Big Red Remembered
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of racing aboard the famous ketch STEINLARGER II, during the Millennium Cup in Auckland. Designed by Bruce Farr and launched in 1989, it was built for New Zealand's legendary sailor Sir Peter Blake to compete in the 1989–90 Whitbread Round the World Race (now known as The Ocean Race).
So why is this 84ft behemoth built from advanced composite materials worthy of a mention in Southern Wooden Boat Sailing? Two reasons. Firstly because she now serves as an ambassador for youth sailing and maritime education through the New Zealand Sailing Trust, offering sail training voyages and educational programs. (A Trust which is managed by my friends, the power couple of New Zealand traditional Yachting Michelle Khan and Tony Stevenson). And secondly because the boat oozes maritime history of the most rarified kind. Knowing her achievements, (she won all six legs of the Whitbread Race—a feat no other yacht has accomplished) and walking around below decks and seeing the names on the bunks and the pots in the galley and the nav station where Mike Quilter sat for days on end, makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Despite only being 46 years old it’s a powerful piece of living maritime history
In this Video published yesterday from Planet Sail many of these emotions are clearly on show. ENJOY!