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MARIQUITA
MARIQUITA
Copyright © 2016 Ben Wood / Island Images<br />
All rights reserved<br />
Published in 2016 by the <strong>Mariquita</strong> Syndicate<br />
M A R I Q U I T A<br />
www.yachtmariquita.co.uk<br />
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including<br />
information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author.<br />
All photographs, unless where stated, © 2016 Ben Wood / Island Images<br />
Printed in Great Britain in 2016<br />
L I M I T E D<br />
E D I T I O N
mariquita<br />
RACING IN 2013, 2014 & 2015<br />
Ben Wood
Bailey’s Reach<br />
Dock Lane<br />
Beaulieu<br />
Hampshire<br />
This book is dedicated to <strong>Mariquita</strong> and her crew, as well as the visionary team that took<br />
on her landmark restoration.<br />
In early 2012, I was fortunate enough to receive an unexpected call from my good friend<br />
John Caulcutt, who told me that there was an opportunity to own one of the most<br />
beautiful sailing boats in the world. This was an intriguing prospect, since, although I<br />
was no sailor, I have always enjoyed being on the water.<br />
John explained to me that <strong>Mariquita</strong> was the last surviving 19-Metre yacht from a class<br />
of six that had raced before World War I. He went on to describe how the boat had been<br />
rescued from a mud berth in Pin Mill, on the river Orwell, in Suffolk, and rebuilt to<br />
almost exactly her original design, before recommencing her racing career in 2004.<br />
We were subsequently invited by the very generous owners, led by Peter Livanos and his<br />
captain Jim Thom, to join them for much of the 2012 season. That did it! This was a<br />
project too good to miss – and so I worked with John and our other syndicate members,<br />
Jamie Matheson and Nick Edmiston, to complete the acquisition and keep<br />
the ‘<strong>Mariquita</strong> Project’ alive.<br />
This book chronicles our first two seasons in the Mediterranean and the 2015 campaign<br />
in the Solent. <strong>Mariquita</strong> was designed and built as a race boat. I am pleased to say that<br />
she continues to thrill not only those fortunate enough to race aboard her, but also those<br />
spectators who catch a glimpse of her on the horizon. I hope that you enjoy this book<br />
and Ben Wood’s wonderful photographs.<br />
Stephen Hemsley<br />
January 2016
contents<br />
RACING IN 2013 RACING IN 2014 RACING IN 2015<br />
Antibes 15<br />
Argentario 24<br />
Napoli 34<br />
Barcelona 46<br />
Mahón 56<br />
Monaco 68<br />
Cannes 80<br />
Saint-Tropez 92<br />
Owners and Crew 108<br />
The Year in Numbers 111<br />
Antibes 118<br />
Argentario 130<br />
Barcelona 144<br />
Mahón 156<br />
Imperia 168<br />
Cannes 186<br />
Saint-Tropez 200<br />
Owners and Crew 214<br />
The Year in Numbers 217<br />
UK Pre-Season 222<br />
Two Centuries of Sail 228<br />
Old Gaffers, Yarmouth 232<br />
Fleet Review, Cowes 244<br />
Westward Cup 264<br />
Round the Island 276<br />
Panerai BCYC 298<br />
RYS Bicentennial 312<br />
Owners and Crew 342<br />
The Year in Numbers 345
6
FOREWORD<br />
When I got the call from William Collier, I was stunned. Here was the preeminent authority on classic yachting offering me<br />
the opportunity to own this remarkable piece of yachting provenance and history – how could I do anything else but say “yes”.<br />
But this was my heart speaking and the practicality of buying and importantly maintaining a yacht of this sort did not escape<br />
me. A syndicate was what was needed and so I asked William how long I had to confirm my answer. “Oh”, said William, “take<br />
your time ... but if you could give me a reply in a month or so then that would be fine”.<br />
In reality it took me less than a week to assemble three good friends who could understand and appreciate this once in a lifetime<br />
opportunity. There was no particular science to my approaches ... it was simply a question of making a few calls to people who<br />
could understand the significance of this opportunity, and who had the wherewithal to say yes.<br />
Stephen Hemsley and I had shared a boat before and the partnership had worked really well, albeit on a power boat, but the<br />
different nature of this project seemed secondary. Stephen took less than a minute to say yes ... so one down and just two to<br />
go. Nick Edmiston and Jamie Matheson signed up on the same day, the former on a telephone call to Nick’s elegant home in<br />
Saint-Tropez. Nick’s name had been synonymous with classic yachting for many years and he obviously knew <strong>Mariquita</strong> well.<br />
“Count me in”, he said, again without hesitation; wow, I thought, at this rate we could buy two! Later that day I was in London<br />
at the Royal Thames Yacht Club, where, fortuitously, a chance meeting with Jamie Matheson, who in any event, had been on<br />
my list of people to call, resulted in another positive “yes” meaning that the syndicate was now complete. Jamie’s momentary<br />
hesitation was whilst he made a call to “the boss” (his lovely wife Angela) whose simple response was “what are you waiting for”!<br />
It was heart-warming for me to have got such a positive response from friends who trusted me to make this project work and<br />
so it was that I was able to go back to William Collier within just one week of his call and say, “William, I am delighted to tell<br />
you that we are on”. Peter Livanos and Ernst Klaus, the then owners of <strong>Mariquita</strong>, were magnanimous with their kindness and<br />
cooperation in letting the new syndicate sail with them on the Solent in 2012, as well as at the Cannes and Saint-Tropez regattas<br />
that year. Clearly they wanted a good home for <strong>Mariquita</strong> and a process of familiarisation with the intricacies of sailing her was<br />
essential to the ongoing project. A deal was concluded in October 2012 and the new syndicate was delighted that so many of<br />
the crew wanted to stay with us for the 2013 season.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
April 2016<br />
7
introduction<br />
Being involved with <strong>Mariquita</strong> was something I thought I could only dream of. Little did I know that my<br />
conversation with John Caulcutt, in the bar of the Royal Thames one evening in January 2012, was going to lead<br />
to this becoming a reality. But for me the story actually started many years before. There is a saying “what’s for you<br />
will not go by you” and I believe there is a lot of truth in that.<br />
I recall visiting friends one spring weekend. On the Sunday we went to a quiet little place on the Suffolk coast called<br />
Pin Mill. Walking around after lunch we came across a large, but sadly neglected, hull lying in a mud berth. I had<br />
never seen a yacht of this size and thought to myself that I was seeing my first J-Class racing yacht. She was a sad<br />
sight, paint flaking from her hull, mast and spars long gone, and judging by how high out of the water she was, the<br />
lead from her keel had been removed some years back. To add to her indignity, on deck was perched a structure<br />
that would have easily passed as a garden shed. I was not to see another boat of that size for many years and she<br />
slipped away as a distant memory.<br />
However, many years later I was sailing in the British Classic Yacht Club regatta in Cowes on board the newly<br />
restored Opposition. That year the Club had attracted a ‘Big Boat’ class, which included the recently rebuilt<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong>. Unaware that I had glimpsed her before, I remember vividly standing on her vast teak decks, looking<br />
around me in wonderment at this graceful racing machine. I couldn’t help but think how amazing it might be to<br />
sail on, never mind own, this cheetah of the seas, built a century ago. The dream was answered on a very special<br />
occasion when in the spring of 2012 we met on board <strong>Mariquita</strong> in preparation for the handover. Sitting at the<br />
saloon table with Jim Thom, the captain, he passed around the beautiful monograph commissioned to mark her<br />
restoration. As I leafed through the pages, one photograph suddenly took my breath away. The sad hulk that I had<br />
mistaken for an abandoned J-Class in Pin Mill was the <strong>Mariquita</strong> in whose saloon we were now sitting. Thinking<br />
about that still sends a shiver down my spine.<br />
This book sets out the story of our three years sailing <strong>Mariquita</strong>. It has been an awesome adventure that I have been<br />
privileged to share with my partners John Caulcutt, Stephen Hemsley and Nick Edmiston. It has taught me a lot<br />
and I have had the pleasure of sailing with some wonderful people, led by our captain, George Newman.<br />
Jamie Matheson<br />
May 2016<br />
8
9
<strong>Mariquita</strong> and Corona, Cowes 1911<br />
Beken of Cowes<br />
10
mariquita’s history<br />
“HAUL AWAY YOU ROLLING KINGS<br />
HEAVE AWAY, HAUL AWAY<br />
HAUL AWAY YOU’LL HEAR ME SING<br />
WE’RE BOUND FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA …”<br />
1911 – 1918 ‘THE GREAT 19s’ AND THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR I<br />
Designed and built for industrialist Arthur Stothert by William Fife III, <strong>Mariquita</strong> was launched in 1911<br />
at Fairlie on the Clyde in Scotland. She joined five other 19-Metres including Octavia, Norada and Corona<br />
in a new class that caught the imagination of everyone who followed sailing just before the First World<br />
War. The arrival of the 19-Metre Class in 1911 marked the return of ‘Big Class’ racing, which had been<br />
extinguished in 1896 when the future Edward VII had quietly retired his yacht Britannia from competition<br />
after being upset by the German Kaiser and his unsporting behaviour at the previous Cowes Week.<br />
The ‘Great 19s’ travelled far and wide: The Clyde, Cork, Harwich, Cowes, Dartmouth and abroad to Kiel<br />
and Le Havre. <strong>Mariquita</strong> performed admirably in the three seasons from 1911-13 especially in light winds.<br />
Not only was the arrival of the 19-Metres unexpected but the quality of the racing was astonishing. The<br />
racing was very competitive and close, after five hours racing the yachts would often finish within seconds<br />
of each other. The threat of war in 1914 stopped sailing in its tracks. William Burton the owner of Octavia<br />
put her up for sale marking the end of the 19-Metre Class. <strong>Mariquita</strong> was sold in 1915 and spent four<br />
peaceful years sailing in neutral Norway.<br />
Sir William Fife III, OBE, 1857-1944<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful classic yachts sailing today.<br />
As a gaff-rigged cutter she is a direct link to the historic ‘Big Class’ and a precursor to the<br />
J-Class that would follow in the 1930s.<br />
For over 100 years <strong>Mariquita</strong> has thrilled her owners, crew and spectators alike.<br />
Her history is one of the great maritime stories.<br />
11
1919 – 1958 THE LONG FAREWELL<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> returned to Great Britain after the war but her time as a top flight racing yacht was over.<br />
George V, ‘the Sailor King’, brought back the iconic yacht Britannia and a new Big Class eclipsed the<br />
19-Metres. Although <strong>Mariquita</strong> raced against her old rivals Octavia and Norada under reduced rigs it<br />
was in the handicap classes. It was the beginning of the end. It’s said that a crew is a ship’s lifeblood. Over<br />
the years <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s captains and crew were drawn from the creeks of Essex and Suffolk, from villages<br />
like Rowhedge, Wyvenhoe and Brightlingsea. Captains such as Edward Sycamore and Robert Wringe<br />
were local men who had learnt their craft on the fishing boats of the east coast before graduating to yacht<br />
racing. It was perhaps a sad irony that <strong>Mariquita</strong> returned to this area to end her sailing days in 1938.<br />
Mersea Hard<br />
West Mersea Maritime Museum<br />
1959 – 1991 IN THE WILDERNESS<br />
By the early 1970s all the other 19-Metres had disappeared, but <strong>Mariquita</strong> through a combination of<br />
luck together with the love and application of a series of owners managed to survive in her favourable<br />
mud berth in East Anglia. However, after 30 years sitting in the ooze at Pin Mill time was running<br />
out for this former thoroughbred. Fortunately the combined efforts of William Collier, Albert Obrist,<br />
Duncan Walker, not to mention the skill and experience of salvage expert Harry Spence, heralded a new<br />
chapter in <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s journey. In the summer of 1991 <strong>Mariquita</strong> was re-floated on a high spring tide<br />
and dragged clear of the mud. She was then delivered to Fairlie Restorations on the Hamble where she<br />
waited for her restoration. It took 10 years before the work started.<br />
She was brought to West Mersea by Arthur Hempstead whose firm undertook the decommissioning.<br />
Her fine mast was chopped away above the deck, her keel bolts let go and 40 tonnes of lead cut into<br />
scrap on the Mersea Hard. After a spell in Tollesbury in Essex the hulk of the once beautiful yacht was<br />
towed to Woodbridge on the River Deben where she served as a house boat for a decade. <strong>Mariquita</strong> was<br />
then moved to Pin Mill on the River Orwell in 1958. This was expected to be her final resting place.<br />
One by one all the 19-Metres had turned their bows inland to expire in the mud – to decay and vanish.<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> in Pin Mill<br />
G L Watson<br />
2004 – 2012 MARIQUITA RETURNS<br />
West Mersea<br />
West Mersea Maritime Museum<br />
While Fairlie Restorations were busy restoring yachts such as Tuiga, Kentra and The Lady Anne the hulk<br />
of <strong>Mariquita</strong> loomed over the yard. She was large but the challenge of restoring her was even larger.<br />
Nobody had ever dared to restore, as close as possible to her original state, a large racing gaff cutter.<br />
Undaunted the restoration begun and after three long years <strong>Mariquita</strong> finally appeared from the shed at<br />
Fairlie Restorations in the spring of 2004. This was a landmark restoration, one of the finest that Fairlie<br />
had ever undertaken. <strong>Mariquita</strong> looked as good as new.<br />
12
“Soon I shall hear the creaking of the halyard blocks again and be looking at the top-sail<br />
straining the new jackyarder toward the gaff. How will it come? Is she too high or too low?<br />
Lord! She will be all right when the main sheet is in and the great main-sail full of wind. A great<br />
sport, Sir, a great sport!<br />
So, as Sir Francis Drake said ‘Let the gentleman haul with the men.’ The hook’s off the ground.<br />
‘Fill her, sir, fill her.’ We are under way for another racing season.”<br />
Extract from The Complete Yachtsman by Brooke Heckstall-Smith, published Methuen (1912)<br />
Under the ownership of Peter Livanos and Ernst Klaus, captained by Jim Thom, she set sail once again<br />
and quickly became one of the stars of the classic circuit. Over the next nine seasons <strong>Mariquita</strong> turned<br />
heads wherever she was campaigned. The <strong>Mariquita</strong> Project was one of the most professional and wellresourced<br />
classic yacht programmes ever undertaken. Her owners sent her to compete across Europe:<br />
on the Clyde, Cowes, Falmouth and countless Mediterranean regattas. This was classic yachting pushed<br />
to a never-seen-before level. In 2011 she celebrated her centenary by winning the Voiles de Saint-<br />
Tropez. However, in 2012 she was unexpectedly offered for sale and bought by a syndicate headed up by<br />
yachtsman John Caulcutt, and so begun the period of <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s story covered in this book.<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> Fife Regatta 2008<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> Westward Cup 2010 <strong>Mariquita</strong> Crew in Antibes Centenary Year 2011<br />
13
RACING IN THE<br />
MEDITERRANEAN<br />
2013<br />
14
LES VOILES D’ANTIBES<br />
29 May – 2 June 2013<br />
Set against the snow peaked mountains of the Maritime Alps<br />
the first of the Panerai regattas marked the beginning of the<br />
2013 European classic season and the debut outing for the new<br />
owners and crew of <strong>Mariquita</strong>.<br />
The town of Antibes with its 16th-century<br />
ramparts, narrow cobbled streets and<br />
naturally protected port always puts on a<br />
friendly and exciting regatta. Traditionally<br />
‘The Voiles d’Antibes’ coming so early in<br />
the summer is a<br />
gentle start to the<br />
season with light<br />
winds. The forecast<br />
for the week suited<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> and there<br />
was a great sense<br />
of excitement on<br />
board, summed up<br />
here by helmsman<br />
John Caulcutt … “We had to start the<br />
season somewhere and it just happened to be<br />
Antibes. I love the town, it all felt right, there<br />
wasn’t a lot of wind. It was just so exciting to<br />
think that having put the syndicate together<br />
and bought the boat we were actually going<br />
to go racing.”<br />
With light thermal breezes the racing between<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> and her rivals<br />
Moonbeam IV, Cambria<br />
and Mariska was very<br />
competitive. Matters<br />
came to a head during<br />
the second race when<br />
Moonbeam IV protested<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> during<br />
a very congested<br />
start, which resulted<br />
in <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s first ever disqualification!<br />
So the racing was close, at times too close – a<br />
foretaste of the rivalry with Moonbeam IV<br />
and the exciting season ahead.<br />
15
morning stretches<br />
16
17
18
We’ve got new crew and some returning crew. But even those<br />
experienced hands are in new roles this year. There is excitement<br />
everywhere, and although we’re not as polished as we were by<br />
the end of last season – we are keen to see what we can do with<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> – with this new energy we have on board.<br />
Matty Oates<br />
19
20
JOHN CAULCUTT<br />
Owner & Helmsman<br />
This was the first race of the new season<br />
and my heart was pounding. My long-time<br />
sailing friend David Howlett (trainer to Sir<br />
Ben Ainslie and Iain Percy and with whom I<br />
had done an Olympic campaign in the 80s)<br />
was with us as tactician, and between us we<br />
