Ian Gibbs, Admiral's Cup champion dies at 87

Gibbs's standout performer Swuzzlebubble III - seen here on her way to being the top yacht in the New Zealand Admiral's Cup trials in 1981, and went on to take individual honours in the Cup itself (photo P Montgomery/Sail-world)

Sail-World reports today that Ian Gibbs, one of New Zealand's top offshore owner/skippers, has died at the age of 87 years. 
 
In a 20 year period Gibbs competed very actively and with considerable success in major international regattas in the offshore rating classes - principally in Half-Tonners, and then in the Admiral's Cup, sailed from Cowes, Isle of Wight. The now defunct Admiral's Cup was widely regarded as the World Championship of offshore racing. 

Gibbs' Swuzzlebubble IV during the 1983 Admiral's Cup

Gibbs skippered his yacht Swuzzlebubble III to be the top individual boat in the 1981 event, and sailing a chartered sistership was the top New Zealand competitor in the 1983 Admiral's Cup. He was well performed in four Half Ton Cups, most notably with Swuzzlebubble I/II in the 1977 and 1979 events. 

Previous articles and tributes to Gibbs' many campaigns during the heyday of New Zealand offshore yachting can be found by clicking on the "Ian Gibbs" label below.

Gibbs' last offshore racing yacht, his Mumm 36 Swuzzlebubble 9, seen here during the 1994 Kenwood Cup in Hawaii (Gibbs can be seen on the leeward side of the cockpit aft)

Swuzzlebubble VIII (Davidson One Tonner)

This post continues my tribute to New Zealand yachtsman Ian Gibbs' series of offshore Swuzzlebubble yachts. Swuzzlebubble VIII started life as Beyond Thunderdome, a Laurie Davidson-designed 40 foot One Tonner owned and sailed by the late Warren Jones (Australian Ocean Racer of the Year 1994). 

Beyond Thunderdome sailing in Sydney sometime prior to 1993

Beyond Thunderdome after finishing the 1990 Sydney to Hobart race in seventh place (photo Facebook)

Beyond Thunderdome

Beyond Thunderdome was chartered by Gibbs for the 1993 Sydney to Hobart Race and renamed Swuzzlebubble VIII for the ocean racing classic. 

The race marked something of a return to offshore racing for Gibbs, following a focus on inshore sailing on a couple of Etchells yachts (Swuzzlebubble VI and VII) which he campaigned sometime between 1986 and 1993. 

Swuzzlebubble VIII makes her way to the start of the 1993 Sydney-Hobart race (photo Gibbs Family Collection)

The race was an unhappy one for the Swuzzlebubble VIII crew. Like the 1998 edition which affected the older Business Post Naiad (ex-Swuzzlebubble V, see earlier post) a few years later, the race was affected by a significant storm. The race was started in a good breeze and sunny conditions, but about eight hours or so later the southern horizon turned black. Within 15 minutes a double weather bomb hit the fleet which resulted in horrendous seas and winds over 70 knots. The storm was enormous, with satellite photography at the time revealing a spiral cloud stretching down the Queensland coast across the Tasman Sea to the South Island of New Zealand, and back across to Tasmania. The storm centre of 986hpa was right in Bass Strait, near the race fleet. The winning yacht Ninety Seven recorded 78 knots of wind on either side of the low off Gabo Island on the night of 27 December. 

Swuzzlebubble VIII in the early stages of the race to Hobart

The mast stump

Sometime after midnight on the second night, Swuzzlebubble VIII was just entering Bass Strait when one wave, bigger than all the others, caught the yacht. The helmsman lost steerage and the yacht turned sideways and then rolled upside down where it practically went into a freefall. The yacht stayed upside down for over a minute, sinking, but very stable due to the combination of wide beam and minimum cabin size. Kevin Dibley was part of the crew and recalls that the only reason Swuzzlebubble VIII righted herself was due to "a fairly significant, punchy wave, that hit the keel with such force that it snapped the mast thus allowing the yacht to right herself again". Although upright, the yacht was swamped, with water entering the boat through various cracks in the deck and cabin top, and the spreaders of the broken rig were punching holes into the carbon fibre hull.

Fortunately all the crew on deck were harnessed on and were able to be recovered. Down below the crew worked frantically to plug the hull and pump out seawater, while looking after a badly injured Gibbs. The remainder of the rig was then cut off, the no.3 headsail was deployed as a sea anchor and the crew bailed the yacht while other yachts stood nearby. Dibley recalls that one of thew crew took the engine apart, cleaning the injectors and put it all back together again, while the rest of the crew were busy cutting the rig off as the spreaders were punching holes into the topsides. Eventually the flooded engine was brought to life and the crew motored for 12 hours towards Eden Harbour to join some of the record 66 yachts that had retired from the race.

