, Damian BarkerHandicap Short Ocean Pointscore Irc Div 1: Lisdillon, Desmond FaganHandicap Ocean Pointscore Irc Div: About Time, Julian Farren-Price
Dobroyd Aquatic ClubHandicap Team Red in the Team Relay Sprint: Wings, Thomas Koch; Party Hard, Narelle O’Donnell; Enola Gay, Richard Stewart; Relentless, Matthew DoyleHandicap Sailboard Division: Sailboard, Steve Mckay
Gosford Sailing ClubHandicap Sabot Junior Div: Frogstomp, Hayden Hansen & Anika HansenHandicap Sabot Senior Div: Hornet, Tom Stivano Handicap in the 29er Div: Chillin’, Pat Menner & Eliza HansenHandicap Laser Div: Out The Blow, Chris MeechHandicap Ts 16 Fleet: Woodpecker, Woody HaleyHandicap Etchells Fleet: Battery Allsorts, Neil McdonaldHandicap Yachts D1 Div: Bluechip, Geoff DilworthHandicap Yachts D2 Div: Matilda, Robert TraynerHandicap Yachts Spinnaker Div: Last Roundup, Michael Bunce
Greenwich Flying SquadronHandicap Div 1: Ellen, Peter DaviesHandicap Div 2: Chloe, Will NorthamHandicap Etchells Div: Chloe, Will NorthamHandicap Div 3: The Saints, Bruce HillardHandicap Div 4: Shemozzel, John HaywardHandicap Div 5: Gaelforce, Patrick HoulihanHandicap Div T2: Soundtrack, James Amos
Hunters Hill Sailing ClubHandicap Laser Div: Billy, Kevin BurmanHandicap Flying Eleven and Mirror Div: Nothing to Lose, Finn Alexander & Charlie Gundy
Handicap Sabot Div: Predator, Finn GilbertHandicap Ns14 Div: Pleasure and Pain, Scott Hamilton
Illawarra Yacht ClubScratch Trailer Yacht Div: Bosun, Bob BowerScratch Sailboard Div: Lechner, Glen MorrellScratch Access Dinghies: Iyc Tubby, Len Snowdon & Amy SnowdonScratch Open Monohull Div: Bitter ‘n Twisted, Bill Jouncey
Kurnell Catamaran ClubScratch Div 1: Digital Tour Guide, Glenn BillingtonHandicap Div 2: Taipanic, Peter BackhouseHandicap Div 3: Firefly Dance Club, Julian JenkinsHandicap Cruising Div: Duke, Chris Wilkins
Manly Yacht ClubScratch Access 303 Fleet: Jade, Judy Cole &Tony Jones
NSW Radio Yachting AssociationEc12 Division: Ec12, Colin DurranSoling One Metre Div: Soling One Metre, Greg YoungTen Rater Div: Ten Rater, Frank RussellInternational One Meter Div: International One Metre, Selwyn HollandA Class Div: A Class, Patrick O’BrienMarblehead Div: Marblehead, Phillip Page
Royal Sydney Yacht SquadronHandicap Non Spinnaker Div 2: Dreamtime, Lindsay Brown & Jim Littlefield
St George Sailing ClubHandicap Moth Div: Passing Wind, Bruce Cooper
Wangi Amateur Sailing ClubHandicap Div 1: Mad Max, Max KellyHandicap Div 2: A’rock’n, Chris PollackHandicap Div 3 Non-Spinnaker: Ocean Fire, Ron GrahamHandicap Div 4 Multihull: Dog Watch, Ken DaviesHandicap OK Dinghy Division: Bever Fever, Jake O’Donnell
Yarra Bay 16 Foot Skiff Sailing ClubScratch Junior Sabot Div Flying High, Olivia PetersenScratch Monohull Div: Shackles, Paul Krekelberg
Australian 18 Footer Sailing LeagueHandicap Modern 18 Footer: Appliances.Com.Au, Jeremy Wilmot
Many yacht and sailing clubs contribute to the success of the Australia Day Regatta, not only in conducting the traditional regatta on Sydney Harbour but in organising and conducting regattas to mark Australia Day on other waterways in New South Wales, from Lake Macquarie in the north to Lake Illawarra in the south and inland to the Chipping Norton Lakes.
Local civic and municipal authorities also support these regattas and the Australia Day Regatta Inc is appreciative of their contribution to the success of these events.