agreed that our first ever start on <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
should be a conservative and safe one – on<br />
starboard tack at the committee boat end of<br />
the line. With one minute to go everything<br />
looked good – we had nobody to leeward and<br />
no one above us as we approached the line,<br />
except for Mariska, one of the 15-Metre Class<br />
on port tack coming in from the pin end of<br />
the line. Mariska had no rights and we were<br />
not overly concerned, despite our foredeck<br />
calling “starboard”, until about half a boat<br />
length beneath us, she tacked under our bow<br />
and luffed us up towards the committee boat<br />
leaving less than a foot between us.<br />
After the race, the helmsman of Mariska<br />
came up to us, shook David and myself by<br />
the hand, and told us with a broad grin that<br />
he had waited some 25 years to get his own<br />
back on us for taking him the wrong side of<br />
the weather mark in the Olympic Star Boat<br />
Class European Championships in the 1980s<br />
– what a memory and what an introduction to<br />
classic boat sailing!<br />
21
With no powered winches and old-style blocks and sheets, you have to be mindful of how long manoeuvres take to complete on <strong>Mariquita</strong>. A gybe can take between<br />
6-8 minutes. In light airs the tacking angle is something like 125-130 degrees, which is shocking compared with modern yachts. It just takes so long to accelerate,<br />
so you need a clear plan for the start of the race. If you’re not in the right place going at the right speed at the start it’s gameover. Also you don’t have much leeway if<br />
one of your rivals changes their plan. You’re watching everyone else like crazy to see when they start their last tack to the line. It’s very challenging. If you’re in a little<br />
dinghy you can change your mind at no notice – you just tack without thinking about it. But with 24 crew on <strong>Mariquita</strong> it all has to be pre-planned.<br />
David Howlett<br />
22
cambria mariska mariquita<br />
23
ARGENTARIO SAILING WEEK<br />
13 – 16 June 2013<br />
After the drama of Antibes, Argentario Sailing Week nestled on<br />
the Tuscan coast was the perfect antidote.<br />
The second of the Panerai regattas is based<br />
in the beautiful harbour town of Porto Santo<br />
Stefano between Rome and Pisa. With light<br />
winds, flat water and long courses, the regatta<br />
was beautifully set up<br />
for <strong>Mariquita</strong>, who<br />
can struggle against<br />
the schooners, such as<br />
Mariette, in big seas<br />
and high winds.<br />
After such a positive<br />
opening to the<br />
regatta, the course on<br />
the second day again<br />
suited <strong>Mariquita</strong>: a<br />
great start, followed by a 14 mile beat to a rock<br />
west of Argentario, and then a 14 mile run<br />
for home under spinnaker. Navigator Chris<br />
Tibbs described the day, “We had a perfect<br />
start. Having got tangled up with an Italian<br />
boat that didn’t know the rules, we got clear<br />
and enjoyed a good beat to the mark. Then<br />
we had a beautiful long spinnaker run home.<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> is at her best with the spinnaker<br />
pole out, big balloon<br />
spinnaker set, balancing<br />
between speed<br />
and course. In the<br />
end it went very<br />
well and gave us<br />
first place.” In only<br />
their second regatta<br />
together, the new<br />
owners and skipper<br />
George Newman had<br />
recorded their first race win.<br />
With everything to play for, on the final day<br />
Cambria managed the win after a delayed<br />
start leaving <strong>Mariquita</strong> with a creditable<br />
third for the regatta. Next stop Naples!<br />
24
25
26
27
I don’t think you can take on a boat like <strong>Mariquita</strong> unless<br />
you are prepared to embrace that spirit of tradition, that<br />
legacy, that heritage, that pedigree – everything that was<br />
William Fife in the early days. He designed her and she<br />
was built as a race boat. We took her on as a race boat.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
28
John is a fearless helmsman. He understands it all. He sees it all. Even when he’s concentrating on the helm he sees the bigger picture. <strong>Mariquita</strong> is very difficult to steer … she doesn’t<br />
give you much feedback because of all the friction in the steering systems. Modern yachts have sophisticated roller bearings which reduce friction and therefore give you more feel,<br />
especially in light conditions. In contrast, <strong>Mariquita</strong> is not telling you what is happening through the rudder. Your only option on the helm is to stay focused.<br />
David Howlett<br />
29
Tubby controls the power of the boat. He<br />
is the engine room. He is controlling the<br />
mainsail. Tubby is faultless on that.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
30
31
32
Guido Cantini<br />
DIARY ENTRY<br />
With our brand new <strong>Mariquita</strong> uniforms arriving only the night before the first race, our crew are walking a bit taller in the streets of Argentario now – instilled with a pride – something new and yet familiar. This has<br />
always been one of the favourite Panerai regattas. Probably because you feel at home – both out on the water and in town with the locals – though in truth you’re a world away. M.O.<br />
33
LE VELE D’EPOCA A NAPOLI<br />
27 – 30 June 2013<br />
Racing in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius, in the beautiful Bay of<br />
Naples, this regatta promised to be eventful – and so it proved.<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> made her debut in Naples, in her<br />
third regatta of the season, at Le Vele d’Epoca<br />
a Napoli in late June. As the largest boat in<br />
the fleet it was decided that <strong>Mariquita</strong> was<br />
too big to fit in the small harbour opposite<br />
the Reale Yacht Club<br />
Canottieri Savoia,<br />
which was hosting the<br />
event and acting as<br />
the race committee.<br />
Instead, <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
spent the week next<br />
door in the Italian<br />
Naval base which<br />
had its moments! However, this was all<br />
overshadowed once the racing started on the<br />
Thursday. Keen to put on a spectacle for the<br />
city, the start line was positioned extremely<br />
close to the beach. As Chris Tibbs put it, “I<br />
think we were a little bit bigger than the race<br />
committee had experience with. On the first<br />
day, the start line was almost impossible. With<br />
the line so close to the beach and marina, we<br />
had to come in late on port tack, then tack<br />
around, which potentially was dangerous as<br />
we had no rights on port tack and finding<br />
a slot was very difficult. This became a<br />
theme for the whole regatta.” John Caulcutt<br />
commented, “We<br />
didn’t feel that any<br />
of the starts were in<br />
tune with what was<br />
needed for a Big Boat<br />
Class.” Despite the<br />
controversy there was<br />
some great sailing<br />
with a lovely race<br />
over to Capri and a wonderful broad reach<br />
to finish the second race. Crew member Billy<br />
Butler described it as “a cracking race, with<br />
a fantastic final reach into the finish line<br />
knocking along at nearly 11.5 knots – almost<br />
maximum hull speed.” After an eventful<br />
week the crew began to prepare for the long<br />
passage through the Strait of Bonifacio, and<br />
onto Barcelona for the next regatta.<br />
34
35
36
We’re in an interesting race this week with lots of small boats in our class.We’re having to juggle a little bit on the start line.<br />
We were so close to some of the boats yesterday that our bowman Seb could have walked across.<br />
Billy Butler<br />
37
38
39
40
Photography Note<br />
The Bay of Naples is a pretty special place to find yourself as a photographer, especially when a fully ‘powered-up’ <strong>Mariquita</strong> is bearing down on you off the start<br />
line. It had been a chaotic beginning to the race as all the yachts, big and small, had been put on the same start line, very close to the shore. We decided the best<br />
place for our rib was well out of the way so we headed beyond the committee boat and waited for the yachts to come to us – a good decision as I was able to get<br />
this shot including the bowsprit and stern. Matty, on the lee deck acting as a spotter for the helmsman, gave me a wave as they shot by. B.W.<br />
41
SAILING TO CAPRI
TUBBY BROOK<br />
Mainsheetman<br />
My apprenticeship on <strong>Mariquita</strong> started in Mahón<br />
2006 – No. 2 jib. Hot. Blue water sailing. Free food.<br />
Free drinks every evening. Potentially very dangerous.<br />
No. 2 jib also means second on the bowsprit. Plus No.<br />
12 mainsheet or ‘spare hand’ if you were busy 96 feet<br />
away from the cockpit changing headsails, staysails or<br />
jib topsails.<br />
I thought I was the cat’s whiskers when I joined<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> in 2006. Maybe I am the ‘cat’s paws’ on<br />
a Melges 24, a Sparkman and Stephens 36, or even<br />
a Royal Burnham One Design. None of that really<br />
prepares you for a jackyard hoist, or a 45 minute reef<br />
on a 96 ft, 80 tonne William Fife gaff cutter.<br />
Back to Minorca. A glorious finish. Through the narrow<br />
Mahón harbour entrance, and then a balloon spinnaker<br />
hoist from the bowsprit to the finish. Followed by a<br />
handbrake turn in front of the yacht club: drop the jib<br />
topsail, tack away, back the staysail, drop the jackyard<br />
and standby to drop the mainsail. What a baptism!<br />
Now it was as clear as a bell why all that training, all<br />
those de-briefings had been necessary. Once you can do<br />
the task in daylight in light airs, you can do it in the<br />
dark in a seaway and do it with confidence.<br />
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We were always keen at Classic Boat to create covers that had an<br />
impact. By 2014 we were happy with our new design and logo,<br />
and it’s always a sign of true confidence when you can cover up<br />
the magazine’s name albeit partially. It’s a confidence trick on<br />
the reader to leave out so much type but with <strong>Mariquita</strong> under<br />
full sail it looked like she was jumping off the page.<br />
Dan Houston<br />
Editor, Classic Boat<br />
When you are putting a boat like <strong>Mariquita</strong> on the cover, you<br />
want to get it right. Of course, we work hard on every Classic<br />
Boat cover. Often they go through endless permutations, with<br />
different boats, different angles, different words … but boats<br />
like <strong>Mariquita</strong> don’t come around too often. This was the<br />
first time in a while that we’d had real access to the yacht.<br />
The quality of photography was not a problem. Those lines<br />
are remarkably kind on the lens. But which image to choose<br />
of one of the world’s most photographed boats? The image<br />
we chose – one of quite a few options on the table, as I recall<br />
– captures the thrill of seeing her under full sail, and we felt<br />
it said more to our readers about what the magazine was<br />
about that month than even the Classic Boat logo. It would<br />
be a marketing mistake to obscure the logo in its entirety,<br />
but <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s topsails made up in abundance for anything<br />
missed in typography. This October cover of Classic Boat was<br />
a special edition for distribution through the Med in which<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> is well known.<br />
Peter Smith<br />
Senior Art Editor, Classic Boat<br />
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PUIG VELA CLÀSSICA<br />
10 – 13 JULY 2013<br />
Traditionally one of <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s favourite regattas the Puig Vela<br />
Clàssica in Barcelona was one of the highlights of the season.<br />
With tactician David Bedford enjoying<br />
his second regatta on board, and the crew<br />
increasing in confidence, <strong>Mariquita</strong> was<br />
beginning to hit top form, as skipper George<br />
Newman describes,<br />
“The teamwork is<br />
really beginning to<br />
come together. When<br />
we started the season<br />
in Antibes it was a<br />
shock to us all how<br />
much we had to<br />
learn. All of the crew<br />
know their systems<br />
now and it’s really beginning to click.” The<br />
competition was keen in Barcelona with<br />
both Moonbeams and Mariette in the Big<br />
Boat Class. The second race was <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s<br />
best showing, but there was a sting in the tail.<br />
Crew member Guy Ribadeau-Dumas takes<br />
up the story, “We were very fast upwind on<br />
the final leg and first over the line by far, but<br />
beaten by one second by Moonbeam III on<br />
handicap. After four hours racing to lose<br />
first place by a single second was tough.”<br />
However, Barcelona’s legendary hospitality<br />
soon raised spirits as owner Jamie Matheson<br />
noted, “Being in<br />
Barcelona at the best<br />
of times is a great<br />
experience. But to<br />
be here sailing these<br />
fantastic big yachts<br />
is extraordinary. The<br />
Club has looked<br />
after us very well,<br />
all the facilities are<br />
tremendous and the regatta management<br />
has been very good. Literally across the road<br />
from here we are in one of Europe’s major<br />
cultural cities.” A great week all round and<br />
another podium finish. The end of the Puig<br />
Vela Clàssica marked the finish of the first<br />
part of the season and the crew dispersed<br />
for a well-earned rest before reconvening in<br />
Minorca in August.<br />
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Boats like <strong>Mariquita</strong> are very different from normal modern-day yachts. You’ve got a big crew. Each team has to work both collectively and individually as there<br />
are so many different aspects to sailing a craft like this. Everything has to be cohesive. If you get it wrong the whole boat will suffer as a consequence.<br />
Woody Edmiston<br />
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CALLING<br />
THE TRIM<br />
Technical Note<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> is a long narrow boat. The helmsman is stuck behind a small wheel with very little view of<br />
what is happening on the foredeck let alone the jib sheets. Unlike on a modern yacht where the crew<br />
sit on the rail to keep the weight on the high side and reduce windage, on <strong>Mariquita</strong> the crew lie across<br />
the deck ‘spooning for speed’. This is partly tradition and partly practical. There are no guard rails on<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> and quite often the crew have to react quickly to a problem with a sheet or the rigging. More<br />
importantly communication is vital on a big classic – the spooning allows the helmsman to see the crew<br />
member who is checking the trim on the jib sheets.<br />
David Bedford<br />
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MAHÓN X COPA DEL REY<br />
DE BARCOS DE ÉPOCA<br />
29 – 31 AUGUST 2013<br />
In previous years this wonderfully named Spanish leg of the<br />
Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge has produced very wild<br />
conditions and the odd de-masting.<br />
Being a small island, Minorca is susceptible<br />
to the mistral blowing in from the Gulf of<br />
Lyon and the 2013 regatta was no exception<br />
to this. The finish<br />
line is positioned<br />
inside the harbour of<br />
the beautiful town<br />
of Mahón making<br />
this one of the most<br />
dramatic regattas of<br />
the season.<br />
With sail maker<br />
Mark Butler on board<br />
during the training<br />
days, a few changes were made to the<br />
jackyard, although it looked unlikely that<br />
the top sail would be used in the big seas and<br />
strong winds.<br />
On Day 1 <strong>Mariquita</strong> experienced one of her<br />
most dramatic days of the season, as bowman<br />
Seb Stansfield recalled, “Definitely one of the<br />
windiest races we’ve been in – we were flying<br />
at the start with Cambria and Mariette. The<br />
wind then picked up to over 20 knots and<br />
we had some pretty<br />
hairy moments up on<br />
the bow.” Despite the<br />
windy conditions and<br />
big seas, <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
beat her close rival<br />
Cambria into third<br />
place and was only<br />
denied first by the<br />
schooner Mariette<br />
who enjoyed the<br />
blustery conditions.<br />
Unfortunately this was <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s final<br />
race of the regatta as the wind continued<br />
to pick up over the weekend and the race<br />
committee abandoned the final races. This<br />
was a disappointing outcome especially as all<br />
the 15-Metre yachts – Tuiga, Mariska, The<br />
Lady Anne and Hispania – had made the trip<br />
to Minorca.<br />
56
Often in Mahón, it feels like we spend all our energy holding on as <strong>Mariquita</strong> tackles swell and breeze. We never get the opportunity to bring her up to full speed to take<br />
on the schooners who revel in the strong conditions. It takes a new awareness and sense of balance just to get around the deck, much less the course!<br />
Matty Oates<br />
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QUARTER<br />
WAKE<br />
Technical Note<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> has a displacement hull with a relatively blunt ‘spoon’ bow. With a weight of 80 tonnes she<br />
therefore displaces 80 tonnes of water. In order to move forward one hull length, <strong>Mariquita</strong> must move<br />
80 tonnes of water out of her way, so she can occupy the space where the water has been. In turn the<br />
water flows around the hull to occupy the space where <strong>Mariquita</strong> has been. Due to the physics of hull<br />
form and wave making, a displacement hull has a limiting speed or terminal velocity. This is a function<br />
of length and is known as waterline length speed. <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s maximum hull speed is around 12.5<br />
knots. Modern yachts with their light-weight planing hulls are not restricted in this way and therefore<br />
go faster. When <strong>Mariquita</strong> is doing a maximum hull speed of 12.5 knots she travels one hull length<br />
every five seconds and is thus moving 80 tonnes of water every five seconds – 16 tonnes of water every<br />
second. Although a rough approximation you can begin to appreciate the enormous power generated<br />
by classic yachts such as <strong>Mariquita</strong>.<br />
David Bedford<br />
