Van de Stadt 34 Panache II
We owned this boat for more than 30 years. Raced it locally and cruised it up and down both the east and west coasts of Australia
Dragonflite 95
I have owned one of these world’s most popular radio controlled racing yachts since 2021. You can find out more at the link below to the Wanderers Radio Sailing Club website (I was the Commodore)
Venetian Sandolo-style rowing boat Serenity
This is a long story. After one of those very merry backyard BBQs, a group of us decided we should row the Vogalonga in Venice. We never managed to achieve our goal, but we did go to Venice and I designed and built a 6m sandolo in 2013. A second one was launched in South Australia in April 2022, for the Vogalonga Down Unda.
Klaka 24 One Rainy Wish
I designed this trailable racer-cruiser in 1991, and built it in our garage with maritime archaeology friend Dr Tom Vosmer (see the Jewel of Muscat page on this site). Made of plywood and epoxy, with not a single metal fastening in the hull or deck. It was still sailing 25 years later.
Redwitch Dark Horse
The Redwitch is a 6m trailable boat designed in 1975 by Hill & Cameron (they didn’t really design it, they just chopped the middle out of the mould for the Primrose designed Seal 22). Badly built and almost as wet to sail as water-skiing, they are great fun. We owned Dark Horse from 1988 til 1991 and won the State championships and the local match racing series.
Twister 28 Moonspinner
A classic designed by Kim Holman in 1963 . I owned Moonspinner from 1982 to 1986, racing and cruising her in Europe, including a single-handed passage from the Azores to England. I was the founder of the Twister Class Association
A-class model yacht Green Salami Queen
My first venture into model yachting was in 1979, with this futuristic boat designed by Graham Bantock, a friend from Southampton Uni. I competed in the World championships coming somewhere respectably mid-fleet. Graham has become a highly successful model yacht designer, builder and sailor. His company is called Sailsetc.
Klaka 28 Monaco/Misfire
I designed this boat in 1977, cold-moulded timber. It raced and cruised the Irish Sea for 40 years. The names are an interesting story. The boat was built by the Mona Timber Company in Anglesey, Wales. Mona is the old Roman name for Anglesey. It was the first boat they had ever built, so it was quite a risky venutre for them (and me). Whilst the boat was being built, we were doing a crossword puzzle in which one of the clues was “old Anglesey firm with a reputation for gambling”. That descirbed the situation perfectly, and the answer to the clue was “Monaco”. It just had to be the right name for the boat. A year or so later the boat was put back in the company’s shed and placed on the market. A new owner was found, who agreed to move the boat out of the company’s shed and truck it to his own property. He did this, then the just next night the company shed caught fire! Hence the rename “Misfire”.
Peterson 34 3/4 tonner Tessanda III
I was part of the team that built this yacht out of C-flex in 1975/76. Tessanda III won the RORC championship in 1977 and I crewed on her for several years after that. The building team formed Gatehouse Yachts, which went on to build several other successful racers.
1/4 tonner Hannovian
I designed and built Hannovian in 1974/75, out of cold moulded gaboon mahogany. We represented Great Britain at the 1975 Quarter Ton World Championships in France. The championships were won by a boat designed by a young upstart called Bruce Farr…
Hannovian was still racing on the Irish Sea in 2019, more than 40 years after being launched.
