Italian Half Ton Nationals 2013

The Italian Half Ton Nationals were recently held in Anzio on the west coast and south of Rome, with 11 classic Half Tonners competing. The series was held in challenging conditions over the first two days of round-the-buoys racing, with very rough sea and 25 knot winds, with the race course often swept by violent squalls.

Loucura - Italian Half Ton champion for 2013 (photo Anzio360Photo)

Prydwen, fourth overall, gets a roll on downwind

Two boats were vying for top honours after five races, Fabrizio Gagliardi's Farr 31 Loucura and Massimo Morasca's Elena Celeste. In the spirit of racing from the heyday of level rating Ton cups, the sixth and final race was the long one (and counted for 150% points), the 115 mile Asteria Cup race, sailed off Anzio and taking in the islands of Ventotene to the south, and Ponza. 

The close racing between Loucura and Elena Celeste continued, but Peter Fois' Eulimene was first to the gate off Ventotene. In the second part of the race the upwind speed of Loucura came to the fore to win the race and the series overall from Elena Celeste. The Half Ton class yachts in fact had five boats in the first six places in the Asteria Cup.

Startline action in the 2013 Italian Half Ton Nationals, Loucura gets a good start by the committee boat, with Rangiriri mid-line

The ex-New Zealand yacht and 1977 Half Ton Cup winner, Claudio Massucci's Rangiriri had a disappointing result in the final race, finishing eighth, and fifth overall.

Rangiriri sails downwind during the windy 2013 Italian Half Ton Cup series

Loucura (photo Anzio360Photo)

Free Lance (Briand Half Tonner)

Free Lance was another favourite Half Tonner of mine, this time from the board of French designer Philippe Briand, sporting perhaps some of the sweetest lines of any yacht from the IOR era.

Free Lance was generally considered to be a small Half Tonner, but this was probably an impression given by her low freeboard and modest sail plan, the latter being necessary to offset her fair lines, which resulted in a high rated length, and her moderate displacement. Briand commented that "There are two ways to design a boat. One is to bump the measurement points to gain as much sail area as possible and the other, which I used for Free Lance, is to define how big a sail area is needed and then draw a clean and fast boat".  

The distinctively elegant sheerline and low freeboard of the 1983 Half Ton Cup winner Free Lance (above) and easy underwater lines (below)

Free Lance made her first appearance in the 1982 Half Ton Cup, skippered by Briand himself. However, while she entered the regatta as one of the favourites, and started strongly, she was disqualified from the fourth race for a startline luffing incident with Greek yacht Jonathan. This was viewed by many competitors as unduly harsh, and with some anger by the Free Lance crew. In protest at the perceived unfairness of the decision, the Free Lance crew elected not to start the final long offshore race, resulting in a disappointing 20th place in the final standings.

Free Lance seen here during the 1982 Half Ton Cup

For the 1983 regatta, held in Hanko in Norway, Free Lance was the most dominant of the five French yachts that filled the top six places. The regatta benefited from good winds throughout.  Free Lance lead from the beginning, winning the first inshore race with a display of tremendous downwind speed.

Free Lance shows her downwind prowess against the 40 boat fleet during the 1983 Half Ton Cup

Fram VIII from Norway, skippered by Prince Harald from Norway, was the only non-French yacht to break into the top group, and with her upwind speed finished the race in second, and then went on to win the second race. Free Lance finished third. In the longer legs of the middle distance offshore race the results were all French, with Free Lance being edged out by Daniel Andrieu's Cifraline 2. Fram VIII finished in seventh.

Fram VIII - a strong upwind performer and designed by Norwegian Eivind Amble

Free Lance makes her way upwind during the 1983 Half Ton Cup

Free Lance sails upwind during the 1983 Half Ton Cup (photo Facebook)

The last inshore race was a hard fight between Free Lance and Fram VIII, with an exciting tacking duel on the last leg, which Fram VIII, with her slightly superior upwind speed, was able to take out. The final long offshore race was another French-dominated affair, and although Cifraline 2 won, Free Lance's second place was more than sufficient to win the Cup. Cifraline 2 finished second, with Scillonia third and Fram VIII fourth.  The defending champion, Atalanti II, finished outside the top ten.

Free Lance approaches a finish during the 1983 Half Ton Cup

Free Lance is still sailing today and appeared in the results of the 2005 edition of the Half Ton Classics Cup, finishing 20th.

Free Lance in more recent times

These photos are from the excellent collection of (mostly French) magazine articles held on the Half Ton History site. Many thanks to 'Chorus' for his assistance in translating one of those articles regarding the 1982 regatta.

Article updated August 2023

Vanguard (Dubois 44)

The Hong Kong yacht Vanguard, designed by Ed Dubois, features here in a classic gybe sequence taken by yachting photographer Jonathan Eastland during the second inshore race of the 1979 Admiral's Cup, with the wind gusting to Force 7 and blowing against a strong spring tide. 