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Having sailed small boats all my life, to get on a boat of this power,<br />
grace and elegance is quite unbelievable. It’s been a day of excitement<br />
from beginning to end, and nice to be with some really cool professional<br />
sailors and to see the whole yacht work as one. The crew have worked<br />
their socks off in what has been a very challenging day, but in super<br />
weather and in a tremendous setting.<br />
Peter Lister<br />
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MONACO CLASSIC WEEK<br />
11 – 15 SEPTEMBER 2013<br />
A week-long extravaganza with period motor yachts,<br />
super-charged Rivas, classic yachts including the entire<br />
15-Metre fleet, all set against the magnificent back drop<br />
of the Principality.<br />
Organised by the Yacht Club de Monaco,<br />
this event reflects Monaco’s great maritime<br />
heritage from the first sailing regattas held<br />
here in 1862, to the pioneering motorboat<br />
meetings of the early<br />
20th century. With 12<br />
Big Boats in her class<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> was in good<br />
company with the likes<br />
of Cambria, Lulworth,<br />
Altair and Atlantic on<br />
the start line. As Monaco<br />
Classic Week falls late<br />
in the season the regatta<br />
can be affected by light sea breezes. With<br />
slack low pressure in the Gulf of Genoa,<br />
weak and unpredictable sea breezes were<br />
the order of the day. After controlling the<br />
line at the start of the first race, <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
got away first and maintained that position<br />
until the very last downwind mark where she<br />
was forced to gybe by changing conditions.<br />
“Pretty dramatic!” was how owner Stephen<br />
Hemsley summed it up. “A lot of the<br />
mainsheet twisting and leaping around the<br />
aft deck. Unfortunately we dropped back<br />
and were second over the<br />
line by about 30 seconds<br />
which was a shame.”<br />
Despite this early setback<br />
to the week, local boy<br />
and tactician Patrice<br />
Clerc certainly made<br />
the most of the fitful sea<br />
breezes and <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
secured her sixth podium<br />
of the season, only losing out to Elena and<br />
Moonbeam III, to come a creditable third.<br />
On the final day of the regatta, crew member<br />
and birthday girl, Robyn Whitman, in great<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> tradition, was thrown into the<br />
harbour only to be saved by a gallant and<br />
good-looking sailor from Moonbeam III.<br />
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Photography Note<br />
For a marine photographer, the best conditions are often the most extreme, either very windy and<br />
dramatic or completely windless and becalmed! I’ve only been to Monaco Race Week once and I was<br />
warned that the regatta often suffers from light winds. True to form, Race 1 was delayed as the committee<br />
waited for the sea breeze to fill in. For hour after hour, the yachts drifted around the bay waiting for the<br />
wind to pick up. Finally the boats got underway at 2.00pm just before the cut-off point, and in very light<br />
airs. Four hours later, just before the finish, the wind died completely and they were virtually stationary.<br />
I was in heaven, I’d never seen these yachts out so late in the rich Mediterranean evening light. Everyone<br />
else had gone home, it was a special moment. B.W.<br />
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I’ve had enormous fun helming the boat and taking<br />
her through the finish line a couple of times. That is an<br />
extraordinary feeling. It really rams home how privileged<br />
we are to be sailing a magnificent yacht like <strong>Mariquita</strong>.<br />
She is quite extraordinary. A lady not be taken lightly.<br />
But if you look after her, she rewards you well.<br />
Jamie Matheson<br />
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Nick Edmiston receiving the trophy for third prize in the Big Boat Class from Ernst Klaus.<br />
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RÉGATES ROYALES CANNES<br />
24 – 28 SEPTEMBER 2013<br />
The name Régates Royales dates back to 1929 and recalls the<br />
yacht racing between European royalty on the Côte d’Azur.<br />
The 2013 event was certainly a throw back<br />
to those sepia times with a remarkable 12<br />
classic yachts on the Big Boat start line. With<br />
skipper George Newman flying to England<br />
on the eve of the regatta<br />
to be at the birth of his<br />
first child the crew of<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> had it all to<br />
do on one of the most<br />
competitive weeks of<br />
the year. The pressure<br />
was on, as John Caulcutt<br />
recalled. “George wasn’t<br />
with us. He was busy at<br />
home with Suzy having<br />
babies. I was on the boat having kittens, so<br />
to speak!”<br />
With the seasons beginning to change, the<br />
racing was tough day after day. Despite a<br />
creditable start to the regatta, with a fourth<br />
and a fifth on the first two days, <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
was disqualified from Race 3 after an<br />
incident with the 15-Metre Mariska and any<br />
thoughts of winning the regatta were over.<br />
The sense of frustration was compounded on<br />
the final day when an incident on the start<br />
line shocked all the crew. Navigator Chris<br />
Tibbs explains, “We were barrelling down<br />
the line on starboard<br />
tack with Moonbeam<br />
IV heading up the other<br />
way with a small boat<br />
called Nin sandwiched<br />
between us. Nin was<br />
like a startled rabbit<br />
in the headlights and<br />
our mainsail brushed<br />
down their masthead<br />
and unfortunately their<br />
mast came down.” Billy Butler climbed<br />
the mast and checked for any damage but<br />
thankfully <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s sail was unblemished.<br />
More importantly, no one was hurt and any<br />
disappointment soon disappeared with the<br />
announcement of Jessica Lark Newman’s<br />
birth and George’s return for the final regatta<br />
of the season. On the passage down to Saint-<br />
Tropez <strong>Mariquita</strong> was joined by two young<br />
crew members from Nin.<br />
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RIVALRY REBORN<br />
Mikaël Créac’h is a very good competitor. He’s very emotional, he’s very aggressive, he’s very hard.<br />
David Bedford<br />
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THE HELMSMEN<br />
John’s a born racer. When we first bought <strong>Mariquita</strong> his single objective was to win the Panerai trophy..<br />
Stephen Hemsley<br />
85
We had really fresh winds. We were at our absolute maximum. The main runners and top mast runner teams were up to their<br />
waists in water. <strong>Mariquita</strong> was at top speed. Everybody was soaked – completely shot to bits – but what a day!<br />
Mark Butler<br />
86
Helming <strong>Mariquita</strong> is a defining experience.<br />
Like any boat she has her sweet spot and on<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> it’s in 10-12 knots of breeze going to<br />
windward and the boat’s got a groove and it feels<br />
fantastic when you’re in that groove and you<br />
know you’re there.<br />
Get her in 25 knots of breeze, let alone any more, and the whole thing<br />
becomes a very different experience. At the end of the day it’s a huge<br />
physical workout. When the boat becomes loaded up it’s a handful.<br />
I mean a real handful. You’ve got 25 foot of boom overhanging the<br />
transom. When you get to the weather mark wanting to bear away,<br />
unless that mainsheet is dumped you don’t have a hope. You can’t<br />
physically move the wheel. That’s not just a case of strength it’s a<br />
question of dynamics.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
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When you’re calling the tactics you rarely get a chance to savour<br />
the spectacle or the moment. You’re always having to think<br />
ahead. When you’re on the boat you don’t see the boat.<br />
David Howlett<br />
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MOONBEAM IV<br />
3RD PLACE<br />
MOONBEAM OF FIFE<br />
2ND PLACE<br />
MARIQUITA<br />
1ST PLACE<br />
The third race of the regatta ended in very light conditions as <strong>Mariquita</strong> ghosted across the line in front of the Moonbeams.<br />
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LES VOILES DE SAINT-TROPEZ<br />
28 – 6 OCTOBER 2013<br />
Formerly known as the Nioulargue, this is the culmination of<br />
the season for both classic and modern yachts alike.<br />
The history of the Nioulargue dates back to a<br />
casual bar room bet between two yachtsmen<br />
lunching at Club 55 on Pampelonne Beach<br />
in 1981. Three decades later the regatta<br />
endures as the most spectacular of the<br />
season. With low pressure taking hold in<br />
the Mediterranean,<br />
the weather fluctuated<br />
throughout the week,<br />
especially on the final<br />
day when <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
was well placed for a<br />
top three finish in the<br />
general classification.<br />
The race was like a<br />
microcosm of the whole<br />
season, with <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
battling away with Moonbeam IV for hour<br />
after hour. The drama came to a head as<br />
the yachts turned for home. Matty Oates<br />
described it like this: “On the last approach<br />
to Saint-Tropez there is a small dog leg,<br />
which the boats have to take, with a gate at<br />
the end. Sailing through the fleet, there were<br />
spectator boats everywhere. We were coming<br />
in on Moonbeam IV from weather and<br />
calling for water because we were about to<br />
hit the buoy. Moonbeam IV was calling for<br />
water because they were about to hit Seche<br />
rock.” Helmsman John<br />
Caulcutt continued the<br />
story, “To be in Saint-<br />
Tropez with <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
on that last day of the<br />
season, with a forecast<br />
of 10-12 knots of<br />
breeze, and suddenly<br />
finding ourselves in<br />
25-30 knots with the<br />
big jackyard topsail up,<br />
totally over powered and the lee rail under.<br />
Memorable stuff for everyone who was on<br />
the water. What a way to end the season!<br />
Absolutely fantastic. We had a great day out<br />
on <strong>Mariquita</strong> and one I won’t ever forget.”<br />
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Helming <strong>Mariquita</strong>, on a broad reach with full sails set, is the most exhilarating experience.<br />
The sheer power of the yacht with spray flying and lee rail under is matched by the muscle<br />
power of the 24 well-orchestrated crew. No mechanical or hydraulic power, just sheer<br />
strength and great skill. The sounds aboard <strong>Mariquita</strong> are hypnotic as she rushes through the<br />
sea with every piece of gear – spars, halyards, sheets, runners, blocks – crying out under the<br />
strain to produce that extra fraction of a knot to win the race. Over the years I must have<br />
steered a hundred yachts, from a Lymington Scow to a J-Class, from the latest maxi to a<br />
three-masted schooner. <strong>Mariquita</strong>, however is in a class of her own.<br />
Nicholas Edmiston<br />
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Technically <strong>Mariquita</strong> is every bit as demanding as sailing a Fast 40. It’s very tweaky. If the rig is a fraction out of tune you can feel it on the helm. Unlike modern boats she will go gunnel<br />
under and it gets very wet on the leeward side. We have to be careful that the boys and girls don’t end up in the drink. We are sufficiently concerned about this that we have a 32ft rib<br />
following <strong>Mariquita</strong> 100 metres behind. It has to be that distance so that in the event of someone falling off the yacht the rib has time to stop and doesn’t run them over.<br />
Jamie Matheson<br />
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People often ask what is it like to climb the mast during a<br />
race? … It’s a bit scary but generally I’m okay with that. To<br />
be honest it’s the highlight of my racing. Quite often I have<br />
to climb the mast at short notice but always carefully – I<br />
can’t do my job if I slip off the mast and fall. But once I’m<br />
clipped on and I start climbing, the adrenalin is flowing<br />
and I’m totally focused on getting to the top so I can start<br />
unlashing the pole and working with the guys on deck so<br />
that at a minute’s notice, the pole is ready to come down.<br />
Adam Norris<br />
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SATURDAY 5 OCTOBER 2013<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> leading off the line.<br />
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<strong>Mariquita</strong> in the lead after rounding the 1st mark.<br />
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We can put these beautiful yachts within inches of each<br />
other and still feel confident that everyone will behave in<br />
the right way.<br />
Chris Barkham, Skipper Cambria<br />
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George and the new crew are fantastic sailors, that goes<br />
without saying. But now, he's the captain – he must put his<br />
mark on the boat. He must find a way to continue<br />
the <strong>Mariquita</strong> story.<br />
Mikaël Créac'h<br />
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OWNERS & CREW 2013<br />
JOHN CAULCUTT STEPHEN HEMSLEY JAMIE MATHESON NICK EDMISTON<br />
GEORGE NEWMAN MATTY OATES BILLY BUTLER DAVID HOWLETT<br />
DAVID BEDFORD CHRIS TIBBS GUY RIBADEAU-DUMAS SHERRON HEMSLEY<br />
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OWNERS & CREW 2013<br />
ANGELA MATHESON WOODY EDMISTON ROB DENNING TUBBY BROOK<br />
PIPPA CROWLEY<br />
CATARINA CALANDRINO<br />
JONNY ROGERS<br />
ROBYN WHITMAN<br />
OLLIE KEMP<br />
ADAM NORRIS<br />
OLLIE GOZZETT<br />
SEB STANSFIELD<br />
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RESULTS 2013 SEASON<br />
LES VOILES<br />
D’ANTIBES<br />
ARGENTARIO<br />
SAILING WEEK<br />
LE VELE D’EPOCA<br />
A NAPOLI<br />
PUIG VELA CLÀSSICA,<br />
BARCELONA<br />
Mariska<br />
Cambria<br />
Eilean<br />
Moonbeam III<br />
Moonbeam III<br />
Mariette of 1915<br />
Manitou<br />
Moonbeam IV<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
Cambria<br />
Halloween<br />
Halloween<br />
Mariette of 1915<br />
Moonbeam IV<br />
Javelin<br />
Vanity V<br />
Coral<br />
Eleonora<br />
Caroly<br />
Creole<br />
MAHÓN X COPA DEL REY<br />
DE BARCOS DE ÉPOCA<br />
MONACO CLASSIC<br />
WEEK<br />
RÉGATES ROYALES<br />
CANNES<br />
LES VOILES DE<br />
SAINT-TROPEZ<br />
Mariette of 1915<br />
Elena of London<br />
Moonbeam III<br />
Moonbeam IV<br />
Cambria<br />
Moonbeam III<br />
Moonbeam IV<br />
Moonbeam III<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
Mariska<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
No. 6 Texel<br />
Eleonora<br />
Altair 1931<br />
Altair<br />
Lulworth<br />
Halloween<br />
Halloween<br />
Tamory<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
Elena of London<br />
Creole<br />
Elena of London<br />
Mariska<br />
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THE YEAR IN NUMBERS<br />
320 WRAPS<br />
116 CHEESE BISCUITS<br />
110 METRES OF ANCHOR CHAIN<br />
61 STAYSAIL PEELS<br />
53 CHOCOLATE MILKSHAKES<br />
21 PANERAI T-SHIRTS<br />
19 SHANTIES<br />
5 FLOATING TELEVISIONS<br />
4 FIREWORK DISPLAYS<br />
2 VIOLIN STRINGS<br />
&<br />
1 JESSICA LARK NEWMAN<br />
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Letter sent to the 2013 <strong>Mariquita</strong> crew<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong>s!<br />
In reading over the letter sent out at the beginning of the year, it was worth pausing a moment to take stock. We<br />
had talked about how much had changed over last winter; new owners, new captain, and through the many<br />
faces of the crew. We laid out our regatta programme, and our hope for success on the water. And most of all,<br />
we wanted each of you to know how much it means to us that, when you could be basking on a beach on<br />
Mallorca, you decided instead to spend your holiday with us getting soaked and sore!<br />
Did we come through on our aims? The signs point to yes. There was learning, a LOT of learning, and<br />
we still have volumes to go. But consider this for a moment: as of the first day of racing in Antibes,<br />
Mariska had 43 training days on the water in 2013.<br />
We had four.<br />
Despite the odds against us, we pulled out a third place in Antibes. So the summer rolled on,<br />
and we found our rhythm. Sail changes got quicker, manoeuvres got slicker, and callouses got<br />
thicker. We even did the unimaginable: we took <strong>Mariquita</strong> on a cruise! We crammed four<br />
regattas into six weeks to finish out the season, and to ice the cake, Jessica Lark Newman<br />
was welcomed into this world as the Cannes Regatta kicked off.<br />
And as each of these events ticked on by, you all were there to make it happen. You<br />
were witness to the small dramas that unfolded between boats, and some of the<br />
friendships that formed out of them. You were patient with us as we messed up,<br />
and we definitely messed up at times. And where you could have exercised your<br />
index finger pushing winch buttons aboard other yachts, instead, you took the<br />
masochistic route and came sailing with us, and helped keep alive the ethos<br />
that is <strong>Mariquita</strong>. For all of this, we want to thank you.<br />
Reading over the letter, it did say that you’d be ‘stepping on board the<br />
same Old Girl’ if you came out with us this year. We realise now that<br />
that statement isn’t entirely true. In hindsight, of course she would<br />
be different! With all that had turned over, how couldn’t she be? At<br />
the time we may have feared that ‘different’ would be taken as<br />
synonymous with either ‘better’ or ‘worse.’ But it’s neither, it’s<br />
just … different! And whatever different may be, we want it<br />
to be something that you want to come back to.<br />
So the winter season has landed upon us here in Cogolin,<br />
the rail and boom have received their last glowing coats<br />
of varnish for the year. There’s plenty of work to do in<br />
the coming months, and when spring rolls around<br />
in 2014, we’ll pick up right where we left off. So<br />
keep in touch here and over the usual channels,<br />
and when the year starts again, we hope you’ll<br />
be there with us.<br />
Sincerely yours,<br />
Matty Oates, December 2013.
