Police Car - Two Ton Cup 1979

This post features another superb set of photographs by Guy Gurney, this time of the legendary Australian yacht Police Car, a Dubois 42-footer, while she was competing in the Two Ton Cup held in Poole on 24-28th July 1979. The photos, which show off Police Car's striking hull graphics to great effect, were taken on the second and windiest day of the Two Ton Cup, which she won, but later suffered a controversial protest by the Argentinian yacht Sur. The series was otherwise a generally light-air affair that was not Police Car's forte and she finished  in fourth place overall, behind the French yacht Gitana VII (Frers), Sur (Frers) and Great Britain's Winsome Gold (Dubois).  

Police Car sails downwind during the 1979 Two Ton Cup (photo Guy Gurney)

Police Car sails downwind during the 1979 Two Ton Cup (photo Guy Gurney)

Police Car sails downwind during the 1979 Two Ton Cup (photo Guy Gurney)

Police Car sails downwind during the 1979 Two Ton Cup (photo Guy Gurney)

Police Car sails downwind during the 1979 Two Ton Cup (photo Guy Gurney)

The Two Ton Cup was held just prior to that year's Admiral's Cup where Police Car revelled in the fresher breezes of that series and formed an integral part of the Australian team's victory (alongside Impetuous and Ragamuffin).

For more about the history of Police Car (and her current whereabouts) see this earlier article here.

Admiral's Cup 1979 - the film

A film of the 1979 Admiral's Cup has recently surfaced on YouTube - it provides excellent coverage of this event that was contested by 19 teams, and features a mix of onboard, aerial and close-up footage.  

For more on the 1979 edition of the Admiral's Cup readers of this blog might also enjoy the following articles:

* Photos from the first race (by Sharon Green)

* Photos from the second race (by Sharon Green) 

* A feature on Jonathan Eastland's photos of the regatta here and more of his photographs here and of the Hong Kong yacht Vanguard during the second inshore race

* Articles on  Big Shadow, Eclipse, Imp, Police Car and Red Rock IV

* A feature on the Italian team for 1979 

* A video about the tragic storm-afflicted 1979 Fastnet Race 

The videos below are from Cowes Week 1979, held the week prior to the Admiral's Cup:

Admiral's Cup 1979 - Part 3

This selection of photographs by renowned photographer Sharon Green were taken during the 1979 edition of the Admiral's Cup and featured recently on the Sharon Green/Ultimate Sailing Facebook page. Sharon has kindly allowed me to reproduce her photos here - this second set are those that appear to be in the fresher conditions experienced in the second race of the series (2 August 1979), an inshore 28.5-miler. The breeze was up from the first race with the official results recording winds of force 4-6 gusting to 7, and the spring tides running with more vigour. The wind angle enabled use of the Royal Yacht Squadron's line for the start of a long uphill climb to the Delta buoy off Lymington. Ireland had a strong showing in this race, with the Holland 40 Regardless taking first place and her bigger Holland team-mate Golden Apple of the Sun taking second, but overall honours for the day went to Australia, with Police Car, Impetuous and Ragamuffin taking third, fourth and ninth. 

Startline action with Argentina's Red Rock IV to leeward of Germany's Rubin, with Williwaw (blue bow) appearing to tack away

Rubin leads Eclipse and Imp (US-8990) with spinnakers and bloopers set

Australia's Ragamuffin thunders down the Solent with a fully powered spinnaker and blooper

Britain's Blizzard which is remembered in this race for a catastrophic navigation error when she headed off to the wrong mark halfway through the race, giving up a winning position and plummeting to a lowly 42nd place

Sweden's Midnight Sun, a Holland 50 rolls downwind, on her way to 28th in this race

Midnight Sun continues her roll as she passes by the photographer's boat - this may be shortly before another famous photograph of this yacht which can be seen here

Belgium's Indigo sailing upwind and on her way to 24th place

Above and below: Rubin (26th in this race) follows Canada's Magistri (52nd) and Australia's Impetuous (fourth)

