One Ton Cup Revival 2016 - Update

Just over 50 years, after the first One Ton Cup was sailed at le Havre, France in 1965 and just 20 years after the last One Ton Cup in Marseille 2004, the event is back in Europe. A group of enthusiastic One Ton owners decided to organise the event ONE TON CUP revival 2016 at Breskens, the Netherlands from 25 – 28 of August.

The event will be open for all types of One Tonners and their sisterships, like the Oyster 41, Oyster 37, Standfast 36, X-1Ton, X-402, J-41, Huisman 37, Contessa 35, Sprinter, Optimist A + B, Swan 36, Ranger 37, Tina, Norlin 37, First Class 12, Swan 37, High Tension 36, Baltic 37, Swan 371, etc.

Vincent de Vries' classic Carter-designed One Tonner, Esprit du Morbihan

At this moment over 20 One Tonners are pre-registered, including yachts from France, Belgium, United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. There are even rumours that Chris Bouzaid will try to get Rainbow II over to Breskens! Rainbow II was the One Ton Cup winner in 1969 and the winner of the One Ton Revisited regatta in 2015, held in Auckland, New Zealand.

Rainbow II - a first generation One Tonner (27.5ft IOR) and winner of the One Ton Cup in 1969, and the One Ton Revisited regatta 2015

Over the years there have been three One Ton classes: 22 ft RORC; 27.5 ft IOR; and 30.5 ft. IOR. During the years yachts were more and more built dedicated for the One Ton Cup and evolved from cruisers to cruiser/racers to flat-out racers.

French One Tonner, Fiere Lady (30.5ft IOR) - fifth in the 1985 One Ton Cup

The One Ton Cup revival 2016, will be sailed under IRC rules and IRC rating system, in the three above mentioned classes. The yachts will sail in one division, the results will be separated over the classes, per day. The best One Tonner over the event will be honoured with an overall prize. There will be a mix of races: from short windward-leewards to 30 nautical mile round the buoys courses. All races will be on the beautiful Westerschelde estuary.

The ONE TON CUP revival 2016 is a part of the Breskens Sailing Weekend 2016, the Dutch Open IRC Championships. In a few weeks’ time the website www.breskenssailing.org and www.onetoncuprevival.org will be launched to fully inform you and to welcome your registration. In the meantime please contact Vincent de Vries at info@onetoncuprevival.org.

One Ton Revisited 2015 - Race 5

Rainbow II (Chris Bouzaid) finished the inaugural One Ton Revisited series in style with a second in the points-and-a-half final race on IRC corrected time, to complete a 2/1/1/1/2 series. The S&S36 Rainbow II had already wrapped up the contest with victory in the double points long race yesterday. Today’s result only emphasised her all-round pedigree and class. 

Rainbow II reveled in the predominantly light conditions that marked her return to racing in the Hauraki Gulf (photo Ivor Wilkins)

The course today was a 25-miler from the start off Northern Leading Beacon, counter-clockwise around Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands, then back into the harbour to the finish off Princes Wharf. The breeze at the start was a 10-knot east-north easterly.

Impact (right) and Result rounding Billy Goat Point

At Billy Goat Point, on the north-eastern tip of Motutapu, the Farr 40 Pacific Sundance (Bernard Hyde) led by 400 metres from the Farr 36 Revolution (Tony Wallis/Max Cossey), Next came Rainbow II and the Carter 39 Wai Aniwa. Astern of them, the Lidgard designs Result and Impact were locked in their own titanic battle.

Pacific Sundance slides down the Rangitoto Channel under masthead spinnaker in a building nor-westerly (photo RNZYS)

At the Rangitoto Light mark (McKenzie Buoy), the two Farr boats, Pacific Sundance and Revolution were reveling in the downwind sailing with the breeze now puffing more than 12 knots which increased further as the fleet neared the last turning point at North Head. Pacific Sundance led from start to finish for a perfect score of five bullets, with Revolution finishing just five minutes behind to take corrected time honours and finish in second place overall. 