THE PANERAI TROPHY<br />
2014<br />
We set about this season with an absolute determined focus to win. <strong>Mariquita</strong> had come second last year, in fact she had come<br />
second in five regattas. We had to change the mindset from saying, “second is not bad” to saying “second is actually the first loser”.<br />
At the end of the 2013 season, we were ranked joint second on points but with the ‘countback’<br />
system in place, we ended up third; clearly we had some work to do if we were going to achieve<br />
our goal of winning the Panerai Big Boat Series in the Mediterranean in 2014. Moonbeam IV<br />
had pace on us. On handicap, Moonbeam III and Halloween could beat us.<br />
Tactically we felt that we had done okay in 2013, but as always in winning yacht races, it’s about<br />
minimising the number of mistakes one makes going around the course. In the general sense,<br />
there were not too many mistakes, so in short, we needed to get the boat to go faster and as we<br />
all know, “boat speed makes you a great tactician!”<br />
In retrospect, the breakthrough came in Naples, in June 2013, when we snagged the working gaff<br />
top whilst hoisting before the start. We continued with the hoist and set the topsail in the normal<br />
way as part of our pre-start manoeuvres where we check boat speed against apparent wind angle<br />
to make sure we are reaching our target numbers. As we had 40 minutes to the start sequence, we<br />
made the call to drop the topsail and to make a running repair by hand stitching the tear. When<br />
the sail was on deck I noticed that we were actually sailing faster whilst going up wind despite the<br />
reduction in sail area. There is little available research on topsails, but clearly in the circumstances<br />
encountered in Naples and therefore presumably on other occasions too, the sail was producing<br />
drag not drive.<br />
The one set of data that I could refer to from my time on board the super maxi Leopard, was the<br />
roached mainsail, where the sail cloth in the headboard area is cut completely flat. Arguably gaff<br />
rigs like <strong>Mariquita</strong> were the forerunners of today’s roached mainsails so we decided in November<br />
2013 to re-cut all of our topsails including the big jackyard by taking out the curvature and belly<br />
to flatten the sail as much as we could whilst going to windward. Also as part of our boat speed<br />
optimisation programme, we did some work on the underwater section of the hull, which involved<br />
a laborious process call ‘longboarding’, which ostensibly makes the hull more fair. We also sprayed<br />
the anti-fouling as opposed to applying it by brush or roller. I think that the effect of this, as<br />
evidenced in our training sails, was to increase our boat speed upwind by as much as half a knot,<br />
downwind by say a quarter of a knot … we were ready for the 2014 season.<br />
The real test of the Panerai series is to show consistent form across a whole season, from June in<br />
Antibes through to Cannes in September. You can’t afford to have a poor regatta. The challenge<br />
is to deal with the different wind and sea state conditions, from the high winds and big seas in<br />
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Mahón, to the light conditions which can be a characteristic of Imperia. With the 2013 season<br />
behind us I felt we had the ‘classic’ experience and racing know-how to put a string of results<br />
together in 2014. One area we certainly had an edge was the racing pedigree that myself, David<br />
and Chris brought to the boat. Allied to the class of George, Matty and Billy we had a chance.<br />
However, if we were going to win the Panerai Trophy we needed to beat Moonbeam IV. This was<br />
problematic. Firstly, Moonbeam IV was designed by William Fife III in 1914 with one thing in<br />
mind – to go faster than <strong>Mariquita</strong>. That was the design brief and the Fife yard delivered, albeit<br />
after the Great War. The owner Charles Plumtree Johnson finally took Moonbeam IV to Cowes<br />
Week in 1920 and promptly won the King’s Cup. She’s intrinsically a very fast boat.<br />
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Secondly, in all my years of racing I’ve never come up against anyone quite like Mikaël Créac’h.<br />
That Breton heritage of fishing and sailing on gaff-rigged boats, with all their traditional type rigs,<br />
permeates through in everything he does. It’s in his blood. You can see it from the moment he<br />
takes the helm in the morning. He has vast experience of how to get these heavy hulls to go fast<br />
… sailing them ‘full and by’ making best speed to weather by keeping the sails full – coming out<br />
of the tacks deep to overcome the extra weight of the hulls … going beneath his course so he can<br />
get the boat speed to build. The sheer amount of time and experience Mik has had on the water<br />
gives him a big advantage.<br />
Therefore, before we beat him on the water we needed to win the mental battle. The way to do<br />
that was to show no fear or weakness. More importantly we needed to dominate the start lines.<br />
If we could get off the start line first we could keep Mik beneath us. Keep him pinned in so we<br />
could get away.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
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Nigel Pert<br />
I have worked on boats for 25 years now. I was 21 when I first started as a sailor on a 24-Metre classic, Eugénia V. I quickly realised I had found my vocation and I have been walking<br />
on a teak deck ever since! I have commanded some wonderful yachts; Halloween, Moonbeam III, Hygie, Pioneer and Windjammer. Lots of navigation in the Caribbean, two years<br />
in the Red Sea and more than 20 years in the Mediterranean. It’s been a long and fierce period of work, a journey that has brought me to Moonbeam IV … and to be ready for it! I’ve<br />
achieved it and I’m very proud of it.<br />
Mikaël Créac’h<br />
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LES VOILES D’ANTIBES<br />
5 – 8 June 2014<br />
The irony of classic yachting is that the part most viewed by the<br />
world is the one that occupies the least number of days in our year.<br />
Matty Oates<br />
The start of the season at Les Voiles d’Antibes<br />
therefore comes as a relief to all the crews who<br />
have spent the close season maintaining and<br />
honing their yachts:<br />
the brightwork<br />
touch ups, leather<br />
renewal, rig and sail<br />
inspections. The year<br />
2014 marked the<br />
10th Anniversary<br />
of Panerai’s Classic<br />
Yacht Challenge –<br />
the premier classic<br />
yacht series in the<br />
world. Where better to show off all the hard<br />
work over the winter. After the steep learning<br />
curve of 2013 <strong>Mariquita</strong> was ready to race,<br />
“This Antibes was easier than the year before,<br />
where the entire team structure was new”,<br />
commented Matty Oates. “The boat was in<br />
her pristine start-of-season state, having a<br />
winter of varnish and maintenance behind<br />
her. Although there were still many new faces<br />
among the crew, you had the trio of George,<br />
Billy and myself,<br />
along with Pippa<br />
and Robyn. That<br />
kind of consistency<br />
went farther than I<br />
think we realised at<br />
the time. It was also<br />
the ‘standard setting’<br />
regatta of the season.<br />
That was the bar that<br />
we had to set for<br />
the races to come in terms of how the boat<br />
would look, how we would carry ourselves,<br />
how we would humbly win and graciously<br />
lose. We had much less time on the water in<br />
preparation than in years gone by, but that<br />
hadn’t stopped us in 2013 and wasn’t going<br />
to stop us now either.”<br />
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KING JAMIE!<br />
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SUPER YACHTS<br />
121
For me the contact with my enemy is<br />
very important. I want to see them in the<br />
morning. I want to see them prepare the boat.<br />
I want to see what sails they are going to have<br />
onboard. I want to see the “regard” of the<br />
crew. I want to see if they are ready.<br />
Mikaël Créac’h<br />
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Guido Cantini
SALTY NOTES BY A SALTY SEA DOG<br />
At Antibes 2013 the 15-Metre Mariska, allegedly had all crew fully paid up with 40 plus<br />
days solid practise before the first race. It showed. The helm, a 6-Metre helm, put her spot<br />
on our lee after a flourishing and close port tack 30 seconds before the start gun. “Up, up”<br />
went the call. Up we went … we might be over. Down we went a couple of metres with<br />
a jury rib behind us. We just made it.<br />
Suddenly what had started as a gentle show of classic yachts was clearly now something<br />
else. Safety was still the prime consideration but the bar had been raised significantly.<br />
During the 2013 season on <strong>Mariquita</strong>, endless videos and sail adjustments had taken<br />
place. What had been a well-oiled safe yacht was now being asked to be a very serious race<br />
boat. The clash of requirements and skills was visceral. In light airs three minutes would<br />
be needed to get up to hull speed. A tack lost minutes not seconds. Keeping movement<br />
and steerage is paramount. Also other smaller boats have no conception of the power,<br />
weight or danger of getting close to a couple of yachting behemoths. Once Shamrock V,<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong>, Cambria, Moonbeam III and Moonbeam IV begin their pre-start ballet, the<br />
air to leeward is cut up massively. In a breeze the closing speeds multiply. Knowing each<br />
skipper and helm, and trusting their judgement, is a major part of keeping safe.<br />
Tubby Brook<br />
Guido Cantini<br />
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mariquita<br />
moonbeam iv<br />
halloween<br />
Guido Cantini<br />
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126
MOONBEAM IV COMES HOME<br />
John Caulcutt presents the owner of Moonbeam IV, Xavier Tancogne, with a historic photograph of the yacht taken during<br />
the King’s Cup, held off Cowes in 1932. John’s stepfather, Patrick Egan, is shown at the helm and, having grown up with<br />
this image in their family house at Yarmouth, he felt now was the time to reunite it with the current owners. Patrick Egan<br />
was also the owner of Hispania, the 15-Metre yacht, bought in the 1930s by his family from the then King of Spain. It was<br />
subsequently restored by a group of Spanish industrialists and presented to Juan Carlos I in the year 2000.<br />
One of the nicest aspects of the week was the centenary of Moonbeam IV. Whilst we weren’t on the podium by right, because we<br />
came fourth in the regatta, we got up there anyway as John had an original print of Moonbeam IV that he presented to Mikaël<br />
and the owner. Mikaël is in very fine form and the rivalry between Moonbeam IV and <strong>Mariquita</strong> is as keen as ever.<br />
Stephen Hemsley<br />
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129
ARGENTARIO SAILING WEEK<br />
20 – 22 June 2014<br />
Argentario was undoubtedly a turning point. It made a huge<br />
difference to everybody’s attitude because suddenly something<br />
that we maybe dreamt about wasn’t that far away.<br />
Jamie Matheson<br />
Argentario Sailing Week is without doubt<br />
one of the highlights of the Panerai circuit.<br />
Nestled on the Tuscan coast the regatta<br />
is based in the<br />
harbour town of<br />
Porto San Stefano.<br />
Having lost out to<br />
Cambria in the 2013<br />
event, <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
was determined to<br />
put the experience<br />
and lessons of that<br />
defeat to good use.<br />
With our tactician<br />
David Bedford unavailable for the week,<br />
the syndicate turned to Harold Cudmore,<br />
who had recently spent a season calling the<br />
tactics on the 15-Metre Tuiga. <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
was also joined by the Editor of Classic Boat,<br />
Dan Houston, who was fully embedded for<br />
the week joining the yacht as regatta crew.<br />
“Having sailed Cambria at the America’s<br />
Cup Jubilee in 2001, and The Lady Anne<br />
in 2003, at the Fife<br />
Regatta, I’d been<br />
keen to do a personal<br />
piece on <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
however it never<br />
happened. When the<br />
new syndicate took<br />
over <strong>Mariquita</strong> in<br />
2012, it was a chance<br />
for us to take a look<br />
at the boat again.”<br />
With Cambria, Shamrock V, Eleonora<br />
and Halloween in the Big Boat Class it<br />
was a memorable week. Stephen Hemsley<br />
summed it up at the prize-giving. “From a<br />
fourth place in Antibes to three bullets in<br />
Argentario. What a turnaround!”<br />
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Photography Note<br />
One of the most impressive sights in classic sailing is where two boats cross: one on starboard, the other on port. If one yacht puts in a quick tack it can happen very suddenly, so you have to keep your wits about<br />
you and be prepared. The obvious shot is to be behind the yacht on port tack as she will have to give way, ‘dipping’ the yacht on starboard. On this particular day I was on board <strong>Mariquita</strong> as Cambria loomed up<br />
on our leeward side. The crew member on deck is down there to keep an eye and act as a spotter for the helmsman and tactician. I was positioned in the companionway or ‘dog house’ – right in the heart of the<br />
boat and a safe haven from where to photograph. B.W.<br />
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Classic Boat<br />
Dan Houston<br />
As the crews on the classics have got better,<br />
so we are beginning to race the yachts at<br />
cutting edge for the class.<br />
Harold Cudmore<br />
Ok, before I get into how great this boat is and why, I’ve got<br />
to relay this little moment of sailing with Harold Cudmore<br />
as our tactician where we glide past the boats ahead of us<br />
in the fleet on Day 2 of the Argentario regatta in June. We<br />
were about two-thirds of the way through the 20 mile-odd<br />
race when we could see Cambria, the 1928 Fife Bermudan<br />
23-Metre, hit a hole in the wind and stop dead in the water.<br />
Turns out it was convergence in the bay where two slight<br />
opposing breezes met to create this hole. Several of the Olin<br />
Stephens yawls and other boats around her stopped as well.<br />
With sails as limp as laundry on a lay-day, the boats take<br />
on attitudes, like band members on an album cover, each<br />
pointing in a different direction. We alter course slightly<br />
inshore; it will take us away from the mark but we are able<br />
to keep going. The sea is not completely flat, there are ripples<br />
but it is getting flatter. As crew we are down on the lee deck<br />
keeping us slightly heeled. And at about a cable and a half (300<br />
yards) to windward of Cambria, we glide past her, sailing at<br />
three knots. It’s a time of holding our breath and it does not yet<br />
mean that we are going to win (again), but it’s one of those truly<br />
magic moments in sailing where you want to pinch yourself at<br />
how lucky you feel. It’s the first time I have sailed with Harold<br />
Cudmore aboard, and I instantly start to call it his ‘moment’<br />
because reading the wind like that in these fickle and tricky<br />
conditions shows a true master mariner at work. Later when he<br />
explained the move he had the grace to say twice that we were<br />
lucky with the wind …<br />
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I’ve seen similar situations, but gliding at three knots, 300 yards<br />
away from boats stuck in the water ... that must be the luck<br />
of the Irish. After this moment we enter a patch of slack water<br />
ourselves, just in front of the harbour, but Cudmore’s reckoning<br />
– that the boat’s 36 tonne lead keel will carry us across the<br />
dead zone, again a couple of cables – pays off. We lie down on<br />
deck unless we are holding the foresails dead amidships and in<br />
silence – as if that will help – glide through the pellucid still<br />
green waters, inching our way, almost, at the last before we catch<br />
the first fractional zephyr of air that will push the grand cutter<br />
forward once more.<br />
This is racing and sometimes the moments of racing in light airs<br />
are more tense than when you are beating out to a mark with<br />
everything under bouncing pressure. You look at the jackyard<br />
topsail. I’m hoping that its two-sparred span will be high enough<br />
to pull down the nuances of moving air up there which are so<br />
absent at deck level. Claw the air down across the rest of the sail<br />
and wing it, will it almost, into making enough pressure to cause<br />
some forward movement.<br />
More recently Cudmore has sailed with the 15-Metre Class, doing<br />
four regattas last year. Of his ‘moment’ on <strong>Mariquita</strong> – finding<br />
breeze on Day 2 – he said: “there is some history to coming<br />
to Argentario and <strong>Mariquita</strong> had learned from being here last<br />
year. I wasn’t aboard then but I listened to them describing the<br />
incidents during racing in 2013 and and we needed to make sure<br />
we didn’t repeat those miscalculations. There were two breezes<br />
today and we had three occasions – crossing back and forward<br />
between them – to benefit from that. Picking where and how to<br />
do that was the race decider. Cambria was clearly ahead of us but<br />
