ex Elly 197 Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 Race preparations are ramping up with the closing date for entries just 6 weeks away. There are currently 8/9 boats lined up for the start from both sides of the Tasman; including a Swan 44, Young 11, Contessa 32, Challenger 39, Elliot 9, Rogers 36, North Sea 24, Verdier 40 and Dickson 45. https://www.solo-tasman.co.nz/ 1 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Zozza 293 Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 Hey, Ex Elly, nothing against you personally mate, but do you know why the new organizers of this race made it 9metre min loa. Why? Past finishers such as Roger Taylor's ROC, Bill Belcher's RAHA, Andrew Fagan's SWIRLY WORLD and some others, all well under 9m - why put in a rule that takes small boat sailors out of the mix, and turn it into yet another humdrum run of the mill AWB commercialised wank off yacht race? Size is not an overall indication of sea worthiness. Just my opinion, and as I say, nothing personal. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Black Panther 1,579 Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 Didn't Blondie Hasler do the first single handed Trans Atlantic race in a 26ft folkboat? 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CarpeDiem 427 Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 4 hours ago, Zozza said: Hey, Ex Elly, nothing against you personally mate, but do you know why the new organizers of this race made it 9metre min loa. Why? Past finishers such as Roger Taylor's ROC, Bill Belcher's RAHA, Andrew Fagan's SWIRLY WORLD and some others, all well under 9m - why put in a rule that takes small boat sailors out of the mix, and turn it into yet another humdrum run of the mill AWB commercialised wank off yacht race? Size is not an overall indication of sea worthiness. Just my opinion, and as I say, nothing personal. These length limits tend to be so that the majority of the fleet isn't hanging around waiting for boats to finish so they can get on with the celebrations. Also the races and the functions are still run by volunteers, and volunteers have far more demand on there time than they did years ago. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Black Panther 1,579 Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 41 minutes ago, CarpeDiem said: These length limits tend to be so that the majority of the fleet isn't hanging around waiting for boats to finish so they can get on with the celebrations. Also the races and the functions are still run by volunteers, and volunteers have far more demand on there time than they did years ago. Not sure those arguments would apply here. Historically they finish over a period of days, if not weeks. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Island Time 1,214 Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 It's still been one of the few offshore racers that an average sailor can afford a boat to compete in, although this is changing more recently. Performance wise, a modern smaller offshore racer is considerably faster than an old 45 ftr. Provided the whole race is not to weather! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Priscilla II 387 Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 Talking of Andrew Fagan and Swirly World does anybody have any news about his Pitcairn rescue after rudder failure. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Zozza 293 Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 1 hour ago, Priscilla II said: Talking of Andrew Fagan and Swirly World does anybody have any news about his Pitcairn rescue after rudder failure. First I've heard of it. Didn't even know he was sailing Swirly World offshore at this time..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Frank 157 Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 21 hours ago, Priscilla II said: Talking of Andrew Fagan and Swirly World does anybody have any news about his Pitcairn rescue after rudder failure. Would definitely be interested in any updates, here is me mildly anxious about taking a 12 ton 38 ft BrickS**t house Hood 38 to Fiji next year and he goes to Pitcairn in a 17 foot Plywood boat, the guy is an absolute inspiration ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
B00B00 310 Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 Wasn't he attempting to do a solo circumnavigation? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ex Elly 197 Posted July 25, 2022 Author Share Posted July 25, 2022 3 year old article says: "Swirly World in Perpetuity – the diminutive keeler skippered by Andrew Fagan – is getting set to sail the oceans again in search of a circumnavigation record around the four Great Capes." "He has worked for the past three years as a watchkeeper on the Pitcairn supply ship MV Claymore ... " "I’m looking at a lightweight liferaft, lightweight batteries for coms, and a heavyweight me that needs to lose some weight, and I imagine this will be a good way to do it and, after working on the Pitcairn ship, I want to have a AIS (automatic Identification System) – you’d be crazy to do it without one." https://boatingnz.co.nz/swirly-waves/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Zozza 293 Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 I would have thought a 'name' like him, being rescued on Swirly World in the Pacific, would have made the news. No news, and nothing on the internet apart from that old story Ex Elly has referenced. Maybe Priscilla can come back and quote his source about this apparent rescue? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