In this sequence you can see Australia's Apollo IV to the left, and then US yacht Williwaw to the right. Williwaw went on to have her own problems (see 1979 Admiral's Cup photos). Although Vanguard lost time through this unscheduled manoeuvre she managed to salvage 19th place in this race in a 57 boat fleet. 

Vanguard was a sistership to her team mate Uin-na-Mara IV, and along with La Pantera III performed strongly with the Hong Kong team finishing in third place overall, behind Australia and the US.

Thanks to Jonathan Eastland for permission to display these images. An archive of his other photos can be seen at Jonathan Eastland archive

Intuition (Peterson 42)

Intuition was a Doug Peterson design 42 footer, the second boat of that name for US yachtsman Pat Malloy and commissioned for the 1981 SORC and Admiral's Cup trials. She was beautifully built in aluminium and represented a the continuation of the Peterson design approach, with a longer and open transom and truncated in the style of his earlier One Tonner B195, albeit slightly narrower in section.   

There is not a lot of information available on Intuition, and so this post primarily features some good photographs of the Intuition yachts gathered from photographers Jonathan Eastland, Phil Uhl, Paul Mello, Larry Moran and Francois Richard.

Intuition seen here on the hardstand, possibly being prepared for her first launching (photo Paul Mello)

Intuition during the 1981 SORC (photo Phil Uhl)

Intuition during a mark rounding possibly during the 1981 SORC (photo Doug Peterson Tribute Page)

Intuition seen here to leeward of Wildflower (right) and Louisiana Crude (left) at the start of the Ocean Triangle race in the 1981 SORC (photo Phil Uhl)

Intuition contested the six race US trials (including the 1981 SORC) for the 1981 Admiral's Cup team. Intuition finished in fourth place overall, and third in Class C (with placings 5/2/4/1/9/3), but with the winner Louisiana Crude having been sold she was guaranteed a place in the US team. Malloy joined fellow competitor Bill Martin (Stars & Stripes), however, in protesting the rating of one of the top yachts, the 48ft Peterson design Williwaw, sailed by Dennis Conner. After re-measurement, Williwaw's rating jumped a foot to 38.1ft, and Intuition was joined by Scaramouche and Stars & Stripes. One effect of the shakeup was that the US team arrived in Cowes with a lower-rating team than the one they had planned. 

Close up view of the deck layout of Intuition (at the 1981 Admiral's Cup) - note the fore/aft and inboard/outboard genoa track system

Intuition rounds a weather mark in the second race of the 1981 Admiral's Cup

Intuition during the Channel Race in the 1981 Admiral's Cup (above) and at the start of possibly the same race (below) (photos Jonathan Eastland Jonathan Eastland archives)

The smaller team proved to be better suited to what was a generally light air series, and the US team finished in second place overall, with Intuition the second yacht of the team behind Stars & Stripes, posting a reasonable 12th in the individual standings. 

Intuition during the 1981 Admiral's Cup (photo Facebook)

Intuition during the 1981 Admiral's Cup (photo Francois Richard)

Malloy's earlier yacht, the 51 foot Holland design Intuition which he had campaigned in the 1980 SORC to 4th in Class B and 7th overall, and seen here during the 1983 series (photo Larry Moran)

Intuition did appear again in a new white and red-stripe livery for the 1984 SORC, although it seems that she was off the pace by this stage, finishing in 13th place in Class D, and 68th overall. She went on to compete in the 1984 Clipper Cup, where she had a poor regatta, finishing last of 33 boats after posting a DNF in three of the five races, including the final Round the State Race.

Intuition seen here (above and below) during the St Petersburg to Ft Lauderdale race during the 1984 SORC (photo Larry Moran)

Intuition arrives at a bottom mark during the 1984 Clipper Cup series, in close company with the Farr 40 Indian Pacific (left) and the Dubois 40 Seaulater (right) (photo John Malitte/Sea Spray)

Article updated July 2026

Candu II (Whiting Half Tonner)

Ian Gibbs' mounted a series of campaigns to lift the Half Ton Cup in the course of his offshore racing career, commencing in 1974 with Tohe Candu (the former Titus Canby), and ending with Swuzzlebubble in 1979. The Tohe Candu effort was the first international effort with a New Zealand design (by Bruce Farr). 

After a disappointing result in the 1975 Cup with his Ron Holland design Measure for Measure, Gibbs decided to return to the light displacement route for the 1976 series with a new design by Paul Whiting, being a Half Ton version of the 1975 Quarter Ton Cup winner Magic Bus, and a near sistership and forerunner to the New Zealand Half Ton champion, Newspaper Taxi.

Candu II on launching day, note the hollow for'ard sections, long and wide stern and pronounced skeg

Candu II was conceived in the midst of preparations for the Magic Bus Quarter Ton Cup campaign (held in Corpus Christi, Texas), and followed the Whiting template established with his smaller Quarter Tonner, with a pronounced maximum beam, hollow waterline for'ard, offset with deep bow sections at the forward depth (FD) station and a long flat transom. The design also continued the use of a long shallow skeg extending beyond the after inner girth station (AIGS), as a method to shorten the rated distance between this measurement point and the after girth station (AGS). 

