Lovelace (Farr One Tonner)

Lovelace, a Farr One Tonner from 1976, returned to New Zealand last year and is undergoing a full restoration in Whangārei. She was originally owned and campaigned by Keith Andrews and Jack Lloyd and was one of a number of yachts produced to Farr’s breakthrough One Ton design from 1976 (Design #51), and was a near sistership of 45 South and Jiminy Cricket which had performed well in the breezier races of the 1976 One Ton Cup. This design was 36’ 9” long and had an IOR rating of 27.5ft, the One Ton limit at that time. Lovelace was constructed in cold-moulded Kauri timber and was a striking looking yacht, with purple and white topsides and a Kiwi decal on the bow.

Lovelace leads Rockie during the 1976 New Zealand One Ton Nationals (photo DB Yachting Annual) 

Lovelace raced in the 1976 One Ton Nationals, where she competed alongside 12 other yachts and a number of variants of Design #51, including Country Boy, Mardi Gras, Rockie and Chick Chack. She was described in the DB Yachting Annual review of the series as "the purple Whangarei budget flyer", and counted Ray Haslar amongst her crew for the series. The regatta was affected by some issues in race management, with two races abandoned and Lovelace's performance was particularly impacted in this respect as she had won races 1 and 4 only to see here victories scrubbed. She eventually finished third overall, losing to the quicker and more customised Country Boy. Second was Mardi Gras. Some problem spots in her performance were evident for which crew work could not compensate, highlighted in a long beat from the Poor Knights Islands in the ocean race, where Lovelace lost touch with the leaders and no amount of trim or tweaking could make any difference. She later raced in the 1976 Auckland to Gisborne Race, finishing 11th of 19 boats.

Lovelace during the New Zealand 1977 One Ton Cup trials

Lovelace competed in New Zealand’s national trials series for the 1977 One Ton Cup that was held on the Hauraki Gulf in November of that year. By this stage the new generation centreboarders had arrived on the scene, and Farr’s fixed keel design from just a year previous, including Lovelace, Rockie and Country Boy, had now been eclipsed. Nevertheless, the trials to select six boats for New Zealand’s team produced some of the finest level-rating racing seen at that time, with 18 boats competing. The five races produced four different winners and, at the half-way stage of the ocean race finale, the four leaders were grouped together off Sail Rock off Whangarei Heads. The Whiting design Smackwater Jack went on to win the race and the series overall (with a DNF/5/1/3/1) record.

Lovelace, seen here competing in the 1978 Clipper Cup (photo Phil Uhl)

Four Farr designs were next – Mr Jumpa (3/1/4/4/3), Smir-Noff-Agen (2/2/DNF/1/2), Jenny H (DNF/4/2/6/4) and The Red Lion (1/3/6/5/5). Sixth was the Jim Young design Heatwave (DNF/10/3/2/6). Lovelace scored a fourth place in the first race, and this was the best that any of the keelers could manage in the series. This result was achieved in a race where three of the centreboarders (Smackwater Jack, Jenny H and Heatwave) were forced out with mast or sail damage. Lovelace was also the first keelboat overall, but was a distant 13 points back in seventh place (4/7/10/14/8). This left the host club, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, with no choice but to select a team comprised wholly of centreboarders.

Lovelace seen here to leeward of Magic Pudding during the 1978 Clipper Cup 

While some of the keelboats were subsequently chartered by overseas teams for the One Ton Cup, Lovelace was not. However, she went on to compete in the inaugural Clipper Cup held in Hawaii in August 1978, which was notable for the tight four-boat scrap in Class C with two other Farr keelboats, Carrie Ann V (US) and Country Boy (NZ) and the Peterson centreboarder, Magic Pudding (ex-B195). Country Boy was part of the New Zealand ‘A’ team (alongside Monique and Gerontius), while Lovelace was in the ‘B’ team (with Anticipation and Inca). 