Host club mailing addresses:
Australian 18ft Sailing League PO Box 42 Double Bay NSW 2028
Avalon Sailing Club PO Box 59 Avalon Beach NSW 2107
Botany Bay Yacht Club 44 Endeavour St San Souci NSW 2219
Chipping Norton Lakes Sailing Club PO Box 358 Moorebank NSW 1875
Cruising Yacht Club of Australia New Beach Road Darling Point NSW 2017
Greenwich Flying Squadron PO Box 5092 Greenwich NSW 2065
Greenwich Sailing Club PO Box 5110 Greenwich NSW 2065
Gosford Sailing Club PO Box 187 Gosford NSW 2250
Hunters Hill Sailing Club PO Box 11 Hunters Hill NSW 2110
Illawarra Yacht Club PO Box 148 Warrawong NSW 2505
Host Clubs on Australia Day 2012
Kurnell Catamaran Club PO Box 255 Caringbah NSW 2229
Manly Yacht Club PO Box 22 Manly NSW 1655
NSW Radio Yacht Association 1/582 Old South Head Road Rose Bay NSW 2029
Parramatta River Yacht Club PO Box 227 Gladesville NSW 2111
Royal Motor Yacht Club Broken Bay PO Box 78 Newport NSW 2106
Sydney Amateur Sailing Club 1 Green Street Cremorne NSW 2090
St George Sailing Club 22 Riverside Drive Sans Souci 2219
Wangi RSL Amateur Sailing Club PO Box 100 Wangi Wangi 2267
Woollahra Sailing Club Vickery Ave Rose Bay NSW 2029
Yarra Bay 16ft Sailing Club PO Box 198 Matraville NSW 2036
Five ships of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) have been, or will be, named HMAS Sydney, for Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales and birthplace of the nation.
• HMAS Sydney (1912), a Chatham-class light cruiser launched in 1912, decommissioned in 1928, and broken up for scrap
• HMAS Sydney (D48), a Modified Leander-class light cruiser launched in 1934, and sunk following an engagement with the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran on 19 November 1941.
• HMAS Sydney (R17), a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier launched in 1944, decommissioned in 1973, and broken up for scrap
• HMAS Sydney (FFG 03), an Adelaide-class guided missile frigate launched in 1980, expected to remain in service until 2013
• HMAS Sydney (DDGH 42), the third of Australia’s Hobart- class guided-missile destroyers is scheduled to enter service in 2017
The current HMAS Sydney, flagship of the 2012 Australia Day Regatta, is one of four guided missile frigates currently in service with the Royal Australian Navy. She has recently been extensively upgraded. Sydney is a long-range escort with the ability to provide area air defence, anti-submarine and anti-shipping warfare, surveillance, reconnaissance and interdiction.
The Flagship – HMAS sydney
HMAS Sydney
She can counter simultaneous threats from the air, sea surface and under water.
Sydney has been deployed to the Middle East four times. On the first occasion she took part in Operation Desert Storm, the action against Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War, for which she earned a Meritorious Unit Citation. She later supported UN sanctions against Iraq in 1991/92 and 1993. Sydney was also deployed to East Timor in support of INTERFET in 1999 and in 2000, and supported the efforts to bring peace to the Solomon Islands. Her fourth deployment to the Middle East was during the height of the Iraq War in 2003 in support of allied forces.
She is the fourth ship to carry the name Sydney and she is the proud inheritor of eight “battle honours”, more than any other RAN unit. Notable actions of former ships include the sinking of the German light cruiser SMS Emden by Sydney (I) in World War I. During World War II, Sydney (II) sank the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni, damaged another and shared in the destruction of an Italian destroyer.
On 19 November 1941, Sydney (II) was lost with all hands in battle against the German Raider Kormoran, which was also sunk. This loss of 645 sailors represented over a third of the RAN’s casualties during WWII. The wreck was rediscovered in 2008. Sydney (III), a light carrier, operated with distinction in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.
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175th Australia Day regatta 2011
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The view from the starter’s boat
the surface. One anchor and line lost! Dismayed but unbowed, we reset the pin mark.
The extended start and finish program was completed without error. Courses for the faster craft had been lengthened slightly and this ensured that we were not confronted with having to deal with finishers prior to completing the start process. With the results safely recorded we returned to the RSYS where the numeral boards were placed back on the SASC start boat and the team motored back to the SASC to join a terrific party celebrating the participation of so many fine yachts.
My thanks to everyone who helped make a complex and lengthy process run like clockwork.