Wai Aniwa, Rainbow II, Result and Impact made a magnificent sight as they came charging down the Rangitoto Channel under spinnaker in a building breeze - Result's challenge came to an end in a spectacular broach, and shortly afterwards Rainbow II lost their spinnaker pole under compression loading, allowing Wai Aniwa to sneak ahead around North Head. However, Wai Aniwa made an error passing a channel marker the wrong way, which let both Rainbow II and Impact through on the final fetch up the harbour to the finish off Princes Wharf. This saw Wai Aniwa fall back to third place overall, just one point behind Revolution and one point ahead of Impact.

Final results: 1st Rainbow II (39pts), 2nd Revolution (27pts), 3rd Wai Aniwa (26pts), 4th Impact (25pts), 5th Pacific Sundance (17pts), 6th Result (13pts).

There was some consolation for Result which won the Altex Coatings Prix d'Elegance award for the "best presented boat and crew".

Result - winner of the Altex Coatings Prix d'Elegance award, seen here at the start of the fourth race (photo RNZYS)

At the series prizegiving held at Viaduct Harbour, there was little doubt about the success of the event, despite the small final fleet, with everyone talking in terms of “next year”. Many of the crews expressed their delight at the closeness of the racing and the spirit in which it was carried out. It was, the older hands agreed, a timely reminder of the competitive quality of Ton racing in days gone by.

Almost in response, Chris Bouzaid told the gathering that discussions were already under way with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron to stage the event again in 12 months’ time, on a bigger scale. This would be achieved with a more inclusive set of IRC rating bands and by including Quarter, Half and even Two Tonners. If the response to the proposal is enthusiastic enough, the RNZYS could consider including Ton racing in its annual programme.


A nice video of Rainbow II and her legacy for New Zealand yachting has been added to the Volvo Ocean Race website and can be seen here:



And the TVNZ Sports feature on the One Ton Revisited regatta is here.

One Ton Revisited 2015 - Race 1

The Farr 40 Pacific Sundance (Bernard Hyde) took both line and handicap honours in Race 1 of the One Ton Revisited series on Saturday, 27 February. It was a severe test of light airs sailing, with Auckland and the inner Hauraki Gulf locked in the relentless grip of the high pressure systems that have made summer in these parts one of the warmest and driest on record. The course was shortened to a 24-miler along the northern shore of Waiheke, rounding Gannet Rock and finishing off Terahiki Island (to the east of Pakatoa).

Part of the One Ton Revisited fleet prepare for the start off the RNZYS, Westhaven

The One Ton Revisited fleet struggled in light airs that fluctuated between southerly and westerly and frequently died. There was a light northerly tantalisingly close to windward along the northern shore of Waiheke but only Pacific Sundance managed to cross the divide into the slightly more consistent breeze. It still took her nearly 7½ hours to cover the distance and take the gun, 1 hour 20 minutes ahead of the Farr 1104 Revolution (Tony Wallis/Max Cossey). Third home was the recently restored S&S 36 Rainbow II (Chris Bouzaid), some three minutes astern of Revolution.

On IRC corrected time, Pacific Sundance (rating 1.045) won by some 26 minutes from Rainbow II (0.930). Third was the smallest boat in the fleet, Kevin Kelly's Lidgard design Impact (0.935) which, with Andy Ball on the helm, led on the water in the early stages. 

Start of the first race of the One Ton Revisited - Pacific Sundance leads from Rainbow II, Result, Revolution and Wai Aniwa

Bernie Hyde (Pacific Sundance): “We got a good start and were nicely ahead until we ran out of wind off the Devonport Naval base – everyone overtook us. But, once we got going again, we got back into it and had a great ride. Ray (Haslar) did a top job. We snuck through the hole off Motutapu and wriggled around the western end of Waiheke, and then there was no catching us. We’re a bit bigger and newer than everyone else and some of that told”.

Chris Bouzaid (Rainbow II): “We changed spinnakers 47 times as we kept running out of the breeze and had to wait for it to fill in again. We didn’t get anything remotely consistent until after Gannet Rock when we nosed into the Firth of Thames and the light northerly”.