when she lost wind we saw a smaller boat over on the shore side<br />
(Chinook), which had wind, so we could steer between the two<br />
and just keep our wind (and stay out of the convergence). Today<br />
was a day you would call a heads-out-of-the-boat day. We were<br />
all looking at what was happening around us – but there was also<br />
a lot of luck involved. I think it’s great that we are beginning to<br />
race these boats as they were raced 100 years ago and we have<br />
more and more respect for our forebears who raced them then.<br />
We have better materials now – better rope and so on – but<br />
otherwise the conditions are similar.”<br />
Dan Houston, Editor Classic Boat<br />
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The boat runs like clockwork. She’s a big long boat. 125ft overall from tafarelle to the end of the bowsprit so there is a lot of boat there. It’s<br />
interesting it’s quite quiet on board … there’s not a lot of chit chat. So there are periods when you are not really doing anything which is really nice,<br />
very calm, you’re just off racing and then suddenly BANG it all happens again “Up sail”, and “Down sail”.<br />
Dan Houston<br />
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Guido Cantini
DIARY ENTRY<br />
When all three yachts went to fetch south along the sandy coast, some of the best photos of the regatta were realised. With the sun scattering off the water, and all three boats lined up with the light, people across the bay scrambled<br />
for their cameras. It was here that some glimpsed the essence of classic racing; that the beauty of these boats is timeless, and so very necessary to remember where racing has come from. M.O.<br />
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WHAT’S THE TIME GEORGE?<br />
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PUIG VELA CLÀSSICA<br />
17 – 19 JULY 2014<br />
That damn bridge. It certainly provides a fishbowl for the<br />
public to gaze in upon as we pass by, albeit very slowly.<br />
Matty Oates<br />
Since Altair’s landmark restoration in 1987,<br />
the classic scene has developed at some pace.<br />
“Yachts like <strong>Mariquita</strong> and Cambria have<br />
been sparring for the last 10 years since<br />
they both came onto<br />
the scene in 2004”,<br />
as Chris Barkham,<br />
skipper of Cambria,<br />
put it. “From a fleet of<br />
maybe eight there are<br />
now 12 to 14 in the<br />
Big Boat Class. The<br />
level of competition<br />
is certainly increasing<br />
as everyone hones<br />
their yachts, year after year, to win these big<br />
prestigious Mediterranean regattas.”<br />
Nowhere is this more true than the Puig Vela<br />
Clàssica in Barcelona. Dan Houston warms<br />
to the theme, “The competition is certainly<br />
more serious now because people have been<br />
upping their game on the racing, getting<br />
more serious on the rules. More accomplished<br />
yachtsman are getting involved now. Sailors<br />
like Harold Cudmore have been on Tuiga<br />
and <strong>Mariquita</strong> calling<br />
the tactics. These guys<br />
are at the top of their<br />
game. The legends<br />
of the sport are now<br />
sailing the classics.<br />
The whole scene has<br />
grown and whirring<br />
away at the centre is<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> being sailed<br />
really as well as can be<br />
imagined. The fascinating aspect though is<br />
that she is the only Big Boat on the circuit<br />
that is ‘owner driver’. All the others are<br />
professionally helmed. On <strong>Mariquita</strong>, John<br />
does the upwind work and Jamie does the<br />
downwind legs. Amazing.”<br />
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Nico Martinez
FRIDAY 18 JULY 2014<br />
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Photography Note<br />
Along with the beautiful sailing waters and stunning scenery, some of the joys of the classic yacht circuit,<br />
particularly in the Mediterranean, are the host cities – Naples, Barcelona, Saint-Tropez. However, once<br />
the racing has started and the yachts are clear of the city backdrop, things can get more tricky. Solid blue<br />
sky and sea, combined with harsh midday sun, can make photographing the yachts difficult. During<br />
the 2014 season I worked very closely with the mast man on <strong>Mariquita</strong>, Adam Norris. We spent hours<br />
discussing the logistics of lashing cameras to the mast and setting them off remotely. As the season<br />
unfolded, we had more and more success, Adam became comfortable with the cameras and I began to<br />
understand what was achievable. This photograph was taken from the mast during a race in Barcelona.<br />
I like the symmetry of the composition: the way the spinnaker pole disappears out of shot and how the<br />
wake falls evenly on either side of the hull. B.W.<br />
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Nico Martinez
MOONBEAM IV CREW<br />
They show up in port with that indescribable Gallic coolness, and a<br />
polished docking routine requiring almost no need for voices. When the<br />
lines are made fast and the passarelle is in place, it’s then that you see the<br />
magnetising personas of the Moonbeam IV crew. The first thing to cross<br />
that passarelle is a barbeque, followed soon by the freshly caught fish they<br />
pulled up that morning. Speakers blare out music as the grill is set alight,<br />
and the rest of the fleet gravitate to this new universe as kisses are traded,<br />
cheek to cheek, and smiles abound as friends reconnect.<br />
This easygoing nature will vanish though, as they leave for racing the next<br />
morning. At times, Moonbeam IV will fill the ranks of race crew with<br />
local corporate charters, or other new faces, but despite the green hands<br />
she is a fierce competitor on the water. This is a testament to the patience<br />
and effectiveness of the crew, who can set a pole spinnaker with only a few<br />
trained hands aboard.<br />
Once back in port, her decks are cleaned and sails stopped up in wool<br />
with an efficiency that makes one have to look twice. As a yacht that can<br />
be cruised with far less crew than <strong>Mariquita</strong>, systems have been refined<br />
over the years to make the packing away of kit a brief activity once the<br />
day is done. Then it’s time for beers on the foredeck and bodies slumped<br />
into hammocks as they enjoy the evening murmur of Barcelona.<br />
Matty Oates<br />
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Nico Martinez
JAMIE MATHESON<br />
Owner & Helmsman<br />
SAILING MARIQUITA DOWNWIND<br />
In upwind mode, <strong>Mariquita</strong> powers<br />
through the water like the cheetah of<br />
the seas that she is: every halyard, sheet<br />
and spar taut and straining. Downwind<br />
she glides gracefully through the water<br />
displaying calmness and serenity. One<br />
could be lulled into thinking that she<br />
was almost benign and forget that<br />
unpredictable forces of nature are<br />
powering 80 tonnes of beautiful racing<br />
yacht along at 10 to 12 knots. Upwind<br />
sailing requires huge concentration to<br />
keep the boat at the sharpest edge of its<br />
performance capabilities. Downwind she<br />
demands the same level of concentration<br />
to keep all the sails filling, but in this mode she is probably at her most dangerous. Unlike<br />
modern racing yachts, particularly with their a-symmetrical spinnakers, <strong>Mariquita</strong> has<br />
an old-fashioned balloon jib allowing her to sail virtually dead downwind. This has the<br />
advantage of enabling the boat to be sailed directly from one point to another but that<br />
is also the moment at which the rig is most vulnerable. A sudden lapse of concentration<br />
and an accidental gybe could spell disaster. Despite the danger, it’s a part of sailing I really<br />
enjoy, moving along with the wind and feeling the warmth of the sun. It’s an awesome<br />
sight to look up at this vast field of white canvas and sparkling wooden spars. <strong>Mariquita</strong> is<br />
the most demanding boat I have ever sailed. But also, without doubt, the most rewarding.<br />
153
154
155
MAHÓN XI COPA DEL REY<br />
DE BARCOS DE ÉPOCA<br />
28 – 30 AUGUST 2014<br />
We were rarely more than a boat length apart for the whole<br />
race. The guys pulled and pulled. Chris Tibbs<br />
The racing in Mahón was the fiercest of the<br />
whole season. After Argentario, spirits were<br />
high, and with <strong>Mariquita</strong> heading up the<br />
Panerai rankings, events came to a head with<br />
Moonbeam IV. With<br />
the rough conditions<br />
likely to favour her<br />
main rival the ‘after<br />
guard’ on <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
decided to raise the<br />
stakes. Tactician<br />
David Bedford described<br />
the mood on<br />
board, “We went<br />
to Mahon thinking<br />
that although we knew how to win this was<br />
going to be a more difficult regatta because<br />
of the elements. That raised the ante at<br />
the starts where we decided to make the<br />
pre-start skirmishes even more high risk<br />
than normal.” <strong>Mariquita</strong> won the first two<br />
races after Moonbeam IV was disqualified<br />
from the second race for a port/starboard<br />
infringement on the start line. The third race<br />
hinged on a brave navigation call from Chris<br />
Tibbs who took <strong>Mariquita</strong> much closer to a<br />
rocky island than her<br />
rivals dared. Instead<br />
of being behind,<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> was able<br />
to dictate the race,<br />
as Chris recalled,<br />
“We had tack after<br />
tack going up the<br />
Menorcan coast. Each<br />
tack we pulled them<br />
in another few metres,<br />
and then we got to that beautiful position<br />
where we were on starboard and they were<br />
coming out on port and they couldn’t cross<br />
us.” A convincing win on the water, as Tubby<br />
commented, “All to play for. I shouldn’t say<br />
it, and I don’t want to tempt fate, but at the<br />
moment we’re the boat to beat.”<br />
156
Guido Cantini
158
Nico Martinez<br />
LEAVES ON THE DECK!<br />
159
Mikaël Créac’h<br />
Rival<br />
It is difficult, in just a few lines, to summarise these incredible<br />
years of regattas with the <strong>Mariquita</strong> and her crew. It goes well<br />
beyond anything I had experienced before – beyond a simple<br />
duel on the water. More a combat that took place on land,<br />
in order to convey the spirit of a bygone era: those maritime<br />
codes of ethics, traditions embodied by classic boats such as<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> and Moonbeam IV. Each of us had an equal desire<br />
to outgun the other, to pass on the tradition, to demand the<br />
best of the crew, so that they could, in turn, also uphold those<br />
codes.<br />
I have been sailing since my earliest childhood when I started<br />
learning the ropes on my father’s fishing boat in Brittany.<br />
Obviously, I had no idea of what was going to happen to me<br />
so many years in the future – of what I was going to feel. For<br />
me, the <strong>Mariquita</strong> is not only the opponent to beat, I have<br />
learned more than I could ever have wished by sailing in such<br />
company – vastly beyond the well-known Franco-British<br />
maritime rivalry.<br />
First of all, the <strong>Mariquita</strong> became an example for me under<br />
the command of Jim Thom. I refined my outlook on the<br />
classic races, became more demanding – more aware of the job<br />
that had been entrusted to me. Observing, analysing … long<br />
periods sitting on the bridge of the Moonbeam IV in the port,<br />
watching ‘my neighbour’: the details of the <strong>Mariquita</strong>, its crew<br />
at work, their reactions, their relationships. All these details,<br />
details which sometimes altered my way of doing things. I owe<br />
a lot to Jim. Without knowing it, he made me look at my<br />
own way of running these boats. In particular, I learned how to<br />
take the best from how others work, without altering one’s own<br />
intrinsic style, but taking from others in order to progress and<br />
try to excel. This mix has been beneficial to me and I believe<br />
that now, starting on my 10th year on the Moonbeam IV, I<br />
have found a good balance as captain, to lead a crew on this<br />
type of yacht in the best possible way.<br />
And then the crew changed on the <strong>Mariquita</strong>. It is never easy<br />
to take over the command when you are following a sailor who<br />
has made history. The torch has been passed on to George, and<br />
John and his friends have become the happy owners. This is a<br />
challenge for both parties. As for me, I am analysing it all! And<br />
I am telling myself that we have an advantage at the present<br />
time. It’s the second season for George as boss, even though he<br />
knows the boat well, taking over the captaincy of it is not the<br />
same story and new owners who are surely going to take some<br />
time to understand the boat.<br />
History has proved me wrong … Right from the first season,<br />
this new pairing has led me a merry dance! Obviously to my<br />
great joy … First of all, we have got closer together – something<br />
I had not managed to do with Jim. So, I was able to meet<br />
the new crew, the men against whom we were going to race.<br />
Friendship very quickly prevailed and this new alliance has<br />
once again given me the chance to learn and progress. Don’t<br />
we get to know our rival better by having a few beers with him?<br />
I discovered a new <strong>Mariquita</strong> … a different competitor. While<br />
retaining the ethos of which I spoke earlier, now carried on by<br />
George, the <strong>Mariquita</strong> had changed! I had met the opponent<br />
who most resembled me: John … courteous and polite. John<br />
… a hard taskmaster, a person who does not let anything pass!<br />
An astonishing cocktail which makes for the perfect competitor<br />
on the water.<br />
These past three years’ sailing with the <strong>Mariquita</strong> have been<br />
incredible, magic … hard, sometimes taking me to the utmost<br />
limits. No gifts, no excuses … no mistakes. Once again, I<br />
have made progress; it turned out that John was an excellent<br />
helmsman, a helmsman who doesn’t break under pressure,<br />
who fully commits. So, again, I took my lesson ‘from the other<br />
man’. No, no excuses! It’s the best man who wins the day.<br />
And these victories have been shared. The <strong>Mariquita</strong> and<br />
Moonbeam IV are the very epitome of all a yachtsman dreams<br />
of – to lose or win for the sake of a few seconds, in close touch<br />
… always. Without this rapport, there is no regatta! A good<br />
example is that of the Panerai in Mahón. Three days of sailing<br />
various laps, whilst being less than 100 metres from each other<br />
for hours and hours. For me, these images represent a dream<br />
come true … actually reliving a King’s Cup! My only wish now<br />
would be to encounter the <strong>Mariquita</strong> in Mediterranean waters<br />
again … Not just to have a few beers with George, John and<br />
the crew – and to talk about the past! No, not just that. My<br />
dream is of tightly tacking combats … of long tacks under a<br />
billowing sail … of priorities ripped away. Some words stronger<br />
than others, when it gets to the utmost limit.<br />
The voice of John yelling out at the first initial sighting of the<br />
preliminary start of the regatta:<br />
‘BONJOUR ... MES AMIS FRANÇAIS!’<br />
So, if the cold waters of the north which I know so well are<br />
starting to get to you, I will give you a date here and now for a<br />
second round in a few years, so that we can check that what I<br />
am writing today … is indeed still true!<br />
160
MOONBEAM IV<br />
1914<br />
The fourth and final Moonbeam<br />
was designed and built by William<br />
Fife III for Charles Plumtree<br />
Johnson, the son of Queen Victoria’s<br />
physician. Winner of the King’s<br />
Cup in 1920 and 1923 she is best<br />
described by Uffa Fox, “No matter<br />
whether she is underway or at<br />
anchor, Moonbeam IV is beautiful<br />
to look upon, combining the speed of<br />
a racer with the comfort of a cruiser,<br />
a vessel any seaman would be proud<br />
to own.”<br />
Yacht Moonbeam IV<br />
Length 35m / 115ft<br />
Beam 5.45m / 18ft<br />
Year Built 1914<br />
Sail area 8514 square feet Sail No. 8<br />
Designer William Fife<br />
Beken<br />
161
Chris Tibbs really led the charge when he started to call the navigation in a really direct<br />
fashion. He was really punchy getting us much closer to the rocky island than Moonbeam IV<br />
who was ahead of us. He turned the psychological corner for the whole crew.<br />
David Bedford<br />
Guido Cantini<br />
162
If Mik could have put us right on to the cliffs and<br />
written off <strong>Mariquita</strong> he would have done so.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
Nico Martinez<br />
163
“Some of the calls were deliberately<br />
marginal. Winning races is all about being<br />
prepared to go just that little bit extra and<br />
take that extra risk.”<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
164
Guido Cantini
The feeling onboard the boat was fantastic. You felt you’d just won the Ashes and Wimbledon<br />
and had a night out with a pretty girl. It was all absolutely perfect.<br />
Tubby Brook<br />
166
167
VELE D’EPOCA DI IMPERIA<br />
11 – 14 SEPTEMBER 2014<br />
Our only hope with a starboard rounding at the leeward end of<br />
the downwind leg was to get down on one gybe. John Caulcutt<br />
