Clipper Cup 1982

The third Hawaii IOR Series held in 1982 featured 80 boats from eight countries (Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA). The Maxi fleet would feature eight yachts including Condor and Condor of Bermuda, Kialoa IV and Windward Passage. The series was modified for 1982 by substituting a new 150-mile middle distance race from Oahu to Maui along the north shore of Molokai Island, and the Clipper Cup Trophy would become the principal trophy for international team competition.  

Japanese yacht Super Witch (photo Phil Uhl/Facebook)

The 1982 series was a particularly windy regatta and affected by the remnants of two hurricanes that passes to the south of the Hawaiian Islands, and made the regatta one of the most memorable and exciting events of the decade. Winds gusting 45 knots created big seas but the brilliant sunshine of Hawaii prevailed throughout. Gear failure was rampant and the new IOR designs were pushed to the limit. By the end of the series there were seven broken masts strewn about Ala Wai Harbour, a few broken bones and contusions, and various fractured equipment.

The Japanese yacht Tobiume was the top boat of the series and winner of Class E (photo Guy Gurney)

The Davidson 50 yacht Great Fun (photo Sea Spray)

The Olympic Triangle courses provided excitement never before dreamed of in offshore racing, with Maxi yachts surfing like One Tonners. The wild surfing conditions and severe broaches experienced by many of the yachts made the Olympic races a bonanza for the photographers. 

The Davidson 40 Libalia Too (ex-Brother Dominic) (photo Phil Uhl/Facebook)

Australia's Margaret Rintoul III finished in 7th place overall and 2nd in Class B, and part of the second placed Australian team (photo Bruce Brown/Yacht Racing/Cruising)

The Farr 48-footer Sangvind (photo Phil Uhl)

Kialoa IV on port tack approaches Condor on starboard

Condor of Bermuda and Windward Passage arrive at a windward mark during the 1982 Clipper Cup (photo Phil Uhl/Facebook)

Windward Passage runs downwind with her spinnaker and blooper in perfect trim (photo Phil Uhl)

The first sailing of the Molokai Race was postponed for 24 hours due to the forecast for 45 knot winds and 24 foot seas. When the fleet finally set out the winds had abated to 35 knots and the seas were running at 18 feet, with a forecast for both wind and seas to reduce during the race. One of the most notable incidents was Kialoa IV's broach while running downwind at 22 knots, which resulted in a broken boom and the loss of all the masthead electronic gear as the top of the mast was dragged through the water. Windward Passage took line honours, setting a fast time of 15 hours and 32 minutes for the race, while the Davidson 50 Great Fun was the overall winner on handicap.

Great Fun rounds a leeward mark during the 1982 Clipper Cup

US yacht Bravura in tight reaching conditions, ahead of Australia's Sweet Caroline (to leeward) and New Zealand's Bad Habits (photo Phil Uhl)

The Around the State Race was not subject to the same extremes of wind and sea conditions that had prevailed for the first part of the series, but there was enough wind to allow Kialoa IV to set a new course record of 3 days, 23 hours and 40 minutes, the first yacht to ever sail the course in under four days. 

The ageing Condor of Bermuda wasn't able to compete with her newer namesake Condor, nor Kialoa IV (photo Phil Uhl)

Scarlett O'Hara and Challenge III run downwind in close company in typically fresh conditions during the 1982 Clipper Cup - Scarlett O'Hara would later lose her mast during the Molokai Race (photo Facebook)

1982 turned out to be the year for Japan to make its mark on offshore racing, as the Takai 39 Tobiume, with its short, powerful rig and low rating of 29.4ft (albeit that this rating was subject to a protest during the series), was able to withstand the extreme conditions of Hawaii to win the coveted position of top individual boat and the King Kamehameha Trophy. The USA Blue Team of Bullfrog, Great Fun and Kialoa IV captured the Clipper Cup.

