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| Admiral's Cup 1979 |
Police Car proved to be everything Cantwell could have wanted - the wind in Melbourne for the Australian Admiral's Cup trials gave the yacht the opportunity to extend herself, particularly in anything over 20 knots downwind. She won the trials and qualified for the Australian team, alongside Gerald Lambert's Impetuous and Syd Fischer's Ragamuffin. Police Car then went to Poole for the 1979 Two Ton Cup, held a month before the Admiral's Cup in Cowes, where she found the conditions to be an anathema - the light and shifting winds for that regatta were far from her forte. As with many of the other Two Tonners in Poole, Police Car had optimised her rating for the Admiral's Cup and so gave away about half a foot of rating in the series.
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| Police Car with her spinnaker quickly reset after rounding a gybe mark during the 1979 Two Ton Cup in Poole (photo J Humphris | Facebook) |
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| Police Car in close company with Vanguard (to weather), Morning Cloud (to leeward) and Rrose Selavay (bottom) |
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| Police Car sails downwind in fresh conditions during the 1979 Admiral's Cup, above and below (photo Jonathan Eastland photo archives) |
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| Police Car to leeward of Argentinian yacht Red Rock IV |
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| Shipping water over the bow in fresh conditions during the 1979 Admiral's Cup |
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| Police Car surges downwind with spinnaker and blooper set during the 1979 Admiral's Cup |
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| Police Car thunders down the Solent, chasing Italian yacht Vanina who appears to have lost control of their blooper sail and have sent a crewmember up the rig to retrieve the errant sail (photo Guy Gurney) |
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| Police Car crosses ahead of Italy's Rrose Selavy (centre) and Britain's Morning Cloud during the 1979 Admiral's Cup (photo Facebook) |
In the infamous gale-tossed Fastnet Race Police Car had a wild and wet ride under boomed out staysail, reefed main and storm jib for a while, then piled on the canvas as the wind lightened to finish in fourth place.
Police Car finished as second yacht in the individual standings (409 points), some 17 points adrift of Jeremy Rogers' Eclipse, which had sailed consistently well to finish as the top yacht of the series following her win in the Fastnet race. The other Australian boats had also finished the Fastnet strongly and unscathed, with Impetuous' third and Ragamuffin's 13th overall being enough for Australia to win the Admiral's Cup for the first time since 1967.
Jim Hardy, who was aboard Impetuous for the series, was much impressed by Police Car and bought her to race mainly in Australian waters. Twice, in 1980 and 1982, he skippered her to wins in Division B in the Sydney Hobart race. Police Car was also chartered by Mike 'Zappa' Bell for the 1981 Australian Admiral's Cup trials, but she missed selection.
He also took Police Car to the 1982 Clipper Cup in Hawaii. After a strong start where she won the first race in Class D decisively, she was again well placed just minutes from the finish of the second race when she slammed into a wave trough and her mast folded at the gooseneck. A spare bottom section was flown to the venue but fitted too late to make the Molokai Race. The newly knighted Sir James remarked that the new bottom piece would have to be painted. "What colour?" came the question. "Oh, pink'll do" was the reply, and so it remained for a few more years, as seen in the photos below.
Police Car was subsequently owned by Michael Purtell of Tasmania who sailed the yacht in two Sydney-Hobart's. She raced as part of the eighth-placed Tasmanian team in the 1985 Southern Cross Cup, finishing 30th yacht overall following placings of RET/32/33/24/23. Her next owner, Mike Prendergast, sailed her in the 50th edition of the Sydney-Hobart in 1994, placing seventh in Division E.
She was then sold to Alan Duffy in or about 1996 who raced her in short offshore races out of Broken Bay. He carried out a restoration before the 408 mile Gosford to Lord Howe race, as a shakedown for the 2002 Sydney-Hobart race. The restoration involved extensive fairing of the alloy hull and repainting the boat in her original colours, after which she looked better than new (see above).
Police Car is currently located in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, and as of the start of 2016 was undergoing another restoration. She was relaunched in December 2019 (see the Police Car Facebook page here).
Article updated November 2023
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| Police Car arriving in Plymouth after the finish of the 1979 Fastnet race (photo Jonathan Eastland photo archives) |
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| Police Car competing in the Clipper Cup, possibly during the 1980 series |
Jim Hardy, who was aboard Impetuous for the series, was much impressed by Police Car and bought her to race mainly in Australian waters. Twice, in 1980 and 1982, he skippered her to wins in Division B in the Sydney Hobart race. Police Car was also chartered by Mike 'Zappa' Bell for the 1981 Australian Admiral's Cup trials, but she missed selection.  |
| Police Car during the 1981 Australian Admiral's Cup trials (photo Chris Furey) |
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| Police Car seen here in Mooloolaba in 1983, still sporting her 'pink section' mast repair (photo Chris Furey) |
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| Showing her longevity in the Australian IOR scene, Police Car also sailed in the 1985 Australian Admiral's Cup trials, seen here to windward of the Dubois One Tonner Black Magic (photo Chris Furey) |
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| Police Car during the 1984 Sydney-Hobart race, and still sporting the pink mast (photo Police Car Facebook page) |
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| Police Car on her way to winning the King of the Derwent race, 1985 (photo Facebook) |
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| Police Car after the Sydney Hobart race in 1994, with a different livery (from the Police Car Facebook page) |
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| Police Car at the CYCA marina before the 2002 Sydney-Hobart race, and after her refit by Alan Duffy and return to her original paint scheme |
Police Car is currently located in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, and as of the start of 2016 was undergoing another restoration. She was relaunched in December 2019 (see the Police Car Facebook page here).