Charles Maclurcan
An expanded fleet for the 2011 Regatta presented the race management team with some unique challenges
Race Officer: Charles Maclurcan (timer)
Flags: Andre Van Stom
Recorders: David Davis, André Van Stom, Kevin Dixon Maggie Stewart
As part of the initiative to boost entry numbers for the 175th Regatta, the Committee decided to encourage greater participation by classic yachts. Knowing that the skippers of these historic craft prefer to avoid the rough-and-tumble of scratch starts, the fleet was offered the more sedate option of a handicap start. The start boat team would therefore be required to first conduct races for all the usual Divisions and then commence a 30-minute starting sequence for the classic entrants, using “countdown” numeral boards. This whole process would take more than an hour to complete.
But there was a problem: where to source the numbers? The Sydney Amateur Sailing Club was the only club known to use this form of visual display for timed starts. Thus, a dedicated group met at the SASC at 0900 on Regatta Day and trundled the club starter’s boat Captain Amora over to the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron pontoon. There they unscrewed the number boards from the cabin top of Captain Amora and placed them in the cockpit of Gitana. When all was in place Gitana set out for the start area, to be confronted with a sea fog and light conditions. After selecting just the right spot, they placed the pin mark in the water – and within a minute a motor vessel had roared over the mooring line which was yet to settle below
The VJ: eighty years young
One unique little Australian sailing dinghy has been a participant for almost half of the Regatta’s 175-year history
Small boat racing was already booming on Sydney Harbour a century ago but the various skiff classes of the day were open shells with no restriction on sail area. They were difficult to sail, had no inbuilt buoyancy and were unsuitable for children. The best any keen youngster could hope for was to pick up the elements of sailing while toiling as the “bailer boy” in the bilges of a skiff.
That would all be changed by a talented young naval architect named Charles E. Sparrow. Sparrow was born in England in 1906. When his father retired from the Royal Navy, he joined the RAN and ended up in Sydney on the training ship Tingira.
His young son Charles finished school in Sydney, undertook an apprenticeship as a shipwright at the Cockatoo Island Dockyard and went on to become a draughtsman and later a naval architect.
One of Sparrow’s sailing friends was Sydney gun dealer Sil Rohu, who lived on the waterfront at Vaucluse and had founded a local sailing club for under 18-year-olds. He asked Sparrow to design a boat which could be built by a boy and his father and was easy to sail. In just seven days Sparrow
prepared drawings for a simple V-bottom boat, with a cockpit large enough for two boys’ feet.
The first prototype constructed from those plans was The Splinter, built by members of the Vaucluse Amateur Sailing Club. After minor adjustments, final plans were prepared and ready for sale at 10 shillings and 6 pence. The first production boat, Chum, was launched in August 1931 and the new class was named the Vaucluse Junior, or VJ. Sparrow donated all proceeds of his plans, the list of required materials and building instructions to the Vaucluse Junior Sailing Club.
It didn’t take long for the new class to catch on. The first VJ fleet race was held on Sydney Harbour in 1933 and the design rapidly became a great success. By the mid-1950s the VJ was the most popular class of small sailing boat in Australia. Maritime historian, Graeme Andrews, says the VJ “changed the sailing scene in Australia. It was the first ‘unsinkable’ and inexpensive sailing skiff and taught generations of sailors their trade.” It was ideally suited for teenagers and novices because it was simple to right after capsizing, handled well, and was fast-sailing. Charles Sparrow’s simple design went on to be used around the world and an estimated 10,000 VJs have been built.
The early VJs were constructed for an all-up cost of around £10 – hull, rig, fastenings and sails. They had oiled canvas or
galvanised iron-lined cockpits to make them as waterproof as possible and carried a small hand-plunger pump. Vaucluse Juniors were originally built from solid timber – usually Red Pacific Maple and Oregon – but from 1935 the stronger and lighter marine plywood was used. It was suggested that the centreboard be made from 22 gauge galvanised iron or 3/16 inch mild steel plate. Later, a more durable alloy, duralium, became the popular material for “fins”. In the early days fencing wire was often used for the stays.
The secret to the popularity of the class is that it packs everything required to teach a youngster the essential elements of sailing into a cheap, exciting package. Just 11 feet 6 inches long (plus bowsprit), the VJ carries a hefty mainsail, small jib and spinnaker. Like all true centreboard craft it is inherently overpowered and unstable. To keep them upright the early boats carried one “hiking plank” for the for’d hand, but from the 1960s most skippers also sailed on a plank.