Lovelace enjoying close racing in Class C alongside another New Zealand yacht, Country Boy (photo DB Yachting Annual)

The four One Tonners were always in a close group minutes ahead of the rest of their division, which was won by Carrie Ann V, with Magic Pudding second, Country Boy third (3/3/4/1/3), and Lovelace fourth (5/2/1/3/4). In overall fleet results, Magic Pudding was third, Carrie Ann V fourth, Lovelace eighth and Country Boy tenth. Lovelace had done well with a first, second and third overall in the Olympic courses, but lost out in the long offshore races to finish ninth overall in the 40-boat fleet. The New Zealand ‘B’ team finished third, behind Australia ‘A’ in first place and New Zealand ‘A’ in second. 

Sailing as Petard, in the US (photo Histoiredeshalfs, date and photographer unknown)

Changes to the IOR in late 1978, including a displacement-to-length formula, that penalised the Farr style of lighter displacement yacht severely impacted the likes of Lovelace, and her rating rose by around 1.5ft, making the design uncompetitive under the rule. Lovelace was however later bought by Alamo resident Keith Buck in 1982 who renamed her Petard (named after the explosive device used to blow down castle walls). He fitted a new Bob Smith-designed rudder in 1992 (with an elliptical shape), and a taller mast (off another version of Design #51, Sweet Okole) in 1994. She was noted in a Latitude 38 article in 2005 to have won well over 100 trophies over the years, and that she performed particularly well in heavy air. Her results recorded in Histoiredeshalfs shows that Buck raced Petard from 1982 before she was advertised for sale in 2022 in San Francisco, by then in a somewhat derelict state.

Lovelace as found in San Francisco, photo circa 2022

Lovelace was found in San Francisco and bought by Kurtis Andrews, son of the original owner Keith. She was found during the Covid era and at the time shipping prices had skyrocketed and it cost a fortune to relocate her to New Zealand. She was shipped to Auckland and then transported to Whangārei where she is being restored by one of her original builders, Ian Mason from Mason Boatbuilders. The last time Ian was on the the boat was in Whangārei back in 1978.

Lovelace seen here enroute to Whangārei 

Kurtis Andrews says “it’s a crazy project to have undertaken and one that would have been far easier not to do. The boat was 10,000 miles away in San Francisco and in a state of disrepair, but something was burning inside to get that boat back to New Zealand, and we did! Keith Andrews (my father) and Jack Lloyd were only 22 when they built the boat on a shoestring budget. Its an amazing feat to have done what they did, including shipping the boat to Hawaii and representing New Zealand in the Clipper Cup. I remember Jack telling me that they used plenty of glue when putting the thing together and when it returned to New Zealand, Ian Mason couldn’t believe the work it had done and that it was still holding together”.  

All going well, the family is aiming to have the boat completed and back in the water by Christmas 2025. 

Article dated September 2024

Smir-Noff-Agen: Saved!

Smir-Noff-Agen, one of five centreboarders designed by Bruce Farr for the 1977 One Ton Cup, has been rescued from an uncertain future in Australia's Gold Coast. She was loaded onto a ship in September 2016 for transport to Dubai, where she is receiving a complete restoration and upgrade to have a second life as a modern IRC racing yacht, with a similar approach to that given to the Half Tonner Swuzzlebubble.

Smir-Noff-Agen seen here sailing as part of the victorious New Zealand team during the 1977 Southern Cross Cup in Sydney

The Farr centreboarders of 1977 were very fast yachts, and featured some of the cleanest hull shapes of the IOR era, and considered long for their rating (27.5ft IOR). As with Swuzzlebubble, this combination, along with a modern rig, sails and foils, should mean that the boat will be very competitive under IRC.

In somewhat of a sad state following a stalled refurbishment effort in the Gold Coast

Smir-Noff-Agen was later named Vanguard, then Scallywag II (and won the 1982 Sydney to Hobart race), and then Best by Farr - her history can be seen here. She will be re-named Oro Nero, and will feature a black and gold colour scheme.

Being loaded onto a cradle (above) and truck (below) for her long voyage to Dubai

The effort to give Smir-Noff-Agen a new lease of life means that four of the five boats built to this design are still sailing and/or racing (see Jenny H, Mr Jumpa and The Red Lion), with only the whereabouts of the Australian boat Hecate unknown (but thought to be located in Darwin).

