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John Spencer (boat Designer)
John Alfred Spencer (6 July 1931 – 4 March 1996) was a New Zealand boat designer. Biography Spencer was born in Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ... and moved to Eketahuna in 1933. He spent most of his life in New Zealand. He was a well-known designer of sailing boats of all sizes, including the Cherub, Javelin (NZ), Firebug and Flying Ant classes of sailing dinghies. His designs used thin plywood, hard chines, a vertical stem and stern and light displacement. The minimum weight for a Cherub hull was and a Firebug is . Spencer's most famous design was arguably the 62-foot hard-chined ''Infidel'', later known as ''Ragtime'', which he designed and built for Tom Clark, a New Zealand industrialist. ''Ragtime'' was launched in late 1964 and went on to w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area, covering . New Zealand is about east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland. The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and then developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropolitan area known as Greater Melbourne, comprising an urban agglomeration of 31 local municipalities, although the name is also used specifically for the local municipality of City of Melbourne based around its central business area. The metropolis occupies much of the northern and eastern coastlines of Port Phillip Bay and spreads into the Mornington Peninsula, part of West Gippsland, as well as the hinterlands towards the Yarra Valley, the Dandenong and Macedon Ranges. It has a population over 5 million (19% of the population of Australia, as per 2021 census), mostly residing to the east side of the city centre, and its inhabitants are commonly referred to as "Melburnians". The area of Melbourne has been home to Aboriginal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cherub (dinghy)
The Cherub is a 12 feet long, high performance, two-person, Planing (sailing), planing dinghy first designed in 1951 in New Zealand by John Spencer (boat designer), John Spencer (d 1996). The class is a development (or "box rule") class, allowing for significant variation in design between different boats within the rule framework. The minimum hull weight was originally 110 lbs. History In 1951 New Zealand naval architect John Spencer (boat designer), John Spencer designed a 12-foot dinghy for his friend Ray Early to sail on Auckland Harbour. The boat was built to race in the Pennant Class and was named ''Cherub''. Its superiority over other designs in the Pennant Class was immediately evident. Within a very short period of time a number of boats were racing in Auckland. A New Zealand class owner's association was established in 1952. The first manufacturer in the United Kingdom was McCutcheon's of Cowes in 1956. By 1963 there were 112 Cherubs registered in the UK. Basil W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Javelin Dinghy (Australasia)
The Javelin is a high-performance skiff type dinghy sailed in Australia and New Zealand. The class was founded by designer John Spencer in 1961. Spencer also founded the Cherub Class. It is 14 feet long, sporting a large sail area, single trapeze and asymmetrical spinnaker. The Javelin is a development class, meaning that boats vary in shape within a framework of rules, rather than being all built to the same design. Bruce Farr is another well-known designer who drew successful Javelins. Its lightweight hull, and powerful, efficient sail plan allow it to exceed speeds of 25 knots and provide an exhilarating "ride" with exciting fleet racing. Competitions and racing Both Australia and New Zealand run their respective National championships each year, with New Zealand holding a National contest ever since 1964. The two countries race each other every second year in the Javelin Class South Pacific Championships, sailing for the "Air New Zealand Trophy". This contest was first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firebug (Dinghy)
The Firebug is a class of Dinghy sailing, sailing dinghy that was designed by John Spencer (boat designer), John Spencer and Peter Tait of Auckland, New Zealand in 1995. It is a 2.4 m (8 foot) long sailing dinghy designed to be built quickly and easily by builders with no previous experience of boatbuilding. A detailed report was published in Watercraft Magazine. Construction The Firebug is constructed on a rigid jig with 6 timber stringers and a centerline web. The flat bottom is 600 mm wide and is made from 9 mm marine plywood. The sides, bilge panels bulkheads and deck are cut from 2.5 panels of 4 mm marine plywood. The minimum weight of the completed hull is 40 kg (sometimes cited as 27 kg). To highlight the straightforward construction, a Firebug was built live at the 2008 Sydney International Boat Show. Rig The deck stepped mast is supported by shrouds and a forestay and rotates on a pin at the step. To allow adults to sail Firebugs comfort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flying Ant
