Hitchhiker was a 40.5 foot yacht, designed by German Frers in early 1980 for West Australian yachtsman Peter Briggs. Her lines derived from Frers' earlier SORC champion Acadia, and his previous Two Ton champion Gitana, but with a more modern and conventional approach, with moderate displacement, relatively clean lines, flat garboards and a deep keel (see profile drawing below). Favourable sail area to displacement and wetted surface ratios provided excellent acceleration. The boat was built from Kevlar and Klegecell by Bakercraft in Perth, and featured longitudinal bulkheads to provide immense fore and aft stiffness. Briggs underscored his seriousness with his Hitchhiker campaign by fitting the yacht with a German-made titanium-stocked rudder from Speedwave, and ordered a spare Stearn mast for the boat. All
her sidestay turnbuckles were connected below deck, and like most
competitive IOR boats of the day, she carried a huge amount of internal
ballast under the floorboards, with all possible weight centered amidships and down low. Hitchhikermeasured in at 31.2ft IOR, a reasonably high rating for a 40 footer but reflected Frers' thinking at the time to not give up too much speed through excessive hull shape deviations in a quest for a lower rating.
Hitchhiker during the 1981 Australian trials (photo Offshore magazine)
So advanced was Hitchhiker’s design and construction, and her performance so competitive for the era, that she was selected to represent Australia at two Admiral’s Cups (1981 and 1983). Briggs commented in 2013 (during preparations for that year's Hamilton Island Race Week) that the reason why Hitchhiker was a great boat in its early days was because it was an all-rounder and was quick in all conditions. At the 2013 event, a bold battle flag donning a large red thumbs-up signal flew proudly on Hitchhiker’s forestay while the crew was immaculately dressed in matching red and white crew uniforms. Briggs explained that the concept behind the boat's moniker and flag came from the brainstorming of names in 1980 when they came up with ‘hitchhiker’. “Initially we thought ‘what a dumb name!’ but 'hitchhiker' means ‘free lift’ and that’s what you want in sailing, rather than when the wind knocks. The thumb went with the hitchhiking and red is my favourite colour so we went with that".
Hitchhiker during the 1981 Australian Admiral's Cup trials (photo Chris Furey)
One of her former crew recalls that Hitchhiker had all her halyards exiting the mast below decks. "Our 'platform' had all halyard winches mounted along the front edge. I did the bow and I would knock on the deck signals to the pit man down below. One knock hoist. Two knocks stop. And so on".
Hitchhiker was the star of the 1981 Australian Admiral's Cup trials, counting five wins and line honours in two of the races to confirm her place in the team, alongside Alan Bond's Apollo V and Syd Fischer's Ragamuffin (both Peterson 43-footers).
Hitchhiker amongst the fray during a general recall in the first race of the 1981 Admiral's Cup
Hitchhiker during the first race of the 1981 Admiral's Cup, with Pinta astern and to windward, and Britain's Victory to weather
Hitchhiker arrived at Cowes with a terrific reputation and this was further bolstered when Harold Cudmore was brought on to join skipper Noel Robins for the inshore races. Unfortunately, however, Hitchhiker's reputation came undone right from this first race when she got tangled up with US yachts Scaramouche and Stars & Stripes, and Spain's Bribon III, and ended up over the startline early. More photos from that race can be seen here. Although Hitchhiker went on to finish the race, she was disqualified, presumably for the startline collisions.
Hitchhiker gets caught on East Bramble buoy in the second race of the 1981 Admiral's Cup (the full sequence can be seen here)
Hitchhiker suffered from another poor start in the second race, and needing to improve from her dismal first race effort she approached East Bramble buoy too low, and found both Canada's Pachena and Potitos blocking her ability to tack, and against a contrary tide Hitchhiker ended up on the buoy. Hitchhiker collected a two-point penalty for hitting the buoy, and a further ten points for fouling Bribon III, and took just six points from the race.
Another view of Hitchhiker's predicament at East Bramble buoy
Robins and his crew on Hitchhiker did their best to make amends in the next three races, but could only manage average placings in the Channel Race, the third inshore and the Fastnet race finale, to finish in 34th place overall, the lowest placed yacht in the eighth placed Australian team.
