Joe Louis (Farr Three-Quarter Tonner)

Following changes to the IOR that had penalised the wide sterns of the previous generation, Farr drew the first of his 1977 boats. This was a Three-Quarter Tonner named Joe Louis (Design 56), owned by French boxing champion Eric Simian and helmed by Flying Dutchman legend Yves Pajot.

Joe Louis was a fixed keeler, as at the time of her design it was expected that the centreboard loophole would be closed. There was also limited time available to design and build the yacht for the French Three-Quarter Ton trials. The design aimed to produce better all round performance than Farr's earlier designs, with length traded for sail area (similar to the Whiting response). With more changes to the IOR in the measurement of the stern area Farr sought to design cleaner aft end shapes by cleaning up the after girth stations and coupled this with narrower sections. A more upright transom allowed for more deck space. The yachts' concept was a forerunner of Farr's champion centreboard designs that would soon follow.



Joe Louis was an important transitional design as the first of a line of evolutionary designs tht were to follow, and because it was one of the earliest Farr yachts to be built in Kevlar and foam sandwich. This allowed a lower hull weight and for a high ballast ratio to be achieved (52%), although some internal ballast was removed to get the boat to the correct displacement. A small amount of ballast was also removed from the bottom of the keel to obtain the correct centre of gravity measurement.

Joe Louis made her debut at the La Rochelle Week regatta in May 1977 where she finished as overall winner.  At the Three-Quarter Ton Cup in August 1977, also held in La Rochelle, she came up against the lightweight Oesophage Boogie, designed by Jean Berret, and Drakkar, a centreboarder designed by Joubert & Nivelt, both very light and of wide beam. Drakkar was fast but lost its rig in the third race. Oesophage Boogie was also fast but lost out by doing poorly in the final light airs race. Joe Louis put in a more consistent performance, and although she won just one race she won the Three-Quarter Ton Cup comfortably. She was at least competitive in light weather, and demonstrated superior speed in windy conditions.

A production version of Joe Louis was to have been manufactured in England, but these plans had to be abandoned when the changes to the IOR took effect in 1978, raising Joe Louis' rating beyond the 24.5ft limit of the Three-Quarter Ton class (by a full 1.5ft). Staying in class was impossible to achieve while still maintaining good all round performance.

The photographs below are from the Histoiredeshalfs website:

Newspaper Taxi (Whiting Half Tonner)

Newspaper Taxi was designed by Paul Whiting in 1976 with an eye towards a challenge for the Half Ton Cup, to be sailed out of Sydney in December 1977. Newspaper Taxi was a development of Whiting's earlier Half Tonner Candu II, and was designed to take account of  the November 1976 changes to the IOR, the first in a tranche of rule amendments that sought to check the emerging trends in the New Zealand-style of yacht of light displacement and wider sterns. 

Newspaper Taxi on launching day - Westhaven, Auckland

 The broad aft sections of Newspaper Taxi were therefore designed to mitigate the new penalties in this area, and were offset in part by a shortening of the yachts' length between girths, and the forward depth measurement was pushed to the limit. A shortening of measured length allowed for an increase in sail area, yielding a better all-round yacht than Candu II.

The most obvious difference from Candu II was that Newspaper Taxi was a centreboarder. The advantages of this concept had been demonstrated by Resolute Salmon in the 1976 One Ton Cup, and Fun had provided more evidence of this at the Quarter Ton Cup as well.  The centreboard weighed only 92kg, and the boat otherwise relied on internal ballast and crew weight for stability. 

The engine was also designed for rating advantage - the 12hp diesel was positioned for'ard of the mast and slightly to port so that the shaft could clear the centrecase.

While Whiting chased everything possible regarding hull shape and appendages, Murray Ross pursued rig developments and new handling techniques and gear, with the same careful attention to detail that Ross had employed so successfully on the Quarter Tonner Magic Bus.

Showing her windward form in light airs, Half Ton Championship, Auckland 1977 (J Malitte)

The Whiting/Ross led team aboard Newspaper Taxi went on to produce a near flawless performance in the South Pacific Half Ton Championships held in April 1977 and hosted by the Royal Akarana Yacht Club. The series featured a wide cross-section of Half Ton designs, with 20 boats entered, the product of ten different designers, and only three boats had competed in the previous year's contest. 

