A question and a quiz

[zzjfawce]

It's the May Day long weekend holiday "down under" (two in a row because last Monday was the Anzac holiday) so not much going on. Out sailing yesterday having a grand time going upwind in 15 knots of true breeze from Sacrborough Boat Harbour towards Manly, temperature a bearable 25 degrees, then a squall comes along and, just as I was thinking reef the main and roll up some headsail, the webbing loop attaching the headsail to the furler snaps. Down falls the headsail, well not completely, it just sort of sagged like a more extreme version of some of the less-than-taut luffs sometimes commented on by forumeers when other forumites post pictures (Mr Lakesailors old wooden boat comes to mind). Still, loose luffs don't sink ships but in yesterdays case they did require a change of plan. My boat sails not very well upwind under mainsail alone. So being, at the "Coffee Pots" at the entrance to the Brisbane river, we turn right and head up the channel. Against the tide very slowly, with a crew member on board booked on the 8 pm to Perth, we crawled past the airport, where every plane landing or taking off was a reminder about every 5 minutes that making that flight looked a little unlikely.

In the event, though, we made it Rivergate Marina, a new(ish) institution that i have never pulled into, crew takes for for airport in girlf's R32 Golf - I could hear the car screaming across the Gateway Bridge overhead (the bridge can be seen in the picture below). I tidy up boat, go home by taxi, go bck this morning with no.2 sone and we get the halyard back then head on up the river to my harbour authority mooring (cost - $45 a year, a real bargain).

All the above just preamble, I did say nothing much going on this evening. The first picture is coming, I hope have done the Photobucket bit right. Apologies if I haven't and I will try again.

As we pull out of the marina, I notice a striking yellow boat with yellow spars. It's called Creightons and I just feel sure that have seen her before and that it was in Horta in the Azores in 2004. Is that possible? Also, if I recall rightly, I read the bio of the new RYA headmistress and she was something to do with a company called soemthing like that. Any connection. The boat looks look it must have once been magnificent but pretty tired now and needing much care and attention:

So that was the question and now comes the quiz. As I made my way up to my mooring in Bulimba, I passed this unassuming old (est 1909) shipyard - Norman Wright and Sons if you can't see from the picture.

What is the connection between this boatyard and the America's Cup? What groundbreaking boat was built here?

Maybe too easy but a virtual stubby of 4X for the first correct answer, unless from the Antipodes.

Finally, I say no to banning Dylan Winter who can now claim to be a superior troller as well as best blogger on the forum - well, top 3 maybe, because there are some other good ones. Bit concerned that Morgana's fine efforts in danger of being overshadowed by his quest to restore GB to greatness in distance running but need to point out that he needs to move away from the Fens to somewhere with some hills if he wants to continue speedy progress (I used to live in Stamford).

 

[zzjfawce]

Clue

A few views but no replies. So a clue which will also temporarily bring the message to the top of the list but after that I will assume that i am a Norman No-mates.

The "significant" boat that was built at Norman Wright's was an 18 ft skiff called Taipan. Now in the possession of the national maritime museum in Sydney (but not yet restored I think). The designer (and helmsman) of Taipan is the common link with the America's Cup. Now probably too easy.

jonf

 

[Twister_Ken]

Creighton's Naturally competed in the Whitbread around the World race.

Kindly described, she's had a chequered history.

 

[Bajansailor]

Nice story!
Was Taipan's designer Ben Lexcen?
Creightons (Naturally) used to spend the winters in the Windies many moons ago doing head charters, and she has certainly been around (the world) quite literally.
Wasn't she one of the first Ocean 80 hulls built by Southern Ocean Shipyard in Poole?

Re Norman Wright's yard, I remember they had / have a famous reputation for building pilot boats - more about them here at http://www.wrightsons.com.au/wrightsons/frameset.html

(Just found out that they built Taipan in 1938, so that rules out Ben Lexcen as her designer!)

I have fond memories of pottering (ok, zooming) up and down the Brisbane river on the City Cats 10 years ago when I visited Oz to see my sister and her family, who were living on Bribie Island then. Lovely place.

 

[zzjfawce]

Close enough to crack open a cold one

It doesn't seem to matter where in the world the questions come from, there are a few usual suspects who know the answers, or very close. Well done. You both must have some kind of professional interest in yachting.

Ben Lexcen is the link. He was born Bob Miller, at one time had a chandlery business and yacht design operation going with a Mr Whitworth (there is a locally well known design called a Miller and Whitworth thirty something), they parted company and he changed his name to Ben Lexcen, the rest you know. There is still a big chandlery chain here called Whitworths which I presume is the descendant of that original partnership.

For a while, Bob Miller worked at Norman Wrights. I think he was laid up after a fall from a mast and drew the lines of Taipan which sent skiff design off in a new direction. That boat had wings on the centreboard (abandoned because it made launching in Moreton Bay mud very difficult -it's a bit like the east Coast here only with Bundy and Coke rather than Adnams and Greene King - also it's melanoma-isingly sunny). Taipan also had wings on the tip of the rudder. The following link has more background (hope it works)-

http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/1002b/

(It seems there is another scuttlebutt out there.)

I thought it might just add a bit of austral general interest to the forum. Bajansailor is well-informed about Norman Wrights other activities - they made strong, fast and safe pilot boats as well as some outstanding motor cruisers. Funny that the building looks not much at all. Looks aren't everything, I guess, because I remember wandering around Cowes for the first time a few years ago, completely lost, trying to find my way back to the marina. I had stepped off a Hamble School of Yachting boat for a stroll during the night because I was jetlagged and couldn't sleep. I walked past this pretty chaotic looking shed and it said Clare Lallow on the gate which I think built all the SCODs and also the late Edward Heaths third Morning Cloud. Pretty town, Cowes. Hamble School of Yachting good as well, IMHO.