This view of Candu II shows her broad and tapered stern

The rig details and deck layout were a scaled up version of the approach used in Magic Bus, with a 102mm tapered tube section, stepped well for'ard and designed to be equally as bendy as the mast on the smaller Quarter Tonner. The rig featured the same big mainsail and small foretriangle ratio as Magic Bus, except that the foretriangle was even smaller on Candu II. In place of the normal inboard engine, Candu II carried an outboard weighing around 120lbs. This was because the increase in weight and drag from a shaft and propeller unit available through the engine propeller factor (EPF) measurement was considered by Whiting to outweigh the sail area advantage on this size and concept of boat.

Candu II was built in nine weeks on a crash schedule to be launched in mid-winter 1976 and in time for the Half Ton Cup series to be held in Trieste, Italy. Gibbs still owned Tohe Candu, and two days after her launching, Candu II was to compete against Tohe Candu to decide which yacht Gibbs would take to Trieste. Candu II was victorious and left soon after for the Half Ton Cup.

The outboard auxiliary solution was put to the test during the pre-contest measurement process. This involved boats having to motor a measured mile and recording their speed against their rated length. Many crews spent a great deal of valuable tuning time on engines - ten boats failed the first test, and three were barred from starting the series. Candu II, with the longest rated length, had to achieve the highest speed, and after a week of work on the engine she passed by just 0.2 of a knot. 

Candu II slipping along in light air during the 1976 Half Ton Cup (photo Bateaux magazine)

Candu II works out to weather of Idro

Whiting had to pay for Candu II's long length by trading off sail area, and the yacht was the outlier on both measurements in the 70 boat fleet. One of the more interesting boats to arrive in Trieste was Tuscany B, a former Quarter Tonner which had been cut in half and 'patchworked' together to give her the additional length necessary to achieve a Half Ton rating (21.7ft, instead of 18.0ft). The weird looking Half Tonner was nicknamed "The Italian Job", and was one of the few boats in Trieste to be lighter than Candu II, although this light displacement had to be traded for both length and sail area. Tuscany B finished tenth overall.

The converted Quarter Tonner Tuscany B, with bowsprit and a style of stern scoop not unlike that of the last of the America's Cup IACC yachts.

Unfortunately the regatta itself was plagued by very light winds and short, choppy seas which proved frustrating for the crew aboard Candu II. Prevailing calms wreaked havoc with the scheduled start time of 10am, and the earliest any race got underway was just after midday. The light weather was a disappointment for all 70 crews, particularly since good day breezes had prevailed before the contest began.

Another light air start in the 1976 Half Ton Cup series - Candu II visible in the middle of the photo to windward (photo Bateaux magazine)

Another light air start in the 1976 Half Ton Cup series

The series was won by the Holland design, the first of a series of yachts named Silver Shamrock, skippered by Harold Cudmore. She was a specially prepared production hull, with 500lbs less weight in her lay-up and a slightly bigger rig, although she was still one of the heaviest yachts, and with the largest sail plan she was undoubtedly the best prepared boat for the light conditions that prevailed, but some doubted that she would have been the fastest boat if the wind had blown. Defending Half Ton champion, Tom Stephenson, from Australia, sailed a sistership named Southern Shamrock, and finished fifth overall.

1976 Half Ton Cup winner Silver Shamrock - her stern sections contrast markedly with those of Candu II below

Candu II was by far the best reaching boat of the series, and no other boat could even begin to match her on that point of sail. Although not fully tuned, Candu II also proved fast on the wind over about 10 knots, with good pointing ability and boat speed. In 5-10 knots she could hold her own but sailed dismally under 5 knots and in the peculiar chop in the area. The light air and flat running conditions that prevailed in both ocean races were thus not Candu II's forte, and Gibbs and his crew did well to finish sixth overall in the 70 boat fleet.

Candu II on a reaching leg in Trieste, her favoured point of sail

The speed of Candu II was acknowledged at the prizegiving when title-winner Cudmore remarked on the untapped potential of the New Zealand yacht in a breeze, suggesting that the experience of sailing Candu II in the light air series "must have been very frustrating, much like sitting on a rocket but unable to light it."

Candu II, likely as Vice Squad, cruising off Torrent Bay (Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand) in early 1982 (photo Rip magazine)

Candu II as Vice Squad, circa early 1990s (est)

 Candu II returned to New Zealand and was the benchmark for Gibbs' new Half Tonner Swuzzlebubble, designed and built for the 1977 Half Ton Cup. She was raced in Auckland and later sold to a Wellington sailor and named Vice Squad, then Can Do Too in the mid-1990s. Extensive modifications in 2000 included a bigger rig, which was moved aft, and a longer keel with a bulb providing improved stability. A Brett Bakewell-White designed rudder was added in 2001 which made the yacht more responsive on the helm. She was renamed Candu II in 2004.

Candu II racing in fresh Wellington conditions in November 2005

Candu II, as seen in July 2024 (photo Facebook)

Article updated August 2025