The Flying Ant is a class of sailing dinghy. The boat has a plywood design originally designed by John Spencer in New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ... during the 1950s. It is normally sailed by two individuals under 17 years of age. References {{ship-type-stub Dinghies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ragtime (yacht)
Ragtime was one of the world's fastest yachts in the 1970s. In 1973, Ragtime became famous for beating the favorite, Windward Passage by four minutes, 31 seconds, in the Transpacific Yacht Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu. It also competed successfully in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race The boat's designer was John Spencer from New Zealand. Built in 1963 it was then owned by Tom Clark and named Infidel. The subsequent owner changed the name to Ragtime. Pat Farrah retrofitted Ragtime in the 1990s to allow it to continue competing in the Transpac. It finished 10th in the 2006 Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race The Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race is an annual 125-nautical-mile international Yacht racing, yacht race. First run in 1948, sailors gather each spring in Newport Beach, California, to participate in one of the West Coast's premier regattas. The .... References {{Reflist Individual sailing vessels 1960s sailing yachts Sailing yachts of New Zealand Sai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2008 Sydney To Hobart Yacht Race
The 2008 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, sponsored by Rolex and hosted by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney, New South Wales, was the 64th annual running of the "blue water classic" Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. The 2008 edition began on Sydney Harbour, at 1pm on Boxing Day (26 December 2008), before heading south for 630 nautical miles (1,170 km) through the Tasman Sea, past Bass Strait, into Storm Bay and up the River Derwent, to cross the finish line in Hobart, Tasmania. This marked the 10 year anniversary of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, during which 6 sailors died due to a major storm. The 2008 fleet comprised 100 starters; 92 finished. By placing first in line honours, ''Wild Oats XI'' became the first yacht to claim fourth consecutive line titles, beating the previous record held by ''Morna'' (later ''Kurrewa IV'') of three consecutive line honours victories (1946, 1947 and 1948). Skipper Bob Steel and his yacht ''Quest'' won the Tattersall's Cup as th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1931 Births
Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia. * January 25 – Mohandas Gandhi is again released from imprisonment in India. * January 27 – Pierre Laval forms a government in France. February * February 4 – Soviet leader Joseph Stalin gives a speech calling for rapid industrialization, arguing that only strong industrialized countries will win wars, while "weak" nations are "beaten". Stalin states: "We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or they will crush us." The first five-year plan in the Soviet Union is intensified, for the industrialization and collectivization of agriculture. * February 10 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1996 Deaths
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on board; Eight people die in a blizzard on Mount Everest; Dolly the Sheep becomes the first mammal to have been cloned from an adult somatic cell; The Port Arthur Massacre occurs on Tasmania, and leads to major changes in Australia's gun laws; Macarena, sung by Los del Río and remixed by The Bayside Boys, becomes a major dance craze and cultural phenomenon; Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 crash-ditches off of the Comoros Islands after the plane was hijacked; the 1996 Summer Olympics are held in Atlanta, marking the Centennial (100th Anniversary) of the modern Olympic Games., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200 Centennial Olympic Park bombing rect 200 0 400 200 TWA FLight 800 rect 400 0 600 200 1996 Mount Everest disaster rect 0 200 30 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
People From Melbourne
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of property, or legal responsibility. The defining features of personhood and, consequently, what makes a person count as a person, differ widely among cultures and contexts. In addition to the question of personhood, of what makes a being count as a person to begin with, there are further questions about personal identity and self: both about what makes any particular person that particular person instead of another, and about what makes a person at one time the same person as they were or will be at another time despite any intervening changes. The plural form "people" is often used to refer to an entire nation or ethnic group (as in "a people"), and this was the original meaning of the word; it subsequently acquired its use as a plural form of per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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