Condor, seen here off the North Shore of Molokai (photo Phil Uhl)

Tobiume and Shenandoah (to windward) after the start of the Molokai Race (photo Phil Uhl)

Japan's Tobiume with Australia's Seaulater to the left (photo Alastair Black/Seahorse)

Both New Zealand teams found themselves off the pace in the prevailing conditions (even though Southern Raider had won the pre-series Lahaina Sauza Cup), and unfortunately the top New Zealand yacht, 15th placed Jumpin' Jack Flash, was an individual entry. Jumpin' Jack Flash was a Davidson 52-footer, designed with barely a nod to the IOR, featured a long easily driven hull with a relatively short rig, and carried a hefty 49.0ft rating.

Jumpin Jack Flash surfs in towards a leeward mark (photo Charles P LeMieux III/Yacht Racing/Cruising)

Jumpin' Jack Flash climbs a big swell during the 1982 Clipper Cup (photo Phil Uhl/Facebook)

US yacht Irrational (ex-Forte) heads downwind, with New Zealand's Solara  heading off on port (photo Doug Peterson Tribute page)

Brooke Ann, a Nelson-Marek 42-footer (USA), seen here about to deploy her blooper (photo Phil Uhl)

Checkmate sails out from Hanauma Bay followed by Great Fun and Jumpin' Jack Flash (photo Phil Uhl) 

Australian team yacht Hitchhiker

The bowman calls the startline aboard Condor of Bermuda (photo Phil Uhl)

The Davidson 38-footer Szechwan from Australia (sistership to Southern Raider), finished in third place overall in Class E

Anticipation (NZ), finished 17th overall and 6th in class (photo Phil Uhl)

Uin-na-Mara, well reefed down, crosses Australia's Challenge III as the fleet works up the Hawaiian coast just off the surf break

Maxi yacht Apollo (Australia), designed by Ben Lexcen and rating 67.0ft, passes South Point during the Round the State race - she went on to finish third in Class A (photo Phil Uhl)

US yacht Bravura - top yacht in Class C and third yacht overall, and member of the third-placed 'US White' team (photo Phil Uhl)

Moonshadow (Holland 42, USA) takes evasive action near Libalia Too (photo Phil Uhl)

The Holland 41-footer Tomahawk (with Leading Lady coming downwind) battles an errant spinnaker at a leeward mark. She was third overall in Class D and was a member of the third placed USA White team (photo Phil Uhl)

Japanese yacht Kazu, a Peterson 43, rounds a leeward mark (photo Phil Uhl)

Tomahawk, seen here at another leeward mark but with a more controlled spinnaker take-down than in the photo above (photo Phil Uhl)

Superwitch (photo Phil Uhl)

The Holland 44 Big Apple, sailing for Japan (34.5ft IOR) (photo Guy Gurney)

Big Apple - seen here in pre-start action ahead of the Soverel-design Zingara (32.2ft IOR) (photo Phil Uhl)

Bravura (photo Facebook)

US yacht Swiftsure, a Frers 58-footer, loses control of her spinnaker (photo Phil Uhl)

Cadillac Snapper from the US, a 44-foot version of the Davidson 46 Shockwave from 1980, with the Lidgard-designed Kalimera in the background (photo Phil Uhl)

US yacht Bullfrog, a Peterson 55, lead the series with a 2/2/5/2 series, until the final Round the State race, when she lost time with a man overboard and a damaged forestay toggle. She finished fourth in Class B (photo Alastair Black/Seahorse)

US yacht Bravura (first in Class C) leads Australian yacht Sweet Caroline downwind

The Britton Chance designed Glory from the US (photo John Malitte/Sea Spray)

This is the official documentary from the 1982 Clipper Cup, and includes some great sailing footage from this fantastic venue, featuring yachts such as Condor and Windward Passage slugging it out in the Maxi class, as well as many other top yachts of the time such as Great Fun (Davidson 50 shown in the video thumbnail), Police Car, Hitchhiker, Bravura, and Super Witch. The second race in particular was held in very fresh conditions - look out for some nice rolling downwind, broaches, errant bloopers, split spinnakers and broken masts (unfortunately YouTube has removed the sound).

