Wild Rose (Farr 43)

Congratulations to Roger Hickman and his crew aboard Wild Rose, a 29 year old Farr 43 (rating 1.047 IRC), for their fantastic corrected time victory in the 2014 Rolex Sydney-Hobart race, the 70th edition of this ocean racing classic. Wild Rose finished in a time of 3 days, 7 hours and 4 minutes, and took out her corrected time victory by just 39 minutes from Chutzpah (Reichel Pugh 40), and 45 minutes over third placed Ariel (Beneteau First 40), earning her the coveted Tattersall's Cup. 

Wild Rose on Day 4 of the 2014 Sydney-Hobart race (photo Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi/Daniel Forster_Sydney Hobart 2014)

The silverware does not stop there, however, with Wild Rose also taking out Division 4 IRC honours, as well as the IRC Veterans 20 Years division, and first in ORCi Division 4, and second in ORCi overall (to Ariel).

Wild Rose was originally commissioned by Bob Oatley and christened Wild Oats, the first of his impressive lineage of yachts to carry the name, and there is a nice synergy with the fact that Oatley's 100ft super maxi Wild Oats XI took out line honours for the eighth time in this famous race. Wild Oats (the original) was Design #159 in the Farr design list, and followed the success of Design #151 that had spawned such successful boats as Drake's Prayer, Snake Oil and later New Zealand versions such as Switchblade. The Farr 43 had been conceived in the wake of Farr's very successful One Tonners which dominated the 1983 Southern Cross Cup in Australia, the 1984 Pan Am Clipper Cup and other European contests throughout that year. Wild Oats had been a triallist for the Australian Admiral's Cup team in 1985 (the trials were won by Drake's Prayer), and has gone on to compete in the Sydney-Hobart race many times, winning the race overall on IOR in 1993.

Wild Rose in her original guise as Wild Oats, circa 1985 (photo McConaghy Boats)

Wild Rose appeared on the leaderboard early in the 2014 race, along with two other older and lower rating yachts Quickpoint Azzurro, an IRC-optimised S&S 34 and Maluka of Kermandie, the most unlikely of contenders - 80 years old, gaff rigged and just 9 metres long. These early challengers stumbled in the closing stages and the clock ticked remorselessly on, and the 40 footers Chutzpah and Ariel came in fast to grab second and third. As Sail-World observed, the performance of the smaller yachts this year was testimony to the unusual nature of this year's race. Normally the bigger, faster boats race away from the smaller and heavier displacement yachts, and then when they are safely tucked up in port, a monster southerly front is likely to rip through the back half of the fleet for good measure. This year, however, when southerlies made for a more equal fleet, light weather plagued the bigger boats in Bass Strait while further back fresh northerlies whipped the small yachts along in good time. 

Wild Rose surges towards Hobart (photo Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi_Sail-World)

But the 2014 win was not without its dramas. "We had a massive broach in 30 knots this morning with the spinnaker up," Jenifer Wells, Wild Rose’s navigator reported. "We laid her over a couple of times, broke the steering cable and it was looking very dicey. We got out the emergency tiller and pulled the kite down, repaired the cable and we were back racing in 12 minutes." The boat was soon trucking along again and recording bursts of 20 knots over the ground. 

An extensive interview with Hickman by Geoff Waller of Boats on tv, featuring footage from the race aboard Wild Rose can be seen here.

Wild Rose in an earlier Sydney-Hobart race (photo Rolex Sydney-Hobart.com)

According to the official Sydney-Hobart 2014 website, Hickman has long admired Wild Rose since she was first raced by Oatley. There may be no fiercer or cannier competitor than Hickman in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA). He is famous for driving his boat and crew to the limit. At the conclusion of the 2013 Sydney-Hobart, Wild Rose was crowned Blue Water Pointscore Series (BWPS) champion of the CYCA. She was also in the winning Southern Cross Cup team with Victoire and Patrice, the title riding on the trio's Hobart race results, in which Hickman finished 11th overall for his third consecutive Division 4 win.

Video: Rolex Sydney Hobart Day 5 - Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2014

Hickman’s BWPS season scorecard with Wild Rose reads like a dream: third in the Sydney Gold Coast, followed by consecutive wins in the Flinders, Bird and Cabbage Tree Island races. His worst result for the series was third in the Port Hacking Bird Island race. It was a fifth time in the BWPS winner’s seat - the second as an owner, with Wild Rose. He also claimed the BWPS Cape Byron Series (sailed under ORCi) and the Tasman Performance Series (PHS) of the BWPS. Prior to the 2014 Sydney-Hobart Wild Rose had won Division 2 of the NSW IRC Championship, and one week later was declared winner of Class C in the Australian IRC Championship.