Update here.

Freefall and Migizi (Farr 37)

For this article we look at the design that relaunched the Farr Yacht Design name in IOR racing in the early 1980s. Farr's light displacement yachts of the late 1970s were heavily penalised by changes to the IOR, primarily through the new displacement to length factor (DLF), and his initial response to these changes did not meet with the success that had come to be expected of Farr designs, and his last boat to race in the SORC had been Mr Jumpa, a 1977-generation One Tonner.

The commission for Design 124 came from Ted Simpkins who had enjoyed several seasons of racing a boat built to Design 54, but with a larger rig that had provided extra downwind performance. Simpkins wanted an all out grand prix IOR racing yacht of just above One Ton size, that would excel as an all-round performer in typically strong winds experienced in the SORC, and to be fast and easily handled in hard reaching conditions. Simpkins also required a yacht that was as fast as possible in light airs. 

Freefall in light airs, prior to the 1983 SORC (photo Farr Yacht Design)

The design was, as a result, slightly longer than a One Ton yacht, but also incorporated a large rig which was right on the limit of incurring a 'sail correction factor' penalty.  A fractional rig was chosen to allow easy de-powering of the large sail plan in changeable weather. 

The underbody was a clean and fair shape for an IOR yacht, with only minor distortion through the aft end to minimise any unnecessary restrictions to downwind performance. This represented a significant development of Farr's earlier 'lighter than normal' approach, but with careful proportions of beam and displacement and a conservative approach to fullness for'ard and width aft. This produced not only a faster boat under the IOR in all conditions, but one which was more easily handled. 

Equal attention was paid to the engineering of the hull structure to minimise weight in the ends, and utilised Kevlar/S Glass skins er a PVC foam core.

Design 124 deck layout (Sail magazine)

Simpkin's boat was Freefall which immediately showed great promise in pre-SORC racing off Florida in late 1982. She was closely followed by Minneapolis sailor Woody Baskerville III's Migizi (launched originally as Erzulie). 

Migizi in tight reaching conditions during the 1983 SORC (photo Farr Yacht Design)

Notwithstanding the changes in design concept, Freefall and Migizi remained characteristically 'Farr boats' as any of his past designs, but were the first seriously raced boats since he moved his office to Annapolis. Compared to Mr Jumpa, the new design was about 800lbs heavier and 4-5% shorter in rated length - even then the boats still attracted a considerable 1.46% DLF penalty. 

Migizi during the 1983 SORC (photo Phil Uhl)

Migizi (photo Farr Yacht Design)

Migizi went on to be a standout performer in the 1983 SORC, no doubt benefiting from having Russell Bowler from the Farr office aboard. She won Class F against a fleet of 20 boats with results of 1/15/1/1/1/1, and finished in 10th place overall in a series dominated by Class D boats such as Locura and Scarlett O'Hara. Migizi revelled in the heavy reaching conditions of the Miami-Nassau race, where she not only took out her fifth win in Class F, but took overall fleet honours as well.

Migizi during the 1983 SORC (photo Larry Moran)

Freefall finished fifth in Class F, and 28th overall, although she sailed with a lower rating of 28.6ft IOR, against Migizi's 28.9ft. Simpkins sold Freefall to Bernard Blum and she returned for the 1984 SORC as Hot Tub, and had a more successful series, finishing in second place in Class F (and 18th overall).

Freefall punches her way upwind during the 1983 SORC (photo Farr Yacht Design)

Freefall in her new guise as Hot Tub for the SORC regattas in 1984-87 (photo John A Glynn | Facebook)

The proven concept for Design 124 went on to form the basis of Farr's breakthrough 40 foot design, which first made their mark in New Zealand in the shape of Exador, Geronimo and Pacific Sundance - the trio that walked off with the Southern Cross Cup in late 1983.

It is understood that Migizi is unfortunately now languishing in Seattle at Shilshole Marina.

Updated August 2024

The International Offshore Rule - Part 2: Measuring Depth

In this article we look at the rated depth (D) and the draft correction (DC) aspects of the IOR formula for measured rating (MR). 

