Victory of Burnham (Dubois 44)

Victory of Burnham was an Ed Dubois -designed 44-footer, commissioned by Peter de Savary for the 1981 offshore racing season and that year’s Admiral’s Cup in particular, and as a ‘warm-up’ for his bid for the 1983 America’s Cup. She was a good-looking yacht, with a low coachroof, raked transom and blue and gold paint scheme. Her design characteristics, with a return to more conservative design style, mast-head rig and narrower aft sections, marked something of a departure from Dubois’ previous breakthrough yacht, Police Car.

Victory during the 1981 Admiral's Cup (photo Phil Uhl)

Victory was skippered by Phil Crebbin and made it into Britain’s three-boat Admiral’s Cup team, alongside Yeoman XXIII (a Frers 45-footer) and Dragon (a Dubois 40-foot minimum rater), racing with a very competitive, but ultimately inaccurate, rating of 33.1ft IOR. She finished as top boat in the trials, only once dropping out of the top three places in nine races. While this gave some indication of the issues to come, Victory sailed well and her anomalous rating is not understood to have greatly affected the outcome of the British trials, although Robin Aisher, skipper of second-placed Yeoman, recalled that Victory was tough to beat on corrected time.

Victory (K-302), seen here on the right, pursues Marionette during the 1981 British Admiral's Cup trials, with Caiman visible in the centre (photo Guy Gurney)

After the windless first race of the Admiral’s Cup, Victory won the next inshore race, with team-mate Yeoman second, covering the poor result of Dragon in 42nd and lifting the team to fourth. The team had a strong Channel Race and leapt to first place, and in another light airs inshore race, Victory finished second, with Yeoman in sixth, which saw them take a commanding lead into the Fastnet Race finale. In contrast to the storm-affected 1979 edition of this ocean racing classic, the 1981 race was affected by calms throughout and was a long drawn-out affair. Incredibly, Victory finished just under three hours behind the line honours winner, the Maxi-yacht Kialoa IV. It was a minimum-rater benefit, however, and Victory just managed 15th on corrected time in the Admiral's Cup fleet. Nevertheless, this gave her second place overall, just one point behind New Zealand’s Swuzzlebubble III, and helped her to lead the British team to an Admiral’s Cup win, by a whopping 98 points over the second-placed US team.

Victory during the 1981 British Admiral's Cup trials (photo Seahorse)

The review of the Admiral’s Cup series from ‘The World of Sailing 1981-82’ noted that in the immediate post-series review that the British victory could be attributed to three things – the first being that their boats suffered no broken gear, the second being the consistent sailing of Victory and Yeoman, and thirdly the performance of Dragon in the points-loaded offshore races. Of interest to the story that follows, it was also observed that only Britain completed the series without incurring a penalty, with team captain Aisher emphasising that the British team must keep out of trouble at all times.

Victory seen here during Cowes Week 1981 (photo Facebook)

Victory was later bought by Trevor Bailey of London, and she changed hands in January 1982, with a new measurement certificate issued by the RORC. She was transported to Florida for the 1982 SORC and put on a dominant performance, finishing first in Class C (1/1/3/5/2), and third overall.

Unfortunately, as it would transpire, Victory would be remembered mainly for the rating controversy in which she became embroiled after this success in the SORC. The preceding 1981 edition of that event, which doubled as the US Admiral’s Cup team selection series, had been impacted by controversy after the top three selectors’ choices of Louisiana Crude, Acadia and Williwaw were all found to have suspect ratings (and in the end the two reserve yachts, Stars & Stripes and Intuition were selected to join Scaramouche).

Victory has a strong start in the light-airs first race of the 1981 Admiral's Cup, seen here to weather of Australia's Apollo V, and US team-mates Scaramouche and Intuition 

There had been a feeling in the British fleet during the 1981 season that Victory's rating of 33.1ft was too good to be true. The designer, the late Ed Dubois, had even given the RORC’s rating office his predicted values for the hull depth measurements, because her rating was lower than he had expected and well below what Dubois thought was the best that could be achieved, at around 33.6ft. The inquiry on the issue that was conducted by the RORC noted that the original measurement was undertaken in April 1981, which came out at 33.3ft. Remeasurement was undertaken in June 1981 after some ballast relocation and Dubois’ recommended bumping of the CMD measurement point (to force another complete remeasurement of the boat), and again later that month (after the British Admiral’s Cup trials had commenced), with the rating now at 33.1ft. 