The boat suffered extensive damage and after being considered write off by her insurers the yacht was rescued by a couple of Australian yachtsmen, and it is understood that she returned to racing under her original name and as of 2006-07 was sailing from her port of Brisbane.

The bow pulpit was torn off by the force of the wave that capsized Swuzzlebubble VIII (photo Gibbs Family Collection)

Damage to the cabin structure is clearly evident here (photo Gibbs Family Collection)

Beyond Thunderdome was advertised for sale in 2016 (photo below). 

 

More recently (November 2023), Beyond Thunderdome is now sadly looking somewhat worse for wear on a mooring in Gladstone Harbour Marina (below)

Article updated November 2023

Swuzzlebubble V (Farr 39)

Design 138 (Farr Yacht Design)

Continuing the series on Ian Gibbs' fleet of Swuzzlebubble offshore IOR yachts brings us to Swuzzlebubble V. This yacht was a development of Bruce Farr's dominant One Ton design, Design #136, which formed the basis of New Zealand's outstanding 1983 Southern Cross Cup team (see earlier post - Geronimo). Swuzzlebubble V, and her sistership Epic Lass, were designed and built with a view to competing for New Zealand in the 1985 Admiral's Cup series, and were versions of Design 138, optimised for the lighter airs expected in Europe being slightly shorter in length (approx 7in), lighter (approx 190lb), with a fractionally lower ballast ratio, and carrying more sail.

Swuzzlebubble V and Epic Lass, the latter commissioned by Healing Industries, were both launched together amongst much fanfare outside the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in December 1984. Swuzzlebubble V was rushed to the startline of the Auckland-Gisborne race, finishing in fifth place in the IOR division.

Building the mould for Swuzzlebubble V and Epic Lass, the IOR 'crease' clearly visible, along with the bump at maximum beam

Launching day, Westhaven 20 December 1984 (photo Gibbs Family Collection)

The functional and stripped-out interior (photo Gibbs Family Collection)

In the five-boat Admiral's Cup trial series held in early 1985, Swuzzlebubble V lined up against sistership Epic Lass, veteran performer Exador, the Davidson 40 Canterbury Export, and the Peterson 43, Barnstorm. The trials series was closely fought, but Exador and Canterbury Export selected themselves while two more races had to be added to the evaluation schedule to determine whether Epic Lass or Swuzzlebubble V would make the team. Being slightly smaller than their predecessor Exador and optimised for European conditions, both yachts gave no real indication of being an improvement on the Farr 40. However, neither boat demonstrated that they were fully optimised either - changing gears was a problem common to both boats - and the selectors wondered how much performance was untapped.
 
Also in the selector's mind was Gibbs' track record at the Admiral's Cup itself, with Gibbs having taken Swuzzlebubble III to the top of the fleet in the 1981 series. In the end, both final races went Epic Lass' way, with skipper Peter Walker winning the first race and finishing third in the second. Swuzzlebubble V looked out of sorts twice on the windward legs, and looked a fraction off the pace just when Gibbs' charge needed to convince.

Swuzzlebubble V went on to campaign for a place in the New Zealand team for the country's defence of the Southern Cross Cup in 1985. The Fay Richwhite-sponsored trials, which commenced in November 1985, saw a sudden influx of new yachts, with eight boats entered and including five new boats. Gibbs had made a number of changes to the boat and crew, including a new white paint-job. The boat started off the 1985-86 season with a win in the IOR division of the Feltex Regatta, and went on to qualify for the New Zealand A team, alongside the evergreen Exador and the new Farr 43 Switchblade. With the number of boats available, a decision was made to send a second 'B' team, made up of the Davidson 40 Mad Max, Thunderbird (a sistership to Switchblade) and Barnstorm. Mad Max didn't make the A team as she missed the first race, but was clearly one of the fastest boats in the series. 

Swuzzlebubble V during the 1985 Admiral's Cup trials

The helmsman struggles to keep Swuzzlebubble V on her feet on a fresh reach down the Rangitoto Channel, thought to be during the 1985 Southern Cross Cup trials (photo Gibbs Family Collection)

The composition of the two teams undermined an otherwise promising New Zealand effort, as Mad Max was top individual performer but let down by the lacklustre performance of Barnstorm, while Swuzzlebubble V proved to be the weak link in the A team, finishing the series in 20th place overall, following placings of 14/14/17/14 and 26th in the Sydney-Hobart race finale. 