Roger Foley (Wai Aniwa): We had a bad start but led through middle section only to lose out to Rainbow II and Result after Gannet Rock. Rainbow II has a great set of sails, well suited to Auckland conditions. The boat is also slippery and well sailed. It’s going to be fun”.
Race 2 in the five-heat series is a 20-mile Olympic course scheduled to start at 11am on Monday 2 March.

Article provided by Alan Sefton 

Rainbow II - back in the water

Rainbow II went back into the waters of the Waitemata Harbour on Monday, 2 February 2015, some 45 years since she was lifted aboard a freighter bound from Auckland to Germany where she would challenge for, and win, the One Ton Cup in 1969.

Rainbow II is lowered into the water at Pier 21, Westhaven (photo Alan Sefton)

After a huge restoration effort by her original owner, Chris Bouzaid, and the Classic Yacht Charitable Trust, headed by John Street, Rainbow II emerged from the Vos Shed and moved to Pier 21 in Westhaven. She was re-christened by John Street’s wife, Lorraine, in front of a gathering that included Bruce Marler, who was commodore of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and a driving force behind Rainbow II’s two campaigns for the Cup, current RNZYS commodore Andy Anderson, and Rainbow II crew stalwarts Roy Dickson, Alan Warwick and Peter Shaw. 

Rainbow II - afloat again on the Waitemata Harbour (photo Alan Sefton)

Rainbow II is sporting a new double-spreader rig, which looks slightly taller than her original, and is now located at a berth in Westhaven Marina outside the RNZYS where the final bits of her restoration will be completed, including the anti-skidding of the deck and cabin top. She will then start her sailing build up for the five-race One Ton Revisited regatta scheduled to start on 28 February. 

More photos can be seen on Sail-world here.

 

One Ton Revisited 2015 - Update

The One Ton Revisited regatta gets underway in just under a month's time and will be hosted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. The most recent entry, Kevin Kelly’s Impact, has brought the number of yachts to eight.

Impact - the latest entry for the 2015 One Ton Revisited regatta

Impact is a John Lidgard 'Imp' design with Kelly a stalwart of the Panmure Yacht & Boating Club. Her crew for One Ton Revisited will include Andy Ball and Ian McKenzie as well as sailmaker Kenny Fyfe. Ball was tactician on Ian Gibbs’ Swuzzlebubble when she finished fifth in the 1977 Half Ton Cup, in Sydney. He filled the same roll when Gibbs’ Swuzzlebubble III finished top individual points scorer in the 1981 Admiral’s Cup. McKenzie is the son of the late John McKenzie, former commodore of the RNZYS (1975/76) and a highly respected offshore racer in his hard-chine Spencer design Sirius, while sailmaker Fyfe is a former, multiple R-Class champion who has raced everything else from Quarter Tonners to Bob Graham’s 48ft Davidson design Snow White II.

Wai Aniwa - arrived in Auckland from Wellington over the Auckland Anniversary weekend

Impact will join other entries listed in the previous update, being Panther, Pacific Sundance, Rainbow II, Result, Revolution, Wai Aniwa and Young Nick. Rainbow II has been undergoing an extensive refurbishment and is due to be re-launched at Pier 21, Westhaven, on 2 February. The group weigh-in to obtain IRC ratings will be held on 3 or 10 February.

Rainbow II at Pier 21 with mast stepped and ready for launch on 2 February

The skipper's briefing gets underway at 1610hrs on 27 February (RNZYS), followed by a cocktail welcome function. The series of five races starts on 28 February and finishes on 7 March. The prizegiving will be a public affair, using the Volvo stage and hospitality facilities in Viaduct Harbour. Trophies will be handed out by Bruce Marler, who was the commodore of the RNZYS and a driving force behind the decision to send Rainbow II to Heligoland to challenge for the One Ton Cup in 1968 and 1969. Prizes will be awarded to the overall winner of the series, to the highest placed 'classic' and 'modern' One Tonners, and the yacht that gets the most guns in the series. There will also be a Prix D'Elegance award for the best presented yacht and crew. 

