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.

The winner's plaque 

One Ton Revisited 2015 - Race 4

Rainbow II turned the clock back 46 years today and clinched the One Ton Revisited sailing series with a race to spare. In 1969, the S&S 36, skippered then, as now, by Chris Bouzaid, won four straight races to win the coveted One Ton Cup off the North Sea island of Heligoland. Fast forward, and today she nailed a 2/1/1/1 series to guarantee victory on overall points even though there is still the 1.5-points race finale scheduled for Saturday (7 March).

Rainbow II slips along upwind in light airs on her way to winning the fourth race, and clinching overall honours, in the One Ton Revisited 2015 regatta (photo RNZYS)

The course today was from the start in the vicinity of Rangitoto Light, to Orarapa Island (The Haystack) in Rakino Passage, around the Navy Buoy in Tiri Passage, to a mark off Narrow Neck, and then to the finish off Orakei, at the entrance to Auckland Harbour. 

Pacific Sundance - took line honours in race 4 but again could not save her time on IRC against the rest of the fleet (photo RNZYS)

The 8-knot north easterly at the start became a 10-knot northerly off the Whangaparaoa Peninsula. The Farr 40 Pacific Sundance (Bernard Hyde) led from the start and around the Haystack. But she was only 4m 19s ahead of the second-placed Rainbow II at that turn and it was already clear that she was going to struggle to match the former One Ton Cup winner on IRC corrected time. 

Revolution before the start of race 4 where she finished fourth on line and corrected time (photo RNZYS)

The gap was 8m 42s rounding the Navy Buoy in Tiri Passage to start the 12-mile light airs run back into the harbour. The Farr 36 Revolution (Tony Wallis/Max Cossey) was third around, another 8m 37s behind Rainbow II. By this stage, the 34ft Lidgard design Impact (Kevin Kelly), the smallest boat in the fleet, was more than 30 minutes behind Pacific Sundance. 

Wai Aniwa had a good day, finishing in second place on IRC to move up to 2nd overall (photo RNZYS)

Pacific Sundance continued to creep away on that long return to Rangitoto Channel and Orakei and crossed the line at 16.57.45hrs – some 14m 38s ahead of Rainbow II. The Lidgard 36 Result (Bevan Hill) was third across the line, picking off Revolution on the way home and finishing 6m 14s behind Rainbow II, while the Carter 39 Wai Aniwa (Roger Foley) and Impact did well to contain the deficit on the leader. 

Pacific Sundance hoists her spinnaker after rounding the Haystack (photo RNZYS)

But, there was only going to be one winner on corrected time.

The superbly-sailed Rainbow II clung tenaciously to the stern of fleet leader Pacific Sundance to ensure that the Farr boat would never make up the required time on handicap. In the process, Rainbow II burned off her closest boat-for-boat opposition and won on corrected time by a daunting 14m 47s. Bouzaid’s other One Ton Cup winner, Wai Aniwa (1972) bounced back from mast problems to take second place today and move up into second place on overall points. The margins between second and fifth are, however, very small and there will be a lot at stake when the fleet goes to the start line for the final time at 10am on Saturday.

Revolution approaches the Haystack, ahead of Result and Impact (photo RNZYS)

Overall placings after four races: 1st Rainbow II (31.5pts), 2nd Wai Aniwa (21.5pts), 3rd Impact (19pts), 4th Revolution (18pts), 5th Pacific Sundance (14pts), 6th Result (11.5pts).

Article provided by Alan Sefton

One Ton Revisited 2015 - Race 3

The second 20-mile Olympic course race of the One Ton Revisited series produced another classic day on the inner-Hauraki Gulf. The ENE breeze blew 10 to 12 knots at the start and built to 12 to 15 knots by the finish.

The recently restored, former One Ton Cup winner Rainbow II (Chris Bouzaid) was in her element and won by an impressive 6m 40s on IRC corrected time to increase her lead on overall points. Rainbow II always was a light airs flyer and appears to have lost none of that S&S pedigree during her complete restoration in the Silverdale yard of Wayne Olsen’s Horizon Boats.

The Farr 36 Revolution chasing after Pacific Sundance and Result on her way to third on line and second on corrected time (photo Ivor Wilkins)

The Farr 40 Pacific Sundance (Bernard Hyde) took line honours for the third race in a row, crossing the line more than 10 minutes clear of the second-placed Lidgard design Result (Bevan Hill), but again she was unable to put enough time on the rest of the fleet around the six-leg course to make an impression on handicap.

Behind Rainbow II, it was a real tussle for high placings, the Farr 36 Revolution (Tony Wallis/Max Cossey) finishing second on corrected time (and moving up to second equal overall), just two seconds ahead of the 34ft Lidgard design Impact (Kevin Kelly).