The long boom makes gybing a VJ in anything above modest breezes something of a challenge and beginners endure repeated capsizes until they master the difficult manoeuvre. In that way the VJ continues to fulfil its original purpose of teaching young sailors effective boat-handling skills. America’s Cup hero John Bertrand learned to sail on one of these unforgiving little boats and says “if you can sail a VJ, you can sail anything”. Kay Cottee and Bob Miller (Ben Lexcen) both graduated from the VJ ranks and many of today’s best-known sailors began their sailing careers on Vaucluse Juniors with dashing names like Rebel, Stampede and Dynamite.
In 2000, Charles Sparrow was awarded an Order of Australia for his services to sailing. For 70 years he’d been a member of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and a long-time member of the Sydney Heritage Fleet. He was a life member of the VJ Association and donated a perpetual trophy, which bears his name, for the overall handicap winner at the Australian Championships. He died in 2004 at Wyoming on the Central Coast of NSW, at the age of almost 98.
With grateful acknowledgment for research materials gathered by the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.
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Charles Sparrow, designer of the VJ, with the Powerhouse Museum’s VJ during a visit on 16 June 1982.
VJ sailing from TASC an amateur club on Lake Macquarie,
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Sir James Hardy Kt OBE
The occasion of Sir James Hardy’s retirement after eight years as President of the Australia Day Regatta Management Committee is an opportunity to review his remarkable life and career.
Most people, especially those within the watersports fraternity, believe Sir James Hardy was awarded his knighthood in 1981 for services to sailing. They’d only be partly right. At least half of that honour came in recognition of his 25 years of tireless charity work as a committee member and Vice President of the Royal Blind Society. Like a great classic yacht, much of what gives Sir James his unique strength and stability lies below the waterline, and is largely unseen.
Few know, for example, that James Gilbert Hardy grew up without a father. Just before his sixth birthday he was confronted by a tragedy that would scar most of us for life. His father Tom, patriarch of the family-owned Hardy Wine Company, was killed in a plane crash with two other leaders of the South Australian wine business while flying to Canberra to meet government officials.
Another little-known aspect of Jim’s early life is that during his teenage years he was better known for his achievements in sports other than sailing. At the prestigious St Peter’s College in Adelaide he made the Firsts in Australian Rules Football (“most improved player” of 1950), and rowed with the elite Eight of the senior rowing team. The school magazine noted that Hardy was “too tense between strokes” but used his legs well. A busted knee at an interstate carnival later ended his football career.
But it was sailing that soon dominated young Jim’s spare time. In the garage of the Hardy family home perched above the ocean at Seacliff he built Cadet Dinghies and then Heavyweight Sharpies which he raced with increasing success. During this period he gained his Leaving Certificate and survived national service. But a stint as a share farmer on the Yorke Peninsula didn’t go so well and by 1953 he’d joined the family firm and was studying for his accountancy qualifications.
A posting to the Hardy’s Wines office in Sydney in 1962 broadened Jim’s sailing horizons and he was soon peripherally involved in the Gretel campaign – Australia’s first challenge for the America’s Cup. The unique challenges of international 12 metre yacht racing would come to dominate Hardy’s sporting life. Meanwhile, he returned to his home waters off the Brighton and Seacliff Sailing Club to win the world 505 dinghy champion-ships – defeating legendary four-time Olympic gold medalist Paul Elvstrom in the process.
Hardy was now a director of the family company and had to fit his sailing activities within his business commitments. Never-theless, during the next few years, Jim was twice a member of the Australian Olympic yachting team and three times Australia’s helmsman in our challenges for the America’s Cup.
At the same time he had established himself as one of the world’s leading ocean racing skippers and was a member of three Admiral’s Cup campaigns. In 1979 Jim was helmsman of Impetuous during the tragic Fastnet Race – a near-death experience he credits with erasing the decade of remorse and melancholy he’d felt after Gretel II lost the 1970 America’s Cup series to Intrepid.
But it would be another 13 years before Hardy finally squared the ledger at Newport. As back-up helmsman, tactical adviser,
observer, coach and a director of Alan Bond’s Australia II campaign, he had the deep satisfaction of being a senior member of the team that brought America’s 132-year winning streak to an end. It was the fitting culmination to 22 years of single-minded America’s Cup effort.
Somehow, amongst all this international activity, Hardy also campaigned two well-performed offshore racing yachts, Nyamba and Police Car. Often, while enduring the uncomfortable bunks of a modern ocean-racer, he’d quip that the conditions below in rough weather were most probably worse than those his great-great-grandfather experienced as he first sailed to South Australia from Devonshire in 1850.