Wild Rose's victory in the 2014 Sydney-Hobart caps off an amazing two years for Hickman and his crew, and demonstrates what can be achieved with an older IOR yacht with good pedigree and constant improvements and optimisation. 

Wild Oats now back to her original name and seen here sailing on Sydney Harbour in May 2024 (photo Facebook)

Wild Oats as seen in October 2025 in preparation for the 2025 Sydney-Hobart race (photo Facebook)

Article updated November 2025

The New Zealand Farr 43s

Switchblade - Southern Cross Cup trials (A Sefton)

This article is about the three Farr 43s that formed the basis of New Zealand offshore campaigns during 1985-87. They were an evolution of Farr's Design #151 that first showed its form through the US yacht Snake Oil at the 1985 SORC, and later that year with Australia's Admiral's Cup yacht Drake's Prayer. 

The 43 footer was conceived in the wake of Farr's very successful One Tonners which had dominated the 1983 Southern Cross Cup in Australia, the 1984 Clipper Cup and European contests throughout the year. According to the Farr design notes, the goal was to produce a larger boat that had the same outstanding upwind and reaching qualities of the Farr's One Tonners in moderate and strong wind conditions, and dramatically strengthen the performance in light running conditions where the One Tonners were consciously trading off in their performance. Tom McCall was quick to see the potential of the design, as he had been with this earlier Farr 40 Exador, and was the first New Zealand yachtsman to commission a new 43 footer, Switchblade.

Switchblade during the 1985 Southern Cross Cup trials (above and below, left)

Switchblade was soon joined by Don St Clair Brown's sistership Thunderbird (below right) as part of an impressive line up to contest the 1985 Southern Cross Cup trials. McCall brought Ray Haslar on to skipper the boat, and stacked the boat with crew from his earlier Exador days, while St Clair Brown's crew included some familiar faces from his older yacht Anticipation. Both yachts used the Feltex Regatta as an initial opportunity for tuning, although Switchblade didn't have an IOR rating until the final race. This was later confirmed at 33.8ft, slightly lower than her predecessor Snake Oil, but half a foot higher than Thunderbird. McCall and Haslar didn't want to do anything drastic to reach parity, McCall opting instead "to work away to get down to 33.6 or 33.5 and then concentrate on sailing to it."

Switchblade made it into the New Zealand 'A' team to spearhead the defence of the Southern Cross Cup, while Thunderbird made it into the 'B' team - this second team made possible by sponsors Fay Richwhite who saw value in exposing three more crews to international competition. Switchblade joined Exador, the two obvious form boats, with Switchblade never finishing out of the top three. Switchblade opened her campaign strongly by taking line and handicap honours in the invitation race, helped by a rating that had been trimmed down to 33.4ft. She went on to enjoy a series-long match race against Thunderbird and Australia's Drakes Prayer. 

In a reversal from the trials series, Thunderbird had the measure of Switchblade, and finished in sixth place overall (2/9/12/2/17) against Switchblade's 13th (3/12/13/7/22). 

Thunderbird (left) and Switchblade arrive at a windward mark during the 1985 Southern Cross Cup

Thunderbird prepares to gybe during the 1985 Southern Cross Cup (photo Alan Sefton)

Switchblade tacks just ahead of New Zealand One Tonner Fair Share at a windward mark

Unfortunately, however, the selectors had chosen Swuzzlebubble V over Mad Max for the A team, and this proved to be a huge error as Mad Max was the star boat of the series and took out the top individual yacht honours, while Swuzzlebubble V was a disappointing 20th. Thunderbird's performance over Switchblade also contributed to the New Zealand B team finishing second, ahead of the New Zealand A team (fourth).

Thunderbird surges down a wave off Sydney during the 1985 Southern Cross Cup (photo Alan Sefton/NZ Yachting)

The unveiling of the modified keel design on Equity

Following the disappointment of New Zealand's Southern Cross Cup effort, attention turned to the 1986 Kenwood Cup. Del Hogg, who had campaigned Pacific Sundance, the fastest of the New Zealand Farr 40's in the 1983 Southern Cross Cup, and the top individual yacht of the series, also commissioned a new Farr 43, named Dollar Equity, for this series. Dollar Equity came off the same Cookson mould as Switchblade and Thunderbird but featured a completely different keel. After feedback from key crew members Peter Lester, Fraser Beer and Richard Macalister, following the 1985 Admiral's Cup, Hogg had Farr review the keel situation. The outcome was a keel that was slightly elliptical in its leading and trailing edges and sported a refined bulb effect at the tip. Dollar Equity was based in Wellington, but moved up to Auckland in February 1986 to begin her build-up again the top IOR yachts of the country, Mad Max, Exador and Thunderbird. McCall meanwhile had elected to put Switchblade up for sale before the Kenwood Cup trials.