Just up the coast from San Remo the<br />
mountainous province of Imperia with its<br />
beautiful 18th-century cathedral welcomed<br />
the classic fleet for the penultimate Panerai<br />
regatta of the season.<br />
Still smarting after<br />
the disqualification<br />
in Mahón, which<br />
cost them the regatta,<br />
Moonbeam IV was<br />
in impressive form in<br />
Imperia winning the<br />
first race and putting<br />
the pressure back on<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong>. Race 2 was going to be crucial.<br />
A small area of low pressure to the south of<br />
Imperia intensified to give some strong winds<br />
for the start of the race. It felt like the season<br />
came down to this regatta, this race and this<br />
leg. David Bedford takes up the story, “It got<br />
really windy and sailing by the lee is quite<br />
dangerous. But in the event John did such a<br />
good job we did get to the left of the mark for<br />
a starboard rounding. Afterwards John said it<br />
was so difficult on the wheel that he wouldn’t<br />
have given the helm<br />
to his worst enemy!”<br />
As John himself<br />
explained, “We were<br />
in dire danger of that<br />
mainsail coming<br />
sweeping across the<br />
deck and with it the<br />
mainsheets, which<br />
could take a number<br />
of crew off the deck<br />
with them. It was frighteningly close but it<br />
was our only chance. We had to do it if we<br />
were going to stay in the race.”<br />
Thankfully <strong>Mariquita</strong> made the mark on<br />
one gybe while her great rival Moonbeam IV<br />
took two. The risk paid off and <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
won the day.<br />
168
We have our own private America’s Cup. Moonbeam<br />
IV was designed and commissioned to beat <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
… that was the design brief.<br />
Tubby Brook<br />
170
171
DIARY ENTRY<br />
September is the home stretch for so many yachts. With Saint-Tropez at the end of the tunnel, the month’s opener alternates each year between the windless, rolling swell of Monaco, and the Italian Riviera at Imperia Porto<br />
Maurizio. Sat firmly over the rolling hills of Liguire di Ponente, Imperia has evolved through the hands of countless civilisations over the centuries. Just like Argentario, the residents of Imperia do what Italians do so well:<br />
make visitors feel welcome. With energy to spare, the port opens its arms to the fleet as all the Big Boats reunite for the first time since Antibes. Though let it be said, we are all seriously missing Cambria!. M.O.<br />
172
173<br />
Guido Cantini
174
175
In the heat of battle you start pushing harder. You start asking to put up more sail. Conversations have been had on board where George the skipper<br />
is quite rightly saying the topmast is at risk, and John and the owners on the syndicate are saying it’s our topmast … if it breaks we’ll buy a new one.<br />
David Bedford<br />
182
In my memory Race 2 in Imperia was the supreme test. That downwind leg was probably my most challenging moment at the helm of<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong>. To make it down on one gybe while Mik took two was a great achievement.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
183
184
185
RÉGATES ROYALES CANNES<br />
23 – 27 SEPTEMBER 2014<br />
We had good fights this season. Fantastic fights.<br />
Close, sometimes too close. Mikaël Créac’h.<br />
Winning the Panerai Trophy was a real<br />
possibility. However, many of the permanent<br />
crew had been in the same position in<br />
preceding years and had seen the prize slip<br />
away during the marathon week that is<br />
Régates Royales.<br />
With over 10 yachts<br />
on the Big Boat start<br />
line <strong>Mariquita</strong> was<br />
going to have her work<br />
cut out. Was she going<br />
to cover her nearest<br />
rivals Moonbeam IV<br />
and Halloween for the<br />
general classification<br />
or go for the regatta win? Matty Oates, the<br />
Mate, described the feeling amongst the<br />
crew, “We were sailing well by then, very<br />
cleanly. We knew that we had all the deck<br />
work dialled in, so it came down to the<br />
question of whether we could find the better<br />
breeze? We also knew from MahÓn that we<br />
could out-tack Moonbeam IV, crew to crew,<br />
although in a regatta like Cannes, that’s not<br />
always the best strategy. The other problem<br />
was Mikaël Créac’h who<br />
after his win in Imperia<br />
had his tail up!”<br />
To make matters worse a<br />
flu virus swept through<br />
the crew during the<br />
training days leaving<br />
at least two regatta<br />
crew on the sidelines<br />
for the opening days.<br />
Thankfully a few willing hands from<br />
La Mascarade stepped up, including Zane<br />
Gills who happened to be in town. The<br />
regatta finally started and the results began<br />
to fall <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s way.<br />
186
Going into the Cannes Regatta was the ultimate test of our nerves this year. I felt the pressure. Halloween could have won,<br />
Moonbeam IV could have won. So our plan of racing against one other boat wasn’t going to stand any muster. We just had to<br />
go as fast as we possibly could because we had to beat them both.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
188
189
190
DIARY ENTRY<br />
Argentario was the first sign that winning was a real possibility. Bolstered by another win at Mahón, and the near miss in Imperia, we knew it was all to play for here in Cannes, with the Régates Royales. A first place<br />
at the regatta was secondary to the overall win, so you can imagine how stoked we were when we managed to get both.<br />
Cannes is an exhausting regatta. It’s five straight days of racing, led by a training day. Now if you haven’t raced aboard a big classic, it doesn’t sound like much. But when you consider that four hours of your day is setup<br />
and pack down alone, on top of your hours in pre-start and race time, it adds up. So it’s important to pace yourself through the week. The courses are well laid, but it means countless peels, kite hoists and re-hoists, and<br />
changing conditions. We joke that Cannes can show you all four seasons in one regatta, and the prediction’s rarely far off. In 2007, we received several inches of large hail on deck in the span of five minutes, culminating<br />
with a lightning strike which travelled down our halyards and jumped to our bowman Natty Lemieux. The day after was sunny, light and variable. M.O.<br />
191
DAVID BEDFORD<br />
Tactician<br />
Cannes was the deciding regatta of the season. By<br />
then we had a good understanding of <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s<br />
strengths and weaknesses relative to our rivals.<br />
With dissimilar yachts there will be some courses<br />
and wind conditions that will favour a particular<br />
boat. Over a season some races will be easy wins (if<br />
there is such a thing) while others will be almost<br />
impossible to win. In between there<br />
will be the races where you have a<br />
chance. As the season progressed<br />
we realised we had to do more to<br />
win in <strong>Mariquita</strong>. If we performed<br />
at the same level as our primary<br />
rival Moonbeam IV we would<br />
lose. Put another way we had to be<br />
significantly better to win. A good<br />
example was the second race at<br />
Cannes.<br />
The first leg of the course was a<br />
short windward leg to a starboard<br />
rounding windward mark in<br />
around 10 knots of breeze.<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> started well and stayed to the right of<br />
Moonbeam IV. On the first beat the boats met at<br />
the windward mark with <strong>Mariquita</strong> on starboard<br />
tack forcing Moonbeam IV to tack to give way.<br />
The result was only one tack for <strong>Mariquita</strong> and<br />
two for Moonbeam IV – a loss of 90 secs for Mik<br />
and his crew. Victory 1.<br />
Leg 3 was downwind on port gybe. <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s<br />
balloon jib (spinnaker) has a limited range of wind<br />
angles. To counter this we sailed on port gybe with<br />
the spinnaker set with the pole as far forward as<br />
we dared. Essentially letting the boat go where it<br />
wanted to go but crucially very swiftly. This kept<br />
the boat fast but our course initially 18 degrees<br />
below the leeward mark. We reasoned that as we<br />
got closer, the wind blowing parallel to the coast<br />
would lift us up towards the mark. Thankfully<br />
our hunch paid off. Surprised and unnerved by<br />
our new tactics, Moonbeam IV got greedy and<br />
elected to fly their large running spinnaker which<br />
took them even lower than our<br />
course, perhaps by as much as<br />
12 degrees. In the final analysis<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> flew her spinnaker<br />
for the whole leg at a faster<br />
angle while Moonbeam IV<br />
went unacceptably low leading<br />
her to drop her kite and sail the<br />
final quarter of the leg without<br />
a spinnaker. Victory 2.<br />
The final leg was upwind along<br />
the rocky coast on the western<br />
side of the Bay of Cannes.<br />
With some difficult and brave<br />
navigation by Chris Tibbs we<br />
extended our lead. Chris picked a layline around<br />
the headland but then inside some rocks. We<br />
effectively cut a huge corner. After the headland it<br />
was a simple fetch to the finish. Victory 3.<br />
Despite three significant victories during the race,<br />
when the handicaps were worked out, <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
only beat Moonbeam IV by nine seconds. In many<br />
ways this race represents the different level of skill,<br />
teamwork and achievement required for <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
to win. The fact that Moonbeam IV nearly won<br />
despite a mistake or two on their part illustrates<br />
how hard fought and deserved <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s victories<br />
were in 2014.<br />
192
193
194<br />
ROCK<br />
HOPPING
195
DIARY ENTRY<br />
As for the racing, it must simply be said that <strong>Mariquita</strong> was pushed to new limits, and that she found another gear at the Régates Royales. But<br />
there we were, and it did come down to the wire, like so many other regattas this year. This is what racing should be like. In a handicapped system,<br />
clear cut winners every single time means there’s an error in the math. Regattas should always be fought for, podium places constantly changing.<br />
That’s what this year has been like, and it keeps everyone hungering for more. With our last race finished, and the numbers finally in, it was time<br />
to collect the trophy that we truly deserved. M.O.<br />
196
THE VICTORS<br />
Even more important than winning this nice looking trophy on the Panerai circuit was the respect that was shown to us by the two Moonbeams at the<br />
prize-giving. It meant the world to us to be standing on the podium with our great rivals cheering us on.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
197
You have to understand the huge rivalry within the classic fleet. Particularly between<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> and the Moonbeams. We know that Mik is watching us from the moment he<br />
wakes up in the morning in his bunk. He’s looking to see what the mood is on the boat. Have<br />
the boys been out drinking the night before? He’s that focused on it and that dedicated to it<br />
right from the early morning. And of course he is a great sailor and he has that much more<br />
experience, and we have to respect that.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
198
The Saturday night changed everything for me between the relations we have. It’s a very important point for the next seasons. I’m more confident today with <strong>Mariquita</strong>.<br />
I’m going to go closer at sea with <strong>Mariquita</strong>. You know what I mean. It’s like I know my enemy now. When you know your enemy you can play with him.<br />
Mikaël Créac’h<br />
199
LES VOILES DE SAINT-TROPEZ<br />
30 SEPTEMBER – 4 OCTOBER 2014<br />
How more people aren’t hurt in Saint-Tropez I’m really not sure.<br />
The race committee put on some crazy courses. John Caulcutt<br />
The racing at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is<br />
unique and occasionally quite dangerous,<br />
as helmsman John Caulcutt describes. “The<br />
year before, they sent the Big Boat Class off<br />
last to windward into<br />
the bay off Cogolin<br />
just as all the other<br />
fleets were coming<br />
out. These are local<br />
race officers who<br />
don’t know how to<br />
handle these big<br />
fleets, especially the<br />
‘Big Boat Class’. In<br />
my opinion they<br />
need to bring in some professional race<br />
management from the great yacht clubs<br />
around the world. It’s all very controlled<br />
on the start line with the exclusion zones.<br />
But after the start it’s a real bunfight.” Long<br />
reaching legs scuttled <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s hopes as<br />
the schooners, notably Elena, came into<br />
their own. Long waterline length and speed<br />
come to the fore in the off-the-wind legs. As<br />
Matty Oates explains, “Elena is an absolute<br />
weapon. Traditionally, the cutters love the<br />
light airs and the schooners love the breeze.<br />
When it’s light, boats<br />
like Altair just wallow<br />
in it. But Elena, she’s<br />
so lofty, has so much<br />
sail, that she will just<br />
carry through all the<br />
calm. Her rig can<br />
reach breezes up high<br />
that none of us can<br />
get to, and she has a<br />
weight and size that<br />
makes her immune to all the messy chop you<br />
might find in the Bay of Saint-Tropez, the<br />
same chop that will stop us dead in the water.<br />
They sailed her brilliantly, and deserved that<br />
win. They never get on the podium, due to<br />
their handicap, so to have her take the win<br />
in a light-airs regatta really is a testament to<br />
their racing skill.”<br />
200
DIARY ENTRY<br />
Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is a far cry from the other regattas.<br />
The boats are the focus, without a doubt, but not the sailing of<br />
them. It’s their mystique and allure that draws in the crowds<br />
when they’re tied up in harbour. Throngs of tourists wearing the<br />
same striped polo, bought for a small fortune, are packed like<br />
festival-goers all craning their necks for a glimpse. It’s the image of<br />
yachting culture that’s celebrated by the onlookers, and for the first<br />
time all year it’s the rest of the world looking in on our fishbowl.<br />
What a fishbowl we live in! M.O.<br />
203
204
205
206
207<br />
James Robinson Taylor
There’s a guy on board who<br />
sometimes we don’t see for up to an<br />
hour at a time. Adam goes up the<br />
rig for a downwind leg. So he’s sent<br />
up before we get to the mark and<br />
he can be there for up to an hour.<br />
He disappears but what he does up<br />
there is critical to our success. The<br />
unsung hero? Maybe he is.<br />
Jamie Matheson<br />
208
James Robinson Taylor<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> ducking behind the two-masted schooner Altair during Race 2.<br />
209
210<br />
James Robinson Taylor
Photography Note<br />
This photograph is an excellent example of keeping your eyes open and scanning a race for opportunities. I could never have predicted this almost perfect arrangement of yachts as they rounded a mark and then<br />
hardened up onto a tight reach. I’d been following <strong>Mariquita</strong>, who was 30 seconds ahead, when I looked round and saw the red spinnaker in the centre of the shot. Our rib was drifting slowly to the right so I<br />
didn’t even need to change our course as this gap opened up between the two lead yachts, and I depressed the shutter. The tantalising nature of photography can sometimes be difficult to articulate. Out of an<br />
unpromising situation came this lovely Saint-Tropez image. B.W<br />
211
THE MARIQUITA FILMS<br />
Looking back I guess the idea for the <strong>Mariquita</strong> videos<br />
came from the documentary Ben made for Jim Thom and<br />
Peter Livanos to mark <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s centenary back in 2011.<br />
It was a serious piece of work and knowing our ownership<br />
of <strong>Mariquita</strong> would be for a limited period, perhaps three<br />
to four years, I was keen to make sure we had a lasting<br />
memento of our endeavours. My fellow owners thought<br />
this was an unnecessary extravagance but I was determined<br />
to have a permanent record of what was going to be a once<br />
in a lifetime experience so I decided to go ahead anyway!<br />
I struck a deal with Ben to shoot both video and stills and<br />
the rest is history. Once John and Jamie started to see the<br />
results they soon came around!<br />
Stephen Hemsley<br />
212
DIARY ENTRY<br />
The world of yachting is cyclical and seasonal. You’re racing or you’re varnishing. You’re on a ‘transat’ or you’re flying to your next programme. You’re doing a Pacific season.<br />
You’re doing a Med season. You might even try some time in the States. You can stay on a boat for a while, but nine times out of 10 you’ll eventually move on while the boat<br />
remains. This normally happens at a staggered pace as people’s lives continue to revolve in an orbit around the vessel. However, every now and then your crewmates move on<br />