Pacific Sundance has had a new paint job in readiness for the One Ton Revisited regatta

The latest press-release for the One Ton Revisited regatta advises of another event associated with the series:

"The dramatic events that, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, surrounded Chris Bouzaid and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron winning and then defending the One Ton Cup, were the launch pad for this country’s remarkable rise to dominance of world ocean racing and its attendant marine industry.

Some 25 years later, they culminated in New Zealand and the Squadron winning yachting’s greatest prize – the America’s Cup.

Not many people realise that those first faltering steps to sailing pre-eminence also launched two more Squadron members – Peter Montgomery and Bill McCarthy - on to an unsuspecting sailing public. Both became household names throughout New Zealand – Pete as the “voice of yachting” and Bill as sportscaster and then television presenter of TVNZ’s national news.

The S&S design Young Nick

We’re bringing all three back together – Bouzaid, Montgomery and McCarthy – to present a special evening that will be a precursor to the One Ton Revisited regatta (25 February to 7 March inclusive). Peter will be MC and Chris the guest speaker as we take a trip down the One Ton Cup memory lane that will feature rare footage of the 1969 and 1971 One Ton Cup events assembled and presented by now-video producer and editor Bill.

Then, as a special bonus, another Squadron member, Larry Keating, will give us a sneak preview of his yet-to-be released international television series that, in high definition, reveals the America’s Cup as it has never been seen before – great history and tradition, powerful players, intrigue and dirty tricks, warts and all.

It should be a night to remember!!!"

In addition to the passage and Gulf courses, organisers will be staging short-course harbour races in conjunction with the Volvo pro-am races on 12 March and 13 March, and with the Volvo In-Port race on 14 March.

Regatta details are available from the RNZYS.

Click on the 'One Ton Revisited 2015' label below to get the latest race results, and click here to see a TVNZ Sports feature (4 March) on the regatta.

One Ton Cup 1988

The 1988 One Ton Cup was hosted by the St Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco during 3-15 September. The One Ton fleet (30.5ft IOR) had over the preceding years been the most competitive and best supported class in ocean racing, and the Cup was attracting the most sophisticated boats and best crews around. 

The fleet in San Francisco numbered 25, with the Farr office responsible for the design of ten of the boats. The defending champion, the Crown Prince Harold of Norway, arrived in San Francisco early with his yacht Fram X which had won the 1987 even held in Kiel, Germany, and remained a serious contender a year later. Other top boats included Bravura, a new 1988 Farr design under the direction of Geoff Stagg and a Farr works team. Bravura had taken top honours at the Kenwood Cup in Hawaii a month earlier. Another entrant that arrived from Hawaii was Australian Gary Appleby's Sagacious V, a veteran of the 1986 Southern Cross Cup and 1987 Admiral's Cup.

Propaganda - 1988 One Ton Cup winner

The New Zealand challenge was spearheaded by Propaganda, the top scoring boat in the 1987 Admiral's Cup which was by this time owned by a syndicate of Tim Bailey, Michael Fay and David Richwhite. Propaganda had not raced since the Admiral's Cup and instead had been tuned in Auckland with sistership Fair Share, and had been given a new keel and rudder prior to the series to try to improve downwind performance. Propaganda was skippered by Rick Dodson, and included US sailor John Bertrand who provided excellent local knowledge.

Startline action during the 1988 One Ton Cup

Other notable entries included the 1983-era Pacific Sundance, skippered by Chris Dickson, and local entry Pendragon, a Davidson design skippered by Kimo Worthington.

Part of the 1988 One Ton Cup fleet - Propaganda just to the left of KA-Sm-6 has an average start but will soon be up with the leading bunch.

The first inshore race was held inside San Francisco Bay in typically perfect conditions for which the Bay is known, but working the shore of Angel Island in the adverse tide on the upwind legs was critical. By the second to last beat Pendragon and Propaganda were leading and engaging in a close duel barely feet apart and taking each other into the middle of the course and into the current. Pacific Sundance was able to take advantage and lead around the penultimate weather mark, and it wasn't until the final beat was able to move into the lead, winning by 20 seconds, with Pacific Sundance second and Pendragon third.