Yet another aspect of Jim’s influence on sailing in Australia has been his lifelong love of classic yachts. In 1970 he rescued Nerida, the 45-foot family yacht built for his father in 1933. The restored elegant Mylne design – a jackyard tops’l gaff cutter – soon established herself as one of the grand old ladies of Sydney Harbour and still turns heads whenever she sets sail. To encourage talented young helmsmen Jim also established the Hardy Cup match-racing series, hosted by the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.
Control of the Hardy Wine Company has now passed from the family’s hands, but Sir James continues an association with the brand, especially through the champagne that carries his name. A tireless supporter of the Australian wine industry, he leads by example when it comes to enjoying the product. To those amazed by his capacity to consume wine without the usual painful consequences he explains, “In our industry you never get too much to drink – you only get ‘industrial fatigue’ ”.
What strikes anyone who has had the pleasure of spending some time with Sir James is the extraordinary knack he has of putting people at their ease. He’s “Jim” to his family and friends, “Gilbert” to his sailing mates and “Sir James” usually no more than once to anyone he meets. It’s a skill often attributed to the true “gentleman” – that ability to talk with commoners and kings and treat them all with equal interest and respect. And often, in response to that observation, he offers this tongue-in-cheek reply: “Well, they reckon every family should be able to afford at least one gentleman”.
At the Annual General Meeting of the Australia Day Regatta in June, Sir James was appointed a Life Member. Accepting the honour, he said that he would also be pleased to continue serving as the South Australian representative.
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Classic yacht Nerida
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River Derwent at Hobart, across the river at Bellerive and also at small towns down the D’Entrecasteaux Channel and on the Huon River where water traffic was the major means of transport and boat building flourished.
The Hobart Town Regatta, as it was originally called, was first held when the then Governor of the colony of Van Diemen’s, Sir John Franklin, declared Monday, 1 December 1838 a public holiday for the regatta and provided free food and beer for all of the spectators (and, we assume, for the competitors).
Sir John and Lady Franklin, accompanied by local dignitaries, and the band of the 21st Fusiliers, were also on the water aboard the Government barge to view the competition between yachts, whaleboats, light rowing boats and skiffs.
Entry was free to the Regatta Ground at the Queen’s Domain, a ten minute walk from the centre of Hobart Town. (An attempt in 1884 to enclose the onshore activities and charge an admission fee saw an enraged public tear down the fence. Free entry was restored – and it’s a tradition that continues today.)
One of the features of the Royal Hobart Regatta and other regattas on the Derwent, the D’Entrecasteaux Channel and the Huon River from the 1880s through to the early post-WWII years were the races for the trading craft which brought fruit, farm produce, livestock and timber from many southern townships to Hobart. Best known of these magnificent trading ketches were the May Queen, Huon Chief, Lenna, Surprise and Speedwell. They made a grand sight as they raced under full canvas, including main and mizzen topsails.
These boats, locally known as barges, were strongly-built centreboard ketches, flat-bottomed to allow loading alongside or even aground as they took on cargo from riverside timber yards and farms down the Channel and up the Huon River. They had a small engine for travelling up the rivers and for berthing, but relied on sail for their long passages
The May Queen was the most successful trading ketch in the history of the Royal Hobart Regatta. Between her first win in 1868 and her last race in 1951 she won the Regatta event 13 times, placed second nine times and third three times. Now aged 145, and thanks to a dedicated band of volunteers and supporters, she is still afloat in Hobart’s Constitution Dock as an example of Tasmania’s maritime history.
Peter Campbell
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A message from Tasmania
Last year’s regatta was a significant historical milestone, but our friends in Van Diemen’s Land aren’t far behind.
The Australia Day 175th Anniversary Regatta celebrations in 2011 extended to Hobart, the nation’s second oldest port city, where medallions were presented to the winning yachts in the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania’s Green Island Race and to winners of the dinghy and sailboard classes at the Australia Day Sandy Bay Regatta on the River Derwent.
The 2012 Royal Hobart Regatta will include sailing, rowing, open water swimming, speed boat and jet ski racing on the Derwent. Ashore, there will be an inter-services tug of war, wood chopping, a Miss Regatta competition, as well as the traditional sideshow alley with its amusements, challenges and show rides.
