Windward II

WINDWARD II on Port Phillip image courtesy of the owner.

It frequently astounds me, the value that you can find when buying a classic yacht. 

I’m not necessarily talking about buying comfort (although many Classic Yachts are extremely comfortable) and I’m not talking about buying speed (although often they are surprisingly quick) but I am talking about the return for your dollar in terms of a deep, all-encompassing satisfaction that comes from being the custodian of, and sailing on, a fully functioning, highly practical and unquestionably beautiful timber creation.

WINDWARD II is such a boat.  She is currently for sale for $169,000 and for that you get one of the most remarkable and eye-catching pieces of Australian sailing history.

I had a quick look at Yachthub to see what else you might find for this price. You would pay more for a similar L.O.A. 20 year old ex-charterboat fiberglass Beneteau, with the personality of a brick. Nothing against old Beneteaus, but if space and comfort are your priorities then I suggest you stay at home.

WINDWARD was designed by Englishman Norman E Dallimore, a prolific, highly regarded and slightly eccentric amateur. Hard work was his way of life and at all times he insisted on obedience and good discipline from his family. His design office was in the house, and as he was very sensitive about noise, the other occupants of the house had to be very quiet, even to the extent of walking about on tiptoe. During the working day he commuted to London where he was a fire insurance surveyor with The Royal Exchange Assurance, and at night he designed boats, and so when he was very busy his family saw very little of him, except when sailing together.

WINDWARD’s carvel planked hull was built in Hobart at Percy Coverdale's famous Battery Point yard and launched early in 1930 for Edwin Webster, a towering figure in Hobart yachting over many decades from 1900. It was rigged as a staysail schooner, the first time this American style of rig was employed on a vessel built in Australia. 

A report of its launching in February 1930 Australian Motor Boat and Yachting, notes that 'It would be difficult to conceive a more handsome looking craft than WINDWARD and she is finished in a manner that would do justice to any palatial liner. The topsides are painted a shamrock green, while the underbody is a lighter green.'

Webster only owned WINDWARD for a short period. In 1931 it was sold to James March Hardie and sailed north to Sydney and his club the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron. WINDWARD now became WINDWARD II because a yacht with the name WINDWARD was already sailing on Sydney Harbour. 

Hardie had used his previous yacht MORNA primarily for cruising but with the purchase of WINDWARD II he was able to compete seriously in the RSYS racing program. She quickly made a name in the following season, winning the 1932-33 Fairfax Cup. It went on to win the Fairfax Cup four years in a row. She won the Gascoigne Cup in 1933-34 and the Revonah Cup in 1936-37. In 1935 a youthful Lou d'Alpuget joined the crew and remained aboard for sixteen years. D'Alpuget gained enough experience aboard WINDWARD II to become a confident sailor and yachting journalist, and the dominant writer on the subject up to the 1990s.

After World War II, WINDWARD II and the yachts THETIS, NORN and MORNA re-started racing on Sydney Harbour. Despite its age and the competition of new yachts, she dominated the 1948-49 season by winning the Fairfax, Norn, Bayly-Macarthur and Boomerang Cups.  WINDWARD II was changed to a single mast cutter rig in the 1960s. After Hardie's death the yacht was sold and changed hands four times until the current owner bought the vessel from its Brisbane-based owner and sailed it down to Melbourne. It was in excellent structural condition and only required refinishing to be restored. 

After a racing accident in 2006 WINDWARD II was given a major overhaul under the supervision of Dan Atkins at the Wooden Boat Centre in Melbourne's Docklands. By 2008 it was racing again, under cutter rig, and once more WINDWARD II started to gather trophies in the Victorian Classic Yacht Fleet. During the last few years, she has cruised the Tasmanian East and West coasts and has just undergone a comprehensive re-varnishing program by the meticulous Richard Blake.

This is the sort of boat that could change your life - in a good way!

She is currently lying in the Marina at RMYS St Kilda.

For more information contact Simon Payne of D’Albora Marine 0411 264 268 // spayne@dalboramarine.com.au

 EDITOR // Mark Chew

All images courtesy of the owner.