New Zealand and the wider sailing world lost one of its great yacht designing talents, Laurie Davidson, this week (4 October 2021). Davidson was a major force in leading edge IOR design in the 1970s and 80s, starting off with his breakthrough Quarter Tonner Fun before going on to find further international success with winning designs in Half Ton, Three-Quarter Ton and One Ton world championships in the 1970s and was a key part of New Zealand's success in international yacht design through into the 1980s and 1990s. He will of course be best remembered for his breakthrough designs for Team New Zealand in their successful 1995 America's Cup challenge and 2000 defence, but created fast and beautiful looking yachts across the whole design spectrum.
Fun - fifth at the 1976 Quarter Ton Cup in Corpus Christi (and fifth again in Helsinki in 1977)
A tribute article can be found on the Yachting New Zealand website here, and some of his famous designs from the IOR era are presented in the gallery below.
Waverider - fourth in the Half Ton Cup in 1977 but went on to win in 1978 and 1979
Laurie inspecting the hull of Pendragon at the 1978 Three-Quarter Ton Cup in 1978 (photo Doug Wardrop)
Pendragonon her way to winning the 1978 Three Quarter Ton Cup
Laurie seen here checking in with the crew of Pendragon following her conversion to a One Tonner and winning the 1979 One Ton Cup (photo Paul Mello)
Pendragon winning the 1979 One Ton Cup (photo Paul Mello)
Stu Brentnall's 46-footer Shockwave at the 1980 Clipper Cup
Quarter Tonner Hellaby, racing at the 1980 Quarter Ton Cup in Auckland
The 38-foot Southern Raiderat the 1982 Clipper Cup (photo John Malitte)
Graeme Woodroffe's 50-footer Jumpin' Jack Flash - although not designed to the IOR (and carrying a high 48.3ft rating), she was New Zealand's top yacht in the 1982 Clipper Cup
Digby Taylor's 51-foot Whitbread yacht Outward Bound during the 1981 New Zealand Admiral's Cup selection trials
Bernard Clay's 50-foot Great Fun during the 1982 Clipper Cup (photoPhil Uhl/Facebook)
Australian 39-footer Szechwan
The One Tonner Canterbury Export formed part of the New Zealand team for the 1985 Admiral's Cup
The 44-footer Pendragon II (1981)
Mad Max (also known as Goldcorp) seen here during the 1985 Southern Cross Cup
One TonnerSwuzzlebubble VIII(ex-Beyond Thunderdome)at the start of the ill-fated 1994 Sydney to Hobart yacht race
Hellaby was designed by Laurie Davidson, for the 1980 Quarter Ton Cup, held in Auckland, New Zealand. She was owned by John Lasher and skippered by Tony Bouzaid, of Waverider fame, and was one of the fastest of the new Quarter Tonners launched for the 1980 series, that included new Bruce Farr designs Anchor Challenge (which won the New Zealand Quarter Ton trials) and Hot Number. Compared to the Farr designs, Hellaby, as a development of Davidson's earlier Quarter Tonners such as Fun, was slightly longer than the Farr boats overall, but with a shorter 'length between girths', and a slightly narrower beam.
Hellaby working upwind during the 1980 Quarter Ton Cup
The new
boats were joined by a number of revamped yachts from the local fleet,
including earlier Davidson yachts such as Bashful,Blackfun, Continental FunandHi-Flyer, and the Whiting Quarter Tonners Strawberry Letter, Smokey Joe and Hatchway Hummer.
Hellaby undergoes some early modifications to optimise her rating under IOR, including bumping of her midship depth
But the local fleet were comprehensively beaten by the Jacques Faroux-designed Bullit,
which at the time demonstrated that European design thinking had
overtaken the New Zealand style of boat, with more of a dish shape, with
less depth and more beam, a longer stern overhang and an ability to surf downwind much more easily than her rivals.
Hellaby follows Bullit around a windward mark during the 1980 Quarter Ton Cup
The moment of truth arrived after the top mark in the first race. Bullit rounded second, behind Australian entry Bashful, but by the wing mark was 38 seconds ahead, and went on to finish a full six minutes ahead of the second placed Hellaby. After a repeat performance in the early stages of the second race, sailed in fresh conditions, one of Bullit's spreaders failed and the crew were forced to reduce sail, letting Hellaby in to win after she overtookAnchor Challengeon the second reach.
Hellaby and Bullit before a race - note Hellaby's name covered to address Rule 26 (sponsorship) issues (photo Peter Montgomery Collection)
Bullit was
able to reinforce her superiority in devastating fashion in the 140
mile intermediate race, where she beat the second placed Hi Flyer (another
Davidson design, and sailed by Helmer Pederson) by almost 47 minutes in
the 24 hour long race. Hi-Flyer managed to beat Hellaby by just 12 seconds. The race was sailed in 15-20 knot winds which
suited Bullit perfectly. She repeated the performance in the
fourth race, steaming away on the reaches and runs after rounding the
first mark in fourth place. Hellaby took second in the fourth race, with Bullit again taking the gun.