A close up of the Evergreen crew as they work their way to windward (46th in this race) - note the bank of hydraulic switches used to control the complex rig

The Dubois Two Tonner design Winsome Gold (a British yacht sailing for Brazil) begins a calamitous broach on the flat run - Evergreen can be seen in the distance in the process of dousing her blooper

Things start to get worse for Winsome Gold....(above and below)

Just before the crash gybe... (there is a missing shot between her round up to port and subsequent round down and the next image)

Note the S-bend in the rig just after the gybe

Endgame for Winsome Gold, with quite a mess to be sorted - the broach and resulting damage to her rig forced her retirement from the race and the rest of the series

Midnight Sun sails upwind

Spanish yacht Campsa (the earlier Midnight Sun) puts her bow down on her way to finishing 14th in this race, with Golden Apple of the Sun (right, 2nd) and Jan Pott (20th) alongside

Holland's Formidable (18th) sails downwind with spinnaker and blooper in perfect trim

Other photographs from the second race can be seen in 'Part 1' here with other photos of the series available by clicking the 'Admiral's Cup 1979' label below.

Article dated September 2020

Admiral's Cup 1979 - Part 2

This selection of photographs by renowned photographer Sharon Green were taken during the 1979 edition of the Admiral's Cup and featured recently on the Sharon Green/Ultimate Sailing Facebook page. Sharon has kindly allowed me to reproduce her photos here - this first set are those that appear to be in the relatively moderate conditions experienced in the first race of the series (1 August 1979), an inshore 30-miler. A second gallery will follow in a future post and feature a little more white water and occasional mishaps as the breeze freshened for the second inshore race. 

British yacht Eclipse (Peterson 39) finished eighth in the first race (of 57 yachts) before going on to be the top individual yacht of the series

The star performer in 1977, the Holland design Imp was back again for the US in 1979, finishing 12th in the first race (and third overall)

The big boat of the British team, the 51 foot Frers designed Blizzard stretched out to win the first race comfortably 

The Official History of the Admiral's Cup (Timothy Jeffery) comments on the first race that "the new inshore race was given a proper committee boat start near Peel Bank (see image below). [Dennis] Connor brought Williwaw off the line beautifully, but Blizzard soon tramped away on a course that suited power, with long beats against the tide. The Hong Kong pair of Uin-na-Mara and Vanguard showed well and Eclipse kept her nose in front of Imp. Impressively, Blizzard saved her time to win by [four minutes] on corrected time, but Hong Kong stood at the head of the leader board for the first time.

Start of the first race

Seymour Sinett's 45-foot Peterson designed Williwaw, part of the second placed US team (second in this race), ahead of Formidable (18th)

The Dubois-designed 45-footer Uin-na-Mara IV from Hong Kong, on her way to fourth place in the first race

 Indigo, the top performer in the last placed team from Brazil (19th in the first race) - Pinta (sailing for Belgium, and who later retired from the race) and Vanguard (Hong Kong) can be seen in the background

Incisif (Belgium), later penalised and dropping to last place, crosses behind Germany's Tina I-Punkt and Canada's Magistri

The Holland designed 44-footer Golden Apple of the Sun, sailing for Ireland, on her way to sixth in the first race

The Peterson 43 footer Yena, powers upwind on her way to 11th place

Bloppers flying, Hong Kong's Pantera III (Hong Kong) chases Indigo (Brazil) and team-mate Uin-na-Mara IV 

Syd Fisher's 45-foot aluminium Peterson design Ragamuffin formed part of the winning Australian team (13th in the first race)

Italy's Vanina (left) leads a group of yachts on a reaching leg, with Eclipse down to leeward

Other photos from the series can be seen in 'Part 1' here, and by clicking on the 'Admiral's Cup 1979' label below.

Bloopers are back!

From Scuttlebutt USA (15 March 2016 edition):

The 2016 edition of the Offshore Racing Rule (ORR) rating system has been released, with a change that has now made bloopers legal for boats built during the era of bloopers. This was a concern about ORR for many older boats, and ORR has found a way to properly rate them and have thus made them legal.