The scene during one of the triangle races (photo Phil Uhl)

Article updated December 2025

Admiral's Cup 1981 - Race 2

Following the light airs-afflicted first race of the 1981 Admiral's Cup, a decent 12-15 knot easterly arrived for the second. This saw the fleet get away early and cleanly, with a windward beat to East Bramble buoy.

A better breeze sprung up for the second race, here the Spanish yacht Potitos gets a good start at the windward end of the line just to windward of Holland's Formidable

Another closer view of the start, with Ireland's Moonduster to windward of this group and Potitos maintaining a good position ahead and to leeward (photo Guy Gurney)

New Zealand's Wee Willie Winkie (with Swuzzlebubble III astern) makes a break for the slacker tide on the opposite shore. Britain's Yeoman XXIII carries on to the left

US yacht Scaramouche (above) and Irish yacht Moonduster (below) on the first beat

Canada's Amazing Grace approaches East Bramble buoy on port, just ahead of Italy's Brava

Australian yacht Hitchhiker suffered from another poor start, and needing to improve from the dismal first race 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. In the following series of photos Hitchhiker falls back head to wind while Pachena and Potitos round the mark. Hitchhiker collected an eleven-place penalty for hitting the buoy, and took just six points from the race.

Hitichhiker comes to grief at East Bramble buoy, having underlayed her approach in an adverse tide

With nowhere to go Hitchhiker comes head to wind as the tide takes her below the mark while the Canadian yacht Pachena makes her approach

Problems continue for Hitchhiker as she waits for the starboard lane to clear before she can tack and round the mark, Potitos comes in overlapped with Pachena

Here Hitchhiker has made it round and is still setting her spinnaker, followed by Regardless (IR-22746), Pinta and Hong Kong yacht Uin-na-Mara IV

Wee Willie Winkie rounds the buoy, following Hitchhiker, Regardless, Uin-na-Mara IV and Stars & Stripes

Noel Robins and his crew on Hitchhiker did their best to make amends in the next three races, but the much-vaunted Hitchhiker 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.  

The spinnaker of Accanito (sailing for Switzerland) catches and rips on the mark, while Britain's Dragon takes a wider approach to her rounding

Accanito's spinnaker problems continue

Pinta rounds a leeward mark

Three minimum raters arrive at the bottom mark - Stars & Stripes leads Wee Willie Winkie and Canada's Runaway

Another view of the fleet on a downwind leg (photo Guy Gurney)

The race was a benefit for the US team, Scaramouche's fifth, Intuition's seventh and Stars & Stripes' 27th saw the US team ease into first place, while a first and second for British yachts Victory of Burnham and Yeoman XXIII, which offset Dragon's 42nd, saw them move up to fourth. Britain went on to win the series, with the US second. 

Admiral's Cup 1981 - Race 1

The following photographs are from the first race of the 1981 Admiral's Cup. This race was a light wind affair, the race start was delayed while the race committee waited for enough breeze for the fleet to get away, and following a general recall.

Hitchhiker seen here in the middle of a crowded startline and in a tight spot with Stars & Stripes 

The previous post highlighted the stellar performance of Hitchhiker in the 1981 Australian Admiral's Cup trials, where she won five of the races in the series. She arrived at Cowes with a terrific reputation, and Harold Cudmore joined 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. Although Hitchhiker went on to finish the race, she was disqualified, presumably for the startline collisions.

Britain's Victory of Burnham gets a good start, to windward of Australia's Apollo V and the US's Scaramouche and Intuition

Hitchhiker creeps along in light airs in the first race, to leeward of Germany's Pinta and Britain's Victory of Burnham to windward

Pinta flew along in the light airs on the first leg from the start off Hillhead to the first mark at East Lepe, alongside Bermuda's Caiman II (sistership to Apollo V).

