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

Waverider (Davidson Half Tonner)

Waverider is perhaps New Zealand's most famous IOR yacht, and one of the most successful level rating yachts of the IOR era. Waverider was designed by Laurie Davidson in 1976 for Tony Bouzaid, and accomplished dinghy sailor at the time (brother of Chris Bouzaid of Rainbow II fame) who had also enjoyed success locally in an earlier Davidson design Half Tonner Blitzkreig.  

The design for Waverider followed the theme established in Davidson's earlier Quarter Tonner Fun (see earlier post, October 2012), with light displacement of just 5,200lb and utilising a centreboard (of 250lb, with a draft of 6ft) and a hefty amount of internal ballast (2,600lb), an approach that had proved successful both by Fun and, on a heavy displacement platform, by the Britton Chance One Tonner Resolute Salmon. The major difference to Fun was in the hull design, which was narrower (10ft 1in) with less depth forward than the Bruce Farr and Paul Whiting boats of the era. By having less beam Davidson believed the yacht would have less inclination to get out of balance in fresh conditions and would not lift its stern or bury its bow when overpowered. She also featured flared topsides to provide greater righting moment from the crew.

Waverider under construction at John Rea's yard

 The stern shape was similar to Fun, being wide and low, with a long sloping transom which met the long flat stern buttock lines which extended beyond the trademark crease at the after girth station measurement point. Where other designs utilised a double curve in the run aft around the after girth and after inner girth stations, Davidson's approach was to round the run up quite suddenly, leading it straight up to the flat of the counter. This overhang, which stretched the yacht out to 31ft 6in length overall, provided power and sailing length upwind, and encouraged early surfing downwind. Waverider looked small due to her distinctively low freeboard. This characteristic made the cabin appear more prominent. Waverider was expertly built by John Rea in light timber, with two veneers of just 9mm over many stringers and frames.

Waverider on a tight spinnaker reach during the 1977 New Zealand Half Ton Cup trials (photo Jenny Green)

Waverider joined the Farr designed centreboarders Gunboat Rangiriri and Swuzzlebubble as the stand-out performers in the 1977 New Zealand Half Ton trials, and these three fought out an incredibly close series (see earlier Gunboat Rangiriri post). In the middle distance ocean race, the three yachts finished within three boat lengths of each other. Waverider won the fourth race by just 11 seconds, but her chance to win the series came adrift when she had to retire from the long ocean race finale with a broken rudder.

Waverider leads Gunboat Rangiriri during the New Zealand Half Ton trials (photo John Malitte)

Waverider being loaded aboard a ship for Sydney (photo John Malitte)

All three yachts were shipped to Sydney for the 1977 Half Ton Cup, where they were joined  by other top centreboarders, including the Australian Farr design 2269 and the Ron Holland design Silver Shamrock III. Waverider was re-masted before the series as the original rig had proved to be too heavy and soft. The new spar was unsleeved, while the 'P' dimension was increased and the boom raised to give more bending moment at the top of the mast. 

Waverider scored consistent places throughout the series of 2/3/1/3, giving her a chance to win the Cup in the 250 mile ocean race finale. Although Silver Shamrock III won, Gunboat Rangiriri finished in second, which was enough to win the Half Ton title, by just one point.  Although Waverider was in contention they missed a crucial windshift on the second night and crossed the line in a lowly ninth place, to finish fourth overall for the series.

Sailing downwind to victory in the 1978 Half Ton Cup, Poole (photo Seahorse)

Photo courtesy Jonathan Eastland

After the introduction of new requirements for centreboarders meant that some alterations were required to Waverider to keep her in class for the 1978 Half Ton Cup to be sailed in Poole, England. This involved shortening the centreboard, and further reducing its weight. Other changes were made to her rig. With its return to Europe, the 1978 series was something of a high-water mark in IOR level rating events, with a fleet of no less than 50 yachts, a significant contrast to both the previous editions of the championship. 

The regatta finally bought success to Bouzaid's Half Ton campaign. Waverider stamped her mark on the fleet in the first race, the only one to feature any breeze, but she didn't have it all her own way in the subsequent races, entering the final ocean race with only the narrowest of leads over Phil Crebbin's Indulgence, after placings of 1/8/3/2. The final race was sailed in the lightest of winds, back and forth across the English Channel, and Bouzaid and his crew of Helmer Pedersen, John Sumitch, John White and Tony Basadone sailed brilliantly to win the race convincingly, and defend the Cup for New Zealand.

