Hald and Johansen – Danish Boatbuilders in Sydney in the 1960s Part 2 – some of their boats
By Greg Dwyer
Part 1 of this article back on October 28 was an overview of the work of Anders Johansen and John Hald during their time in Australia in the 1960s, and some biographical details about Johansen, who died back in Denmark in 2009. In this second part I look a little more closely at some of the yachts they built.
Johansen’s first commission in Sydney was the Nordic Folkboat TUP, now moored in Pittwater, and in lovely condition after recent updating in Queensland by retired shipwright Ian Powell – who had previously owned two other H & J Folkboats - SVENSKA and SERENE.
TUP in 2020 Photograph by Ian Powell
TUP is on the Australian Register of Historic Vessels. As just over half of their 36 yachts were folkies, they are in many ways H & J’s “signature” boats, and they were probably responsible for the largest number of the class in Australia – true short cabin clinker Nordics, like TUP and PIPSQUEAK, extended cabin- - like ELPH (ex SIEGLINDE), ATHENE IV and YENDYS , cabins with doghouses, like CAPELLA and VIVIENNEMARIE (ex KARRAWINGI) and also apparently strip plank carvel versions, as we saw in the Trade-a-Boat advertisement in Part 1.
PIPSQUEAK- Photograph by Rick Frost
ELPH
ATHENE IV
YENDYS on the slip at Geeenwich 2009
VIVIENNE MARIE Photography by John Jeremy
Yachting journalist and Seacraft editor Sheila Patrick commissioned CAPELLA OF KURRABA and wrote about her in the Seacraft article My Fancy Folkboat
After long ownership in her son Geoff Cohen’s hands until just a few years ago, moored off the Balmoral Baths in Sydney’s Middle Harbour, CAPELLA went through a few short ownerships and is now in Pittwater, with a refurbishment planned.
But perhaps the high point for H & J’s “stock build” folkies (as Johansen called them) was when Ann Gash sailed ILIMO around the world (albeit with a short leg up the west coast of Africa as deck cargo to meet a flute festival deadline in England) mainly single handed, having sensibly had the standard design open cockpit converted to self-draining before she set out. Gash wrote of her adventure in her book A Star to Steer Her By but sadly came to grief in home waters sometime after her safe return, when ILIMO was wrecked on Barrenjoey headland.
I know of the whereabouts of 9 of the H & J folkies, including ILIMO, but what of the other 10? There has been at least one sold in Sydney in recent years described as an H & J build, then called EAGLE, and according to one of Johansen’s own photos at least one went to Melbourne.
Folkboat delivery to Melbourne
Some found their way to Queensland – e.g. SVENSKA and SERENE, although I haven’t been able to confirm what became of them. It would be great to track down some of the others.
Although I have been told that H & J apparently built a number of Illingworth and Primrose 29 foot Tocade class boats, which they advertised in Seacraft.
I only have direct knowledge of two. One, unnamed, is shown in one of Johansen’s black and white photos captioned “Tocade no.1 moored off the owner’s house”
and current NSW Wooden Boat Association president Peter Widders and his partner Grace owned one, SIMOON, for a number of years.
Peter understands she went to Brisbane. Perhaps SIMOON is the boat shown in the Johansen photo – but perhaps there were / are others? A Tocade has been for sale recently in NSW (ARKAYO) attributed to Swansons, but this hasn’t been fully confirmed.
However, H and J definitely built four Holman design Twister 28s – TIGRESS ( later WINDROSE), APHRODITE (now WHISPER), CASUARINA and SAMIEL - the latter with an extended counter stern making her 30 foot. One time owner Chris Iacono, who raced SAMIEL offshore with the CYCA, recalled to current owner Mike Cassidy (Instagram @sydneyboatworks) a story passed on by Bill Rice, the first owner of SAMIEL. When Bill went to check in with Hald & Johansen about SAMIEL's progress, they mentioned the owner of the other boat being built in the shed had been in and was so taken by SAMIEL's lines that he asked to have his boat made exactly the same. H&J said 'Unfortunately Harry we have already cut the hull planks for CASUARINA - it's too late."