The New Zealand Kenwood Cup team Equity andThunderbird (rear), along with Mad Max, prepare to be loaded aboard a ship at the Port of Auckland

Thunderbird during the Southern Cross Cup 1985

The ever consistent Exador was able to shut out Mad Max and the Farr 43s in light airs and flat water during the trials, but Dollar Equity, helmed by Peter Lester, and Thunderbird improved significantly in rougher water and more breeze. Their dominance of the final two evaluation races was a measure of that improvement, and in the end both Farr 43s were selected, along with Exador, for the Hawaiian series. 

After a number of efforts since 1978 to win the regatta, formerly known as the Clipper Cup, this New Zealand team were finally victorious, holding onto its points lead through the last and longest race. It was a close result, and their pre-race lead of 82 points was whittled down to just 12 points, after Exador just managed to wriggle home after joining other smaller yachts in running out of wind before the finish.

Dollar Equity during the 1986 Kenwood Cup

Dollar Equity leads the pack on a reaching leg during the 1986 Kenwood Cup (photo Phil Uhl/Facebook)

Equity rounds a leeward mark during the 1986 Kenwood Cup (photo Phil Uhl/Facebook)

Dollar Equity and Thunderbird were sold to Japanese interests following the 1986 Kenwood Cup (and so did not feature in any New Zealand regatta after this time). Dollar Equity raced in the San Francisco Big Boat Series in 1987, before being sold to Japanese interests where she was renamed Mimi. She then raced in the 1988 Kenwood Cup (27th overall and fourth in Class D) and again in 1990, while Thunderbird became Carrera. Both yachts are understood to have moved to Vladivostok in or about 2005. 

Thunderbird during the 1986 Kenwood Cup

Thunderbird during the 1986 Kenwood Cup (photo Sharon Green|Ultimate Sailing)

Carrera (ex-Thunderbird) sailing in Vladivostok circa 2005 (photo Facebook)

Carrera sporting her original Lidgard Sails-built mainsail and spinnaker (photo Vitaly Gnyubkin | Facebook)

Equity during the 1987 Big Boat Series (photo Phil Uhl)

Switchblade remained unsold by the time of the New Zealand 1987 Admiral's Cup trials, and McCall contemplated contesting the series with Switchblade. In late 1986 she was revamped to boost her rating by a foot to try to make the 34.2ft minimum for the 'big boat' slot in the team. However, following disappointing results with the new set-up it was decided not to carry on with the campaign, as it was felt that a lot more time and money was needed to make the boat competitive at that rating, and even then it could only hope to compete in a narrow range of conditions. In the end, the big-boat slot was taken by a new generation Farr 43, Kiwi.

Mimi (ex-Dollar Equity) in action during the 1988 Kenwood Cup (photo Sharon Green | Ultimate Sailing)

Mimi sailing in Hiroshima, Japan, and below, in 1992 (photos Facebook)

Mimi (left) competing in the Orange Cup Race in 1992, where she finished 16th (Offshore magazine | photo Nobuyuki Hara)

Switchblade was eventually sold to Hong Kong yachtsman Peter Whyte. She formed part of Hong Kong's team for the 1987 Southern Cross Cup series and was changed back to a more competitive rating of 33.84ft, and fitted with a modified keel, new rudder and a new sail wardrobe. Despite these changes she did not have the speed to save her time on the top One Tonners, even in the two inshore races which favoured the bigger yachts. Her series was not helped when officials boarded yachts after the second race and cited Switchblade and US yacht Sidewinder for incorrect measurement figures. Switchblade accepted a 10 percent-of-placings penalty, and went on to finish with a respectable ninth place overall following placings of 14/10/19/9 and a sixth in the Sydney-Hobart finale, helping the Hong Kong team to fourth place overall in the eleven team regatta.

Switchblade comes ashore in a storm in Phuket, November 2013

Switchblade stayed in her new home of Hong Kong, going on to contest regattas in Phuket and the like. Unfortunately, she was washed ashore from her mooring on the south coast of Phuket in a storm in late November 2013, and just before the Kings Cup Regatta, and from the photos it would appear that she was a write-off.   

A sad end for Switchblade - November 2013

Article updated February 2026

Snake Oil (Farr 43)

Snake Oil was a 43ft development of the successful Farr One Tonners which had proven so dominant during 1984. Design 151 was initially commissioned for Australian sailor Peter Kurts of Australia. The design sought to maintain the outstanding upwind and reaching qualities of the One Tonners in moderate and strong wind conditions, and improve speed in light running conditions where the One Tonners had consciously traded off performance. Kurts' new yacht, Drake's Prayer proved the validity of the design by winning the Australian Admiral's Cup trials in 1985. 