B00B00 310 Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 It is true that he was rescued, I have a friend that knows him well and filled me in on what happened. He kept everything on the downlow for this one I think and from what I was told it wasnt really a rescue as such, he had rudder issues and then took an opportunity to get off the boat onto a passing ship or something. I didnt think he was anywhere near pitcairn island though, would have been well south? On another note I had a really intereting meeting last week with some guys who plan to do a 2 handed world circumnavigation record in a boat uner 20ft (globe 580) next year. Boat is getting built in manly and launching late this year. Obviously lots of hurldes to try and work through but they are pretty knowlegeable and are putting a good campaign together. 2 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Zozza 293 Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 4 hours ago, B00B00 said: It is true that he was rescued, I have a friend that knows him well and filled me in on what happened. He kept everything on the downlow for this one I think and from what I was told it wasnt really a rescue as such, he had rudder issues and then took an opportunity to get off the boat onto a passing ship or something. I didnt think he was anywhere near pitcairn island though, would have been well south? On another note I had a really intereting meeting last week with some guys who plan to do a 2 handed world circumnavigation record in a boat uner 20ft (globe 580) next year. Boat is getting built in manly and launching late this year. Obviously lots of hurldes to try and work through but they are pretty knowlegeable and are putting a good campaign together. Thanks Booboo. What happened to Swirly World itself? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
curly12 1 Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 9 hours ago, B00B00 said: On another note I had a really intereting meeting last week with some guys who plan to do a 2 handed world circumnavigation record in a boat uner 20ft (globe 580) next year. Boat is getting built in manly and launching late this year. Obviously lots of hurldes to try and work through but they are pretty knowlegeable and are putting a good campaign together. https://www.youtube.com/c/SmallfryRacing Quote Link to post Share on other sites
waikiore 398 Posted July 26, 2022 Share Posted July 26, 2022 Thanks for the update Booboo I didnt realise that he had finally left. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Zozza 293 Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 I'm not accusing anyone of anything here.....but is this all 3rd, 4th, 5th hand? He may have wanted to keep things on "the downlow" but there is no way a media personality like Andrew is going to be able to keep a rescue out of the news. There is not one iota of info on the web about this rescue, and I just find that next to impossible in this modern online age . Some of the things I'd like to know is what of Swirly World? Left to drift, seacocks opened & scuttled, or was she towed to port somewhere and salvaged (unlikely way out there in the Pacific). And what of the supposed rudder failure? There is no shame in being rescued due to this sort of gear breakage, and I'm sure he would have tried a jury rig of sorts on the rudder. We can all learn from episodes like this. Anyway, for me this remains a bit of a yacht club bar story, and I'm sure the people are telling the story as verbatim as they first heard it, and then passing it on, but for now I remain unconvinced. And if this was the start of his great capes non-stop attempt, I think that too would be next to impossible to keep out of the news, when you think of the sponsorship he was chasing and the big article by Boating NZ 3 or 4 years ago about the proposed voyage. Anyway, factual or not, I wish Andrew all the best. He is an inspiration to us small boat sailors with far horizon's in mind. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Huey 7 Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 http://www.mooloolabayachtclub.com.au/news/trans-tasman-survival-man-and-boat/ From the archives – Trans-Tasman survival…man and boat Kerry Teed 22/06/2020 John Bates recalled a very big year The Trans-Taman Solo Race has been the source of many tales. The achievements of MYC members such as Bill Gleeson, Jon Sayer, Peter Mounsey and, in more recent times, Laurie Gubb and Ian Griffith, could make a great chronicle. However, the year which must stand out in the history of MYC as being unforgettable was 1978 – the Bill Belcher Year. During the long period from race start in New Plymouth, New Zealand, until all competitors actually stepped ashore in Australia, the MYC race committee, led by Commodore, Harry Marshall, aged ten years. Harry was meeting the media head-on with his quietly spoken way, trying to show logic to those who would push panic buttons and go looking for Bill Belcher just because he hadn’t finished in the first three places. Communications had not been perfect that year by any means. Many competitors had not kept their radio skeds with either NPYC or MYC, so it wasn’t until the first three yachts finished that is was beginning to look like the middle of the fleet had run into pretty dirty weather. Bill Belcher wrote a book about his ploughing into Middleton Reef, waiting for rescue in his yacht Josephine II, sitting high on the reef and finally taking to his life raft ten days later in the hope of drifting to Australian shores. In the same race, one yacht was pitchpoled 360 degrees, losing her rig, and another rolled dismasted and abandoned in the Tasman Sea. The little quarter-tonner Witchetty limped into Mooloolaba with a tiny jury rig and a single-handed sailor who vowed never to sail the Tasman again (he did – twice), Witchetty was befriended by a new MYC member, Alex Higgins, starting a long and meaningful relationship between man and boat. What of the abandoned boat – a 38ft sloop sailed by one-legged stalwart John Jury. John was taken from his drifting hull by a freighter and the boat abandoned, much to John’s dismay. It was my habit to escape to Fraser Island when peace and quiet was needed. All solo competitors had been accounted for except Bill Belcher who was still adrift in his life raft. Four days camping the beach up by Indian Head seemed a great escape from the pressure. So, with three friends it was into the four-wheel-drive and off. Glen Arundell was with his favourite lady (now wife of many years) and I too was with my then favourite. After setting up camp, we lay back to enjoy the sunset and cold drinks. Not a soul could be seen looking south or north along the beach. (Those were the days!) Suddenly a news helicopter came screaming past about 50 feet off the sand. Glen’s curiosity was greater than mine, so he headed north along the beach. Not long after dark he returned with incredible news. John Jury’s boat was washed up on the beach a few miles north. The next day we inspected the hull – together with other campers who had happened on it. John Jury had been in Mooloolaba and was soon on board a fellow competitor’s yacht, heading north to claim his hull. Mid-afternoon next day the yacht hove-to about a mile off the beach and a dingy could be seen rowing for our position. Being on the sand side of the shore break, we could see that a surf boat might have had a chance of getting through the breakers, but for a one-legged man in a dingy it was a bit risky. Glen – being the fit water polo player – started swimming. He met the upturned dingy and the mono-pedestrian, now aquarian, about 200m out. We in turn met the rescue party about halfway back and all reached the beach in safety. Glen was awarded the BRM (Bundaberg Rum Medal) for bravery, plus, to his delight, boat chandlery from John Jury which would assist greatly his own boat-building project. A news helicopter reappeared and we were informed by the news crew that Bill Becher had been picked up off Gladstone, frail but well after 28 days in his raft and some 300 nautical miles from the reef. Yes, 1978 was a big year for MYC. In October the same year the MYC yacht Odyssey sailed north from Mooloolaba and returned from the south having kept Australia on the left and not stopping or using any power other than the wind. It was the first non-stop circumnavigation of Australia – but that is another story. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Huey 7 Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 David Adams??Kirribilli Kel Steinman 40 didn't make official start of the Sydney to Taranaki as a precursor to the Taranaki to Mooloolabah... But used these races as a training ground for starting his Around the World Races on an alloy Kel Steinman design 60 footer converted fully crewed racer ...then later, a custom built Jon Sayer design 50' True Blue and winning his class and others including Ian and Cathy Johnston and Kay Cottee , Ian Mounsey, Billy Gleeson, Old Alby Bergin sailed in the short handed Inaugural Sydney to Taranaki race Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ex Machina 365 Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 Cheers Huey ! Interesting reading . I’ve always thought of the solo trans Tasman as a race for the slightly crazy sailor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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