Article updated November 2023
I met Zac, the current owner of Police Car, and his crew Bosun in Murwillumbah on their way back to Port Macquarie, and would like to contact him but can't find his website policecar yacht. 'would appreciate any help in locating it. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHey Tony, good to meet you on the trip down the coast. The site isn't complete just yet. If you don't use facebook there are some photos (though mostly from here and the net) https://plus.google.com/photos/112643010997769436066/albums/5704723475813302241
DeleteYou can contact me using isaac.perkins.1 at gmail dot com
Police car now has a facebook page. She is of course an interesting talking point...would be great to hear your story about the boat. .facebook.com/policecaryacht
ReplyDeleteI sailed on Police Car on a delivery back from Hobart with Chris Packer and John Blackman - two people I believe should be at the heart of this article. It was, as an understatement, quite an amazing ride with 5 of us on board and a full mainsail in a following gale force wind. We met Jim in Wineglass Bay before we left.
ReplyDeleteChris suffered a stroke on a golf course after that shit fight in Indonesia and John was swept overboard in the great southern ocean Two of the only truly fearless sailors I have ever met and very well suited to the boat. It was a one off in every sense of the word. Made only for the ultimate in sailing - heavy weather and fun.
Thomas, late to this thread. Was on board Nyamba with Sir James, Greg Cavill, David Hardy at Twofold Bay when we pulled alongside you guys, admiring the fabulous lines. We were all smitten, as is natural for anyone who loves yachts. Jim left us for an hour and returned with champagne. We wondered what warranted such extravagance when we still had plenty of Bundy left. He said "You see that lovely lady alongside? Well, it's our's now." He had walked up to the nearest phone which was up the hill in the pub and called Peter Cantwell in WA to make an offer.
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DeleteThanks Andrew. Yes, I remember the afternoon in Wineglass bay well. We were consuming an ample supply of fine grog we had stocked up on in Hobart. Chris invited Jim over to PC for to try a spliff (Jim's first) with John and I below decks, where we talked enthusiastically about her and he decided to buy her, subject to his Mum's approval, (which he got when he rang her in Eden haha). We then finished off the afternoon eating crayfish sandwiches straight from the bay and drinking champagne and took off to Eden in gale force winds. The trip took 18 hours for the 320 miles, planing most of the way. Chris and John never mentioned it to others and when I did I was ridiculed as being delusional, which was a shame as it was quite a ride at night and the fastest passage I had heard of at that time. It was one of the 2 or 3 things in life which still inspires me to this day, especially as it was my first time sailing offshore.
DeleteThey were wonderful carefree days. Sailors these days may have become more professional and indulge less, but they do not appear to have that same sense of living life to the full. Many thanks to those 2 guys who were truly larger than life.
Michael Purtell bought the yacht from Ediss Boyes of Hobart. I can't remember if Ediss bought the yacht from Sir Jim Hardy or if there was another owner after Sir Jim. Ediss sailed the yacht extensively in local harbour and distance races but never sailed extensively off-shore.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Michael Purtell I bought Police Car from Sir James Hardy in about 1983 I owned it for about 4 years and sold it to Edis Boyes in 1987
ReplyDeleteWe sailed from Wineglass Bay to Eden in 18 hours on that delivery from Hobart. That is around 320 miles. I will leave it to you to do the average speed. The boat was almost constantly planing. The log was on a dial that stopped at 26 knots but, with Chris at the helm, it occasionally wound past the end of the dial.
ReplyDeleteJohn Pattison, brother to Rodney, taught peter Cantwell about sailing in Singapore in 1972-73. We raced the Singapore Round the Island Race in a Peter Cantwell self ddesigned and built boat with not much successIn the UK, 16 and 17-year-olds can join the British Army as soldiers, with consent from their parents. Soldiers cannot be deployed to the front line until they are aged 18. Here, Matt Fossey and Nick Caddick from the Veterans and Families Institute at Anglia Ruskin University debate whether this should continue.Peter Dunlop
ReplyDeletesorry about the bit after .. not much success How do I remove that?
ReplyDeleteHi Peter, you can re-type the part you'd like to keep and I will delete your original posts (and this one). Cheers.
ReplyDelete