Light air bow down trim aboard Jiminy Cricket (photo Farr YD)

The D value represented the rated depth of the yachts hull. This was based on mid and forward depth stations (MD and FD respectively), which were located at points at half and quarter the length of LOA from the bow, and then measured from specified widths from the centreline. These points were eventually expressed through visible 'flats' between these measurement points as designers sought to shed unnecessary hull volume and unmeasured displacement from a yacht's hull. Additional depth measurement points were added to the rule as early as April 1971 in order to discourage the emergence of these flat sections in the garboard area of the hull in particular. The effect of this change was limited, however, and flat sections between the depth measurement points were considered to be fast under the rule (relative to rating), and persisted throughout its life.

Noticeable flats between measurement points displayed here on the 1976 Farr Two Tonner Uin-na-Mara

Because all depth measurements were in the centre and the forward part of the yacht, boats typically featured a bow-down static trim when properly optimised, sometimes assisted by a more for'ard location for the yachts engine than might otherwise be ideal. The mathematics involved in determining D looked like this:

The B x D component of the MR formula thus provided an estimate of the boats volume through an approximation of the cross-sectional area of the hull. A larger value for one or both factors would result in a reduction in rating, all else being equal.

Bow down trim is evident here on the Davidson One Tonner Pendragon, circa 1988

The centreboard on Resolute Salmon

The DC component allowed for differences from 'base' draft (DB) and rated draft (RD) values, calculated as a function of rated length, with deviations on either side of the base value becoming a positive or negative factor for the resulting rating. The rule did not initially measure centreboards in their fully lowered position, and this conferred a negative, and therefore advantageous, DC value to the MR formula. This was not so much a loophole as a recognition of centreboard craft popular on the east coast of the US due to the shallow nature of the cruising grounds prevalent in that area. However, US designer Britton Chance recognised a potential advantage under the IOR if the centreboard was designed solely as a useful lifting foil, in combination with internal ballast. The result was Resolute Salmon, a big heavy One Tonner that was ideally suited to the conditions off Marseilles, France, to win the One Ton Cup in 1976. 

Comparative rating statistics between some of the top boats at the 1976 One Ton Cup

The issue of centreboards became a hot topic at the next meeting of the International Technical Committee at their annual meeting after the 1976 series, but it was left for another year while the Committee focussed on what was seen as the bigger issue of broad sterns that were evident on some of the new light displacement yachts that had come on the scene. With the centreboard option still open, the 'Ton' Cup events for 1977 were set to be dominated by a new generation of offshore centreboarders.

Another advantage of a centreboarder was the ability to launch at low tide!

The advantages of the centreboard lay not just in the DC measurement benefit. With ballast mostly internal, the new vanguard of centreboard yachts took advantage of lightweight construction techniques that provided for a high ballast ratio - with that ballast held in the bilges their pitching moment in waves was much reduced. Use of a centreboard also allowed a designer to incorporate a little more displacement into the keel area of the hull because the centreboard displaced less than a keel which provided a depth measurement increase. The boats were measured with the centreboard up and this also allowed the boat to sink a little more and thus further reduce rating.

With her centreboard retracted Gunboat Rangiriri is prepared for launching (mid-1977)

However, the use of centreboards, in combination with light displacement and light construction, led to a great deal of controversy through the 1977-78 Southern Hemisphere season, and new stability tests (via a new 'Screening Value' promoted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia) were devised in attempt to outlaw such yachts from competing from events such as the Sydney to Hobart.

The Farr One Ton centreboarder Hecate undergoes a pull down test before the 1977 One Ton Cup to assess the effect of the new CYCA Screening Value formula

The ITC belatedly acted in its November 1977 meeting to change the rules relating to centreboards, and to introduce a moderated form of the Screening Value test, but it still remained an option to use them, but unless it was pinned in place the appendage would carry a penalty. Their short reign practically ended in the 1978 Northern Hemisphere season, and it was notable that in the 1978 Half Ton Cup, and even though Waverider won, there was no real difference between centreboarders and keelers. Indeed, a full scale experiment between two otherwise identical Holland Half Tonners showed that the keeler was faster. 