Impact, with Andy Ball on the helm, hammers her way through the chop on the Hauraki Gulf on her way to third on corrected time in race 3 (photo Ivor Wilkins)

It is a lay-day tomorrow (4 March) with Rainbow II and Wai Aniwa both planning to tackle some small remedials – the Rainbow II crew looking to deal to a mysterious small problem with her propeller shaft, while the Wai Aniwa crew will be dealing to a mast that appears to be slightly out of plumb. The series is scheduled to resume with the all-important, double-points, 35-mile Gulf Race on 5 March, before the 1.5 points, 25-mile finale on 7 March.

The One Ton Revisited fleet berthed at Viaduct Harbour, while maintenance is underway on the Volvo 65 yachts alongside the Viaduct Events Centre to the left

Overall placings after three races: 1st Rainbow II (19.5pts), 2nd= Pacific Sundance (12pts), 2nd= Revolution (12pts), 4th Wai Aniwa (11.5pts), 5th Impact (11pts), 6th Result (7.5pts).

Article provided by Alan Sefton


You can catch a TVNZ Sports feature on the One Ton Revisited regatta here.

One Ton Revisited 2015 - Race 2

The Farr 40 Pacific Sundance (Bernard Hyde) again took line honours in Race 2 of the One Ton Revisited regatta – a 20-mile Olympic course off Auckland’s East Coast Bays. But the winner on corrected time was the S&S 36 Rainbow II (Chris Bouzaid) which now leads on overall points after a second in the opening race on Saturday and now a victory today.

Rainbow II making the most of her S&S windward pedigree in the Hauraki Gulf today (photo Ivor Wilkins)

It was champagne sailing in the Hauraki Gulf with a 10 to 12-knot north-easter and enough of a chop to put a real premium on helming upwind. Pacific Sundance led from start to finish but could not stretch away enough to make up the time she needed on handicap. Rainbow II slugged it out all day with the Lidgard design Result (Bevan Hill) and the Farr design Revolution (Tony Wallis and Max Cossey).

Bevan Hill’s Lidgard design Result leads Revolution and Wai Aniwa (photo Ivor Wilkins)

“It was a real boat race – demanding but a lot of fun – and everything we remember about the halcyon days of the One Ton Cup,” said Bouzaid. “It kind of reminds you what keel boat racing is missing out on these days”.

The Pacific Sundance team on the weather rail (photo Ivor Wilkins)

The photos below are from the RNZYS Facebook page.

Pacific Sundance

Rainbow II

Revolution

Wai Aniwa

Overall placings after two races: 1st Rainbow II (13.5pts), 2nd Pacific Sundance (11pts), 3rd Wai Aniwa (9.5pts), 4th Revolution (7pts), 5th Impact (7pts), 6th Result (4.5pts)

More photos here.

Article provided by Alan Sefton

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 

One Ton Cup 1973

The 1973 One Ton Cup was held in early September out of Porto Cervo on the northern coast of Sardinia, an impressive venue that provided a variety of conditions for the 24 boat fleet that contested the series. The Olympic courses were set in the eastern waters of the Straits of Bonnaficcio, while the offshore races were through the Straits and out to the north-western tip of Sardinia. 

The two dominant yachts of the 1973 One Ton Cup, Ydra (to leeward) and Ganbare

The standout yacht of the 1972 series (but which had finished fourth), the Carter designed Ydra, and the new Peterson breakthrough Ganbare, were dominant in a fleet made up of largely older yachts, or simply outdated designs. Ganbare was clearly the fastest yacht, and only Ydra was able to offer any threat. Ganbare represented a new style of One Tonner, a smaller and lighter custom design, that was faster than her competitors on all points of sail, except reaching in fresher conditions.

Ganbare during the US trials

The only race in which Ganbare and Ydra did not have an untouchable lead on the rest of the fleet was during the second Olympic course, where it blew 20 to 30 knots, and Winsome V gained the lead after a 20 degree windshift on the first beat. She was fast enough in the fresh conditions to hang on for second place behind Ydra, with Ganbare taking third. The crew of Ganbare were happily surprised at the ability of their yacht in the medium to fresh conditions as she had been designed to excel in the light airs typical of her home port of San Diego, and the expected light airs of the Mediterranean. As it turned out, she didn't get to test her light air speed until the final long ocean race, but she performed as expected and soon opened up a substantial lead to win the series finale by over half an hour in a dying breeze from Ydra, with the Ted Hood centreboarder Robin finishing third.

Ydra in light airs during the 1973 One Ton Cup

But although Ganbare was clearly the fastest yacht, a navigation error in the middle distance race cost her dearly - she rounded the final mark incorrectly and had to accept a 5% penalty, which dropped her from first to 13th in the bonus points race.  This gave Ydra the One Ton Cup, a prize that had eluded her in the 1972 event in Sydney when her forestay broke in the middle distance race. 