So, CASUARINA (which I now own – see Instagram @casuarina1967) with standard Twister transom and SAMIEL, with extended counter stern apparently drawn by the builders, were in the Dee Why shed at the same time, sister ships, both built of strip plank Oregon, with SAMIEL apparently a bit more advanced, although her first owner Harry Poulton, referred to CASUARINA as the 3rd of the H & J Twisters strictly she was probably the last. Building started in April 1967, and launch was in August that year. She was then owned by Mike Elliott, who registered her with the CYCA, sail number 1980. She was subsequently sold to Ross Tremlett, and in 1985 she was purchased by Dr. George Fielding who took her to Queensland, owning her until late 2016, when she was sold to Scott Bishop. In early 2020 she returned to Mosman Bay, where she had been berthed in the 1980s.
CASUARINA Circa 1964- Photograph Bryan Riddell
CASUARINA 2018
CASUARINA at SASC Green Shed December 2021
The 2nd H & J Twister was built for John Walker, who raced her out of Middle Harbour Yacht club as APHRODITE, in offshore Division 2. Walker owned APHRODITE for 13 years and of course later became a Sydney Hobart legend with his 25 races on cold molded Doug Brooker built Peterson 34ft Impeccable, now close to the end of a fabulous refurbishment by Ben Gray @themissionimpeccable on Instagram. Walker who was in the timber business supplied the wood for APHRODITE which was built in edge glued and nailed strip plank Honduras mahogany.
This picture shows her, renamed as WHISPER, around 2006 / 7. The next rather forlorn shot was taken when I stumbled across her in 2016 at Gary Swindail's yard at Rozelle - Sydney Harbour Boat Builders - in the Inner West in Sydney, where her owner was working on her after apparently going to the bottom.
She had been stripped back to bare wood but unfortunately then left sitting for a while and the sun had started to take its toll on her planking which had begun to open up. The final pictures are a year or so later when she had been professionally sheathed and painted. Gary's yard was closed by the WestConnex motorway project, and I presume WHISPER is now back afloat, although I do not know her location. I believe she was previously up the Parramatta River - possibly Hen and Chicken Bay?
I believe that the first of the H & J Twisters was TIGRESS (now WINDROSE) – a traditional plank on frame build – and according to CASUARINA's 3rd owner Ross Tremlett, was owned at one stage by John Cuneo. Perhaps she was also raced? In the 1970s Tigress was moored at Lake Macquarie. She later sat on a mooring in Port Stephens for many years and then was put ashore for a rebuild in the early 2000s by the owner of a restored H & J Folkboat, PIPSQUEAK, but was then passed on unfinished to a couple of other owners. I believe that she is ashore, probably an on hold “work in progress” at Medowie.
WINDROSE in the Swansea Channel
WINDROSE circa 2006
WINDROSE mid 2000’s
The 3rd H & J Twister is the lovely SAMIEL, which has an extended counter-stern, making her 30 foot in length. Apparently the lines were drawn by the builders, perhaps in consultation with the owner, after Holman’s office said a counter-stern “wouldn’t work”. Perhaps they were referring to rating rules – given that the Twister design did very well in UK JOG racing, as she rated comparably or better than Holman’s earlier and smaller Stella which was 26 foot, and much less volume. Holman did draw a counter stern version of his North Sea 24, a 31 foot transom stern design which looks like a "blown up" Twister, the first boat being his own Shaker, later put into production as the Northney 34. And there is some similarity to Holman's earlier Elizabethan 29, which is counter-sterned, but with slightly less beam. SAMIEL was built for Bill Rice, who owned her for 2 years before passing her on to Chris Iacono who owned her for around 10 years until 1979, and raced her successfully offshore. After a couple of owners SAMIEL passed to Alan Stanton who owned her from 1995 -2016, keeping her at the CYC and maintaining her in beautiful condition and was then at Lake Macquarie, where current owner Mike Cassidy bought her in 2019 - @sydneyboatworks and keeps her in lovely condition at Pittwater.