A clear lead at the wing mark in the NZ 1977 series (J Green)

Newspaper Taxi asserted a demonstrable speed advantage in all conditions, combined with immaculate boat handling. She won four of the five races, losing first place in a close tussle with the custom Farr 920 Cotton Blossom which jumped on a rare tactical error by Ross in the fourth race.

While Newspaper Taxi had been designed and built with the 1977 Half Ton Cup in mind (Sydney), the Whiting/Ross team elected to contest the One Ton Cup to be held in Auckland in November 1977. Newspaper Taxi was sold to an Australian yachtsman and finished in 10th place in the Half Ton Cup, behind near sistership Magic Dragon, with placings of 10/11/8/8/DNF.

Newspaper Taxi undergoing a self-righting test ahead of the 1977 Half Ton Cup in Sydney (photo Facebook)

At the Half Ton Cup - Sydney, Australia (December 1977)

Unfortunately, Newspaper Taxi later sank during the 1995 edition of the Three Peaks Race (Launceton, Tasmania, to Hobart), after losing her rudder off Cape Tourville on the outside of Freycinet Peninsula. According to the owner at that time (see comments below), the rudder stock snapped at the weld point above the hull line and tore the stern tube out. The crew took to a liferaft and were later rescued by the tanker Island Gas which had been diverted to the scene, and Newspaper Taxi now lies at a depth of 60m.  

Southern Raider (Davidson 38)

Southern Raider was a Laurie Davidson design, built in Christchurch in 1981. She had a rating of 29.4ft, and was reasonably short for that rating, at 38ft, but sported a lofty fractional sail plan. She had a relatively brief but eventful career on the international offshore scene. 

Southern Raider during the 1982 Southern Cup trials (J Malitte)

Southern Raider was a member of the New Zealand team for the 1981 Southern Cross Cup, joining the Farr design Feltex Roperunner and the S&S Ngaruru, but their performance underscored something of a demise in New Zealand's offshore prowess at the time, with the team finishing sixth overall. The team's effort was not helped by Southern Raider's retirement on the first night of the Sydney-Hobart race following structural problems.

Celebrating their trials result (D Christie Collection)

Southern Raider was bought by John Stephenson shortly before the trials for the 1982 Clipper Cup, after seeing the performance of her Australian near-sistership Szechwan. She was sailed up from Lyttleton with only days to spare, and for most of the crew the first race of the trials was their first sail on the yacht.  She struggled in the first race with a torn mainsail and navigational errors, but bounced back to win the second and fifth races, to finish third overall, just one point off first placegetters the Lidgard 40 Dictator and the Frers 45 Solara.

The yacht joined the Lidgard 40s Dictator and Defiance in New Zealand's 'small boat' Green team. All three yachts were designed and moded for lighter airs than perhaps would be expected in Hawaii, but the signs looked promising when Southern Raider won the Sauza Cup warm-up regatta by one point from another Davidson design Sweet Caroline (Australia). 

Southern Raider seen here (centre) during the 1982 Laihana Sauza Cup before the Clipper Cup, with US yacht Shenandoah to the right, with team-mate Defiance visible to leeward (blue and white spinnaker) (photo Phil Uhl)

Well reefed during the gale-afflicted 1982 Clipper Cup series, with US yacht Checkmate heading off downwind (photo J Malitte)

However, the New Zealand effort in the Clipper Cup itself was not helped by the fact that the series was affected by the presence of two hurricanes in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands. Both New Zealand teams were significantly off the pace in these conditions, and the Green team's hopes were further dashed when the Japanese yacht Lazy Albatross managed to take out both Southern Raider and Dictator at the start of the last race.

Southern Raider on a fast reach (photo A Sefton)

The collision with Lazy Albatross split Southern Raider's foredeck across to the centreline and lifted the deck for several feet along the sheer. The crew were forced to retire from the race, which counted for triple points and saw Southern Raider slip well down in the overall standings to 35th place (following placings of 28/28/19/26/dnf), and sixth in class. Dictator also had to retire, and the Green team ended up ninth overall.