Hitchhiker in power reaching mode during the 1981 Admiral's Cup (photo Guy Gurney)
Leeward mark action aboard Hitchhiker during the 1981 Admiral's Cup (photo World of Yachting 1981-82)
Hitchhiker (right) seen here in a downwind line-up during the 1982 Clipper Cup with Canada's Will O the Wisp alongside (centre) and an unknown US yacht
Hitchhiker stayed in Europe after the Admiral's Cup to compete in the Two Ton Cup in Porto Cervo in September 1981. She was small for a Two Tonner, and having not been designed for the event, it was necessary to fit a larger mainsail to lift her rating closer to the 32.0ft Two Ton limit. In generally light airs, Hitchhiker was the best boat at the series and won the Cup from Smeralda Prima (Peterson design), an Italian yacht helmed by Australia's John Bertrand, and Aries (Holland design), a US yacht helmed by Harold Cudmore.
Hitchhiker chasing Italy's Yena during the 1981 Two Ton Cup in Porto Servo, Sardinia (photo World of Yachting 1981-82)
Hitchhiker was the first and only boat to represent Australia in the Admiral's Cup, Clipper Cup and Southern Cross Cup teams. The strong breezes and choppy waters of the 1982 Clipper Cup in particular suited the boat, and she was consistently fast. Hitchhiker also benefited from an all-star crew, with Robins (skipper), Jack Baxter, Skippy Lissman, Joe English, Peter Gilmore, Peter Cavill, "Chas from Tas", Phil Smidmore, Geoff Gale and Dave Forbes ("4 Bears"), an Olympic gold medalist and America's Cup sailor.
Hitchhiker powers upwind during the 1982 Clipper Cup
One of her crew recalls that "Noel had a habit of doing a conservative (late) start and simply sailing through our division and into the bigger boat division (that started five minutes before us) by the windward mark. By the end of the race we often found ourselves two divisions ahead of our division. "4 Bears was brought on board to add to our steering depth for the long races at Clipper Cup. Hitchhiker would death roll like a pig square running in strong breezes (see photo, left). Most IOR boats did. In one of our triangle races at Hawaii Noel steered for the first four legs in a fresh breeze. When we turned the top mark for the square run Noel turned the tiller over to 4 Bears. It was the first time he had touched the tiller. Three death rolls later (30 seconds) the spin pole tip went under and the mast got pushed sideways and went over the side. In hindsight not the best time to introduce a new helmsman. Still, we got back together for the next race (unlike her team-mate, Police Car). "In the Molokai Race we blew apart our favourite Kevlar mainsail. We knew it was on the way out but it was still fast. We carried a spare. However, because of the earlier dismasting the headboard slug would not go past the join in the mast. We removed both headboards off both mainsails and bolted the headboard off the torn mainsail onto the spare main. The whole process took over an hour while bucking our way to windward with just a #3 jib up (see photo, right). Once we got going again (in last place) we sailed through many divisions to arrive at the windward mark (as usual) leading our division and amongst the division of bigger boats that started five minutes ahead of us. We ran out of water in the Round the State race and found stainless steel nuts in the toolbox to suck to promote salivating".
Hitchhiker after a Sydney to Hobart race (photo Facebook)
Later, in the 1983 Southern Cross Cup, Hitchhiker was first around the windward mark in the short ocean race before being passed by the much larger boats on the return leg, and taking the overall win for the race.
Above and below - Hitchhiker racing in the 1983 Southern Cross Cup series (photos by Phil Uhl)
Hitchhiker (left) on the start line just to windward of Di-Hard, with Once More Dear Friends (3000) during the 1983 Australian Admiral's Cup trials (photo Australia's Yearbook of Sail 1)
Briggs spent $100,000 refurbishing Hitchhiker for the 1983 Australian Admiral's Cup trials, including $40,000 worth of new sails from North Sails, a new Zapspar mast to replace the one that was broken in the Clipper Cup, and alterations to the deck and interior layout by boat-builder Ken Beashel. She retained a higher rating at 31.7ft (her key rating dimensions were 34.22 L, 12.26 B and 15,264 DSPL). While many new boats competed in the trials, including an updated version of Hitchhiker, Bondi Tram, she finished as unofficial top scorer of the series. Her race placings, 3/6/3/5/4/2/2/2/1/4 told the story of steady improvement through the trials as the crew, comprised of sailors from Perth and Sydney, settled in. She joined the Australian 1983 Admiral's Cup team, alongside Bondi Tram and Once More Dear Friends, a Dubois 39-foot minimum rater.