Italian yacht Vanina (later Gauntlet) leads the charge of blooper-wielding yachts during the 1979 Admiral's Cup

ORR – 2015 Edition
4.01 Bloopers.
Bloopers are prohibited. When a spinnaker is set, no jib shall be tacked in such a way as to cause or permit the luff or forward edge of that sail to lie outside of the spinnaker or spinnaker sheet and, when a spinnaker is set, no sail shall be sheeted to the main boom except the spinnaker itself.

Bloopers tended to keep the bowman busy!

ORR – 2016 Edition
4.01 Bloopers.
The intent of this section is to allow bloopers on boat’s where they were once popular and in the way they were flown. If bloopers generate a pronounced speed benefit, that benefit will be properly assessed and rated in future versions of ORR. All of the following shall apply to boats rating with bloopers:

a) Bloopers are only permitted on boats with an age or series date earlier than Jan 1, 1985.
b) Bloopers are only allowed on boats rated with a spinnaker pole, and not with a bowsprit.
c) Bloopers must measure in as a headsail, since two spinnakers cannot be flown at the same time other than when changing. The LP of the blooper shall not exceed 150% of rated J. The half width must be no greater than 50% of the foot. The luff of the blooper shall not exceed the luff of the largest headsail for which the boat is rated. The tack pennant for a blooper shall not exceed 2.5 feet and must be tacked aft of the forward end of J.
d) The blooper shall be counted as headsail for purposes of the limit on number of headsails carried while racing.

All we need now are some old sailmakers that still know how to make bloopers. For more information on the 2016 ORR… click here.

Bloopers fly during the 1983 Australian Admiral's Cup trials (left to right: Revelation, Too Impetuous and Impetuous)

Bloopers came onto the scene during the 1971 Southern Cross Cup series, when New Zealand's Wai Aniwa hoisted a light air no.1 genoa outside the spinnaker (here). The resulting protest was dismissed, and overnight the blooper became an indispensable part of the IOR racing wardrobe before falling out of favour in the early to mid-1980s.
They may have been detested by some sailors, but they made for some great photographs!

Bravura during the 1984 SORC (photo Larry Moran)

Lady Be (sailing for New Zealand) leads Scarlett O'Hara (US) during the 1983 Admiral's Cup, by which time the use of bloopers was starting to wane (photo NZ Yachting/Alan Sefton)

The Legend of Imp

A new video has been released by William Barton featuring a collection of great photos of Imp, the Holland 40 footer that scored a number of memorable firsts in offshore racing in 1977 - the SORC, Admiral's Cup and Big Boat Series. 



Barton has written a book called "The Legend of Imp", and the link to buy the book can be found at the end of an earlier article about Imp on this site here.

Big Shadow (Peterson 42)

Thanks to Swedish yachtsman Peter Staberg for these photos of the Admirals Cup yacht Big Shadow, a 42 footer designed by Doug Peterson and built by Baltic Yachts in Finland in 1978 (a production design known as the Baltic DP42). Big Shadow, skippered by S Bjerser, represented Sweden in the 1979 Admiral's Cup, alongside her more famous team-mates Victor Forss' Carat and Midnight Sun (J Pehesson). Big Shadow had a disappointing series, with placings of 33/31/23/41 before retiring with rudder damage in the tragic storm-tossed Fastnet Race. Although Carat and Midnight Sun managed to finish the Fastnet, weak performances during the previous races meant that the Swedish team finished a lowly 15th overall (of 19 teams).

Big Shadow sailing downwind during the 1979 Admiral's Cup, with Brazil's Indigo just ahead and Australia's Impetuous to windward (photo courtesy Peter Staberg)

Big Shadow again seen sailing downwind alongside Schuttevaer, another Peterson 43ft design (Doug Peterson Tribute Page)

Earlier in the year Big Shadow had competed in the 1979 SORC (carrying a rating of 33.1ft IOR).