But the re-measurement of Victory, by another RORC measurer, concluded that the rating was correct. Based on this, and her performance during the trials as described above, Victory was duly selected for the British team and went on to finish second overall, and was the top scorer of that team.

Part way through the first race of the 1981 Admiral's Cup, Victory can be seen here just behind Italy's Almagores, with Scaramouche (US) to leeward, and Ireland's Woolly Jumper to windward (photo Phil Uhl)

However (as reported by the New York Times in March 1982), complaints were lodged after the SORC by two rival Class C skippers, William Power (High Roler) and Rodney Wallace (Thunderbird). Victory’s crew subsequently complied with the Race Committee’s request to return the yacht to Florida for remeasurement. When errors were discovered by the Chief Measurer of the US Yacht Racing Union (USYRU) they advised the RORC, who promptly sent one of their measurers over from Britain, and the boat was again remeasured, confirming the USYRU’s Chief Measurer’s work.

Victory struggles towards the finish line of the first race in the 1981 Admiral's Cup, with Germany's Pinta ahead on starboard gybe 

Victory’s remeasured freeboards showed her to float very slightly higher than expected, although this was of marginal consequence. The most significant issue, however, was that her out-of-water hull depth measurements were badly amiss (by an average of 1.65”) and all the errors added cumulatively to reduce the boat’s rating, as the computer rated the boat to be 1,675lbs heavier than she really was. The other major discrepancy related to her stability, with remeasurement showing her to be 13.5% more stable than originally assessed (noting that stability was a penalised feature in the IOR, up to a point). The USYRU remeasurement found that Victory’s rating was in fact 34.5ft.

The Chairman of the SORC disqualified Victory from that series on 23 March 1982, and High Roler was declared the winner of Class C.

A study in IOR sterns during the 1981 Admiral's Cup, with Victory on the right, alongside Australia's Hitchhiker, Rebel Country and Sweden's Ra Carat (ex-Louisiana Crude) (photo Phil Uhl)

In early May 1982, therefore, it became clear to the RORC inquiry team that a full remeasurement of Victory was desirable, where the yacht was prepared for measurement by Dubois himself. This remeasurement was within the expected tolerances of the early USYRU measurements. The inquiry exonerated Dubois from any fault, noting that he had previously advised the RORC of his opinion that the depth measurements were too large and asked them to be checked, and he did all that could reasonably be expected to warn that something might be wrong.

The question was then whether Britain’s earlier victory in the 1981 Admiral’s Cup should be declared null and void and the Cup handed over to the second-placed US team. However, it does not appear that Victory’s measurement saga was the result of any effort by de Savary or Dubois, who were exonerated in the RORC’s inquiry. That inquiry also found no evidence of fraud or other malpractice, and the issue appeared to be the result of a rushed check of the mid-depths while relying on the original measurement stations. The blame thus lay with the RORC’s measurer and the rating secretary, both of whom subsequently resigned from their posts.

Further, a re-calculation of the Admiral’s Cup scores, based on Victory’s corrected rating, did not suggest that Britain’s victory was in any way undeserved. Timothy Jeffery in his comprehensive Official History of the Admiral’s Cup noted that a re-calculation only dropped Victory’s contribution to the British winning total by 19 points, which would still leave Britain with a significant margin over the US. This is perhaps not surprising, as applying the formula typically used at the time to convert an IOR rating to a time correction factor (i.e., TCF = [R1/2 + 2.6] / 10) the difference in Victory’s rating would result in a TCF of 0.83, compared to 0.84. In a six-hour race, this would amount to just 3 minutes 36 seconds (approximately 1%). It is not apparent that this would have had a significant effect on the way that other yachts would have raced against Victory, even if they found her rating to be unduly ‘competitive’. Given her strong performance in the British trials, it seems equally unlikely that with a corrected rating she would have struggled to qualify for the team or would have been beaten by the fourth-placed Mayhem.