Hellaby during the 1980 Quarter Ton Cup
The 220 mile long ocean race was sailed in very fresh conditions, with 40 knot gusts at the start and a forecast that did not provide much hope for an improvement for a fleet faced with two roundings of Channel Island. Again, Bullit set a blistering pace in the initial downwind work, but many of these small boats suffered knockdowns and a nervous, if not scary, time while out in the vicinity of Channel Island. Bouzaid considered the race dangerous, and said they were lucky not to strike wind against tide at Channel Island. Hellaby at one stage submerged completely after gaining high speeds from a number of waves - the boat was white from bow to stern and Bouzaid, standing as far aft as he could get, had water around his knees while gear on the boat began snapping and popping.
Hellaby in Marseilles, 1981
Hellaby during the 1981 Quarter Ton Cup
Hellaby during the first race of the 1981 Quarter Ton Cup
The race was again won by Bullit, despite rig damage, while Anchor Challenge finished second. Hellaby came in third. With the victory in the final race Bullit secured the Quarter Ton Cup for France, with 116.5 points, well clear of Hellaby in second place on 106.25 points, just 0.75 points ahead of Anchor Challenge, while Hot Number finished fourth.
Mädchen at the 1984 Quarter Ton Cup - the winner of the series Comte de Flandre (F-9083) visible to the upper left
Hellaby went on to contest the 1981 Quarter Ton Cup in Marseille, where she finished fifth in a fleet of 31 boats - she was lying second with placings of 1/6/5/3 before the final Mistral-affected final race from which she retired. After that series she was bought by German yachtsman Horst Dietrich who renamed the boat Mädchen. Dietrich contest the 1984 Quarter Ton Cup in Nieuwpoort, where she finished sixth (of 26 boats). Dietrich sold Mädchen after the 1984 Quarter Ton Cup to Danish sailer Bent Folke Larsen, where she finished seventh in the 1985 Cup with a number of wins and a broken mast after a regatta with winds above 25m/s and a fun couple of legs as the only one carrying a spinnaker. Mädchen was replaced by Whopper for 1986 (3rd), and McDonalds which won in 1987. She had a poor regatta in 1990 (finishing 37th, as SCO) and the boat was later bought for a sailing school in Hamburg and renamed Quatro. Dietrich sailed a Judel & Vrolijk design the following years - also called Mädchen, coming in 5th in Cork in 1987.
Mädchenat the 1984 Quarter Ton Cup (photo 1/4 zeilers Facebook page)
Hellaby, prior to her 2016 refit by Robbie Stewart (photo Facebook)
Hellaby was subsequently found in a somewhat worse for wear state and underwent a refit in 2016 by Robbie Stewart and optimised for racing under IRC and in the Quarter Ton Cup revival series.
Hellaby's refit included an updated keel and rudder (photo courtesy of Jon Sturmer)
Hellaby after her refit, with the stern transom filled in - and still sporting her original sponsor's name, a prominent New Zealand meat producer, as well as her original New Zealand registration number (photo courtesy Jon Sturmer)
A revamped Hellaby competing in the 2018 Quarter Ton Cup
Hellaby with a revised paint scheme (more aligned with the original) seen here competing at the 2022 Cowes Week (photo Facebook)
Hellaby (now 'Puffin Hellaby') seen here in the 2026 Bangor Regatta (hosted by the Royal Ulster Yacht Club), where she finished second in IRC 2 (photo Con Murphy | Afloat | Facebook)
These photos are of the Seattle-based Davidson designed One Tonner, Aquila. The owner had previously owned the Lidgard 50 Black Sheep and then bought Aquila that was built by the Cook Brothers in Christchurch, to a similar design as Canterburywhich made the New Zealand team for the 1985 Admiral's Cup. She competed in the 1986 Big Boat series, but while she was reasonably fast she was not sailed well and finished well down the results.
Canterbury started life as Canterbury Export, a new export venture by Canterbury Marine Exports, based in the South Island of New Zealand, to contest the 1985 Admiral's Cup trials. The new yacht was designed by Laurie Davidson, his first properly campaigned IOR boat from his board to be seen in New Zealand for some time. The boat was a stripped-out Kevlar hulled version of Canterbury Marine Export's standard production racer/cruiser which were being sold in the Seattle area of the US, following an earlier boat called Night Rider, and was designed to perform well in Seattle's predominantly light airs.
Although optimised and equipped for top level IOR racing, Davidson commented at the time that Canterbury Export was not designed as an Admiral's Cup contender, rather "she was designed as an IOR hull that would make a nice racer/cruiser. The boat was originally envisaged as a One Tonner to the new One Ton rating (30.5ft), and was 39ft and 3in long. Then it was stretched to 40ft, so the sail area went down a bit. Then we put a big rig on when they said they wanted to try for the Admiral's Cup team. It has all the attributes for light weather."
Canterbury Export at the start of the 1985 Auckland to Tauranga Race
Canterbury Export arrived in Auckland at the last minute, to join a small group of other team hopefuls, the veteran performer Exador, Farr 40 sisterships Epic Lassand Swuzzlebubble V, and the Peterson 43, Barnstorm.