Challenge 88 to windward of Propaganda during the 1988 One Ton Cup

Victoria (left) and Propaganda run downwind ahead of the chasing pack

Bravura

The second race, the long offshore, took the fleet under the Golden Gate Bridge and out into light and shifty coastal waters, and on a large ocean triangle course of around 150 miles (with the Farollan islands acting as a wing mark), followed by a smaller triangle of 75 miles and then back into the Bay to finish off the Yacht Club. This proved to be more a test of nerves and frustration than sailing skill. Sagacious V lead the fleet after 50 miles, from Rush (ex-Jamarella) but with Fram X and Propaganda close behind. But during the night Propaganda had played the shifts to perfection and moved up to second, and managed to round the Farollan Islands without coming to a standstill and put a large gap between Sagacious and the rest of the fleet. For the rest of the race Propaganda was on her own, managing to keep moving in the very light air and finishing just before the ebb tide became too strong - Sagacious was shut out and Propaganda finished the race 8 hours ahead. Fram X came in third, followed by Pendragon.

Propaganda heads upwind and avoids a competitor's errant spinnaker

Conditions could not have been more different for the third race, the second inshore, with 25-30 knots blowing against the tide and forming short sharp seas. Pendragon was an early casualty, breaking her boom after throwing a covering tack over Propaganda. The fleet was closely bunched at the weather mark and while Sagacious was in the leading bunch her mast failed soon afterwards. Both Bravura and Fair Share managed to blow out spinnakers on the downwind legs, while top marks for presentation went to British entry Juno for showing her entire keel during a wipe-out at the gybe mark. 

An unknown competitor grapples with its spinnaker

As in the first race, the Angel Island shore was again paying in the strong tidal conditions, forcing a line of port tackers up the first half of the weather legs. Propaganda had an immense tussle with the Takai design Victoria, just taking the lead after the final bottom mark and stretching away to win by a minute after Victoria broke her boom. Skedaddle, a Reichel-Pugh design, came in second, followed by Bravura and Fair Share.

After three races Propaganda was the clear leader going into the fourth race, the 150 mile short offshore. Given the light conditions for the long offshore, the race committee elected to reduced the length of the race to 139 miles, but with just 70 miles outside the Bay, and the remainder within the Bay, taking the competitors right up into the container areas and the eastern end of the Harbour, where there were still light and shifty breezes, and periods of total calm. In fickle conditions Fram X (left and below) and Propaganda finished 11 and 12th respectively, although Propaganda had been lying in 15th for a time.

Fram X on a downwind run and to leeward of Pacific Sundance (photo One Ton Class Facebook page)

Sagacious loses her mast in the third race

Despite the trials of the offshore races, most competitors were happy to this point with the organisation of the regatta. The checking of yachts was conducted on a random basis both before and after races, and involving checks of sails, freeboards and the internal positioning of gear by very thorough measurers - the race committee working hard to prevent a repeat of issues in Kiel the year before. However, most thought this thoroughness went too far when both Sagacious and Black Jack were precluded from installing their spare rigs following their breakages, and forcing the crews to repair the broken ones. Pendragon was unable to fix their boom in time for the short offshore and so had to miss the race.

The final race was again held in 18-20 knots, and saw Fair Share jump out to an early lead. Skippered by Russell Coutts, Fair Share was improving throughout the series and was clearly on form by the closing stages. She ended up covering Bravura and Pacific Sundance which let Propaganda sail her own race and go on to win by over a minute. With a 1/1/1/12/1 record, Propaganda won the series by a comfortable margin on 142.25 points, with Bravura second on 121.5, Fram X third (118.5), followed by Team Cirkeline, Sagacious and Fair Share. The first non-Farr boat was Challenge 88 in seventh place, a Bruce Nelson design.