Victory racing in San Francisco, likely during the 1984 Big Boat Series

In any event, the 1981 Admiral’s Cup result stood as part of the historical record, along with Britain’s winning margin, as does Victory’s second place in the individual standings. This is, however, in some contrast to the USYRU's approach to the SORC results, albeit that the SORC is an individual event, rather than a teams-based regatta.

Victory bashes her way upwind during the 1984 Clipper Cup (photo Yachting)

Victory was later bought by US yachtsman Robert Butkus and competed in the 1984 Clipper Cup (by then with a rating of 34.2ft, and sail number 87312), sailing for the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, and with Dubois aboard. She finished in third place in Class C (results of 2/1/3/6/8). She went on to race in Class C in the 1984 Big Boat Series, although her results in that regatta are not known, other than the fact that she did not feature in the top four.

Victory lost her mast at some stage in her racing career (photo Facebook)

Article dated January 2025

Hitchhiker (Frers 40)

Hitchhiker (photo Powerboat-world)

Hitchhiker was a 40.5 foot yacht, designed by German Frers in early 1980 for West Australian yachtsman Peter Briggs. Her lines derived from Frers' earlier SORC champion Acadia, and his previous Two Ton champion Gitana, but with a more modern and conventional approach, with moderate displacement, relatively clean lines, flat garboards and a deep keel (see profile drawing below). Favourable sail area to displacement and wetted surface ratios provided excellent acceleration. The boat was built from Kevlar and Klegecell by Bakercraft in Perth, and featured longitudinal bulkheads to provide immense fore and aft stiffness. Briggs underscored his seriousness with his Hitchhiker campaign by fitting the yacht with a German-made titanium-stocked rudder from Speedwave, and ordered a spare Stearn mast for the boat. All her sidestay turnbuckles were connected below deck, and like most competitive IOR boats of the day, she carried a huge amount of internal ballast under the floorboards, with all possible weight centered amidships and down low. Hitchhiker measured in at 31.2ft IOR, a reasonably high rating for a 40-footer but reflected Frers' thinking at the time to not give up too much speed through excessive hull shape deviations in a quest for a lower rating.

Hitchhiker during the 1981 Australian trials (photo Offshore magazine)

So advanced was Hitchhiker’s design and construction, and her performance so competitive for the era, that she was selected to represent Australia at two Admiral’s Cups (1981 and 1983). Briggs commented in 2013 (during preparations for that year's Hamilton Island Race Week) that the reason why Hitchhiker was a great boat in its early days was because it was an all-rounder and was quick in all conditions. 

At the 2013 event, a bold battle flag donning a large red thumbs-up signal flew proudly on Hitchhiker’s forestay while the crew was immaculately dressed in matching red and white crew uniforms. Briggs explained that the concept behind the boat's moniker and flag came from the brainstorming of names in 1980 when they came up with ‘hitchhiker’. “Initially we thought ‘what a dumb name!’ but 'hitchhiker' means ‘free lift’ and that’s what you want in sailing, rather than when the wind knocks. The thumb went with the hitchhiking and red is my favourite colour so we went with that". 

Hitchhiker during the 1981 Australian Admiral's Cup trials (photo Chris Furey)

One of her former crew recalls that Hitchhiker had all her halyards exiting the mast below decks. "Our 'platform' had all halyard winches mounted along the front edge. I did the bow and I would knock on the deck signals to the pit man down below. One knock hoist. Two knocks stop. And so on". 

Hitchhiker was the star of the 1981 Australian Admiral's Cup trials, counting five wins and line honours in two of the races to confirm her place in the team, alongside Alan Bond's Apollo V and Syd Fischer's Ragamuffin (both Peterson 43-footers).

Hitchhiker amongst the fray during a general recall in the first race of the 1981 Admiral's Cup

Hitchhiker during the first race of the 1981 Admiral's Cup, with Pinta astern and to windward, and Britain's Victory to weather

Hitchhiker arrived at Cowes with a terrific reputation and this was further bolstered when Harold Cudmore was brought on to join skipper Noel Robins for the inshore races. Unfortunately, however, Hitchhiker's reputation came undone right from this first race when she got tangled up with US yachts Scaramouche and Stars & Stripes, and Spain's Bribon III, and ended up over the startline early. More photos from that race can be seen here. Although Hitchhiker went on to finish the race, she was disqualified, presumably for the startline collisions.