Swuzzlebubble V racing during the New Zealand 1987 Admiral's Cup trials

Swuzzlebubble Six and Mad Max on a ship to Sydney

Swuzzlebubble V came back to New Zealand and later contested the 1987 Admiral's Cup trials, but despite further modifications, including a new keel and upgraded rig, she was off the pace against the new generation Farr designs Propaganda and Fair Share, and Mad Max (Goldcorp). She did make selection for the New Zealand team for the 1987 Southern Cross Cup, sailing in the same trim and equipped with a new Norths wardrobe, and renamed Swuzzlebubble Six for the campaign (to differentiate the boat from her earlier configuration). However, her experienced crew had to struggle manfully to keep Swuzzlebubble Six up with the pace, and had to settle for 18th on individual points, after a 12/22/17/8/17 series. Her team-mates Fair Share and Mad Max worked hard to overcome Swuzzlebubble's lack of form, but made a costly tactical error in the middle distance offshore race resulting in second place overall for New Zealand in the series, 74 points behind Australia. 

Swuzzlebubble Six on one of the reaching legs during the 1987 Southern Cross Cup series

Swuzzlebubble Six in a gybing manouevre while racing in the 1987 Southern Cross Cup

Swuzzlebubble Six was later sold in Australia, probably after the 1987 Southern Cross Cup. She was raced actively out of the CYCA until 1994 under Colin Boyle, competing in long races such as the Sydney-Southport and Sydney-Mooloolabla, and raced in the Sydney-Hobart again in 1987. She was bought by Bruce Guy in 1994 and renamed Naiad. Guy campaigned her extensively out of Launcestown, competing successfully in various offshore races out of Melbourne. Naiad became Business Post Naiad in 1998 - she went on to win the Three Peaks race that year and then lined up for the 1998 Sydney-Hobart race. The 1998 edition of this ocean racing classic turned out to be one of the most harrowing, when the fleet encountered huge waves of up to 30m and 80 knot winds. Only 44 of the 115 yachts reached Hobart. Business Post Naiad became a central figure in the rescue efforts that were mounted on the second night. Two crewmembers died, including owner Guy, after the yacht was rolled in the mountainous seas. After the remaining seven crew were safely winched off, the yacht was left floating off the southern NSW coast, with the two dead crew members still aboard. Another four yachtsmen died on two other yachts. It was the worst tragedy in the history of the race and a harsh reminder of the severe conditions that can affect Bass Strait.

Business Post Naiad as viewed from the air after rolling and losing her mast

Video footage showing BPN being located by Search and Rescue can be seen here, from Part 2 of the 1999 Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) documentary "Into the Eye of the Storm" (from about 17:50): 1998 Sydney Hobart race documentary Part 2 (Part 1 is also well worth watching for some of the incredible footage of the maxis crashing through the seas and the heroic actions of the search and rescue crews).

The broken rig and bent stauntions visible in this photo taken post-capsize - note the missing cabin hatch

In the post-race inquiry it was revealed that BPN may not have had sufficient righting moment to be eligible for the Sydney-Hobart race. Under the IMS rules under which the race was sailed at that time, yachts were required to have a positive righting movement when capsized of an angle of 115 degrees from vertical, although this was reduced to 110 degrees for yachts that had completed previous Sydney-Hobart races. BPN had originally had a righting moment of 117 degrees, but is understood that the yacht, which had modifications carried out below decks sometime in 1997, including removal of some 300kg of internal ballast, had been remeasured by an independent surveyor just before the race, and had been assessed as having a righting movement of just 105 degrees. Full documentation was sent to race organisers at the CYCA in Sydney. However it is understood that Mr Guy's entry application for the event was then accepted and confirmed in writing, and the failure to meet the stability requirements was not detected.

The post-race technical analysis of the changes to the yacht indicated that the ballast changes would have had a significant decrease to its knock-down or capsize resistance, although it could not be ruled out that even with the original ballast configuration the yacht may still have rolled given the severity of the conditions during the race.

A broken and battered yacht at Eden after the ill-fated 1998 Sydney-Hobart race

BPN had been dismasted in the race, and it is not known what other structural damage the yacht had suffered, or what became of her afterwards.

Swuzzlebubble IV (Holland 41)

This post continues a tribute to Ian Gibbs and his fleet of Swuzzlebubble offshore racing yachts. Swuzzlebubble IV started life as Epiglass New Zealand, a Holland 41 and near-sistership to Swuzzlebubble III but was slightly longer, narrower and lighter and rating just 0.1ft higher at 30.2ft IOR (possibly combined with a smaller sail plan). Epiglass New Zealand was built by Alexander Boats utilising balsa core, S-glass and carbon fibre. She was campaigned by the Super Max Syndicate for the New Zealand 1981 Admiral's Cup trials, with Stu Brentnall on the helm and Peter Lester calling the shots.