in the same stride. It’s happened before in <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s past: The Fife Regatta in 2008 was a bookend for many, and at year’s end we said goodbye to many close friends. We’ve<br />
reached another bookend here on board in 2014 and again we must see off so many more.<br />
We’re lucky in that we work with amazing people on <strong>Mariquita</strong>, so to watch this group go back off into the world is heartening: You know they’re going to do fantastic things<br />
in places all over the globe. But you do miss the idiosyncrasies they bring to the table, how a crew falls into place like pieces of a puzzle. You can get new pieces, but it will be<br />
an entirely different puzzle.<br />
To those who have moved on: It has been our very great privilege to sail this boat with you lot. You can get the best racers in the world on the deck of the fastest yacht, but if<br />
they don’t know how to crack a joke at the day’s end, what’s the point? So thank you for cracking jokes. We hope you’ll come back and grab hold of the main halyards again,<br />
and sing out loud with the shanty. Now haul away you rolling kings. M.O.<br />
213
OWNERS & CREW 2014<br />
JOHN CAULCUTT STEPHEN HEMSLEY JAMIE MATHESON GEORGE NEWMAN<br />
MATTY OATES BILLY BUTLER DAVID BEDFORD CHRIS TIBBS<br />
HAROLD CUDMORE TUBBY BROOK GUY RIBADEAU-DUMAS DAN ADAM-AZIKRI<br />
214
OWNERS & CREW 2014<br />
ADAM NORRIS PIPPA CROWLEY ANGELA MATHESON OLLIE GOZZETT<br />
ROB DENNING<br />
SHERRON HEMSLEY<br />
ROBYN WHITMAN<br />
FRAZER ANTHONY-JOHNS<br />
MATT WATSON<br />
OLLIE PAUL<br />
JEROME COLLET<br />
WILL GIBBON<br />
215
RESULTS 2014 SEASON<br />
LES VOILES<br />
D’ANTIBES<br />
ARGENTARIO<br />
SAILING WEEK<br />
PUIG VELA CLÁSSICA,<br />
BARCELONA<br />
MAHÓN XI COPA DEL REY<br />
DE BARCOS DE EPOCA<br />
Mariska<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
Moonbeam IV<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
Moonbeam IV<br />
Halloween<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
Moonbeam IV<br />
Moonbeam of Fife<br />
Eleonora<br />
Moonbeam of Fife<br />
Halloween<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
Cambria<br />
Mariette of 1915<br />
Agneta<br />
Shamrock IV<br />
Halloween<br />
Altair<br />
VELE D’EPOCA<br />
DI IMPERIA<br />
RÉGATES ROYALES<br />
CANNES<br />
LES VOILES DE<br />
SAINT-TROPEZ<br />
Moonbeam IV<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
Moonbeam III<br />
Halloween<br />
Elena<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
Moonbeam IV<br />
Moonbeam of Fife<br />
Halloween<br />
Altair 1931<br />
Elena<br />
Xarifa<br />
Elena<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
Moonbeam IV<br />
Moonbeam of Fife<br />
Halloween<br />
Altair<br />
Orianda<br />
216
THE YEAR IN NUMBERS<br />
178 TENDER RUNS<br />
62 DEBRIEFS<br />
54 HEADERS<br />
40 CIRCLES OF LOVE<br />
mariquita<br />
31 JIB TOPS<br />
25 SPINNAKER HOISTS<br />
15 JACKYARD PARTIES<br />
6 HULL WAXES<br />
5 COATS OF VARNISH<br />
3 PANERAI WATCHES<br />
&<br />
1 PANERAI TROPHY<br />
217
PASSAGE FROM FRANCE<br />
TAKING DOWN THE TOPMAST IN<br />
COGOLIN, FRANCE<br />
SMOCO OFF IBIZA!<br />
FROM THE FORT OVERLOOKING<br />
ALICANTE<br />
MORNING WATCH NEAR GIBRALTAR<br />
THE FIRST SUNSET OF THE VOYAGE<br />
THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR<br />
DIARY ENTRY<br />
Preparing any vessel for a voyage involves imagining a lot of ‘what ifs’. You lash, stow and pad to the extreme, hoping that you make it through the trip with as little maintenance to do on the other side as possible. You try<br />
to imagine how the boat will move in swell and, more importantly, how different parts of the boat will move, and what you can do to protect them. <strong>Mariquita</strong> is by no means a boat for the ocean. She’s at home on the flat<br />
water of the Clyde and the Mediterranean. With a heavy rig, and a spoon bow, we are careful when choosing our weather windows.<br />
218
1-25 APRIL 2015<br />
DOLPHINS NEAR PORTIMÃO<br />
SUNSET OFF PORTUGAL<br />
FROM THE CASTLE WALLS IN BAIONA,<br />
SPAIN<br />
CASUAL FRIDAY AT THE OFFICE<br />
A RUIN IN BAIONA<br />
SUNSET OVER THE BAY OF BISCAY<br />
Head seas can be depressing and annoying, but one can usually make way in most craft. With <strong>Mariquita</strong>, one wrong wave on the bow and she will lose all her speed in an instant. The <strong>Mariquita</strong> you see on passage is<br />
very different to the <strong>Mariquita</strong> that glides by during a race. Our topmast sits on the port-side deck, lashed to the centreline. The spinnaker pole sits on starboard, and spare fuel jugs are nestled and secured between them.<br />
Our massive mainsail sits unused for the voyage, and the gaff is heavily strapped and padded onto the boom. The jackyard topsail spars are secured either side of the main boom and the sail itself sits safely in the lazarette.<br />
Sitting atop the racing mainsail is our delivery trysail, a loose-footed number with its own gaff that’s no small bit of canvas in its own right. M.O.<br />
219
“we leave the Mediterranean now with a clear conscience<br />
and focused view for the future on bringing mariquita<br />
back to the uk for 2015.”<br />
John Caulcutt
UK PRE-SEASON<br />
25 APRIL 2015<br />
DIARY ENTRY<br />
We passed a fleet of overnight racers, just past Hurst<br />
Castle, heading out of the Solent into the building<br />
wind and sea we were running from. This made the<br />
smiles onboard widen realising that we were so close<br />
to the warmth and safety of a home port. All hands<br />
were gathered aft, taking in the sights and talking<br />
about the first pint or meal they’d be having once<br />
they got ashore. We cleared the deck as best we could,<br />
making the boat as presentable as possible for the<br />
discerning eyes of Solent sailors. Pulling up just past<br />
Yarmouth, we hooked up with what would be our<br />
summer mooring off The Towers, and out came John<br />
Caulcutt and Ben Wood in a rib to be the first to<br />
welcome us to England! Before long the whole crew<br />
were transfered to the Royal Solent Yacht Club for a<br />
pint of Doom Bar. Then off to Salty’s for one heck of<br />
an order of fish ’n chips … a more picturesque arrival<br />
could not have been imagined. With the engine off,<br />
there was a collective sigh from the crew. It hadn’t<br />
been an epic like The Odyssey, but it had been our<br />
voyage, and now it had come to an end. Like all good<br />
things. M.O.<br />
222
07.47 SATURDAY 25 APRIL, YARMOUTH PIER<br />
The satisfaction and relief of getting the boat tied up on the mooring was immense.<br />
Incredibly emotional actually. I phoned my Mum to say I’d got here.<br />
George Newman
GEORGE NEWMAN<br />
Skipper<br />
We’ve brought <strong>Mariquita</strong> up to the UK<br />
three times over the years with Jim Thom.<br />
But he’s sailed around the world a few<br />
times so he has a bit more experience than<br />
me! The last two times we brought the boat<br />
up with Jim, in 2010 and 2012, we got<br />
absolutely pounded. He said on the last<br />
trip that he’d never bring her up again. You<br />
have to remember that she’s a day boat,<br />
albeit a magnificent one. So I had that in<br />
the back of my mind when the syndicate<br />
decided to bring <strong>Mariquita</strong> up to Cowes<br />
for the RYS Bicentennial. Leaving Cogolin<br />
on the 1st April was one month earlier<br />
than we had previously set sail so there was<br />
plenty of apprehension.<br />
Thankfully the weather gods were shining<br />
on us and with excellent forecasting from<br />
Chris Tibbs the whole trip took 21 days,<br />
so 10 days faster than in the past. We were<br />
very fortunate – the weather was just always<br />
behind us. However, with one night to go<br />
off northern France, Chris forecast thick<br />
fog for the English Channel so I slept in the<br />
lazarette that final night as we approached<br />
the shipping lanes. With some fine work<br />
from the crew we ghosted through and as<br />
dawn broke we saw the welcome sight of<br />
St. Catherine’s lighthouse, off the southern<br />
tip of the Isle of Wight. It was a great<br />
moment for all of us onboard.<br />
The crew dynamic shrinking to a smaller<br />
number of personnel for 2015 was a<br />
massive head scratch. I had my doubts,<br />
but to be fair it was the best thing we’ve<br />
ever done. In previous years there was<br />
always a split between the crew – between<br />
the shore siders and the live aboards. But<br />
with everyone on board this year it was<br />
all harmony – one of the best crews we’ve<br />
ever had on <strong>Mariquita</strong>. Many people are<br />
surprised when they’re told that in a full<br />
season <strong>Mariquita</strong> may race only 25 to 30<br />
days. The rest of the time is spent training,<br />
working on the yacht, transporting her<br />
around and maintaining the varnish! That’s<br />
the heart of classic yachting. Obviously the<br />
racing is when all that hard work comes to<br />
fruition but for me the teamwork and the<br />
camaraderie throughout the year is the key.<br />
People often ask what it’s like to skipper<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong>? I can’t get away from the fact<br />
that I’m one of a long line of captains:<br />
Edward Sycamore, Robert Wringe and my<br />
old boss Jim Thom. I’m not sure I’d put<br />
myself in their class but we’re two years<br />
in now and when you look at the photos<br />
from the last couple of seasons and you<br />
look at the yacht, she looks good, just like<br />
she would have done in 1911. That’s what<br />
I’m most proud of … to be a part of that<br />
history even for a few years is pretty special.<br />
225
226
I have to say that on all the boats I’ve ever worked on there’s never been such a<br />
a sense of anticipation for the season’s first sail. There are all these new crew on<br />
board who have the passion and studying to sail this boat, but there is always the<br />
question of how that will equate to onboard performance?<br />
Matty Oates
TWO CENTURIES OF SAIL<br />
1815 - 2015<br />
Founded in 1815 by a group of friends, The Royal Yacht Squadron quickly became the favourite<br />
yacht club of the aristocracy and royalty of Europe, its regatta at Cowes one of the most<br />
fashionable events of the season. Yet the Squadron has always been more than just a smart club.<br />
Its members helped create the sport of sailing – writing rules, running competitions, putting<br />
up prizes (including the first America’s Cup in 1851) and building some of the finest and fastest<br />
yachts in the world. Its very existence after 200 years is in itself remarkable. It was founded in<br />
a time of cultural and technological upheaval. War, internal division and financial crisis have<br />
threatened it more than once. Yet it lives on and grows stronger, maintaining its traditions<br />
while moving with the times. The secrets of its survival? Team work, thoughtful change, a love<br />
of yachting and the discipline of the sea.<br />
Alex Martin, RYS historian<br />
228
1815 2015
Back in late 2012, Michael Campbell, the Commodore of The Royal Yacht Squadron,<br />
wrote a letter asking us to consider bringing <strong>Mariquita</strong> back to the UK for the<br />
Squadron’s bicentenary celebrations. At that stage, such an idea simply wasn’t on our<br />
agenda. We had a job to do. The Mediterranean Panerai circuit needed winning.<br />
Our successful 2014 campaign caused us to reconsider and we decided to bring<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> home. Or should I say, we decided to ask George and the crew to bring<br />
her home! This was no small undertaking requiring lots of preparation, planning and<br />
organisation.<br />
The spring came and <strong>Mariquita</strong> left Cogolin, her base for the last few years, and headed<br />
for the Isle of Wight. The weather smiled and she glided serenely into the Solent through<br />
the mist one late April Saturday morning. Smiles and relief all round! <strong>Mariquita</strong> was<br />
back in the waters she had first raced in, over a century before.<br />
Immediately work got underway to return the yacht to race mode: stepping the top<br />
mast, varnishing, preparing sails and the rigging. The season ahead would present<br />
different challenges, notably shallow water and strong tides – a world away from the<br />
Mediterranean. We were all looking forward to the amazing regattas that lay ahead, in<br />
particular the two RYS events: the Fleet Review and the International Regatta, where<br />
our beautiful yacht would surely feel completely at home.<br />
Jamie Matheson<br />
230
Beken of Cowes<br />
PRE-WAR MARIQUITA<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong>’s first three seasons from 1911 to 1913 were spent in the UK. Skippered by Edward<br />
Sycamore and then Robert Wringe, some of her finest victories were recorded in the Solent as she<br />
raced the other 19-Metre yachts in her class: Octavia, Norada and Corona.<br />
On June 15th 1912 the King’s Cup was won by <strong>Mariquita</strong> helmed by Robert Wringe. In second<br />
place was her great rival Octavia, helmed and owned by the outstanding yachtsmen of his<br />
generation, Sir William Burton. Along with Norada and Corona the 19-Metre class supplied a<br />
level of competition and sport the like of which had never been seen before. These were the best<br />
yachts sailed by the most talented sailors of the day.<br />
Within a week the two yachts were racing again on the Solent in a contest that Sir William<br />
Burton vividly described as, “a great duel between <strong>Mariquita</strong> and Octavia … the best and hardest<br />
race I ever sailed in my life.” The rivalry between the two helmsman was immense. Despite years<br />
of experience sailing 12 and 15-Metre yachts, Sir William knew he was in for a battle on the race<br />
track. “Wringe sails a hard race … he is well known for his iron nerves and takes every inch out<br />
of the rules.” After a long tacking duel Octavia finally prevailed in one of the closest races ever<br />
recorded between the two yachts. Sadly within a year the class was disbanded as the onset of war<br />
cast a shadow over Europe. <strong>Mariquita</strong> is the only surviving 19-Metre.<br />
231
OLD GAFFERS, YARMOUTH<br />
29 – 31 MAY 2015<br />
The Old Gaffers Association are the true old salts of sailing.<br />
They really respected having <strong>Mariquita</strong> amongst all the other<br />
boats in Yarmouth. John Caulcutt<br />
The town and port of Yarmouth is situated<br />
in the western part of the Isle of Wight<br />
and takes its name from the mouth of the<br />
small Yar river.<br />
Established over a<br />
thousand years ago,<br />
Yarmouth is one of<br />
the earliest recorded<br />
settlements on the<br />
island. The Normans<br />
laid out the town<br />
on a grid system, a<br />
plan that can still be<br />
seen in the layout<br />
today. However, the town was repeatedly<br />
attacked by the French until Henry VIII<br />
built Yarmouth castle in 1547 to strengthen<br />
the Solent and help protect Southampton<br />
and Portsmouth. So where better to hold a<br />
festival of gaffers than in Yarmouth?<br />
The Old Gaffers Festival in Yarmouth has<br />
grown from humble beginnings in the late<br />
1950s when just three boats raced in the<br />
first event held in<br />
the Solent. The ever<br />
popular festival now<br />
attracts over 120<br />
boats and thousands<br />
of spectators each<br />
year, although this<br />
was the first time<br />
it had hosted a<br />
yacht on the scale<br />
of <strong>Mariquita</strong>. As a<br />
Yarmouth man himself, John Caulcutt was<br />
delighted to have the Old Girl in his home<br />
town. “She won the Concourse d’Elegance<br />
which was a great thrill. It was just wonderful<br />
to be part of such an enormous gathering of<br />
gaff-rigged boats.”<br />
232
<strong>Mariquita</strong> and John Caulcutt’s other 1911 classic, Puffin, a Yarmouth One Design,<br />
moored off The Towers, Yarmouth.<br />
234
The Towers has been in our family since the 1940s. I learnt to sail off there in the West Wight Scows. The house has been part of the fabric of our family for generations.<br />
So to have <strong>Mariquita</strong> parked up at the end of the garden was a great thrill. I could wake up in the morning, draw the curtains, and check she was still there.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
235
DIARY ENTRY<br />
We’ve taken part in many a regatta since <strong>Mariquita</strong> was re-launched in 2004. From sun-baked Argentario, on the Tuscan coast, to the hog roasts and haggis toasts up in the Clyde. The family-style welcome that the yachts<br />
receive in each of these ports always rivals the last. But there’s rarely been such a sense of community, even family, that one sees at the Yarmouth Old Gaffers.<br />
The first clue to this might be the pennants. Each gaffer, large and small, was flying a score of them off their flag halyards, with a spectrum of colours that had to be seen to be believed. Each one represented a gathering<br />
gone by. Some boats flying every single one ever given out. M.O.<br />
236
237
We had the extraordinary privilege of standing on the<br />
deck of arguably the ultimate gaffer. It was magical.<br />
It’s the only word to describe it. As the wind took her<br />
and you could feel her healing over.<br />
Jamie Matheson<br />
238
THE AFTER GUARD<br />
239
Here was this majestic racing machine from one<br />
hundred years ago gliding through the water on the<br />
Solent as if she’d been launched the week before. Pretty<br />
emotional stuff.<br />
Jamie Matheson<br />
240
241