Fair Share sails past Alcatraz

Propaganda's dominance was due to a number of factors. Much care was taken to develop her keel and rudder shapes to provide better all round performance to balance out the blistering upwind speed that she had at the Admiral's Cup. The boat and crew arrived early in San Francisco and spent a full ten days fine tuning the mast and rigging for the conditions and sail testing against Fair Share. Significantly, the crew found that their Sparcraft mast was flexing too much in San Francisco's 25 knot winds, and so extended the jumper struts and replaced the rigging with cobalt rod to limit stretch - the resulting more powerful and stiffer rig showed its worth from the first race onwards. 

Bravura

Missing the Kenwood Cup series allowed the Propaganda crew to focus on the One Ton Cup, and avoided issues such as those that beset Juno which suffered a collision at the earlier regatta, and winners of the regatta Bravura were perhaps left with a false sense of security. Challenge 88 had had to scramble to make it to San Francisco after winning their victory at the Canada's Cup. 

Juno has a spectacular wipe out during one of the windy inshore races during the 1988 One Ton Cup (photo One Ton Class Facebook page)

Sagacious (left) follows Victoria into a gybe mark

The crew work was excellent and all of them had raced with skipper Rick Dodson which allowed fine tuning of the yacht to take precedence over crew work. The combination of John Bertrand as tactician and John Newton as navigator was also a great asset, with the boat sailed on a consistent and percentage basis, with no protests and no close incidents which allowed the crew to keep sailing the boat at its fastest. 

Bodacious (US Farr 40) - under control above, but less so below (with Brazil's Black Jack to the left)

It was, overall, a remarkable performance, equaling the four-win record set by Chris Bouzaid in another famous New Zealand yacht, Rainbow II, which won the Cup in 1969. Afterwards, Propaganda co-owners Fay and Richwhite announced their intention to build a second, larger Farr design to campaign alongside Propaganda in the New Zealand team for the defence of the Admiral's Cup in 1989 - that boat would be known as Librah. Propaganda and Fair Share stayed in San Francisco for the 1988 Big Boat Series, where the ever improving Fair Share turned the tables on the One Ton Cup winner to take second place behind Pendragon, with Propaganda third.

The One Ton Cup

Results (top 10)

1. Propaganda (NZL) - Farr - 142.25pts
2. Bravura (USA) - Farr - 121.50
3. Fram X (NOR) - Farr - 118.50
4. Team Cirkeline - Farr - 114.50
5. Sagacious V (AUS) - Farr - 112
6. Fair Share (NZL) - Farr - 106
7. Challenge 88 (USA) - Nelson - 103
8. Pacific Sundance (NZL) - Farr - 98
9. The Esanda Way - Davidson - 90
10. Skedaddle - Reichel-Pugh - 84

Rainbow II

Top New Zealand yachtsman, Chris Bouzaid, updates on the restoration of Rainbow II, currently underway at Silverdale, north of Auckland. Rainbow II was the iconic yacht of New Zealand sailing in the 1960's, leading the way for the many successful international campaigns that followed. She started the model of using international race competition to spearhead the products and expertise of the NZ marine industry.  Bouzaid writes:

"The restoration of Rainbow II is progressing well at Wayne Olsen’s Horizon Boats Ltd in Silverdale, just north of Auckland, but our fundraising is lagging. If you feel like helping to put Rainbow II back in the water in full racing trim, no contribution is too big, or too small, and your donation will be fully tax-deductable.

Chris Bouzaid with Rainbow II

The idea to resurrect Rainbow II was born in 2009. I was passing through Bermuda and took the time to visit the yacht that I sold to local sailor Charlie Berry immediately after she’d won the One Ton Cup in 1969 and done so well in England in the Channel Race and the Fastnet Classic. 

I found the old girl in bad shape and not all that far from the scrap heap. With a couple of friends, I took her for a sail and was amazed how well she still slid along, especially in the light air. Unfortunately, the breeze increased during the day, and so did the volume of water coming in through the garboard planks. We were pretty lucky to get back to the mooring without drowning the engine.

I made the decision there and then that this was not a fitting end for a yacht that had inspired so much and so many. She had to be brought home to Auckland. A few quick phone calls to friends in New Zealand and Monaco produced some very generous offers of both financial and physical help. So, I bought back Rainbow II from Jeremy Brasier and pretty soon, with the help of the Maersk Line, she was on her way home to the Waitemata Harbour. 