Hitchhiker gets caught on East Bramble buoy in the second race of the 1981 Admiral's Cup (the full sequence can be seen here)

Hitchhiker suffered from another poor start in the second race, and needing to improve from her dismal first race effort she approached East Bramble buoy too low, and found both Canada's Pachena and Potitos blocking her ability to tack, and against a contrary tide Hitchhiker ended up on the buoy. Hitchhiker collected a two-point penalty for hitting the buoy, and a further ten points for fouling Bribon III, and took just six points from the race.

Another view of Hitchhiker's predicament at East Bramble buoy

Robins and his crew on Hitchhiker did their best to make amends in the next three races, but could only manage average placings in the Channel Race, the third inshore and the Fastnet race finale, to finish in 34th place overall, the lowest placed yacht in the eighth placed Australian team.

Hitchhiker in power reaching mode during the 1981 Admiral's Cup (photo Guy Gurney)

Leeward mark action aboard Hitchhiker during the 1981 Admiral's Cup (photo World of Yachting 1981-82)

Hitchhiker stayed in Europe after the Admiral's Cup to compete in the Two Ton Cup in Porto Cervo in September 1981. She was small for a Two Tonner, and having not been designed for the event, it was necessary to fit a larger mainsail to lift her rating closer to the 32.0ft Two Ton limit. In generally light airs, Hitchhiker was the best boat at the series and won the Cup from Smeralda Prima (Peterson design), an Italian yacht helmed by Australia's John Bertrand, and Aries (Holland design), a US yacht helmed by Harold Cudmore.

Hitchhiker chasing Italy's Yena during the 1981 Two Ton Cup in Porto Servo, Sardinia (photo World of Yachting 1981-82)

Hitchhiker then went on to sail for the Australian team in the 1981 Southern Cross Cup, alongside Alan Bond's Apollo V and Syd Fischer's Ragamuffin. She finished with placings of 4/12/1/6 and 201 points, just two points behind top individual yacht Smuggler (Dubois 40), and the best of the third-placed team, with the series won by the New South Wales team (Smuggler, Szechwan and Beach Inspector) and Britain second (Wee Willie Winkie, Mayhem and Yeoman XXIII).

Hitchhiker seen here at the start of the 1981 Sydney to Hobart race, with Envy (808), Apollo III and Britain's Yeoman XXIII (K-711) to weather, and Challenge II visible to leeward (photo Phil Uhl)

Hitchhiker was the first and only boat to represent Australia in the Admiral's Cup, Clipper Cup and Southern Cross Cup teams. The strong breezes and choppy waters of the 1982 Clipper Cup in particular suited the boat, and she was consistently fast. Hitchhiker also benefited from an all-star crew, with Robins (skipper), Jack Baxter, Skippy Lissman, Joe English, Peter Gilmore, Peter Cavill, "Chas from Tas", Phil Smidmore, Geoff Gale and Dave Forbes ("4 Bears"), an Olympic gold medalist and America's Cup sailor. 

Hitchhiker powers upwind during the 1982 Clipper Cup

Hitchhiker (right) seen here in a downwind line-up during the 1982 Clipper Cup with Canada's Will O the Wisp alongside (centre) and an unknown US yacht

One of her crew recalls that "Noel had a habit of doing a conservative (late) start and simply sailing through our division and into the bigger boat division (that started five minutes before us) by the windward mark. By the end of the race we often found ourselves two divisions ahead of our division.

"4 Bears was brought on board to add to our steering depth for the long races at Clipper Cup. Hitchhiker would death roll like a pig square running in strong breezes (see photo, left). Most IOR boats did. In one of our triangle races at Hawaii Noel steered for the first four legs in a fresh breeze. When we turned the top mark for the square run Noel turned the tiller over to 4 Bears. It was the first time he had touched the tiller. Three death rolls later (30 seconds) the spin pole tip went under and the mast got pushed sideways and went over the side. In hindsight not the best time to introduce a new helmsman. Still, we got back together for the next race (unlike her team-mate, Police Car).

