Power Boat and Yachting JAN 1967

THE ADMIRALS CUP.  VYING FOR WORLD SUPREMACY.

Australia will have her second attempt at the world's premier offshore racing series for the Admiral's cup, this year.  Experts, both here and overseas, are conceding Australia the best chance ever to wrest the coveted crown from Britain.

     The three yachts selected for the 1967 challenge are good; very good.  Their selection came as no surprise to those who had followed the elimination trials held last year.  The performance of Gordon Ingate's Caprice of Huon is well known.  The 45 ft. sloop now 14 years old, was the star of the 1965 challenge, and is the only yacht from that team to be selected for this years attempt.  Balandra, a 40 ft. sloop is one of the most beautiful craft built in the country, and the 40 ft. sloop Mercedes III is one of the newest.

      In July, the three yachts will be shipped to Britain to prepare for the cup series; considered by most yachtsman to be the ocean racing competition in the world.  The series, started early this century, consists of four separate races; the Channel Race, over a 225 mile rectangular course from the Isle of Wight to a point just off the French port of Le Havre and back;the Brittania Cup, a short 34 mile event around the Isle of Wight; The New York Yacht Club Challenge Cup over the same course; and the famous Fastnet race, 630 miles from the Isle of Wight, west past Land's End and around Fastnet Rock, on the south west coast of Ireland and back inside the Scilly islands to Plymouth. 

     In the long history of the Cup, only once has it been wrested from Britain.  This was by America many years ago.  But in 1955 Australia sent a team for the first time ever to challenge Britain and the other nine nations who were regular competitors.  The reception to the Australian team was perhaps a little sarcastic.  No doubt it was the best team Australia could muster, but the nations with their sleek ocean racers built especially for the series, tended to disregard the Australian team of canoe-sterners Freya and Camille and the then 12 year old Caprice of Huon.

     But at the end of the challenge, Caprice had won the Channel Race, Brittania Cup and New York Yacht Club Challenge Trophy, and Australia was only beaten into second place by 4 points by Britain.  The British are still recovering from the shock.  In 1965 Australia was the only nation to seriously challenge Britain's firm grasp on the Cup.  This year, with proven craft and a wealth of experience, Australia is in a strong position to be the second country to dethrone Britain.  Sir Garfield Barwick, Australia's Chief Justice and president of the Admiral's Cup Challenge Committee, summed up the position quite simply while announcing the 1967 challenge team late in November.  All he said was that he thought "we will do better than last time."

     This year's attempt at honours is once again being organised by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia based in Sydney.  Costs of transporting the yachts and the crews from
Australia to England have been offset somewhat by a generous offer from the cigarette manufacturers, Rothman's. A representative of the company at the ceremony called to announce the selected yachts, handed to the C.Y.C. a cheque for $10,000.  Assistance in transport has also been provided by Qantas.  The boats and crews will be in Britain for about six weeks. 

     Caprice of Huon, Balandra and Mercedes III were selected to represent Australia by a special three man committee within the C.Y.C.  The committee selected the yachts on race performances, suitability to British weather conditions and a host of other points.  The selection was made after a series of five elimination races, held in all sorts of weather conditions and over comprehensive courses.  The 12 yachts taking part in the trials experienced a large proportion of weather similar to that encountered on the Cup course.  Vying for selection were the cream of Australia's racing yachts; Bacchus D, Balandra, Camelot, Caprice of Huon, Catriona, Corroboree, Mercedes III, Mister Christian, karingal, Salacia, Seawind and Sayonara.  Two of the 1965 team boats, Freya and Camille were not available for selection but whether they would have made the grade any way is open to conjecture. 

     At the time of going to press, the crews for the three yachts are still unknown, but about thirty will be selected to fly overseas for the challenge well before departure time in July.  The team captain for the challenge series will be Ron Adir, who will be in complete charge of the Australian challengers during their stay in Britain.  Caprice of Huon performed better than anyone could ever have expected during the last Cup series.  For an old boat which has never taken part in this grueling competition to win three out of four races against the worlds top boats is nothing short of remarkable.  But if Caprice performed brilliantly, the brilliance was provided by her extremely competent skipper and owner, Gordon Ingate.  Ingate has a fantastic "feel" for sailing and got the very best out of his boat at all times.  But Ingate will not be there this year; at present he is helmsman on Vim, the twelve meter trial horse and he feels he must forego taking part in the Admiral's Cup and devote his attentions this year to the America's Cup. 

     Ingate's place at the helm of Caprice will be taken by Gordon Reynolds.  Reynolds is a capable and competent skipper with a thorough knowledge of top competition sailing.  Whether he can match Ingate in Britain remains to be seen.  Caprice of Huon was built in Tasmania 14 years ago to the design of Robert Clarke in Britain.  Her design is that of an eight meter type racer cruiser.  She was brought to Sydney for Division 1 class racing by Olympic star yachtsman, Bill Northam, and her success in this field goes unchallenged.  Caprice has an overall length of 45 ft. with a waterline length of 30 ft. Her beam is 10 ft. and she draws 6 ft. 5 ins.  She is particularly suited to the shorter ocean races, such as the Brittania and N.Y.Y.C. Cups, and is an ideal performer in light weather. 

     Balandra is a much more modern sloop, and is largest of the three to make the journey to Great Britain.  She is a big craft, with an overall length of 46 ft. 2 ins, a waterline length of 35 ft., a beam of 12 ft. and a draft of 7 ft. 6 ins.  She displaces 14.34 tons (of which 7.8 tons are ballast) and carries 1164 square feet of working sail.  With a twin skin of mahogany, she is strong and light, and certainly one of the sleekest and best looking boats in Australia today.  Built in Hobart to a design by Camper and Nicholson in England, she is now owned by R. Crichton-Brown and is based in Sydney. 

     Balandra's British sister ship, Quiver IV scored a resounding success in the Admiral's Cup in 1965 and the battle between the two, if Quiver is selected this year will really be something to watch.  She will probably carry the Australian team's hopes in the long distance races or in heavy weather running.  Balandra is the only one of the three selected Cup boats entered in the 1966 Sydney-Hobart race.

     Mercedes III, a 40 ft. lightweight sloop, is the newest of the three, and was launched only in 1966.  She carries two distinctions- one is that she is Australia's first moulded ocean racer and the other is that she was designed specifically for the Admiral's Cup. Despite cynicism from experts in the field, The yacht was cold moulded by Cec Quilkey.  The job was an outstanding success and produced a yacht with exceptional strength and a remarkably low weight.  Mercedes III owned by Ted Kaufman, of Sydney, looks every inch the ocean racer- sleek, fast, and beautifully finished.  Her recent performances prove the point.  With an overall length of 40 ft. and a waterline length of 31ft. 1.5ins., Mercedes III draws 6ft. 6ins., and has a beam of 11ft. 3ins.  She displaces 9.75 tons and carries a modest 750 square feet of working sail.  

     How Australia's team will fair is of course, in the lap of the gods, but looking at our 1965 performance and our challengers this year there seems to be no reason why there shouldn't be a great deal of confidence that this country can pull off the world's premier yachting trophy at its second attempt.  Other countries competing will probably be England (present holders), Holland (second in 1965), The United States (third last time), France, West Germany, Sweden, Ireland and Italy.  Until July, the three challengers will undergo practice sails, and extensive tuning up and fitting out, and the rest of Australia will have to sit pat and simply wish them luck.