Rainbow II arrives in Auckland (above and below)

The original concept was to put Rainbow II back into presentable shape and donate her for public display in the Voyager National Maritime Museum. That idea was modified in June last year when it emerged that there was a lot of interest in Rainbow II having another romp around the harbour with as many of the original crew as could still come sailing, before she was retired to a museum. So, what was going to be a quick lick became a tad more complicated.
 
Last October this all changed again. Over a few beers at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, it was suggested by Alan Sefton that we should see if there is any interest in having a rerun of the old One Ton Cup's in Auckland around the time of the 2014/15 Volvo Ocean Race stopover in 2015.

An announcement was made seeking 'Expressions of Interest'. The international response – 28 from 9 different countries – was good enough for the Squadron to commit to formal planning, and a Notice of Race for a 'One Ton Revisited' regatta was published and disseminated the in March this year. Rainbow II’s 'quick lick' now became a full restoration to enable her to go racing again.

The goal is to raise enough money to complete the restoration and have a small endowment to cover on-going maintenance when Rainbow II goes on permanent public display, possibly as part of the marine heritage centre that is proposed for the iconic Percy Vos Boatshed in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter.

Whangarei to Noumea race, 1967 (George Layton)

The target is to have all work completed by the end of August 2014, with Rainbow II re-launched at the Squadron’s Westhaven clubrooms in mid-September 2014.

The works team on the job are Wayne Olsen himself and the amazingly resourceful Mike Smith. The invaluable volunteer helpers include Max Carter, the man who built Rainbow II back in 1966, John 'Bulldog' Street, Tony 'Womble' Barclay, and Roy 'Rocket' Dickson. 

A growing list of equipment is being donated, to ensure that Rainbow II lacks for nothing when she goes to the race start line again in the One Ton Revisited regatta next year. I will include a full list of these suppliers in my next update, along with a similar list of all donors that allow us to publicly acknowledge their generosity.

Remember, all donations will be tax deductible and will only be applied to the restoration and maintenance of Rainbow II, and can be made to:

In the US:  The Presumpscot Foundation, 100 Middle Road, Cumberland, ME 04021, USA;
In NZ: The Classic Yacht Charitable Trust, PO Box 1951, Shortland Street, Auckland 1141. 

When we set out to build Rainbow II in 1966, for weight purposes we opted for a single skin of kauri with glued splines between the planks (instead of caulking). It is amazing how well she has stood the test of time, considering that the S&S 36-footer was raced very hard in the first three years of her life (she won the Whangarei-Noumea race in April 1967, the Sydney-Hobart classic in December 1967, finished second (1968) and then first (1969) in the One Ton Cup in Heligoland, and then, in August 1969, won the 245-mile Channel Race and finished first in her class in the 605-mile Fastnet Classic.

Once Horizon Boats had water blasted Rainbow’s exterior, they found a very small amount of rot in the marine ply deck but none at all in the hull – testimony to the qualities of the wonderful Kauri and to the boatbuilding skills of Max Carter.

The exterior of the hull has since been fibreglassed and will now be prepped, undercoated and brought up to finish-coat standard. All deck hardware has been removed, for refurbishment or if needs be, replacement, while the deck and cockpit are fibreglassed and repainted with anti-skid. The cabin top and teak toe rail are being reinstated and the coamings scraped right back and re-varnished. The interior, meanwhile, has been sand-blasted prior to prep and repaint. New floors are in, as is a new mast step. The original bunks will be restored while galley and navigatorium have been refurbished.

John Street, Wayne Olsen and Chris Bouzaid

Still to come is a new engine box (the engine itself has been fully reconditioned and repainted) and new toilet. All wiring will be renewed, as will the two batteries and engine start panel. There will also be new deck and navigation lights and a new performance electronics package.

When all the work is done, Rainbow II will be as close to original as we can make her with boatbuilder Olsen confident that she will stronger than she’s ever been.