Epiglass New Zealand competing in the New Zealand Admiral's Cup trials in 1981 (photo John Malitte/Sea Spray)

After emerging as an early favourite to make the New Zealand team after the initial observation trials, Epiglass New Zealand went on to have a consistent series in the Cup selection trials with placings of 1/3/5/3/2/2 to finish in second place overall, behind a fast-improving and dominant Swuzzlebubble III. 

Epiglass New Zealand in broad reaching conditions during the New Zealand Admiral's Cup trials (photo Maritime Museum)

Epiglass New Zealand slides downwind to Westhaven, skipper Brentnall checks the opposition behind

Epiglass New Zealand sails downwind into the Waitemata Harbour (photo Maritime Museum)

To avoid potential Rule 26 issues, which were waived for the trials themselves, the yacht was renamed Wee Willie Winkie for her Admiral's Cup campaign.

The New Zealand team put in an uneven and inconsistent performance to finish fifth overall, with the Cup going to the British team. While Swuzzlebubble III put in an impressive display to finish as top individual yacht in the series, Wee Willie Winkie had a disappointing regatta, finishing 25th overall.

Wee Willie Winkie at the 1981 Admiral's Cup

After the 1981 Admiral's Cup she was sold to an Irish yachtsman, and competed for the British team in the 1981 Southern Cross Cup. The British had made a concerted effort to add the Southern Cross Cup to their Admiral's Cup win in the same year, but a small boat bonanza in a protracted Sydney-Hobart race gave the New South Wales team the overall win. Wee Willie Winkie was the top British yacht in the Sydney-Hobart, finishing seventh of the Southern Cross Cup entrants, following placings of 9/4/5 in the preceding races (to be third yacht overall). She went on to compete in the 1982 Sardinia Cup, where she was helmed by Rodney Pattison. 

With Neville Crichton looking for team-mates for his Frers 43 Shockwave for a New Zealand challenge for the 1983 Admiral's Cup, Wee Willie Winkie was chartered by Ian Gibbs and renamed Swuzzlebubble IV (now with a rating of 30.6ft). The team was completed with the addition of the French yacht Lady Be, chartered by Peter Blake. Although under charter, hopes were high for a solid placing by Swuzzlebubble IV given her pedigree and because she was sailed by the same crew that had taken Swuzzlebubble III to overall honours in 1981. 

Swuzzlebubble IV being prepared for racing before the start of the 1983 Admiral's Cup (photo One Ton Facebook page)

Swuzzlebubble IV rounds a windward mark just ahead of the bigger Container 79 (photo Phil Uhl)

Swuzzlebubble IV about to cross behind Pro-motion (NED) and Black Topic (GBR) during the Channel Race (photo J Eastland/Sea Spray)

The early signs were not good, however, with a 28th placing in the first race - after an excellent position soon after the start they found themselves on the wrong side of a big hole in the wind. In breezier conditions in race two Swuzzlebubble IV was less than happy, and finished 29th. The light air Channel Race was a disaster for the team, with its two bigger yachts Shockwave and Lady Be suffering from a long and slow race, with kedging required at various places on the course making it a small boat benefit. Swuzzlebubble IV's 10th place was not enough to offset a 33rd and 42nd (respectively) by her team-mates.

Swuzzlebubble IV sails downwind to 29th place in the second race of the 1983 Admiral's Cup (photo J Eastland/Sea Spray)

Swuzzlebubble IV crosses behind Locura (USA) and Bondi Tram (AUS) (photo Gibbs Family Collection)

In the fourth race Swuzzlebubble IV failed to support strong results by Shockwave and Lady Be, with another 29th placing. But she bounced back in the Fastnet race finale with a steady and assured ninth place after a tight duel with the Australian Hitchhiker and the English Dragon. This effort was in turn undone by her bigger team-mates who took some long tacks into oblivion. Due to the points loading of the offshore races, Swuzzlebubble IV finished as the best placed yacht in the New Zealand team at 10th overall. It was another disappointing result for New Zealand, which finished in sixth place, and underlined the difficulty of mounting a competitive campaign at this international level using chartered yachts.

Swuzzlebubble IV during the 1983 Admiral's Cup, reaching to weather of French yachts Ossian and Passion (photo NZ Yachting/Sail-world)

Swuzzlebubble IV appears to have then been bought by US sailing interests, and is noted as competing in the 1985 SORC, skippered by Jack Becklund, but was outclassed by this stage, finishing last in the 18-boat fleet within Class 5, with placings of 17/17/16/17/18/17.