While Sydney’s Australia Day Regatta is the oldest continuously conducted regatta in Australia – and, indeed, the world – the Royal Hobart Regatta will also celebrate its 175th anniversary in early February 2012. The Regatta is also the oldest organised sporting event in Tasmania, first held when the colony was still called Van Diemen’s Land. Regatta Day in Hobart is marked with a public holiday, said to be the oldest government gazetted holiday in Australia.
The Royal Hobart and Sandy Bay Regattas differ markedly from Sydney’s Australia Day Regatta in that traditionally they have been a combination of aquatic events and events for the public at large along the foreshores, including a sideshow alley, wood chopping contests and beauty parades. A former Miss Australia won her first beauty contest at the Sandy Bay Regatta. There is even a large grandstand for the pubic to watch the rowing, swimming, motor boat and sailing races.
Southern Tasmania, in particular, has a remarkable record of regattas stretching back to the early and mid-1800s on the
Gretel II in hot pursuit of smaller yachts after a conservative start to the green Island Race – Peter Campbell ©
May Queen
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Supporters of the 176th Australia Day Regatta
The 176th Australia Day Regatta Management Committee wishes to express its sincere thanks to all who will have contributed to the success of the 2012 Australia Day Regatta – the sponsors and supporters, the yacht and sailing clubs so actively involved, the volunteer race officers, but most of all those who will participate on Sydney Harbour and many other New South Wales waterways.
For the tenth year, the principal sponsor of the world’s oldest continuous sailing regatta is the nation’s great financial institution, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, through its Commonwealth Private. We thank the Bank, not only for its ongoing support, but also for its considerable help in the publication of the official program for the 176th Australia Day Regatta.
We also acknowledge the supporters of this historic event, especially the Royal Australian Navy, and, in particular, the captain and crew of HMAS Sydney, our Flagship for the 176th Australia Day Regatta. We also thank the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Australian Army and its Red Berets unit for their spectacular air displays over Sydney Harbour.
“The Day We Celebrate”
The Australia Day Regatta has been held every year, come rain or shine, during war and peace, since 26 January 1837. It is the oldest continuously-conducted annual sailing regatta in the world, and one of the most enduring traditions of modern Australian history. It began when a band of local gentlemen resolved to celebrate the anniversary of Captain Phillip’s first landing at Sydney Cove. From all accounts most of Sydney turned out to watch the inaugural Regatta, which featured two sailing races and three rowing matches – and a flagship where the colony’s elite could wine and dine. By the 1840s the Regatta had attracted the patronage of the NSW Governor and The Sydney Morning Herald was promoting it as the premier event on Anniversary Day (as Australia Day was then called).
Since then the Regattas have developed into widespread public celebrations featuring boat races on Sydney Harbour, watched by festive crowds on spectator craft or picnicking on vantage points around the harbour. During the Regatta’s 175-year history nearly every type of craft that has sailed or rowed on NSW waterways has also competed in the event. These include pleasure yachts, coastal trading vessels, fully-rigged whaleboats, two and four-oared gigs, watermen’s skiffs, outrigger canoes, motor launches, speed boats and all classes of open sailing boats. After the RAN was formed in 1911 races for service cutters and whalers became regular fixtures and during the interwar period the Regatta program included races for model yachts.
Up until the 1950s the Regatta committee sold highly prized entry tickets to the flagships, which offered the best views of the races and often featured a dance band as part of the
entertainment. While paying visitors promenaded on deck, honoured guests attended celebratory luncheons hosted by the Regatta Committees. NSW Premier Sir Henry Parkes was a regular guest, as were Prime Ministers Billy Hughes and Joseph Lyons. During the 1868 royal tour HRH. Prince Alfred was the guest of honour and in 1900 Australia’s first Prime Minister, Edmund Barton and all the State Premiers attended the luncheon. The principal toast at these functions for more than one hundred years has been to “The Day We Celebrate”.
A major contributor to the management of the Regatta is again the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, assisted this year by the Sydney Amateur Sailing Club.
A special thanks, as always, goes to the City of Sydney, the Lord Mayor Councillor Clove Moore and the Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Phillip Black who host the annual prizegiving for the Australia Day Regatta in our wonderful Sydney Town Hall.
The 176th Regatta Program
Honorary Editor: David Salter, ADR Management Committee
Design: Jan Harper Art Studio
Printing: Blue Star Print
Australia Day Regatta Inc.PO Box 401, Belrose NSW 2085Phone: (02) 9452 4915
Web site: www.australiadayregatta.com.au
Email: [email protected]
