Camille. Provenance Plus

Although the Australians were quietly confident that they would not be disgraced, they were not prepared for the hoarse laughter of the English yachting press. One of their quotes read: 'Very sporting of the Australians to send over a couple of cruising boats (double-enders) and a very old Robert Clark design'.

It’s hard to say what “history”, or what those in the art world could call “provenance” adds to a boats value.  Some might say that it becomes a burden, adding to the obligations of the owner, but I would argue that the rewards of being the custodian of a beautiful, functional and proven yacht, far outweigh the pressures. So when I noticed that CAMILLE had come on the market I thought It would be good to investigate.

In 1963 Australia announced that it would challenge for the Admiral's Cup and there was considerable excitement as owners prepared for the selection trials. Ron Swanston designed a minimum rated, double ended sloop like CARMAN called CAMILLE. Trials were held in which CAMILLE tied for first place with the Halvorsen Brothers FREYA, while CAPRICE OF HUON tied for third place with SALACIA. The selection panel finally gave the nod for the third boat to CAPRICE OF HUON - an emotional moment for Gordon Ingate and his crew. Normal Ridge's LORITA MARIE went along as a private entry.

Morale AT MHYC was running high over CAMILLE's selection for the Admiral's Cup team and all sorts of functions were held for the team of Ron Swanson, Frank Likely, Peter Mounsey, Dave Linton, Curley Curlewis and Leo Reilly. Finally, the yachts were loaded on board a ship and shipped off, with the crews following by air.

Although the Australians were quietly confident that they would not be disgraced, they were not prepared for the horse laughter of the English yachting press. One of their quotes read: 'Very sporting of the Australians to send over a couple of cruising boats (double-enders) and a very old Robert Clark design'.

Another, Yachting World (UK) summarised things well from a British perspective: “CAPRICE OF HUON – a 13-year old Robert Clark design in which modernisation had been applied to almost everything except the hull… and her canoe sterned colleagues, the Halvorsen Bros sophisticated FREYA and Ron Swanson’s unpretentious CAMILLE with light weight (and bent) fittings, a 4 inch cockpit compass and a sail plan so modest that with a 30 ft waterline she rates in RORC Class 3. How dare they be so good at their first try with this assortment of craft? “

Once the racing started, attitudes began to change. CAPRICE loved the smooth water of the Solent and English Channel and won three races. Meanwhile CAMILLE and FREYA had experienced one bad Solent race which they soon made up for in the Fastnet Race (triple points) when CAMILLE came sixth. The proud Australian team came home with a well-deserved second place for the series, with CAPRICE the top Australian scorer.

 On her return to Australia from the UK, CAMILLE was based at Middle Harbour Yacht Club and entered her glory years winning many Club Championships. In 1994 CAMILLE finished 2nd in the 30 year veterans division of the 50th Sydney Hobart Race (ontop of her second overall in the 1964 race) and in 1997 she won the Veterans division of the Sydney to Southport race.

She also won the 2007/2008 RMYC offshore season, and more recently has sailed in two Brisbane to Gladstone races and a Pittwater to Coffs race.

Peter Moran became CAMILLE's custodian a year before that Pittwater Coffs race in 2014 and instructed Colin Beashel and his boatyard team in Sydney to go over her with a microscope and bring the boat up to the required category two safety standard.

He says of the refit…

"The previous owner of 30 years kept CAMILLE in excellent condition. We decided to stick with the features of the boat's era, even reverting to the original sail number of MH111 to reflect on Ron Swanson's association with Middle Harbour Yacht Club. The double-ender with the pipe cots for beds and the full keel was built in Oregon wood including the mast and boom which gives a displacement of 7.5 tons. We didn't want to turn it into a cruiser or add more weight as we planned to keep racing her."It’s a tribute to her owners that her design and rig have remained original from launch.The hull is 1’1/8” oregon on spotted gum frames at 6”centres. The mast is from clear grain oregon and is a hollow box section to reduce weight aloft.

So now CAMILLE is looking for a new custodian. Whoever it is ,will be well looked after at sea, if they show the respect due to this old lady. I’m astounded that she could be yours for less than the price of a thirty-year-old Beneteau 38. 

For more information go to the brokers website or The Australian Register of Historic Vessels