Canterbury Export during the early stages of the 1985 Admiral's Cup trials, with Barnstorm astern
She was skippered by Roy Dickson for the series, with Tom Dodson calling the shots, and by the sixth race of the nine race series looked to have cracked the Farr stranglehold, with excellent light air speed, as her designer had predicted. But the selectors remained unconvinced.
The trials series was closely fought, but Canterbury Export, with her light air speed and general all round ability, and Exadorselected themselves, Although Canterbury Export looked strong in light airs, selectors had some doubts about her ability in stronger winds and so called for another three races before making their decision about the team, while two more races had to be added to the evaluation schedule to determine whether Epic Lass or Swuzzlebubble V would be selected. Epic Lass made the cut, and all three yachts were subsequently repainted in matching livery for their European campaign, which was to include the 1985 One Ton Cup, held in Poole which would provide an excellent shakedown before the Admiral's Cup. Canterbury Export was changed to Canterbury to remove any potential for Rule 26 sponsorship-related protests.
Canterbury Export works her way to windward during the 1985 Admiral's Cup trials
Canterbury joins Epic and Exador (beyond photo) aboard New Zealand Pacific for the journey to Britain (photo Tony Bishop/Sea Spray)
With so many Admiral's
Cup teams fielding One Tonners, the series was well attended with 38 boats from 16 countries, and was very close as a result. Canterbury allayed any fears that she might be off the pace in fresher breezes by proving to be absolutely competitive as her crew warmed to the challenge. Unlike Exador and Epic she kept her nose clean and was tenth on overall points going into the final race - and had her moment of the regatta when she briefly lead the fleet midway through the third race.
Canterbury races downwind during the 1985 One Ton Cup (photo Roger Lean-Vercoe/Sea Spray)
The
final race was held in very fresh conditions, which kept some boats at
their moorings and saw others return after venturing out of Poole
Harbour. Ten minutes before the start, Canterbury's mast buckled under compression while she was manoeuvring under mainsail only. Dickson managed to get the boat across the line for starting points but then brought Canterbury back to the dock. So Canterbury finished the lowest of the New Zealand contingent, at 15th overall after a 6/11/22/13/RTD series. The mast, which had collapsed about three feet above the gooseneck, proved unrepairable. Dickson had to make hasty arrangements for a replacement with the start of the Admiral's Cup only eight days away.
Canterbury in pre-start manoeuvres during the 1985 One Ton Cup (photo Facebook)
After the One Ton Cup the New Zealand team looked good to be one of the frontrunners, along with the powerful British and German teams. The series started well enough for the team, with Canterbury holding her own in the mid-fleet scramble of One Tonners, finishing 17th. Canterbury posted a solid eighth In the fresher but highly variable conditions of the second race, but later came unstuck in the protest room. Canterbury had protested Australia's Intrigue for a mark-rounding incident, but was herself penalised 30%, dropping her to 23rd, although the team retained second place overall behind the new leaders Germany.
Canterbury in the thick of the action at a wing mark during the Christchurch Bay race of the 1985 Admiral's Cup
The third race, the Channel Race, was held in gale conditions with a strong ebbing tide that kicked up a short, vicious sea, and led to many retirements from the fleet. Canterbury finished in 18th place, and the New Zealand team were humbled somewhat by the reaching speed of the British boats in particular, and dropped back to third overall, although British team yacht and One Ton Cup winner Jade lost some points after one of her leeward runner blocks clouted two of Canterbury's crew. Exador had done well to finish tenth after experiencing some mast compression problems.But Canterbury had a disastrous race n the third inshore race, held in Christchurch Bay, finishing 43rd. She made amends somewhat in the Fastnet Race finale, with a 16th, and helping New Zealand to third place overall.
Canterbury seen here to windward and ahead of Canada's 1981-vintage Pachena (Peterson 41) and Brazil's Saga (Farr 40) during the 1985 Admiral's Cup
Canterbury crossing the Shingles Bank during the 1991 Fastnet Race
The speed of the European boats was something of a revelation to the New Zealanders, but the team manager Rob Green was impressed with his team's overall efforts, saying that all three crews "sailed beyond the capability of their yachts".
Canterbury rounding Fastnet Rock during the 1991 Fastnet race
Canterbury was later sold and enjoyed a second career in Irish hands and campaigning with the Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association, winning overall honours in the Association's 1987 season. At around this time she may have been fitted with a new keel of highly elliptical shape and which was very much in vogue by the time of the 1987 Admiral's Cup, as well as a new elliptical rudder.
Canterbury crossing the Shingles Bank during the 1991 Fastnet Race
Canterbury as seen in 2017 in Andijk, Netherlands (photos courtesy @sailingstyle)
She is now looking somewhat uncared for (photo from 2021, Facebook):
Unfortunately, Canterbury fell off its cradle in a storm in winter 2023/24, in the ex-Sietas shipyard in Hamburg Cranz, and has not been touched since.
A video of Canterbury sailing from 2009 can be viewed here:
