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Helsal (yacht)
''Helsal'' was the world's first sloop-rigged maxi yacht launched in April 1973. Helsal was commissioned by sailor Tony Fisher, who skippered it to take line honours in the 1973 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in a then race record time of 3 days, 1 hour, 32 minutes, and 9 seconds. Dubbed "''The Flying Footpath''", it was constructed using ferro-cement with tension cables 45 cm apart throughout the hull. Fisher first engaged Bob Miller (better known as Ben Lexcen) to design the yacht, however, Miller teamed up with Alan Bond to prepare the yacht Southern Cross which challenged for the 1974 America's Cup The 1974 America's Cup was held in September 1974 at Newport, Rhode Island. The US defender, '' Courageous'', skippered by Ted Hood, defeated the Australian challenger, ''Southern Cross'', skippered by James Hardy, in a four-race sweep. '' Coura .... Joe Adams who was working with Miller took over the design work. Fisher also engaged bridge engineer Peter Ellen, who prop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maxi Yacht
A maxi yacht usually refers to a racing yacht of at least in length. Origin The term ''maxi'' originated with the International Offshore Rule (IOR) rating system, which in the 1970s and 1980s measured offshore racing yachts and applied a single-number rating to each boat. This number was approximately equal to the sailing waterline length in feet, plus or minus speed enhancing or reducing factors in the design. A yacht with a rating of was generally about in length overall. The IOR had upper and lower rating limits of and , so a yacht designed and built to exceed the maximum limit of rating was known as a ''maxi''. Competition The IOR Maxis were generally long overall, and raced boat-for-boat without handicap, unlike the rest of the IOR fleet which raced with a time correction factor depending on the boat's rating. In the 1980s they were the most glamorous, exciting, expensive and high-visibility racing yachts in the world, with regular appearances at most of the great rac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Fisher (sailor)
Harold Anthony Fisher (23 March 1927 – 22 November 2022) was an Australian ocean racing skipper, yachtsman and surgeon. Early years Tony Fisher was educated at Newington College, (1942) and the University of Sydney from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery in 1956. Yacht racing Fisher won line honours with a race record time, aboard Helsal, in the 1973 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual event hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales, on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately . The race is run i .... Helsal was designed by Joe Adams. It was named after Fisher's wife Helen and daughter Sally. Fisher has since owned four boats named Helsal with II, III and IV. Both Fisher's daughter, Sally Smith, and son, Rob Fisher, are ocean racing sailers. Death Tony Fisher died on 22 November 2022, at the age of 95. References 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sydney To Hobart Yacht Race
The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual event hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales, on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately . The race is run in conjunction with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, and is widely considered to be one of the most difficult yacht races in the world. The race was initially planned to be a cruise by Peter Luke and some friends who had formed a club for those who enjoyed cruising as opposed to racing, however when a visiting British Royal Navy Officer, Captain John Illingworth, suggested it be made a race, the event was born. The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race has grown over the decades, since the inaugural race in 1945, to become one of the top three offshore yacht races in the world, and it now attracts maxi yachts from all around the globe. The 2019 race was the 75th edition. Australia's foremost offshore sailing prize is The George Adams Tattersall C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brisbane To Gladstone Yacht Race
The Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race is held annually, starting on Good Friday. The premier blue water classic begins from Shorncliffe in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, and finishes in Gladstone Harbour. Yachts compete for the Courier Mail Cup, one of the oldest perpetual trophies in Australia that has been competed for on a continual basis. In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as an "event and festival". History The Queensland Cruising Yacht Club was established in 1948 to organise the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race. The first race was held during Easter 1949. The first race saw seven vessels start, two of which carried radios while Brisbane’s Homing Pigeon Club supplied pigeons to the others for position reporting. Each yacht issued with birds was to release two each day. The finish is hosted by the Port Curtis Sailing Club. Course The course leads the y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sloop
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sails fore and aft, or as a gaff-rig with triangular foresail(s) and a gaff rigged mainsail. Sailboats can be classified according to type of rig, and so a sailboat may be a sloop, catboat, cutter, ketch, yawl, or schooner. A sloop usually has only one headsail, although an exception is the Friendship sloop, which is usually gaff-rigged with a bowsprit and multiple headsails. If the vessel has two or more headsails, the term cutter may be used, especially if the mast is stepped further towards the back of the boat. When going before the wind, a sloop may carry a square-rigged topsail which will be hung from a topsail yard and be supported from below by a crossjack. This sail often has a large hollow foot, and this foot is sometimes fil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maxi Yacht
A maxi yacht usually refers to a racing yacht of at least in length. Origin The term ''maxi'' originated with the International Offshore Rule (IOR) rating system, which in the 1970s and 1980s measured offshore racing yachts and applied a single-number rating to each boat. This number was approximately equal to the sailing waterline length in feet, plus or minus speed enhancing or reducing factors in the design. A yacht with a rating of was generally about in length overall. The IOR had upper and lower rating limits of and , so a yacht designed and built to exceed the maximum limit of rating was known as a ''maxi''. Competition The IOR Maxis were generally long overall, and raced boat-for-boat without handicap, unlike the rest of the IOR fleet which raced with a time correction factor depending on the boat's rating. In the 1980s they were the most glamorous, exciting, expensive and high-visibility racing yachts in the world, with regular appearances at most of the great rac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferrocement
Ferrocement or ferro-cement is a system of construction using reinforced mortar or plaster (lime or cement, sand, and water) applied over an "armature" of metal mesh, woven, expanded metal, or metal-fibers, and closely spaced thin steel rods such as rebar. The metal commonly used is iron or some type of steel, and the mesh is made with wire with a diameter between 0.5 mm and 1 mm. The cement is typically a very rich mix of sand and cement in a 3:1 ratio; when used for making boards, no gravel is used, so that the material is not concrete. Ferrocement is used to construct relatively thin, hard, strong surfaces and structures in many shapes such as hulls for boats, shell roofs, and water tanks. Ferrocement originated in the 1840s in France and the Netherlands and is the precursor to reinforced concrete. It has a wide range of other uses, including sculpture and prefabricated building components. The term "ferrocement" has been applied by extension to other composite m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Lexcen
Benjamin Lexcen AM (born Robert Clyde Miller, 19 March 1936 – 1 May 1988) was an Australian yachtsman and marine architect. He is famous for the winged keel design applied to ''Australia II'' which, in 1983, became the first non-American yacht to win the prestigious America's Cup in 132 years. Early life Born in the small town of Boggabri, New South Wales on 19 March 1936. After his parents, labourer Edward William Miller and Ethel Doreen, née Green abandoned him as a child he stayed briefly at Boys' Town, Engadine, before going to his grandfather at Newcastle. He left school at age 14 to pursue a locomotive mechanic's apprenticeship but soon found his attention turning to sailboats. At 16, he designed his first sailboat ''The Comet'' with his friend William Bennett in Hamilton, NSW, and began to make a name for himself in local competition. Miller did his sailmaking apprenticeship with Norman Wright in Queensland. Miller's designs were highly innovative. His entry, "Taipan" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Bond
Alan Bond (22 April 1938 – 5 June 2015) was an English-born Australian businessman noted for his high-profile and often corrupt business dealings. These included his central role in the WA Inc scandals of the 1980s, and what was at the time the biggest corporate collapse in Australian history and also for his criminal conviction that saw him serve four years in prison. He is also remembered for bankrolling the successful challenge for the 1983 America's Cup, the first time the New York Yacht Club had lost it in its 132-year history. He is also the founder of Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia. Early life Alan Bond was born on 22 April 1938, the son of Frank and Kathleen Bond in the Hammersmith district of London, England. In 1950, aged 12, he emigrated to Australia with his parents and his elder sister Geraldine, living in Fremantle, near Perth. At the age of 14, he was charged with stealing and being unlawfully on premises. Aged 18, he was arrested for being unlawfully ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Cross (yacht)
''Southern Cross'' is a 12-metre class racing yacht, constructed in Terry Hills by Halvorsen Morson and Gowland of Mona Vale. Perth entrepreneur Alan Bond funded the project and was designed by Australian designer Ben Lexcen. ''Southern Cross'' is 68 feet long, weighs 32 tonnes and has a mast that is 97 feet high. It was the first Aluminium yacht to compete in the America's Cup. Career America's Cup Although unsuccessful in beating the Americans in the 1974 America's Cup,'' Southern Cross'' did beat the competing nations to win the right to challenge for the cup. Today ''Southern Cross'' provides chartered overnight sailing trips in the Whitsundays The Whitsunday Islands are 74 continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, north of Brisbane. The northernmost of the islands are off the coast by the town of Bowen, while the southernmost islands are .... The conversion of ''Southern Cross'' to a charter yacht took two years and incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1974 America's Cup
The 1974 America's Cup was held in September 1974 at Newport, Rhode Island. The US defender, '' Courageous'', skippered by Ted Hood, defeated the Australian challenger, ''Southern Cross'', skippered by James Hardy, in a four-race sweep. '' Courageous'' had beaten '' Intrepid'' (skippered by Gerry Driscoll and including William Earl Buchan and John Marshall), ''Heritage'', ''Mariner'' and '' Valiant'' (skippered by George R. Hinman, Sr.) to become the defender. ''Southern Cross'' had beaten ''France'' to become the challenger. Hood had replaced Robert Bavier as skipper of ''Courageous'' during the defender trials. 1977 Cup winner Ted Turner first sailed at the 1974 Cup, losing at the defender trials while skippering aboard ''Mariner''. Dennis Conner started the trials as the tactician on ''Mariner'', before being promoted to helm the boat, and then being added to the afterguard of ''Courageous''.Bertrand, John ''Born to win : a lifelong struggle to capture the America's Cup'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manila Bay
Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and its neighboring countries,Jacinto, G.S., Azanza, R.V., Velasquez, I.B. and Siringan, F.P.(2006)."Manila Bay:Environmental Challenges and Opportunities" in Wolanski, E.(ed.) The Environment in Asia Pacific Harbours. Springer: Dordrecht, Netherlands. p309-328. becoming the gateway for socio-economic development even prior to Spanish occupation. With an area of , and a coastline of , Manila Bay is situated in the western part of Luzon and is bounded by Cavite and Metro Manila on the east, Bulacan and Pampanga on the north, and Bataan on the west and northwest.Jacinto, G.S., Velasquez, I.B., San Diego-McGlone, M.L., Villanoy, C.L. and Siringan, F.B.(2006)."Biophysical Environment of Manila Bay - Then and Now", in Wolanski, E.(ed.)Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