"In the Molokai Race we blew apart our favourite Kevlar mainsail. We knew it was on the way out but it was still fast. We carried a spare. However, because of the earlier dismasting the headboard slug would not go past the join in the mast. We removed both headboards off both mainsails and bolted the headboard off the torn mainsail onto the spare main. The whole process took over an hour while bucking our way to windward with just a #3 jib up (see photo, right). Once we got going again (in last place) we sailed through many divisions to arrive at the windward mark (as usual) leading our division and amongst the division of bigger boats that started five minutes ahead of us. We ran out of water in the Round the State race and found stainless steel nuts in the toolbox to suck to promote salivating".

Hitchhiker after a Sydney to Hobart race (photo Facebook)

Hitchhiker (left) on the start line just to windward of Di-Hard, with Once More Dear Friends (3000) during the 1983 Australian Admiral's Cup trials (photo Australia's Yearbook of Sail 1)

Briggs spent $100,000 refurbishing Hitchhiker for the 1983 Australian Admiral's Cup trials, including $40,000 worth of new sails from North Sails, a new Zapspar mast to replace the one that was broken in the Clipper Cup, and alterations to the deck and interior layout by boat-builder Ken Beashel. She retained a higher rating at 31.7ft (her key rating dimensions were 34.22 L, 12.26 B and 15,264 DSPL). While many new boats competed in the trials, including an updated version of Hitchhiker, Bondi Tram, she finished as unofficial top scorer of the series. Her race placings, 3/6/3/5/4/2/2/2/1/4 told the story of steady improvement through the trials as the crew, comprised of sailors from Perth and Sydney, settled in. She joined the Australian 1983 Admiral's Cup team, alongside Bondi Tram and Once More Dear Friends, a Dubois 39-foot minimum rater.

Hitchhiker crosses Bondi Tram during the 1983 Australian Admiral's Cup trials (photo Australia's Yearbook of Sail 1)

Hitchhiker seen here during the 1983 Admiral's Cup, rounding a weather mark behind Canada's Amazing Grace and Charisma V, with Italy's Almagores just visible approaching on port - also visible, although not an Admiral's Cup contender, is the original Jade (K-747) (photo Phil Uhl)

Hitchhiker put in a more solid performance in the 1983 edition of the Admiral's Cup, opening with a very encouraging first place in the opening race, but then dropping off the pace with placings of 23/15/18/29 to finish as 16th yacht in the individual results, behind Bondi Tram (13th) but ahead of Once More Dear Friends (20th), with the Australian team finishing fourth overall.

Hitchhiker in hard running conditions during the 1983 Admiral's Cup, alongside another Australian yacht, the Holland-designed Too Impetuous, which sailed for Papua New Guinea (photo Phil Uhl)

Later, in the Southern Cross Cup held in Sydney in December 1983, Hitchhiker was first around the windward mark in the short ocean race before being passed by the much larger boats on the return leg, and taking the overall win for the race.

Above and below - Hitchhiker racing in the 1983 Southern Cross Cup series (photos by Phil Uhl)

An epic shot of Hitchhiker during the inaugural Hamilton Island Race Week in 1984

Hitchhiker was transported to the East Coast for the inaugural Hamilton Island Race Week in 1984. In fresh breezes Hitchhiker played the underdog role and won by a mere one point after entering the final race four points behind.

Hitchhiker hoists her spinnaker while Inch by Winch loses hers during the 1984 Hamilton Island Race Week

Later, the beautifully maintained Hitchhiker was again transported 5,000km from Perth, Western Australia, across the bare Nullarbor Plain to Hamilton Island on a semi-trailer, apparently the longest distance in the world to drive a yacht of its size. With his three combined trips to Hamilton Island, in 1984, for the 25th anniversary, in 2008 and 2013 (where she formed part of the "First Fleet" division), Briggs has spent 30,000km on the road transporting Hitchhiker to the world famous regatta.

Hitchhiker during the 2014 Hamilton Island Race Week (photo Charterworld/Andrea Francoli)

“In the old days when we trucked over in ’84 we didn’t have to have a lead car and those sorts of things. Today, there’s a lot of rules and you have to have a car at the front saying ‘vehicle following’ which increases the cost considerably - it’s a big effort,” Briggs said in 2013.