It’s now approaching 50 years since Rainbow II’s ocean race win in the 1969 One Ton Cup shared equal front page billing in the Auckland Star evening newspaper with Neil Armstrong landing on the moon ('One Small Step For Man' on the left and 'Rainbow Wins Battle Of Jutland' on the right) so it is easy to forget the impact she made on the New Zealand public.

Heck – she even had her picture on the lid of the Arnotts Biscuits tin - a distinction usually reserved for racehorses in those days. 

I take a lot of pride in the fact that people in a position to judge these things claim that Rainbow II’s feats in the late 1960s, backing up Jim Davern’s 1966 line honours win, in Fidelis, in the Sydney-Hobart, are credited with launching the New Zealand invasion of ocean racing which, in the next 40 years, resulted in Kiwi designed boats and crews winning every major event in world offshore racing, most of them more than once. 

Rainbow II in action soon after the start of the fourth race during the 1969 One Ton Cup

That includes the Whitbread Round the World race, the Trophee Jules Verne and the America’s Cup, all three Ton Cups (Quarter, Half and One), plus the Admiral’s Cup, Southern Cross Cup and Kenwood (nee Clipper) Cups. That domination of the sport extended to yacht design, boatbuilding, and the design and construction of rigs and sails.

Quite astonishing when you consider: New Zealand’s population was only 2.8 million when Rainbow II won the One Ton Cup in 1969; 2.89 million when Pathfinder, Runaway and Wai-Aniwa finished first, second and third in the Sydney-Hobart classic to clinch the 1971 Southern Cross Cup; just 3.3 million when, in 1987, Propaganda, Kiwi and Goldcorp won the 1987 Admiral’s Cup; 3.36 million when Steinlager 2 won all six legs of the Whitbread Round the World race (on line and on handicap); and just 3.6 million when, in 1995, 'Black Magic' (NZL 32) won the America’s Cup.

Now – is that punching ‘way above your weight??

The Squadron and its members have been integral to most of that phenomenal success (and one should never forget either the important part played by the Royal Akarana Yacht Club).

Rainbow II’s 1968 challenge for the One Ton Cup in Heligoland was a first for the Squadron that, for the most part, in those days was content to organise racing for its magnificent fleet of harbour and gulf racers. The challenge in Germany was championed by Commodore Bruce Marler and senior club member Arnold Baldwin. What visionaries they proved to be. 

Rainbow II crosses the line of the fifth and final race to win the One Ton Cup, 1969

We managed to raise, mostly from club members, almost £20,000 – an awful lot of money in those days. From the acorn of those small beginnings, a very large oak tree sprouted, and - look where look where it has led the Squadron. There is no yacht club in the world that has as much recognition for its successful campaigns, and no other yacht club has won as many international regattas.

I want to thank all of you who have helped us get this far. It has been a journey with lots of memories and old friends coming out of the woodwork in all parts of the world. And, it would appear that the old Rainbow magic is still a factor. Even though we have kept fairly quiet about the Rainbow II restoration, a steady flow of interested parties find their way to Horizon Boats to check on progress - no easy task because the yard is well tucked away in a district north of Auckland that is only now beginning to make its way on to the GPS maps.

The original crew of Rainbow II

The modern era of the One Ton Cup started with yachts designed to the RORC Rule (1964 to 1969 - the Rainbow II era). Then the newly formulated International Offshore Rule (IOR) was introduced and, from 1970 to 1980, all competitors were designed and built to that rule. (the Wai-Aniwa era). During those two periods, the average Joe could afford to build, own and campaign a One Tonner. Then costs began to spiral and today you would not get much for the money you managed to scrape together for a whole campaign in days gone by, and this has had a serious impact on international competition. Maybe the old days weren’t so bad and maybe that’s why the idea for a One Ton Revisited regatta next year is proving so popular.

To all overseas yachties reading this – come join us for One Ton Revisited 2015 and enjoy the racing and hospitality of a country in which offshore racing looms so large in the national psyche.

Good and happy sailing,

Chris

GO RAINBOW GO"

Update - Rainbow II was re-launched on 2 February 2015