Sailing upwind during the 1978 Half Ton Cup

Bouzaid was determined to defend his title, and kept Waverider in Europe before transporting her to Scheveningen, Holland, for the 1979 series. By then further changes to the IOR, bought on as a reaction to the light displacement revolution spearheaded by Farr, Davidson and Paul Whiting, had taken effect, and like Waverider required extensive surgery to bring her into class for the series. This involved much padding and filling out of the hull and more ballast to increase her displacement, and the placement of weight for'ard, while the centreboard had to be pinned in place.  The advantage for the lightweights had been removed, but they were still some of the quickest yachts that year. Waverider started and finished the series strongly, but her series was marred by a disastrous 21st in the short offshore race. The crew bounced back to win the fourth race, and then the final offshore race to win the Half Ton Cup for the second time.

Waverider during the 1979 Half Ton Cup (photo courtesy of Jonathan Eastland archives)

Waverider during the 1979 Half Ton Cup (photo Facebook)

Waverider never made it back to New Zealand and was sold in Europe, and still campaigns successfully today under Belgian ownership and races in the reinstated Half Ton Cup (sailed in various European venues) which is now raced under the IRC rule.

Waverider competing in the 2009 Half Ton Cup

Fairing work on  the underside of Waverider's long counter (photo Halfton Class Europe)

Waverider, May 2012

It is understood that Waverider was severely damaged in about 2015, when a crane fell and tore off the transom. The boat was declared wrecked and was bought by the Florizoone family to be renovated. She was later registered for the Half Ton Classics Cup in 2018.

Waverider after her transom was torn off (photo Facebook)

Waverider as seen in August 2024 (photo Facebook)

Article updated September 2024

Newspaper Taxi (Whiting Half Tonner)

Newspaper Taxi was designed by Paul Whiting in 1976 with an eye towards a challenge for the Half Ton Cup, to be sailed out of Sydney in December 1977. Newspaper Taxi was a development of Whiting's earlier Half Tonner Candu II, and was designed to take account of  the November 1976 changes to the IOR, the first in a tranche of rule amendments that sought to check the emerging trends in the New Zealand-style of yacht of light displacement and wider sterns. 

Newspaper Taxi on launching day - Westhaven, Auckland

 The broad aft sections of Newspaper Taxi were therefore designed to mitigate the new penalties in this area, and were offset in part by a shortening of the yachts' length between girths, and the forward depth measurement was pushed to the limit. A shortening of measured length allowed for an increase in sail area, yielding a better all-round yacht than Candu II.

The most obvious difference from Candu II was that Newspaper Taxi was a centreboarder. The advantages of this concept had been demonstrated by Resolute Salmon in the 1976 One Ton Cup, and Fun had provided more evidence of this at the Quarter Ton Cup as well.  The centreboard weighed only 92kg, and the boat otherwise relied on internal ballast and crew weight for stability. 

The engine was also designed for rating advantage - the 12hp diesel was positioned for'ard of the mast and slightly to port so that the shaft could clear the centrecase.

While Whiting chased everything possible regarding hull shape and appendages, Murray Ross pursued rig developments and new handling techniques and gear, with the same careful attention to detail that Ross had employed so successfully on the Quarter Tonner Magic Bus.

Showing her windward form in light airs, Half Ton Championship, Auckland 1977 (J Malitte)

The Whiting/Ross led team aboard Newspaper Taxi went on to produce a near flawless performance in the South Pacific Half Ton Championships held in April 1977 and hosted by the Royal Akarana Yacht Club. The series featured a wide cross-section of Half Ton designs, with 20 boats entered, the product of ten different designers, and only three boats had competed in the previous year's contest. 

A clear lead at the wing mark in the NZ 1977 series (J Green)

Newspaper Taxi asserted a demonstrable speed advantage in all conditions, combined with immaculate boat handling. She won four of the five races, losing first place in a close tussle with the custom Farr 920 Cotton Blossom which jumped on a rare tactical error by Ross in the fourth race.

While Newspaper Taxi had been designed and built with the 1977 Half Ton Cup in mind (Sydney), the Whiting/Ross team elected to contest the One Ton Cup to be held in Auckland in November 1977. Newspaper Taxi was sold to an Australian yachtsman and finished in 10th place in the Half Ton Cup, behind near sistership Magic Dragon, with placings of 10/11/8/8/DNF.