Hitchhiker crosses Bondi Tram during the 1983 Australian Admiral's Cup trials (photo Australia's Yearbook of Sail 1)
Hitchhiker seen here during the 1983 Admiral's Cup, rounding a weather mark behind Canada's Amazing Grace and Charisma V, with Italy's Almagores just visible approaching on port - also visible, although not an Admiral's Cup contender, is the original Jade (K-747) (photo Phil Uhl)
Hitchhiker put in a more solid performance in the 1983 edition of the Admiral's Cup, opening with a very encouraging first place in the opening race, but then dropping off the pace with placings of 23/15/18/29 to finish as 16th yacht in the individual results, behind Bondi Tram (13th) but ahead of Once More Dear Friends (20th), with the Australian team finishing fourth overall.
An epic shot of Hitchhiker during the inaugural Hamilton Island Race Week in 1984
Hitchhiker was transported to the East Coast for the inaugural Hamilton Island Race Week in 1984. In fresh breezes Hitchhiker played the underdog role and won by a mere one point after entering the final race four points behind.
Hitchhiker hoists her spinnaker while Inch by Winch loses hers during the 1984 Hamilton Island Race Week
Later, the beautifully maintained Hitchhiker was again transported 5,000km from Perth, Western Australia, across the bare Nullarbor Plain to Hamilton Island on a semi-trailer, apparently the longest distance in the world to drive a yacht of its size. With his three combined trips to Hamilton Island, in 1984, for the 25th anniversary, in 2008 and 2013 (where she formed part of the "First Fleet" division), Briggs has spent 30,000km on the road transporting Hitchhiker to the world famous regatta.
Hitchhiker during the 2014 Hamilton Island Race Week (photo Charterworld/Andrea Francoli)
“In the old days when we trucked over in ’84 we didn’t have to have a lead car and those sorts of things. Today, there’s a lot of rules and you have to have a car at the front saying ‘vehicle following’ which increases the cost considerably - it’s a big effort,” Briggs said in 2013.
Hitchhiker during the 2008 Hamilton Island Race Week (photo crosbielarimer.com/Sail-world)
Briggs still owns Hitchhiker and maintains her in original condition in Perth. The following video is of Hitchhiker sailing downwind, and giving her crew some white-knuckle moments, during the 2008 Hamilton Island Race Week:
Hitchhiker seen here in a Royal Perth Yacht Club regatta in November 2023 (photo Facebook)
Hitchhiker as seen in April 2024 in her marina at the Royal Perth Yacht Club (photo Facebook)
Winds ranging from 5 knots to 27 knots provided a thorough test of competitors at this year's Coutts Quarter Ton Cup, held in Cowes on 13-15 September. Few teams were able to maintain consistent performance across such a wide range of conditions and for most it was a very high scoring series.
Some of the 2017 Quarter Ton fleet assembled on the hard (above) and in the marina (below) at Cowes
However, Sam Laidlaw's Aguila dominated the front of the fleet throughout the championship and put up an impressively flawless performance on the last day, winning all three races. Laidlaw's team of Brett Aarons, Dan Gohl, Tom Forrester-Coles and Robbie Southwell, finished the series as overall winner, counting just nine points from seven races. Speaking after racing Sam Laidlaw was delighted to have finally got his hands on the legendary Quarter Ton Cup, "I'm really excited, because we've had a number of attempts at this and been in the top three on several previous occasions. The crew have been fantastic. Brett has done a great job of looking after and preparing the boat and has been sailing with me for a long time now. With Dan on the bow, Tom on the jib and Robbie too we've got a very solid team.
Cote approaches the top mark during racing on the second day of the 2017 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup (photo Paul Wyeth)
"We couldn't have had two more different days. It's been a really well run regatta. It was a pity there was no racing on Wednesday, but I think it was the right call. The courses were very good and Rob Lamb did a great job, particularly in getting 4 races in on Thursday which was a real triumph.
The fleet gets underway during the second day of the 2017 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup (photo Paul Wyeth)
"We haven't really made any changes to the boat for this season. We lost our mast in Cowes last year so had to replace that, but otherwise we've just had a lot of time in the boat, working on our crew work and making small tweaks rather than anything major. It's the crew who do all the work, I just sit at the back and steer!"
Winner of the 2017 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup - Aguila (photo Paul Wyeth)
Apart from a shocker in the final race, Ian Southworth's Whiskers also sailed a consistent regatta, counting predominately first and second places to finish in second overall on 14 points. Third overall was taken by Mark Richmond's Cote on 29 points and fourth by Paul Gibbons' Anchor Challenge on 32 points.
Pinguin Playboy - the winning Corinthian entry (photo Paul Wyeth)
Pierre Paris's Pinguin Playboy is the winning Corinthian entry, ahead of Robbie Stewart's Hellaby and Jeff Dakin's Flashheart. As well as the main prize for the overall winner of the Quarter Ton Cup, the event also awards a raft of other prizes. The Roger Swinney trophy for boats other than the winners of the Open and Corinthian Divisions rating lower than 0.910 was won by Whiskers.