An unusual sight in offshore sailing, the crew of Silver Shamrock III install the centreboard before racing in the 1977 Half Ton Cup in Sydney

A centreboard made its most prominent re-apperance at the 1985 SORC on the Ted Irwin design Razzle Dazzle, a heavy masthead yacht with an elliptical centreboard shape that attracted a 0.3ft rating penalty. In comparison to earlier approaches, the board weighed some 5,000lbs and required hydraulics to lift it. Razzle Dazzle's modest effort in the series did not lead to any further development of the concept.

Waverider, with her centreboard pinned in place, taking the gun in the first race of the 1978 Half Ton Cup

The next article will look at the measurement of rigs, which was an area that yielded some of the more radical looking rule cheaters of all. 

 
A scanned copy of the IOR rule (Mk III 1985) can be viewed here.

Part of the text used for this article is adapted from the book A Lighter Ton - The Champion NZ Yachts of the 1970s, 2012

Smir-Noff-Agen (Farr One Tonner)

Smir-Noff-Agen was a centreboard One Tonner designed by Bruce Farr (Design #63, 27.5ft IOR) for a syndicate headed by Don Lidgard for the 1977 One Ton Cup, held in Auckland, New Zealand. Smir-Noff-Agen joined three other Farr centreboarders The Red Lion, Mr Jumpa and Jenny H.  All these yachts were to a similar design but various small differences were apparent on the rating sheets, with Smir-Noff-Agen sporting a larger mainsail and smaller jibs to reflect the crew's background in skiffs and dinghy sailing, and a simple deck layout to minimise variables in sail-setting, especially at night. 

These new generation One Tonners  were considered experimental at the time, combining light displacement and high ballast ratios with the use of a deep and efficient centreboard and a more flexible and complex rig than Farr's earlier fixed keel One Tonners. The yachts were a significant development of Farr's earlier keelboats from 1975/76 and after the rulemakers failed to close the centreboard loophole exposed to great effect by the Britton Chance design Resolute Salmon a year earlier, a centreboard was chosen rather than a keel, although the fins on the Farr yachts weighed about 750lbs, despite the fact that this was discouraged by the IOR. 

Smir-Noff-Agen heads downwind under spinnaker, shooter and reefed main - NZ One Ton Cup trials 1977

Smir-Noff-Agen faced an early challenge over sponsorship advertising, and changes were made to the yacht's signwriting before the New Zealand One Ton Cup trials began, but the name survived. Challenges to the stability of the new centreboarders were also met in the case of Smir-Noff-Agen by undergoing a pull-down test, with the centreboard half-retracted, which she easily passed.  

Smir-Noff-Agen undergoing a pull-down test in Westhaven, September 1977 (above and below)

Lidgard and his crew went on to contest the trials to determine the New Zealand six-boat team for the One Ton Cup. She started solidly with a second in the first and second races, but lost her rig in the middle distance race. The mast was repaired in time for the fourth race which she won, and followed this with a second in the long ocean race to qualify for the team in third place overall.  

The crew are in for a long night after a failed spreader caused Smir-Noff-Agen's rig to come down in the middle distance offshore race (photo DB Yachting Annual)

Smir-Noff-Agen also entered the Southern Cross Cup trials, to select the New Zealand three-boat team that would compete for the Southern Cross Cup to be held in Sydney at the end of the year. In a mixed boat fleet Smir-Noff-Agen had a close tussle with other centreboarders that dominated the results and joined the Half Tonner Swuzzlebubble and Jenny-H for the trip across the Tasman. 

Smir-Noff-Agen during the One Ton Cup trials, with The Red Lion about to try to cross on port (photo DB Yachting Annual 1978)

The Southern Cross Cup trials showed Smir-Noff-Agen to be a touch quicker than her sisterships, and her new status as favourite of the Farr yachts looked well founded after she won the first race of the One Ton Cup. She couldn't follow this up in the second race where she finished fifth and then sixth in the middle-distance race, and a loss of rig tension was the suspected culprit. With a tightened rig she looked good early in the fourth race, but had to retire when a forestay fitting was discovered to have parted, and talk of sabotage ensued.

