Of the eighty images in the selection, nine of them relate to classic or wooden craft. This reinforces my belief that while traditional sailing craft may not be at the cutting edge of sailboat racing, they play an important role in upholding the values of authenticity and custodianship throughout the whole of the panoply of sailing.

For me the biggest challenge will be avoiding overthinking and the urge to know everything immediately as we’re so used to do due to technology. The first days I’ll have to cope with not having technology at all, but it’s not something that scares me, it’ll be replaced with something better and special and I’ll get used to that.

Flicking back through the years I can’t help thinking the the 12 meters in Freemantle represented the Modern AC at its zenith.

'Exceptionally fast in the hands of a highly talented, motivated and sharply focused crew, Challenge 12 was bristling with potential', wrote journalist Bruce Stannard, who covered the 1983 America's Cup series for the ABC and The Age.

“I was still in school in ’83 and was on the dock during the Trials in 1977 when Ted Turner and Gary Jobson rushed by with cameras following them,” said Courageous Skipper Dawn Riley, who would go on to sail in four America’s Cup races and two Whitbread Round the World races. “It made a big impression on a 13-year-old from Detroit!”

Non of that Gallic rubbish for the Brits! Keep the emotion out of it, tell it as it happened, and for God sake don’t let on that you’re enjoying yourself!

It’s been a month since the announcement of the re-designed and re-energised 2023 CUP REGATTA and the level of interest has been impressive (if a little daunting).

1100 Entries
4 yachts capsized
There were 3 dismastings
2 helicopter evacuations
178 boats did not finish
And more than 20 crew members ended up in hospital.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that for many, it was as traumatic as losing a dear friend. Severn II was built in 1934 at the Bute Slip Dock Company at Ardmaleish, Isle of Bute in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. To describe Severn II, built of carvel mahogany on oak frame, as ‘beautiful’ is a huge understatement. Gorgeous striking, amazing. These 8s would be museum pieces, were they not still energetically sailed racing boats.

On the waters of Port Phillip Bay, where Melbourne's 1956 Olympic Games races will soon be contested by the yachting nations of the world, Aa triangular contest has just been completed for a silver cup.

Planning and executing Wooden boat events can be a chicken and egg situation. People will sign up if they know it will be a rousing event, and yet it will only be rousing if people sign up! We urge you to take a leap of faith.

A yacht may elect to race using celestial navigation. If a yacht elects to be celestially navigated, she shall have her elapsed time reduced by 3%.

“If you’d told me a month ago that we’d place fourth overall at the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta racing FAIR WINDS I’d have said you were dreaming. Perhaps I still am.”

Representing the CYCA alongside Jules Hall’s two-handed entry J/99 and Paddy Broughton’s KIALOA II, the small but mighty yacht is now firmly ensconced next to the Royal Cork Yacht Club pontoon.

So perhaps almost 40 years after AUSTRALIA II’s victory and with only 18 months to the 37th iteration of the event in Barcelona , readers might be interested in this fascinating program, which covers DAME PATTIE’s predecessor’s campaign in 1962.

What followed was some exciting downwind sailing. With wind speeds of up to 45 knots from behind, simple manoeuvres became all 18 hands on deck and up to 45 minutes of planning and execution just to safely gybe the 45-ton bucking bronco.

The obvious goal being to equitably rate a full range of boat sizes and types over a variety of conditions, and while this is a tall order given the diversity of the diverse Classic fleet, during the 2022 season the racing was good and the ratings seemed reasonably fair.

It was Martyr who suggested the present-day course to the Fastnet, of a similar distance to the Bermuda Race – 615 miles. This established a trend in offshore races of that length, spawning the Sydney-Hobart (1945), China Sea Race (1962) Middle Sea Race (1968) and more recently the RORC Caribbean 600 (2009).

The top end of the course near Port Melbourne means tricky twisting shifts off the beach and apartment infill but flat water. The southern end exposed beyond Altona produced difficult rolling slop for the downhill legs. Thrown in on both days on the western side of the course was a huge tidal outflow from the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers with recent rain and floods.

A tricky day on Port Phillip, with torrents of brown water gushing out of the Yarra and wind from 14-28 knots with rain squalls. Big congratulations to the boats that completed the two races.