Terence Dinmore's Captain Moonlight won the prize for the oldest crew, with a combined age of 334 years, and Willie McNeill's Illegal the youngest (167 years). The oldest bowman, winning the walking stick, is 59-year old Led Pritchard of Whiskers. The concours d'elegance for the best-presented boat went to Lincoln Redding's Lacydon Protis. The report by quartertonclass.org and full results are here. A further review of the series and the differences in racing between the Quarter Ton and Half Ton fleets from the Irish Afloat website is here.
Phoenix was a Fauroux/Finot/Berret design from Beneteau (a development of Fair Lady and sistership of Coyote), and had a starring role in the 1985 Admiral's Cup. She was sailed by Graham Walker and Harold Cudmore, who had actually started their 1985 campaign with Walker's fourth Indulgence, a Daniel Andrieu-designed One Tonner. However, on Indulgence's first offshore race, the RORC's De Guingand Bowl, they sailed too close to Bembridge Ledge and in the early hours of the morning she hit an old shipwreck (the 1916 wreck of the Empress Queen) - while initially the boat seemed sufficiently intact to sail on, further inspection just half an hour later found that the boat was filling up fast. The crew were taken off the boat by other competitors, and the boat was written off. Walkerchartered Phoenix from the boat's owner, an American based in London, and sailed well through the British Admiral's Cup trials. Phoenix joined two other One Tonners, Jade and Panda, to make up the British team for the 1985 series. The boat's owner shared time on the boat with Walker, while Cudmore put together a strong crew, and signed up new British J-24 champion Eddie Warden-Owen to helm the boat.
The sad sight of Indulgence being lifted from the water after her collision with a sunken wreckoff Bembridge Ledge
Phoenix in fresh downwind conditions on the Solent
Hull profile of the Beneteau One Ton design of 1984/85 - the design was relatively short, light, beamy and well-canvassed, and with a high prismatic coefficient
Phoenix
Results in the 1985 One Ton Cup, held in Poole, were perhaps as expected for a crew that were still getting to know the boat, and she finished 13th in a hot 38-boat fleet, including many One Tonners that were using the event as a warm-up for the Admiral's Cup. Her team-mates Jadeand Panda finished first and third. Experience from the One Ton Cup was used to tune Phoenix, with adjustments made to the ballast, deck gear and sails to trade some upwind speed for better reaching and running form.
Phoenix crosses behind Australia's Drakes Prayer in light upwind conditions during the 1985 Admiral's Cup
Phoenix in close company with the much higher rating Almagores (ITA, centre) and Jade (inshore) in the stampede to the finish of the first inshore past Cowes Green during the 1985 Admiral's Cup
Phoenix and Jade finished fourth and fifth in the first race of the 1985 Admiral's Cup, giving the British team the early overall lead in the series. That was short-lived, however, after Panda and Jade finished 29th and 35th in the second race, with only Phoenix able to post a decent place of fifth, and the team slumped to fourth, and Germany jumped into the lead. But they bounced back in the fast and fresh reaching conditions of the third race, the Channel Race - Jade, Panda and Phoenix finished first, second and eighth to bounce back into second overall.
Phoenix in fresh conditions during the 1985 Admiral's Cup (photo is possibly before the start of the Fastnet Race)
While the fourth race, inshore on Christchurch Bay, saw the bigger boats into the leading positions, Phoenix took the race win. While Panda was the winner of the Fastnet, Jade lost her rig and although Phoenix finished fourth to take out the top yacht of the series honours, the German team put in a consistent effort to win the series comfortably.
Port Barcelona comes back into the marina during the 1986 One Ton Cup in Palma de Majorque
Phoenix later became Port Barcelona and finished third in the 1986 One Ton Cup, held in Palma de Majorque (with placings of 4/12/6/5/16/3), and 10th in the 1986 Sardinia Cup (13/15/16/9/11).
Port Barcelona soon after a start during the 1986 Sardinia Cup, with Germany's Diva Gahead and to leeward
So advanced was Hitchhiker’s design and construction, and her performance so competitive for the era, that she was selected to represent Australia at two Admiral’s Cups (1981 and 1983). Briggs commented in 2013 (during preparations for that year's Hamilton Island Race Week) that the reason why Hitchhiker was a great boat in its early days was because it was an all-rounder and was quick in all conditions. 