Article updated February 2024

Swuzzlebubble III (Holland 40)

Swuzzlebubble III was a 40ft 6" Ron Holland design (a development of Holland's earlier Regardless hull), the second of Ian Gibbs' yachts to this name (Swuzzlebubble became Swuzzlebubble II after her extensive modifications for the 1979 Half Ton Cup). Swuzzlebubble III was a very professional campaign, and the one that gave Gibbs his greatest success in international offshore racing. The yacht was rated at 30.1ft IOR for the 1981 NZ Admirals Cup trials series, close to the minimum allowed for the Admirals Cup itself (which was raced at the time in three boat teams between 30.0 and 40.0ft IOR).

Swuzzlebubble III on launching day at Westhaven, Auckland, December 1980 (Gibbs Family Collection)

Holland's design notes for Swuzzlebubble III advise that she was a development of his successful masthead minimum-rater Regardless, that had won two races in the 1979 Admiral's Cup, and was leading point scorer going into the tragic Fastnet race. A fractional rig was chosen for this updated design due to the extensive experience of New Zealand sailors with such rigs and because the crew would have a nucleus of dinghy sailors. A fractional rig also enabled a slightly larger sail plan than Regardless. 

Profile and interior arrangement and deck plan for Swuzzlebubble III

Interior photo of galley area (Gibbs Family Collection)

The yacht was built by Cooksons, making use of a form of construction that Holland had pioneered with his Two Tonner Imp, with a light composite hull and a stainless steel and aluminium space frame that was engineered to take keel and rig loads. This was combined with a sparse but ergonomically efficient interior designed by Brett de Thier for a very high tech appearance for the time. Her displacement of 13,500lbs incorporated 3,800lbs of ballast in the keel, and a further 3,000lbs in the hull floor.

The Swuzzlebubble III campaign got off to a shaky start, however, when her US-built Stearn mast was delayed by a week and failed to arrive in time for launching day. It later broke during windy conditions off Channel Island (off the Coromandel Peninsula) during the preliminary observation trials. A new section had to be flown in from the US which was sleeved locally. The mast was a bendy fractional set up, with triple in-line spreaders. Swuzzlebubble III sailed with a North wardrobe, including the new-style vertical cut headsails developed by Tom Schnackenburg.

Downwind during the 1981 NZ trials

The racing in the trials series was very close, with three instances of dead heats on corrected times and a margin of only two seconds between first and second on corrected time after the 40-hour, 300-mile, final race. Gibbs was involved in a plane crash the day before the trials proper, and this may have influenced the yachts' fourth placing in the first race. However, Gibbs was well supported by a top crew that included Andy Ball and Rick Dodson, and they went on to win the second race, and placed third in the third race. From there on, the regatta was all Swuzzlebubble III, winning the final three races to easily qualify in the New Zealand team, alongside Epiglass New Zealand (a Holland 40 sistership, renamed as Wee Willie Winkie for the Admirals Cup to avoid Rule 26 sponsorship issues) and Marac, an S&S 46 (re-named Inca for the same reason). 

Swuzzlebubble III during the 1981 Admiral's Cup trials

 NZ Admirals Cup trials 1981 - Swuzzlebubble III, Spritzer and Feltex Roperunner (Gibbs Family Collection)

Swuzzlebubble III went on to have an excellent series in the 1981 Admirals Cup, finishing with a flourish in the light air Fastnet Race finale to leap from seventh place to first overall on 315 points, just one point ahead of the English yacht, Peter de Savary's Victory of Burnham. This was, however, the only bright spot of an otherwise disappointing New Zealand team performance, with Wee Willie Winkie finishing in 25th place, and Inca even further back in 42nd.

Swuzzlebubble III was sold overseas and as of 2012 was for sale in Italy (refer photos below). At that time she appeared to be in very good condition (although less so by 2020), and had been fitted with a more cruising-oriented interior. 

Swuzzlebubble III slides downwind during one of the offshore races in the 1981 New Zealand Admiral's Cup trials (photo P Montgomery/Sail-world)

Swuzzlebubble III leads Monique (middle) and Epiglass NZ (left) in fresh downwind conditions during the New Zealand Admiral's Cup trials (photo NZ Yachting/Sail-world)

Swuzzlebubble III in a strong position ahead of a pack of bigger boats during the 1981 Admiral's Cup

Swuzzlebubble III as seen for sale in 2012



As seen again for sale in 2020 (photo Facebook)

Article updated July 2026