Pinta and Caiman II lead the way after the first mark

Light air sailing downwind during the first race of the 1981 Admiral's Cup - from left to right is Ireland's Woolly Jumper, Britain's Victory, Italy's Almagores and Brava (obscured) and US yacht Scaramouche (photo Phil Uhl)

An image by Guy Gurney possibly also from the first race, with Dusselboot leading Intuition, Midnight Sun and Wee Willie Winkie

Another photo by Guy Gurney, with Midnight Sun just ahead of Hurrycane (left) and Runaway (right)

The fleet struggles downwind in the torturous light airs of the first race

The Italians also performed well until Tom Blackaller, skipper of Italian yacht Brava, left a Cowes Week finishing buoy on the wrong side and, unable to get back against the flooding tide, eventually retired. Brava had fallen from third to 48th for being 50 yards too far to one side.

Brava struggles too far to one side of the course, while team-mate Almagores and Australia's Apollo V sneak past

The breeze didn't fill in until 1730, allowing the back half of the fleet to make the finish just inside the time limit, but only after the 24 mile race had been reduced to nine. Caiman II went on to win the race, followed by Almagores and Pinta, while the Canadian team claimed top team honours.

Victory of Burnham follows Pinta to the finish

Fortunately, better breeze arrived for the second race.

1981 Australian Admiral's Cup Trials

Hitchhiker

These photographs of the 1981 Australian Admiral's Cup trials series are courtesy of Australian yachtsman Chris Furey's personal collection. Interest in the trials was high following Australia's Admiral's Cup win in 1979, and ten new boats lined up alongside the known yardsticks Police Car and Impetuous which had been the vanguard of the 1979 Cup winning effort.  

Two new boats from Western Australia proved to be the ones to beat - Alan Bond's Peterson 43 Apollo V, which had been built in England by Jeremy Rogers (of Moonshine and Eclipse fame), and Peter Briggs new Frers 40 Hitchhiker. 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.

Startline jostling in the 1981 Australian Admiral's Cup trials, Apollo V (left), Police Car and Impetuous

Other new yachts which contested the trials included the Peterson 44 and New Zealand-built Inch by Winch, the Davidson 40 Szechwan and the Dubois 40's Seaulater and Once More Dear Friends. The S&S 46 Challenge (Lou Abrahams) was also in the fray, she had been in the winning Australian team in the 1980 Clipper Cup and had come close to winning the Sydney-Hobart race in the preceding December, just missing out to Ceramco New Zealand by 22 minutes on corrected time.

Challenge shuts out Szechwan at the start of one of the trial races

Hitchhiker was the star of the series, counting five wins and line honours in two of the races to confirm her place in the team. Apollo V strong performance also ensured her selection. Syd Fischer's latest Peterson-designed Ragamuffin was fortunate to make the team after finishing in sixth place on the unofficial points table.  Although of a similar length and rating to Apollo V, Ragamuffin was a more moderate and rounded shape. Her improvement throughout the trials, plus the promise of further ballast alterations, crew changes and the recruitment of Lowell North for the Cup itself, won favour with the selectors. The inclusion of Ragamuffin was at the expense of third placed Challenge.

Hitchhiker reaches in light airs under spinnaker and staysail

Although she dominated the Australian trials, Hitchhiker failed to live up to expectations in the Cup itself, opening her score sheet with a disqualification in the first race and a near last in the second to finish 34th yacht in the individual standings. Ragamuffin justified her selection by finishing as top of the Australian team (and tenth overall), but this wasn't enough to save the Australian team which slumped to finish in eighth place overall.

Apollo V sails upwind in light airs

The Apollo V crew take a break between races

Ragamuffin - a controversial choice for the Australian team, but she ended up being the team's best performer

The Peterson 44 Inch by Winch - name and graphics reflecting the involvement of one of her owners with Barlow winches

Hitchhiker chases the bigger Inch by Winch on a reaching leg in moderate conditions - the duck emblem on Inch by Winch reflected her home port of Duck Creek, near Sydney

The Dubois 40 Seaulater (above and below)

Szechwan leads Police Car on a tight reach

The older Peterson 43 Sunburst following Once More Dear Friends (left) and Szechwan (middle)

The video below of the series was recently published (August 2026) by retro yachting:

Article updated August 2026