Big Shadow in cold conditions off Florida during the 1979 SORC (photo Phil Uhl)

The Baltic DP42 was based on the lines of the successful Peterson designed Serendipity 43's (Design #77) such as Acadia, Lousiana Crude and Scarlett O'Hara. The hull of the DP42 was shorter by just inches, but otherwise featured the same powerful stern (in 1978 terms) for reaching performance, a fine entry for upwind performance and flat bilges for form stability and reduced drag. Baltic made some other modifications to suit production objectives, including a full, custom-designed interior and a wider fin keel (to accommodate a sump). Big Shadow was the prototype of the DP42, with a racing deck layout rather than the more cruising-oriented cabin provided on the production versions.

A US version of the Baltic DP42, Adrenaline (photo Larry Moran)

Big Shadow's home port is Gothenburg and today is used only for cruising in Scandinavia.

Big Shadow sailing in 2014 (photo courtesy Peter Staberg)

Article updated May 2024

Red Rock IV (Frers 43)

Red Rock IV (photo Beken - sample sheet)

Red Rock IV is a 43 footer (rating 34.4ft IOR), designed by German Frers and built by Marland Marine for owner E Mandelbaum to form part of the Argentinian team to compete in the 1979 Admirals Cup. She sailed in the series alongside team-mates Acadia and Sur II - Acadia having missed a place in the US team. 

The 1979 series was windy throughout, and after placings of 31/25/38/17 in the inshore and Channel races, Red Rock IV went on to finish 6th in the storm lashed Fastnet Race of that year (to finish 15th yacht overall, and top yacht in the fifth placed Argentinian team).

Red Rock IV seen here passing behind Indulgence and Yeoman during the first inshore race in the 1979 Admiral's Cup (photo Sharon Green | Ultimate Sailing)

Red Rock IV seen here to windward of top Australian yacht Police Car

Red Rock IV featured on the cover of Argentinian yachting magazine 'Gente'

Red Rock IV is now owned by English yachtsman Rob Newman in her new home port of Portishead, Bristol Channel. Newman has extensively modified this big heavy yacht for single handed sailing, and in 2014 he competed in the Celtic Challenge, the Solo Offshore Racing Club's signature event for the season which started from Falmouth and finished in Plymouth. The Celtic Challenge comprised five races up to 310 miles long, taking in the Southern Irish ports of Kinsale, Sherkin Island, Bear Island and Dingle, and included a rounding of one of the most well known of offshore racing turning marks, Fastnet Rock.

Red Rock IV sailing in the Celtic Challenge 2014

The Celtic Challenge also formed a qualifying event for the even bigger challenge of the 2015 AZAB (Azores and back) race, which Newman has also entered. He reports that Red Rock IV performed fantastically well in South Irish sea, and his video footage shows that he is able to sail this big boat downwind with apparent ease (and time to film!), even though she was originally designed to be handled with a full crew and still retains some of those IOR rolling tendencies. 

Red Rock IV sailing downwind in the South Irish sea (photo Rob Newman)

Update July 2015: Newman has finished the 2015 AZAB race, and his race is nicely documented in the two YouTube videos below, that cover each leg of the race. Newman also reports that:

"My strategy was not to push too hard and to get there and back without any major problems. I pushed a little harder on the return leg and did better as a result, but completing the race was more important for me than position. As is the case with many races, making the start-line can be difficult, and so it was in my case. My original insurer didn't want to cover the race so a new insurer meant a new survey and an extra list of work to do. The boat was in great condition but my polars and calibrations could have been better. For future races I will definitely get my polars and sail crossover better organised.

I thought my IRC handicap of 1.063 was quite tough for single handed but it didn't affect the way I sailed or thought about the race. I would be keen to know the IRC handicaps of any similar aged Two Tonners. I'm keen to do AZAB again and perhaps the round Britain and Ireland (double handed)."

 
Newman adds that the organisation of the race was fantastic and great thanks to the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club and Club Navale in Ponta Delgada.