Southern Raider during the 1982 Clipper Cup series (photo J Malitte)

A year later, Southern Raider competed in the Auckland to Suva (Fiji) race - she finished in first place in both the Division A IOR and PHRF fleets, an impressive effort after breaking her tiller (and a crewman's finger) on the first day out, and steering the rest of the way with the jockey pole lashed to the tiller stump. 

Southern Raider leaving New Zealand for the last time at the start of the 1983 Auckland to Suva race (7 May 1983)

Sadly, however, Southern Raider, was abandoned on the return voyage (via Noumea) in June 1983. The yacht was caught in an un-forecasted gale that also affected several other boats in the area at the time. The yacht's skipper, Geoff Blakey, radioed that Southern Raider was taking on water and requested assistance. With conditions deteriorating and the boat starting to crack and sink further, it was later resolved to abandon the yacht, and the crew arranged to transfer to a ship, the Jumbo Stella Two. Tragically, one crewmember, Bob Whitehouse, was drowned during a difficult transfer from Southern Raider to the rescue ship. All five other crew were safely transferred and the yacht was left to sink.

The moment of impact between Southern Raider and the rescue ship which trapped one of the crewmembers (photo RNZAF Orion)

The last photo of Southern Raider - abandoned and sinking by the bow (photo RNZAF Orion)

Article updated May 2024

Blackfun (Davidson Quarter Tonner)

Blackfun was a Laurie Davidson Quarter Ton design, a development of his earlier centreboarder Fun that had impressed so much in Corpus Christi in 1976. The hull was the first of a production line version (in fibreglass) of Fun, but her lines had been modified to address changes to the IOR in 1976 (IOR Mk IIIA), which included a more pronounced step in the bustle, and slightly less sail area than Fun. She also sported a larger centreboard, which seemed to further improve her windward performance.

Blackfun was launched just in time for the 1977 Quarter Ton national championships, leaving little time before the regatta for tuning. In fact, 20 minutes before the start of the first race the crew (lead by Roy Dickson and including Barry Thom, Herb Tremaine, the yacht's builder, and Peter Jordan) were still screwing down fittings, and the boat featured a white 'primer only' paintjob. Nevertheless, the boat finished that race with a third place, and then went on to win the remaining four races to take the New Zealand title in emphatic fashion. Although she displayed better boat speed than her competitors, it was only on the final race that the crew felt that the boat was finally ready to race.

Blackfun competing in the 1977 New Zealand Quarter Ton series (DB Yachting Annual 1977)

 While the result was a triumph for the Blackfun crew and her designer, this was tempered by the fact that the necessary funds couldn't be raised to send Blackfun to the Quarter Ton Cup in Finland to defend the title for New Zealand, following the win by Magic Bus in 1976, and  by 45 South in 1975.

Sailing downwind in the 1980 Quarter Ton Cup (Sea Spray)

Blackfun did, however, go on compete in a Quarter Ton Cup, when it was hosted by the Panmure Yacht and Boating Club in 1980. By this stage she had in turn been outclassed by the newer yachts that were designed for this series, including Davidson's new design Hellaby and Farr's Anchor Challenge and Hot Number. However, all the local yachts were eclipsed by the French flyer, the Faroux design Bullit, and Blackfun finished ninth overall.

In PHRF mode

She went on to sail in local races, and was given some modifications by Peter Loughlin to increase her overall speed, once IOR considerations were no longer relevant, including a masthead spinnaker and bulb keel.

Blackfun was eventually bought by a Wellington group, headed by Brett Linton and Jamie McDowell, who were keen to have a crack at the Quarter Ton Cup that had seen something of a revival in Europe. Davidson guided the new modifications, with the stern sections faired out, a new rig with non-overlapping headsail, and a bulb keel. The yacht was optimised to sail at the maximum IRC rating under which the regatta is now sailed (TCF of 0.920). So the yacht finally made her European debut 34 years on for the 2011 Quarter Ton Cup where she finished in tenth place against a fleet of highly competitive Quarter Tonners.

