Innismara

[Guest]

Just saw this on another thread, never sailed on her but have a number of friends who have. Lot of boat - no reserve.

 

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 066675.htm

[Guest]

Oh my... that is a tragedy that she is sitting in a warehouse.

[tuffyluffy 76]

What a fantastic looking project if you had the time, and a space to put it.

 

Does anyone have for info on her? Design, age, layout, history etc etc?

[Murky 1]

Famous boat TL, one of the generation of so-called Ranger-beaters. Bernie Schmidt was her owner and builder, he passed on some years ago.

 

Can't find much online, you would probably find her in the books about classic Auckland/Squadron yachts from the 60s and 70s.

[Murky 1]

I tell a lie, this from - unexpectedly - a multihull building blog:

I ended up sailing on Innismara, a 67ft strip planked Kauri yacht built, owned designed, built and raced by Bernie Schmidt.

Bernie was an optician, and obviously had an eye for fast reaching and downwind hull designs. He was 67 years old when I joined his crew of 13. It was his seventh yacht that he had designed and built and also raced. Innismara was designed by being carved and shaped from a 3ft block of wood. He Bernie then cut the finished model up into about 12 sections, so that he had the shape of the hull for 12 sections along its length. He then used a yard rule and scaled each of those sections up to the full size yacht that floats today. No real drawings were ever drawn.

Initially it was going to be 60ft to match Ranger, a very well known racer built approximately 1936, on the Auckland harbour, but Bernie’s laminated Kauri keelson ended up being longer due to the planks he had, so rather than wasting the extra timber he stretched his frames out to a 67ft yacht. He was a seat of the pants guy, and full of many stories. In the 1920s he raced an 18ft skiff in Sydney and was the first Kiwi skiff to beat the Aussies at their sport. They presented him with a beautiful “silver Skiff trophy” which sits in the Tamaki Yacht club today. He was still discussing ideas for a new design up to the day he died. Swinging keels, and more rocker in the keelson etc. Some people use swinging keels now. What a fantastic man to have known and sailed with.

Lots of people on this site would have sailed on or against her.

[Guest]

Just spoke to a member of the Schmidt family, he recalls she was designed at 65 but faired to 67'6". 10'6" beam and drew 12 feet. A real drainpipe.

He thinks their best speed was 17kn on a tight reach and 8.5 upwind

Bernie started building in 63 and launched in 68. He owned her till she died in the early 90's, the family eventually sold it to who we believe is the current owner.

 

For many years she held the Ak - Kawau record at 2hrs 4 mins (OK Vodafone has destroyed that).

He couldn't remember which yeasrs she won the Squadron points prize, but it was more than once, same for the Anniversary Regatta.

[MuzzaB 14]

I never sailed on her but remember being on board after Squadron passage races. My favorite memory of her dates back to a Squadron Kawau Weekend and specifically to the race up. It was probably about 1982. We were close hauled when she came past us to leeward - all quiet and spooky (it was a dark night). I was trimming genoa and remember sitting to leeward and just gazing at her as she cruised past us silently no more than 5 or 6 meters away. A beautiful sight.

[floatsome 0]

Before Max Livingstone bought Itchy Feet, he was skipper of the "flying pencil" for many a year. Max would be the best person to tell a yarn or two, but sadly for Max, he lost his father off innismara in a gulf race in i think in the early 90's. I was behind him at the time and we never did find him.

The Pencil was capable of very high speeds and I saw 24 knots in Rangi Channel on her one day but I am sure she saw high 20's

on a regular basis and that was all locally as i understand she wasnt allowed offshore?

Fond memories, but i would be surprised to see her on the water again.

[Guest]

I used to be a friend of the late great Eric Wing. I remember him telling me about the Innissmara. He described her as a snake full of rabbits. Never one for pulling his punches, when Bernie asked his advice about what to do with the boat after she fell out of her cradle, he suggested he cut her up for dog kennels. Ouch !

[Guest]

sold $3010.00, f*ck thats cheap lead.......lotsa kennels too

[John B 106]

sold $3010.00, f*ck thats cheap lead.......lotsa kennels too

Not if Ian has got her.

Faneffingtastic.

[Guest]

I tell a lie, this from - unexpectedly - a multihull building blog:

In the 1920s he raced an 18ft skiff in Sydney and was the first Kiwi skiff to beat the Aussies at their sport. They presented him with a beautiful “silver Skiff trophy” which sits in the Tamaki Yacht club today. .

Lots of people on this site would have sailed on or against her.

History geek here

In 1938, the V-class 18-footers Riptide (Bernie Schmidt), Vaalele (Harold Cleghorn), Irina (Trotter Willetts) and the M-class Manene (Colin Dennes) went to Sydney to compete in the first 18-foot World Championship trophy event (now known as the J.J. Giltinan Trophy). The kiwis were well trashed, Irina being the best of them finishing 7th.

 

The kiwi contingent were staying at Watsons Bay and must have made a good impression because the residents of the Bay put a quite magnificent trophy, a silver (plated?) gaff rigged yacht on a raised base, known as the "The Watsons Bay Trophy" for the kiwis to race for.

 

No others were invited to take part, just the 4 kiwi boats.

 

It was won by Bernie in Riptide and on his return to Auckland he donated it to to his sponsoring club Tamaki Yacht Club for competition as by 18-footers on the club Cup Days. These days's it's raced for by the M-class as a mark foy race.