Smir-Noff-Agen during the 1977 One Ton Cup (photo Maritime Museum)

Smir-Noff-Agen crosses behind The Red Lion during the 1977 One Ton Cup (photo Farr Yacht Design)

Smir-Noff-Agen sailed an impressive race in the final long ocean race to claim the White Horse Trophy, and finished in third place overall. Her win in the long offshore was despite a near calamitous broach in the gale-afflicted race - Lidgard had called for a spinnaker in 50 knots on the leg between Channel Island and Flat Rock - the boat recovered from the resulting wipeout, but this event was nevertheless used as evidence of the safety deficiencies of the yachts by those at the time who were not in favour of the new light displacement trend that offshore racing was taking. 

Smir-Noff-Agen during the 1977 One Ton Cup (photo Maritime Museum)

Smir-Noff-Agen sailing to windward, with Smackwater Jack to leeward (photo Farr Yacht Design)

Smir-Noff-Agen made her own way across the Tasman for the Southern Cross Cup (after a controversal process to obtain the necessary Category 1 safety certificate). In Sydney and in a fleet of mixed company, with teams made up of anything from Half Tonners to Maxis, the New Zealand team was dominant.

Smir-Noff-Agen competing in the 1977 Southern Cross Cup series

The New Zealand team went into the Sydney Hobart race finale with a massive 130 point advantage over the second placed New South Wales team. Atrocious conditions in the Sydney Hobart meant, however, that this points buffer became the New Zealand teams' buffer as Smir-Noff-Agen retired with damage to the rib frames for'ard after falling off a large wave, and then Swuzzlebubble also withdrew after Ian Gibbs and his crew decided that the conditions were too extreme for a small Half Tonner. Jenny H continued on, though not without their own problems with another failure in a for'ard frame. Haslar and his crew nursed the boat through the worst of the storm and managed to finish in fifth place, and securing the Southern Cross Cup for New Zealand and finishing as the top yacht overall.

Scallywag II before the start of the 1982 Sydney to Hobart race

Smir-Noff-Agen was later sold in Australia and became Vanguard. She was later re-named Scallywag II (this was confusingly close to the new name of Jenny H which had been re-named Scalawag by her new US owners). Her most notable result in later years was winning the 1982 Sydney-Hobart race. Later she became Best by Farr, and she was recently laid up in Mermaid Beach (Queensland Gold Coast). 

Scallywag II on her way to winning the 1982 Sydney to Hobart race

Photos of Smir-Noff-Agen under construction and on her launching day can be seen here.

Smir-Noff-Agen was shipped to Dubai in 2016 and is undergoing a full restoration. More here.

Onion Patch Series 1978

Rattler

These photographs from the 1978 Onion Patch Series were recently posted by Paul Mello on Sailing Anarchy, and presented here in gallery format. The Onion Patch Series is a three-event series of international races, sailed for both individual and three-boat team prizes. The series starts with round-the-buoys sailing in the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta, and then sailed out of Newport, Rhode Island, and then moves on to the historic Newport Bermuda Race (with a crossing of the Gulf Stream). The series concludes with the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club's Anniversary Regatta. 

For 1978 a new handicapping system had been introduced in response to growing angst about the direction of the IOR. This new Measurement Handicap System (MHS) requirement machine measurement of hulls and was a forerunner of the IMS. The MHS was designed to improve the chances for more cruising-oriented yachts, and MHS proponents were delighted when the 1978 series was won by Babe, a 40 foot yawl, but even Babe's owner acknowledged "we have set yacht design back 30 years".

Carina, the 1974 winner of the series

English yacht Saracen, a Bruce Farr centreboard One Tonner and sistership to Downtown (converted to a fixed keel for the One Ton Cup in Flensburg later that year)

The MHS machine in use at the Newport Shipyard on one of the competing yachts

The winner of the 1974 One Ton Cup, the Peterson design Gumboots

Rebel

Wa Wa Too