Blackfun in her new IRC configuration before being shipped to England for the 2011 Quarter Ton Cup

After the 2011 series she was sold to an English yachtsman Rob Gray, who carried out some further modifications that made Blackfun a bit faster relative to her rating, including a new keel, movement of the rudder aft and some rig changes, and which also slightly reduced her rating to 0.912. She demonstrated some improved performance in the 2012 Quarter Ton Cup, winning the third race, but being ruled over the line in the last race scuttled any chance of a high placing, finishing the series in fifth place overall (with Bullit reprising her 1980 victory to take the Cup). 

Blackfun rounding a weather mark during the 2011 Quarter Ton Cup

Changes in 2012 included a new keel and a rudder placed well aft (photo Fiona Brown)

Blackfun recently competed in the 2013 Quarter Ton Cup but while showing flashes of brilliance, startline infringements and a top mark collision saw her finish in ninth place overall.

Blackfun on her way to second place in the last race of the 2013 Quarter Ton Cup (photo Jonathan Hoare)

Flirt of Paget (Holland 40)

Flirt of Paget is a 40ft Ron Holland design built in New Zealand by Brin Wilson Yachts in 1981 for the Admiral's Cup of that year, and featured a kauri planked hull (around an aluminium space frame) and her varnished finish made her instantly recognisable. 

The yacht was designed as a 'minimum rater', coming in at 30.1ft on IOR, to meet the 30.0ft minimum set by the rules for the Admiral's Cup. Unusually for a racing yacht at this size she was fitted with a masthead rig, and this was expected to make her more competitive in lighter airs.  

Spritzer, as she was originally known, competed against other seven other yachts in the New Zealand trials, and finished in fifth place, with individual placings of 5/4=/4/5/3=/5. The line up for the series was notable for the resurgence of Holland designs (such as Ian Gibbs' Swuzzlebubble III) which had gained some ascendancy since the changes to the IOR that had severely penalised the light displacement designs of the likes of Bruce Farr and Laurie Davidson. There was little of the light airs which was expected to be her forte, but as it turned out her best results were in the fresher winds. Crucially, however, Spritzer couldn't foot it with the fractional-rigged yachts on a two-sail reach and although she was well sailed tactically, and often made up places by going the right way, she didn't have the boat speed of the others. 

Spritzer during the 1981 New Zealand Admiral's Cup trials

Spritzer crosses behind the larger Inca in the New Zealand Admiral's Cup trials 1981 (photo Sea Spray)

Spritzer in close company with Feltex Roperunner (4499) and Swuzzlebubble III in the NZ Admiral's Cup trials, and below, as Flirt of Paget during the 1981 Admiral's Cup





Flirt of Paget competing for Japan in the 1983 AC

Spritzer went on to compete for the Bermudan team in the 1981 Admiral's Cup, having been bought by a Mr Trimingham (of Paget) and renamed Flirt of Paget.  She generally failed to fire, although it was a year when Swuzzlebubble III was the top yacht of the series, and the Bermudan team finished last of 16 teams. Her result was not helped by losing her mast in the Channel Race. She went on to compete for Japan in the 1983 Admiral's Cup, although that team also finished last (from 15).

Being lifted for transport to the shed (L Klingstrom, 2007)

Flirt of Paget later competed in other regattas overseas, including the 1983 SORC where she finished third in Class E with placings of 11/9/3/3/2/4, and 27th overall. She also raced in the 1984 series, where she finished sixth in Class F, and 54th overall. 

Flirt of Paget competing in the 1984 SORC (photo Larry Moran)

In 2007 she was bought by Swedish yachtsman Lars Klingstrom. Lars has embarked on an incredible restoration of Flirt of Paget, and has applied a level of perfectionism and attention to detail that has drawn many admirers through his regular posts and updates in the Sailing Anarchy forums. She was shown to the public at the Gothenburg Boat Show (Sweden) in 2013, and more photographs from that and her restoration can be seen here. She was  relaunched in July 2014

Flirt of Paget's kauri hull gets the high gloss treatment (photo L Klingstrom, 2012)

 Rudder fitted and nearing completion, January 2013 (photo Claus Axtal)




Launched! July 2014