The design features were considered ideal for the SORC, and so the same basic design was employed with some minor changes for David Williford's Snake Oil. A review by Yacht Racing and Cruising magazine of the 43 footers that lined up for the 1985 SORC noted that Snake Oil had a displacement of some 2,500lbs less than the average of her competitors, resulting in a DSPL/L (displacement to rated length) ratio of 135, compared to 165/178 for the others.

Snake Oil powers to windward during the 1985 SORC (photo Sail magazine)

At the time the design was conceived the changes to the IOR for November 1984 were not decided, but it was apparent that more stability would be encouraged. Thus, the boat was slightly narrower compared to length with a lower centre of gravity. A narrower stern reduced the yacht's rating, with a more balanced hull form with less wetted surface as a nod towards improved light air performance. On top of this the design featured a large fractional rig, giving a SHR (sail to hull ratio) of 16.1, the maximum allowed before penalties arose under the IOR, and allowed for a competitive rating of 34.1ft. 

Deck layout of Snake Oil - the runner tails were lead forward of the mainsheet to keep the trimmer's weight out of the stern. A tiller was used rather than the wheel that had been adopted for sistership Drake's Prayer

Construction was of Kevlar sandwich around a Nomex core and Kevlar/S Glass framing. Snake Oil was built by Annapolis Custom Yachts, but two hulls had to be built before Williford (as the builder) was satisfied that the exotic matrix with a custom epoxy resin would keep out the Gulf Stream.

She is seen in the photo to the left with Blade Runner off Miami. 

Snake Oil crosses tacks with a competitor during the 1985 SORC

Sailing out of the marina (photo Farr Yacht Design)

Snake Oil (photo Farr Yacht Design)

Snake Oil benefited from having Geoff Stagg (from the Farr office) aboard for the 1985 SORC, who also supervised the deck arrangement and onboard systems. Snake Oil asserted itself as the standout yacht of the series, and looked like taking out overall honours until a parking lot developed in the final race, the 190 mile Miami-Nassau, which  favoured the smaller yachts and turned her 24 point advantage into a 28 point deficit. She finished as the winner of Class 3, and fourth overall, behind a trio of minimum-raters. 

The yacht was new for the series, and improved with every race. Stagg commented "We knew we'd be fast on a reach, but we've surprised a lot of people by being fast upwind and down. No one thought we'd be competitive in the light stuff, and we have been. It just comes down to the fact that Bruce has come up with a fast little boat. Our office has done nine One Ton projects in the last two years, and that's where the action is in the IOR these days." Sail magazine enthused, "The secret ingredients in this cloud-gray rocket with the red-eye lettering on her flanks could well be good crew, maybe great sails, certainly a lighter, leaner fractionally rigged version of the Farr archetype, maybe even her puzzling combination of modified delta keel and elliptical rudder. At any rate, while Snake Oil may not be the last word in speed under the IOR, this winter in Florida waters she convinced a lot of people that she is the latest."

Snake Oil tacks away from Carat and Chiquita during the 1985 SORC (photo Sharon Green Ultimate Sailing)

Rounding a mark during the 1985 SORC

Snake Oil (photo Farr Yacht Design)

Unfortunately Snake Oil could not represent the US in the Admiral's Cup as US management had determined a maximum 33.5ft rating for the 1985 team. She was chartered to Portugese sailors, but without success.

The result by Snake Oil in the SORC was seen as very encouraging for New Zealand, as a number of Farr 43s were being prepared at the time for the 1985 Southern Cross Cup and the 1986 Kenwood Cup.   

Drake's Prayer meanwhile went on to have a disappointing series in the 1985 Admiral's Cup, after having to return to port soon after the start of the Fastnet Race to fix a broken main halyard. She'd also been holed before the regatta after colliding with a buoy while training, and broke a shroud during the Channel Race - little wonder then that she was dubbed Drake's Repair. 

Snake Oil heads to the finish line off Cowes alongside Australia's Challenge III and behind Amazing Grace (Canada) during the 1985 Admiral's Cup

Advertisement for Snake Oil following the 1985 Admiral's Cup

Drake's Prayer during the 1985 Admiral's Cup (photo Farr Yacht Design)

Later (approximately 1998), the boat was donated to and raced by the marine academy in New York and was renamed Christopher Dragon. Sometime not long after that, the mast snapped clean at the deck and was put up for sale. She was bought by a Florida yachtsman and given back her original name. Farr was contacted to design a new mast compatible with her proposed use as a cruiser, but one that would not affect her original design integrity. The interior was rebuilt over three years, and the boat refurbished and painted red, and in 2003 she sailed from Florida to the South Pacific and back to the US in 2006.  

Snake Oil in impeccable condition during her South Pacific cruise, circa 2005

Snake Oil was seen more recently in Pittwater, Australia, and as at December 2013 was advertised for sale. 

Snake Oil, 2013