Ganbare in fresh reaching conditions during the 1973 One Ton Cup

Australia's Bonita working upwind in fresh conditions in the second Olympic race (Bonita finished 17th overall)

The Carter 37 Hann sailed by Chris Bouzaid for NZ

Without Ganbare's presence, Ydra would have been the outstanding yacht for the second year. Ydra was an aluminium prototype of Carter's production 37 design. In winds of over 12 knots and in flat water Ydra was close to Ganbare in performance, but the latter's narrower beam allowed her to slip away in any kind of chop. Ydra only held an upper hand in fresh reaching conditions. The Carter 37 aluminium prototype was also superior in speed in all conditions to the GRP versions of the same design, one of which was chartered by Chris Bouzaid (Hann), then of Rainbow II and Wai Aniwa fame, and defender of the One Ton Cup; a second was chartered by Australian Syd Fischer, the One Ton Cup winner in 1971 (Chloe). 

Both campaigns from downunder were hampered by problems common to charter-efforts - a lack of time. Bouzaid had tried, unsuccessfully, to raise the funds to send Wai Aniwa to Sardinia to defend the Cup, and so the charter was the best that could be done in the circumstances. So although both Bouzaid and Fischer had formidable backgrounds in One Ton Cup campaigns, neither could get their boats going to their full potential. In the end Bouzaid and his crew came out top over Fischer, with a creditable third place, just 1.5 points behind Ydra, mostly due to good placings in the longer races, with Fischer finishing in fifth place.

The appeal for funds for Wai Aniwa's defence of the One Ton Cup was unsuccessful. She is seen here testing sails on Auckland Harbour in preparation for Sardinia.

Ted Hood's Robin, seen here during the US trials series

The next best performing designs were Ted Hood's Robin's, his own one racing for the US, and his earlier design sailing for Canada. Both yachts represented a heavier-than-normal approach to the Mk III version of the IOR, and although both were well sailed, they could not match the speed of Ganbare or Ydra, except in light air. The new Robin featured a stiff hull design capable of carrying a lot sail, but which would be described as full-bodied with her beam carried both well forward and aft. Unusually for the time, and indeed even now, Robin sported a gybing centreboard, which was made of steel and weighed 600lbs, and a retractable spade rudder, without a skeg. 

Robin during the 1973 One Ton Cup

Cockpit view (above) and foredeck (below) of Robin, as photographed by Steve Kelley in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1974

The performance of the S&S yachts in the fleet was remarkable, but for all the wrong reasons. Under all the conditions experienced in Sardina, none of the S&S boats showed any speed to match the top five (other than Winsome V's effort in the second Olympic race). Ted Turner's Lightnin' made the US team after winning the Miami leg of the US trials, but had tended to make a great deal of leeway in the SORC series and modifications had been made to her keel. Olin Stephens acknowledged that he was designing his yachts too big - but even though his latest design, Ojala II, was a step down in size from Ted Turner's Lightnin' (6th), Thunder, and Winsome V, she finished behind all three of her bigger sisters in 14th place (who finished 6th, 7th and 9th respectively). 

Ydra heads downwind ahead of Italy's Sumbra and France's Drac

Certainly for the 1974 event the pendulum had swung from the earlier dominance of Carter and S&S and to Peterson's favour, and that's for a future article.


Footnote: Ydra is current understood to be located in northern Germany - if anyone knows of her actual whereabouts one of the followers of this blog would be very grateful! Leave a comment or send an email to rb_sailing@outlook.com.

Purple Haze (David Thomas Quarter Tonner)

Thanks again to US yachtsman and naval architect Steve Kelley, who has kindly provided his dockside photographs of the David Thomas Quarter Tonner Purple Haze (1977). Kelley was sailing in a series around Europe during the summer of 1978, and found himself in Cowes in early June of that year and was able to photograph several interesting yachts, including Purple Haze. 

Stern view of Purple Haze in Cowes in 1978 (photo courtesy Steven Kelley)

View of the cabin top detail on Purple Haze - the boat may have been first campaigned by the Ratsey sail-loft - the sticker on the cabin says "Every One Loves Ratsey Sails" (photo courtesy Steven Kelley)

Cockpit detail of the Quarter Tonner Purple Haze (photo courtesy Steven Kelley)

David Thomas was a popular designer in the UK, and was instrumental in resurrecting the Quarter Ton Cup in 2005 - and his Purple Haze, skippered by Tony Dodd, won the inaugural event of the new series, now raced under IRC. Purple Haze was restored for the 2005 event, and has since gone on to compete in all of the series since then. She sails with an IRC rating of 0.870, and after winning in 2005 she went on to finish 2nd in 2006 and was 2nd again in 2008. A full list of her results and other recent photographs can be seen on the 'Histoiredeshalfs' website.

Purple Haze on her trailer, showing very clean lines for an ex-IOR yacht (photo Adrian Bishop/Histoiredeshalfs)

Purple Haze during the 2006 Quarter Ton Cup (photo Fiona Brown)

Purple Haze (above and below) - a regular competitor in the modern Quarter Ton Cup

Purple Haze being refitted at Corby Yachts - March 2024 (photo Facebook)

Article updated March 2024