Laurie Davidson (1926 - 2021)

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)

Pendragon on 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 Raider at 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 (photo Phil 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 Tonner Swuzzlebubble VIII (ex-Beyond Thunderdome) at the start of the ill-fated 1994 Sydney to Hobart yacht race

Coutts Quarter Ton Cup 2016

The 2016 edition of the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup was held on 15-17 June in Cowes, and was won by Louise Morton and her crew aboard Bullit, whose name will now be engraved on the trophy for the fourth time, a record only equalled by her husband Peter Morton. The podium for the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup 2016 is completed by second placed Blackfun, designed by Laurie Davidson for the 1980 Quarter Ton Cup in Auckland where she finished 8th, which was helmed this year by 2007 Etchells World Champion Oscar Strugstad who got a late call up to stand in for owner Tony Hayward; and Sam Laidlaw’s Aguila, which was designed by Rolf Vrolijk, in third.  Below is a gallery of photographs (by Fiona Brown) that capture some of the close racing in the event, and some of the thrills and spills of the first day when the breeze was on.

Illegal leads (right to left) Anchor Challenge, Bullit and Blackfun during a race on day one

Illegal (5th overall) comes to grief on a downwind leg during blustery conditions on day one

The distinctive curved sheer of the Joubert Nivelt design Whiskers (4th overall), to windward of Blackfun, on day one

The Jacques Fauroux design Tiger (11th overall)

Another Fauroux design, Cobh Pirate, sets its spinnaker skyward on day one (13th overall)

The winner of the 2016 Quarter Ton Cup Bullit (with Hellaby in the background)

A packed startline on day two

The revamped Laurie Davidson and ex-New Zealand Quarter Tonner Hellaby (above and below) - Hellaby finished 16th overall

Quarter Tonners at the Vice-Admiral's Cup 2016

12 Quarter Tonners lined up for the 2016 RORC Vice-Admiral's Cup (20-22 May), including the top four teams from 2015. Sam Laidlaw's Aguila was back to defend last year's final race win, along with last year's runner up, Rickard Melander's Alice II, as well as Tony Hayward's Blackfun and Louise Morton's Bullit (third and fourth respectively last year).

Louise Morton's Bullit, early leader of the Quarter Ton division in the 2016 Vice-Admiral's Cup (photo RORC/Paul Wyeth)

Day 1

Bullit placed third in the first race and went on to win the last two races to lead the Quarter Tonner Class ahead of Sam Laidlaw's Aguila. Blackfun was third.

"We had a really good day today despite the tricky conditions with wind against tide and breaking our pole in the first race was not ideal" commented Morton. "We did have a couple of wipe-outs but we were not alone, Quarter Tonners can be a handful downwind. Well done to Stuart Childerley and his team for getting six classes off for three good races each, I am sure the race committee was as tired as us by the end of the day."

Windward mark action in the Quarter Ton division at the RORC Vice-Admiral's Cup (photo Rick Tomlinson/Sailing Anarchy)

Day 2
Bullit started of the second day of racing with a bullet and a second to take a firm grip on the class, but was adjudged over the line at the start of the last race of the day and having restarted correctly slipped to ninth place. Bullit still leads the class but only by a single point from Sam Laidlaw's Aguila. Tony Hayward's Blackfun remains in third. Rickard Melander's Alice II is fourth having scored two podium finishes today and Eric Reynolds' Magnum Evolution won race five to end the day in fifth position.

Joker bashes her way upwind on Day 2 of the Vice-Admiral's Cup (photo Rick Tomlinson/1/4 ton zeilers Facebook page) 

"Bullit is going well but we can still catch her" commented Aguila's Brett Aarons. "Bullit is a bit larger than Aguila, so she goes a bit better in the heavier air but tomorrow looks to be a bit lighter, so we definitely have a chance. The standard of racing in the Quarter Ton fleet is as good as it gets in the Solent. The boats may be old but a lot of time is spent getting them into perfect condition, and as we sail at about the same speed, it is just like one design racing."

Bullit in action on Day 2 of the Vice-Admiral's Cup (photo RORC/Rick Tomlinson)

Day 3
Aguila won the very last race to take the series by a half point. Aguila, designed by the German design duo Judel/Vrolijk in 1990, was helmed by Sam Laidlaw; all of his crew, from the Isle of Wight, were not born when the boat was built. Bullit had led the regatta from the first day and agonisingly lost the title by just half a point.

Aguila on her way to winning the Quarter Ton division of the 2016 Vice-Admiral's Cup (photo RORC/Rick Tomlinson)

"Very tough close racing" summed up Laidlaw. "I felt that we were capable of beating them in both races but if it hadn't been for Magnum Evolution getting between us, we would have lost by half a point, so we were very fortunate in that respect. This fleet produces really close racing, which is also good fun and bodes well for the Quarter Ton Cup."

The immaculate Aguila, winner of the 2016 Vice-Admiral's Cup Quarter Ton division - seen here during the 2016 RORC Easter Challenge (photo RORC/Paul Wyeth)

Hellaby (Davidson Quarter Tonner)

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 Fun and Hi-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 overtook Anchor Challenge on 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.

Mädchen at 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)

Article updated July 2026