Hitchhiker during the 2008 Hamilton Island Race Week (photo crosbielarimer.com/Sail-world)

Briggs still owns Hitchhiker and maintains her in original condition in Perth. The following video is of Hitchhiker sailing downwind, and giving her crew some white-knuckle moments, during the 2008 Hamilton Island Race Week:

Hitchhiker seen here in a Royal Perth Yacht Club regatta in November 2023 (photo Facebook)

Hitchhiker as seen in April 2024 in her marina at the Royal Perth Yacht Club (photo Facebook)

Hitchhiker is currently for sale (early 2024).

Article updated April 2024

Rubin XI (Judel/Vrolijk Two Tonner)

Rubin XI surfs downwind

This post features a number of photos from a collection contained in a German yachting magazine that followed the design, construction and launching of Rubin XI, a Two Tonner commissioned by German yachtsman Hans-Otto Schumann for the 1989 Admiral's Cup. The German teams had been dominant in the Admiral's Cup during the 1980s, winning the 1983 and 1985 events. However, they had slipped off the pace in 1987, and were keen to re-assert their previous form for the 1989 series.  

Rubin XI was the latest in a long line of Rubin's that had been part of nine previous Admiral's Cups, and Schumann had been part of winning German efforts in 1973 and 1985 (Rubin G VIII).

Computer generated lines plan for Rubin XI

In early November 1988 3:1 scale models of the new yacht are ready for testing, including the latest elliptical keel profile here being attached (photo Heiner Mueller-Elsner).

Rubin XI was designed by the German design duo of Frierich Judel and Rolf Vrolijk, who had delivered most of their country's Cup winning designs throughout their earlier winning campaigns. She was approximately 44 feet in length, designed as a Two Tonner (34.5ft IOR), but her rating was optimised at 34.33ft for Admiral's Cup competition. The hull and appendage designs were subject to extensive computer analysis and tank testing, and construction utilised the latest in carbon fibre technology.

The design is tested in November 1988 in a 300 metre long tank testing facility (photo Heiner Mueller-Elsner).

By December 1988 construction is well underway at Yachtwerft Wedel - the hull is baked at 180 degrees celsius overnight in an aluminium furnace to cure the carbon fibre layers (photo Heiner Mueller-Elsner).

Construction proceeds apace during January 1989 - the mast support structure being put in place (photo Heiner Mueller-Elsner).

Mid-February 1989 - deck fittings and winches are put in place (photo Heiner Mueller-Elsner).

3 March 1989 - construction and rigging are completed, and Rubin XI, weighing approximately six tonnes, is ready for launching in Kiel (photo Heiner Mueller-Elsner).

Rubin XI in trials before the 1989 Admiral's Cup (photo unknown)

Unfortunately, and despite their apparent promise and no compromise approach to preparation, the 1989 German effort did not deliver the results that had been expected of it. In a year where the new 50 footers were dominant, Germany had arrived with 2 Two Tonners (Rubin XI and Pinta) and a One Tonner (Becks Diva) and it was an unsuitable combination. Worse, the capricious breezes of the first race spelt calamity for the German team - by the time a sea breeze filled in the whole German team were well down the placings and Rubin XI finished in last place (42nd). It followed this with placings of 26/12/23/9 and a 17th in the Fastnet race to finish 21st overall. Becks Diva was the best placed of the German team finishing 12th, while Pinta was 26th to give the team a disappointing eighth place in the series.

Rubin XI heads out to race in the 1989 Admiral's Cup (photo Shockwave40 blog)

Rubin XI made another appearance for the 1991 Admiral's Cup, or at least, parts of her did - the deck, winches and rig were married to a new hull to create Rubin XII, but was jokingly referred to as Rubin XI 1/2. The team was again unsuccessful in 1991, finishing fifth (Rubin XII was fourth in the Two Tonner division) but Rubin XII formed part of the team that bounced back in 1993 to win the series by the slimmest of margins, by just 0.25 points.

Rubin XII sails back to the marina after a race during the 1991 Admiral's Cup (photo Shockwave40 blog)

Rubin XII was later bought by a yachtsman from Northern Ireland and she was renamed Hesperia IV.

Hesperia IV ex-Rubin XII