AN HONOURED GUEST

Dad came on board Moonraker for a few days. We were in Townsville.  I'd been wanting him to come for ages, since it was his influence that set me on the path to sailing and so in some ways Moonraker was his fault (or to his credit). 

"Where is that damn jetty? I built it to last."
At Horseshoe Bay, 2011.

Townsville was appropriate, as it was in Townsville 52 years ago that he (and therefore I) began sailing.  With a young family in tow, and a professional reputation to build, he had been transferred from Melbourne by John Holland to manage the building of the new Townsville sugar jetty and a few other jetties. So, being back in Townsville was like coming back to the scene of the crime !

The Nonpareil on a mooring in Ross Creek
late 50s. 



Nice boat!



In the 50s, in Townsville he purchased the first in a long string of boats. She was a Herreshoff 24 named Nonpareil. The Nonny was the site of many an adventure about which family stories are still told. Dad was able to identify the exact spot on Ross Creek where the Nonny was moored so long ago.



Coincidentally, Townsville was also site of the success of the most ambitious of the range of yachts he has owned.  In Perth in the 70’s he (with the help of his son Boyd and various tradesmen in his employ) built a 33 ft Crowther-design Kraken racing trimaran, named after my sister Karen L. He raced it in Perth, mainly shorthanded, as Boyd will attest,  and occasionally with me and my mother as crew. But he but always felt it was underutilised.  Imagine his pleasure to find that it had gone on to great things. Rebadged “The Sting” and with a crew of 5 hefty blokes, it became a notable ‘go-fast’ racer in the 80s in Townsville. A picture showing it with spray flying, doing 30 knots and with its lee float almost buried is said to still grace the walls of the local yacht club. Dad spent a while on Moonraker chatting to Colin, the son of The Sting’s former owner (now deceased.) Colin was his dad's key crew member in The Sting's heyday. Endless detail was learned about how and why she went so fast (other than the excellent build, of course) and stories swapped of her glorious career.



The Great Helmsman, 50 years on,
but still at the helm off
Magnetic Island in a stiff 20 knot SE.



The yard-arm is still the most
useful time-keeping device.  Thanks
Helen!



Townsville is also now home to Helen Murdoch, Dad’s niece and my cousin. She with husband Ian not only put us in touch with The Sting connections but hosted us generously while we were there.  With their boat as yet half-built, the cruising light is in their eye.