SAMIEL on her Pittwater Mooring
SAMIEL under spinnaker
Anders (Andy) Johansen and John Hald had a very good customer in Russell Slade, who commissioned three 5.5 metre class yachts. Slade was a well-known yachtsman and ocean racer, gaining 2nd place in the 1961 Sydney to Hobart in his Alan Payne designed, fiberglass, JANZOON, which he sold "in a weak moment" but later bought back. The first of Slade's 5.5s was also a Payne design - KAREELAH (KA18) launched in early 1963 - see pictures. The back of picture 1 reads, in Danish "Ours and Mr. Slade's big hope. A 5.5 metre racing yacht. This picture was taken around 1st August" (presumably 1962). The article by Lou d'Alpuget flags Slade's Olympic aspirations and describes KAREELAH as being built of 9/16th Oregon planking on laminated frames of Queensland Yellowwood, which Wikipedia says is sometimes called yellowwood ash, and that ... " It was previously used for timber in the construction of coaches, cabinet making, flooring, tool handles, lining, ammunition boxes, artificial limbs and joinery. The timber has steam bending qualities". Well, Slade didn't make it to Tokyo, where Australia was represented by Bill Northam's BARRANJOEY (KA14) designer Luders, builder Jeff Clist.
These days you can see BARRANJOEY on display at the Australian Maritime Museum historical vessels section in Sydney. Interestingly, one of Northam's crew was Peter "Pod" O'Donnell, who worked with H & J. Slade had two more attempts with BURRABRA (KA81) a Luders design, launched in early 1967, now in Queensland and awaiting restoration, owned by well-known yachtsman @ivanholm1957, custodian of the mighty LAURABADA, and finally, with BARAGOOLA (KA26), Britton Chance. All three boats were flagged in Sheila Patrick's August 1968 Seacraft article "Fiasco of the 5s" with the main shot being KAREELAH , about the run up to Australian selection for the Mexico Olympics.
Slade didn't feature in the Olympics, but did have local success, as did BARAGOOLA which was still racing this century, gaining 1st and 2nd places in the Australian championships on Pittwater in 2017 and 2018. All of the H&J 5.5ms – in fact all Australian yachts of that class – constructed or imported – are listed on this excellent site.
5.5 BARAGOOLA Australian Nationals 2018 PHOTOGRAPH- Tannis McDonald
But in terms of serious racing “longevity” of H & J boats, the award goes to the Illingworth and Primrose 34-foot design MORAG BHEAG launched by Sydney yachtsman Donald Maclurcan, which I have been told was H&J’s last build. Sheila Patrick described her as “a husky motor sailer” – in a nod to the aft cabin, centre-cockpit and fixed wooden “dodger”. Donald did not commission MB but saw the boat part way through construction - possibly for H&J themselves or perhaps as a speculative build because they were planning to go back to Denmark - and bought it. He had previously campaigned a Len Randell Blythe Spirit. Donald raced MB extensively, including offshore, as has his son John, who now owns her, keeping her in superb condition In 2006 MB won Division 3 of the CYC's Short Ocean Point score. Perhaps "motor-sailer" was a bit off the mark!
Four images MORAG BHEAG
H&J’s largest build, launched in 1969, was PROSPECTOR - a 45 foot Laurent Giles design cruising cutter, as Johansen described her "similar to John Guzwell's TREASURE".
She came up for sale in Sydney in the early 2000s, and was bought by Jacques Saphir, who took her to Tasmania. While quite unrelated to H&J there is an interesting ABC radio interview with Jacques about his sailing career
PROSPECTOR took part in the 2014 Geelong Wooden Boat Festival. She was sold to fellow Mersey Yacht Club member Lance Harvey, and then sadly lost, along with 16 other boats, in the disastrous 2016 floods. Apparently her keel lies near Moorland beach to the east of Devonport, and Jacques said "a few bits of driftwood have been salvaged".
Jacques Sapir in 2013 with the classic wooden boats Noss and PROSPECTOR N lost in last year's major flood.(ABC Northern Tasmania: Rick Eaves)
Lance Harvey's yacht classic wooden boat PROSPECTOR N, built in 1969 and eventually lost later on June 6, 2016.(Photograph Lance Harvey)
So, as I wrote in part 1, the story of Andy Johansen and John Hald is one of a relatively short lived, but skilled and productive period in the last days of regular timber boat building in Sydney. A number of folk owned more than one of their boats, a number are still being used regularly both for pleasure and racing, with their current custodians keeping them in good order, some are just “surviving”, and a number are in stages of restoration. There are more pictures and information about Hald and Johansen’s yachts on the Instagram feed - @haldandjohansenyachts – which will be updated from time to time as any new information comes to light, and with current news about H&J boats. Any information, updates or indeed corrections from SWS readers would be greatly appreciated - gregdwyer51@gmail.com