Newspaper Taxi undergoing a self-righting test ahead of the 1977 Half Ton Cup in Sydney (photo Facebook)

At the Half Ton Cup - Sydney, Australia (December 1977)

Unfortunately, Newspaper Taxi later sank during the 1995 edition of the Three Peaks Race (Launceton, Tasmania, to Hobart), after losing her rudder off Cape Tourville on the outside of Freycinet Peninsula. According to the owner at that time (see comments below), the rudder stock snapped at the weld point above the hull line and tore the stern tube out. The crew took to a liferaft and were later rescued by the tanker Island Gas which had been diverted to the scene, and Newspaper Taxi now lies at a depth of 60m.  

Blackfun (Davidson Quarter Tonner)

Blackfun was a Laurie Davidson Quarter Ton design, a development of his earlier centreboarder Fun that had impressed so much in Corpus Christi in 1976. The hull was the first of a production line version (in fibreglass) of Fun, but her lines had been modified to address changes to the IOR in 1976 (IOR Mk IIIA), which included a more pronounced step in the bustle, and slightly less sail area than Fun. She also sported a larger centreboard, which seemed to further improve her windward performance.

Blackfun was launched just in time for the 1977 Quarter Ton national championships, leaving little time before the regatta for tuning. In fact, 20 minutes before the start of the first race the crew (lead by Roy Dickson and including Barry Thom, Herb Tremaine, the yacht's builder, and Peter Jordan) were still screwing down fittings, and the boat featured a white 'primer only' paintjob. Nevertheless, the boat finished that race with a third place, and then went on to win the remaining four races to take the New Zealand title in emphatic fashion. Although she displayed better boat speed than her competitors, it was only on the final race that the crew felt that the boat was finally ready to race.

Blackfun competing in the 1977 New Zealand Quarter Ton series (DB Yachting Annual 1977)

 While the result was a triumph for the Blackfun crew and her designer, this was tempered by the fact that the necessary funds couldn't be raised to send Blackfun to the Quarter Ton Cup in Finland to defend the title for New Zealand, following the win by Magic Bus in 1976, and  by 45 South in 1975.

Sailing downwind in the 1980 Quarter Ton Cup (Sea Spray)

Blackfun did, however, go on compete in a Quarter Ton Cup, when it was hosted by the Panmure Yacht and Boating Club in 1980. By this stage she had in turn been outclassed by the newer yachts that were designed for this series, including Davidson's new design Hellaby and Farr's Anchor Challenge and Hot Number. However, all the local yachts were eclipsed by the French flyer, the Faroux design Bullit, and Blackfun finished ninth overall.

In PHRF mode

She went on to sail in local races, and was given some modifications by Peter Loughlin to increase her overall speed, once IOR considerations were no longer relevant, including a masthead spinnaker and bulb keel.

Blackfun was eventually bought by a Wellington group, headed by Brett Linton and Jamie McDowell, who were keen to have a crack at the Quarter Ton Cup that had seen something of a revival in Europe. Davidson guided the new modifications, with the stern sections faired out, a new rig with non-overlapping headsail, and a bulb keel. The yacht was optimised to sail at the maximum IRC rating under which the regatta is now sailed (TCF of 0.920). So the yacht finally made her European debut 34 years on for the 2011 Quarter Ton Cup where she finished in tenth place against a fleet of highly competitive Quarter Tonners.

Blackfun in her new IRC configuration before being shipped to England for the 2011 Quarter Ton Cup

After the 2011 series she was sold to an English yachtsman Rob Gray, who carried out some further modifications that made Blackfun a bit faster relative to her rating, including a new keel, movement of the rudder aft and some rig changes, and which also slightly reduced her rating to 0.912. She demonstrated some improved performance in the 2012 Quarter Ton Cup, winning the third race, but being ruled over the line in the last race scuttled any chance of a high placing, finishing the series in fifth place overall (with Bullit reprising her 1980 victory to take the Cup). 

Blackfun rounding a weather mark during the 2011 Quarter Ton Cup

Changes in 2012 included a new keel and a rudder placed well aft (photo Fiona Brown)

Blackfun recently competed in the 2013 Quarter Ton Cup but while showing flashes of brilliance, startline infringements and a top mark collision saw her finish in ninth place overall.

Blackfun on her way to second place in the last race of the 2013 Quarter Ton Cup (photo Jonathan Hoare)