As an island nation we have salt water in our veins. My passion for ships and boats – particularly wooden boats, knows no bounds. One<br />
feature of the 2015 season for Angela and I was seeing <strong>Mariquita</strong> and Opposition sailing together in Cowes. Having both yachts sailing in the<br />
same regattas was tremendous fun.<br />
Jamie Matheson<br />
242
243
FLEET REVIEW, COWES<br />
2 – 6 June 2015<br />
I wonder what those gentlemen in the Coffee House, 200<br />
years ago, would have made of last week. One would hope<br />
they would look on the celebrations with some pride. RYS<br />
A Fleet Review is a traditional gathering of<br />
ships from a particular navy to be observed<br />
by the reigning monarch or a suitable<br />
representative. Allegedly<br />
dating back to the 15thcentury,<br />
the practice<br />
often occurred when<br />
the fleet was mobilised<br />
for war, or as a show of<br />
strength. Thankfully the<br />
RYS Fleet Review in<br />
June 2015 was purely<br />
ceremonial. However,<br />
the organisation of an event of this scale,<br />
involving hundreds of boats, is a huge<br />
logistical undertaking, as the commodore of<br />
the RYS, Christopher Sharples, explained,<br />
“Well what can I say. This is a very big day<br />
for us. No question about it. We couldn’t<br />
have done any more preparation, so I’m<br />
quietly confident<br />
that things will<br />
go well. It’s very<br />
important to us<br />
to get this right.<br />
Our reputation<br />
means a lot to<br />
us at the Royal<br />
Yacht Squadron.<br />
We like to do<br />
everything to the highest possible standard<br />
and the Fleet Review is no exception. So the<br />
pressure is on but all being well I think we<br />
will deliver a very good result today.”<br />
244
245
Putting up the wrong sail can<br />
completely finish your day. We got<br />
caught out with wind on this dog<br />
leg just before rounding the last<br />
mark into the finish. We had 25<br />
knots of wind with the jackyard<br />
up. We were on our ear.<br />
George Newman<br />
Peter Mumford ~ Beken of Cowes<br />
Technical Note<br />
On <strong>Mariquita</strong>, the big decision every morning on the aft deck is which sails to hoist? In order to succeed,<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> needs power allied to balance, so the decision, based on the weather forecasting and the state<br />
of the regatta, is key. Unfortunately once racing is underway, two of the options are irreversible: first, the<br />
option of reefing the mainsail and second, to either hoist or lower the jackyard. The jackyard is the largest<br />
topsail available to <strong>Mariquita</strong> and is hoisted with two large extra spars, which effectively extend the mast<br />
and the gaff. It offers a tempting and large increase in sail area. However, with extra weight and sail area so<br />
high up it can render the yacht out of control if set in too much wind. In the first race of the Fleet Review<br />
an unexpectedly strong sea breeze finished <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s race. Probably driven by a ‘perfect storm’ of upper<br />
atmospheric wind strength and direction, combined with cold water and potent early summer sun, the wind<br />
increased to well over 20 knots. This photograph shows <strong>Mariquita</strong> right on the limit as she heads westwards<br />
back down the Solent towards the top mark. Within minutes she was overpowered and unable to bear away.<br />
David Bedford<br />
246
MATTY OATES<br />
Mate<br />
Despite the simplicity in the title, it would be a challenge to<br />
find two Mates aboard classic yachts who have an identical<br />
job description. Even year to year the challenges evolve; and as<br />
some tasks become polished, new ones arise. You become the<br />
absorber of stress from both directions: the middle management<br />
of the command structure. Most importantly, you are nothing<br />
without the captain and crew around you.<br />
The year 2015 saw a new and exciting dynamic arise from the<br />
unknown. Since her redux, <strong>Mariquita</strong> has always had part of<br />
her crew living ashore, but this year we dropped our numbers<br />
and moved all our sailors aboard. To have us all as one made<br />
the Mate’s role not only easier, but far more fun. We had<br />
to create and morph – had to change years of established<br />
procedures and reassess all we knew about the Old Girl. Roles<br />
on deck had to be readjusted and nowhere was that more<br />
evident than with the jackyard.<br />
Every year <strong>Mariquita</strong> has visited the United Kingdom, the<br />
jackyard topsail has had a lonely time of it. Colder, denser<br />
breezes and higher average wind speeds have meant that the<br />
easily-handled gaff topsail steals the show. There have been<br />
several occasions over the years where we’ve been reminded of<br />
the power that the jackyard exerts, and each time has made us<br />
feel slightly more mortal. We had that reminder once again at<br />
the Fleet Review.<br />
With a course set off to the east, and a return to the mid-<br />
Solent on the expectation of a dying breeze, we instead came<br />
back to wind speeds of over 20-25 knots. A powerful gybe at<br />
the top mark had us sent hard over and rounding up into the<br />
breeze in seconds. A buried lee rail gave us no access to the<br />
runners and kept the mainsail in, while our main runner to<br />
windward was shy of its mark in the hurried manoeuvre. A<br />
second attempt saw no more success, and George wisely made<br />
the call to abandon the race.<br />
Often, this is where people end the story in their head: race<br />
abandoned and the vessel heads home. But this is actually<br />
where the day gets interesting, because not only do you have<br />
to bring this mass of sail and spars to deck, but you must do<br />
it fully exposed to the breeze. In the Mediterranean, you’ve<br />
got runway galore for these evolutions, but in the Solent you<br />
have very little time indeed. It’s only a matter of minutes until<br />
you’ve sent your bowsprit into a forest or you’re keel-deep in<br />
a mud bank!<br />
These are the moments that a Mate lives for – when the wind<br />
is blowing, the stress is rising, but the crew around you is<br />
working in calm, focused determination. It is a very great<br />
privilege to pretend to be in control of an operation like<br />
this, but we all know that the dial of a watch is only the sum<br />
of the workings behind it.<br />
As with any boat, knowledge is acquired, compounded<br />
and passed on to those who follow you, and I’ve been very<br />
lucky to have been preceded as Mate by the likes of Andy<br />
Cully, Robin Kenyon and George Newman – sailors who all<br />
possess a keen eye for detail and unique styles of leadership.<br />
I hope my three years as Mate have added a little more to the<br />
understanding and experience of sailing <strong>Mariquita</strong>.<br />
247
Over-canvassed<br />
Peter Mumford ~ Beken of Cowes
Dan was at the top of the rig at<br />
the time. I think he had a fairly<br />
religious experience up there. He<br />
said that the top mast was all over<br />
the place.<br />
George Newman<br />
249
THURSDAY 4 JUNE 2015<br />
250
251
252
Beken of Cowes<br />
Technical Note<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> looks pretty serene as she ‘takes the gun’ in front of the Royal Yacht Squadron. It’s<br />
tempting to switch off once your race is run but quite often the finishing line is fraught with<br />
danger. As <strong>Mariquita</strong> takes at least seven minutes to do a full gybe she is running by the lee<br />
to get down inside the finish mark, as there is not enough time or sea room to gybe twice and<br />
reset the balloon jib (spinnaker). In order to sail ‘by the lee’, which is inherently dangerous as<br />
you risk an involuntary gybe, the boom is pulled forward by a preventer. With the boom out<br />
to port, and the spinnaker out to starboard, <strong>Mariquita</strong> is 160ft wide. In order to cross the line,<br />
the boom has to pass over the top of the moorings and the pole over the top of the orange<br />
finish mark. Out of shot, dead ahead, is Charles Dunstone’s race yacht, Spectre, swinging<br />
on its mooring. <strong>Mariquita</strong> is heading straight at her with the tide behind. The crew have<br />
just enough time to drop the spinnaker, luff to a safe angle, un-rig the preventer and finally<br />
luff to avoid the moored yacht. The next two obstacles are the Danish and Norwegian Royal<br />
yachts helpfully parked up in front of the Egypt Point finish line, which is an exclusion zone!<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> manages to thread the eye of the needle between all these obstacles before the crew<br />
can finally take a breath and toast their win. Racing a big classic yacht is a lot more complicated<br />
than it looks but we got the win and the photograph to prove it!<br />
David Bedford<br />
253
THE FLEET REVIEW, FRIDAY 5 JUNE 2015<br />
In June 1953, I went up to the Coronation Spithead Fleet Review on a yacht called Lottie with Lord Sherwood who was a friend of my step father, Patrick Egan.<br />
In 1977 I was part of the Royal Thames flotilla, which marked the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. These bits of pageantry on the water are important. It’s a time to pause and reflect.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
254
255
Having <strong>Mariquita</strong> participate in this particular event was an honour and thrill. Any club that gets to 200 years in its life is celebrating and<br />
marking a very serious anniversary.<br />
Jamie Matheson<br />
256
257<br />
Jonathan Hoare
SATURDAY 6 JUNE 2015<br />
258
259
260
With Ernst Klaus, who used to be an owner of <strong>Mariquita</strong>, at the helm of Kentra, duelling with the boat<br />
he previously owned. It must have been a fabulous day on the water for him. He got the better of us in the<br />
end. It was Kentra’s sort of weather.<br />
Stephen Hemsley<br />
261
We found ourselves in a tacking battle with Kentra. We’re working our way up the western Solent and<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> is properly healed over. Kentra is there in her element. It ended up being a really special part of<br />
the race to have that big part of the <strong>Mariquita</strong> family right along side.<br />
Matty Oates<br />
DIARY ENTRY<br />
That final day wasn’t our best race of all time, but it created one of the most memorable moments of the season, while sailing alongside the beautiful Fife ketch Kentra. The wind was howling and we were cracking along<br />
on a beat under a full mainsail and lower headsails, when Kentra pulled up alongside us to weather on a starboard tack. On board Kentra were a myriad of smiling faces from <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s close family: owners Ernst and<br />
Doris Klaus, Captain Tim Boagey, Fairlie founder Duncan Walker, tactician and all-around legend Docteur Patrice Clerc, and of course the Silver Fox himself, former <strong>Mariquita</strong> Captain, Jim Thom, yelling war cries of<br />
“Brave and Tidy” as they swigged in the headsail sheets. M.O.<br />
262
John Caulcutt and HRH Prince Edward after racing on Saturday 6 June 2015.<br />
263
WESTWARD CUP<br />
14 – 16 JUNE 2015, COWES<br />
“She’s a wonder”. So declared Captain Charlie Barr at the<br />
launch of the 160ft schooner Westward in March 1910.<br />
The inaugural Westward Cup was inspired by<br />
Zbynek Zak, the owner of Eleonora, which is<br />
an exact replica of the Westward, in its day one<br />
of the most famous racing schooners in the<br />
world. In association<br />
with the RYS the<br />
new regatta, named<br />
after the Westward,<br />
is now in its third<br />
year. Since 2010 the<br />
event has attracted<br />
many of the original<br />
Big Boat Class<br />
including Mariette,<br />
Tuiga, <strong>Mariquita</strong> as<br />
well as Eleonora herself. 2015 promised some<br />
excellent racing for <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s new crew<br />
who were beginning to find their feet. With<br />
the experience of Chris Tibbs on navigation<br />
and David Bedford on tactics, both steeped<br />
in Solent racing, <strong>Mariquita</strong> fancied her<br />
chances of winning one of the few cups that<br />
had alluded her since her return in 2004. The<br />
anticipation was tangible, particularly the<br />
contest with the American boat Sumurun,<br />
as Matty Oates describes, “Then there was<br />
Sumurun, a weapon<br />
in her own right and<br />
looking immaculate<br />
after a refit back in<br />
the United States.<br />
The crew on this boat<br />
are just as brilliant<br />
and they display this<br />
continual elation<br />
being over here in a<br />
completely different<br />
racing scene. The classic scene in the States is<br />
a much smaller affair than it is on this side of<br />
the pond, and though there’s no loss of spirit<br />
or competition, the simple fact is that there<br />
aren’t as many Big Boats. And as we all know,<br />
it’s the presence of a comparative subject that<br />
helps to elevate any discipline.”<br />
264
Eleonora off Norris Castle.<br />
265
MARIQUITA & ELEONORA<br />
For the first time since the season began we started to hit our stride as a team. Manoeuvres were cleaner and faster and more composed. That does a lot for morale on a boat, as success breeds<br />
success. Once you lock the steps in for evolutions like kite hoists and headsail peels, you can start to explore where to trim them for faster times and more efficiency.<br />
Matty Oates<br />
266
Our first ‘encounter’ with <strong>Mariquita</strong> was in September 2005,<br />
right after we acquired Eleonora, during the 2005 Monaco<br />
Classic Week. We could not have started our relationship with<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> on a lower note as we almost collided with her on<br />
the start line. Despite this inauspicious start we have become<br />
good friends with her owners, her skippers and the crew.<br />
I have always admired and had huge respect for the way<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> has been sailed, raced and operated. In my view, she<br />
has been the best run, large, truly classic yacht. Meticulously<br />
maintained and kept up, her crew trained to the highest sailing<br />
standards, she has been the boat I have always looked up to. A<br />
great example to us all of how a large classic yacht should be<br />
operated.<br />
Despite the keen rivalry on the race course, <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s owners<br />
and skippers have always been ready to share their experience<br />
and knowhow. Back in 2005 Eleonora was the ‘new kid on<br />
the block’ on the classic scene so I was very grateful for the<br />
way <strong>Mariquita</strong> welcomed us onto the circuit. <strong>Mariquita</strong> and<br />
Eleonora have a shared passion for classic sailing, and this has<br />
been the key factor in our long relationship.<br />
In 2010, Eleonora celebrated the 100th anniversary of the<br />
launch of Westward, the Nathaniel Greene Herreshoff designed<br />
schooner, of which she is an exact replica. We celebrated this<br />
event by arranging a Big Class yacht regatta in the Solent, the<br />
place where these magnificent yachts raced some 100 years<br />
ago, thereby establishing the Westward Cup Trophy.<br />
Despite the long and somewhat risky passage from the<br />
Mediterranean (not the ideal trip for a 19-Metre from 1911)<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> did not hesitate to commit at a very early stage to<br />
the proposed regatta and thus helped to create a momentum,<br />
which eventually led to a very memorable event. The RYS as<br />
the organising yacht club and Eleonora very much appreciated<br />
this support. <strong>Mariquita</strong> has subsequently taken part in later<br />
editions of the Westward Cup in 2012 and 2015, making an<br />
important contribution to the revival of Big Class racing in<br />
the Solent.<br />
We wish <strong>Mariquita</strong> all the best for the future and fair winds.<br />
Zbynek Zak<br />
SHARED PASSIONS<br />
267
268
DIARY ENTRY<br />
This year marks our third Westward Cup since it was started<br />
in 2010. You may know Westward as one of the Big Class, an<br />
absolute legend within the classic yachting world. There are few<br />
sights in this world like a schooner with those proportions charging<br />
down towards you with spinnaker and gollywobbler flying, and a<br />
churning bow wave announcing its arrival. Eleonora, a replica<br />
of this famous yacht, carries on this tradition through the hard<br />
work and passion of an amazing crew. You can always count on<br />
them to put a smile on your face when you meet up in the pub<br />
after racing, and you know they’re going to give you everything<br />
they’ve got on the water the next day. M.O.<br />
269
I know <strong>Mariquita</strong> had been sailed in the Solent many<br />
decades before, but nevertheless to bring her back and<br />
race her in this complicated environment is courageous<br />
because she draws a lot of water, she doesn’t handle<br />
easily, she’s very fast, the time difference between<br />
marks is just a matter of minutes ... so to see these guys<br />
take a yacht of this stature around the track is really<br />
phenomenal.<br />
Tim Blackman, British Classic Yacht Club<br />
270
SUMURUN<br />
Sumurun took us apart on the first day of<br />
the Westward Cup. It was a light day with<br />
a lot of windward work against the tide<br />
and she walked all over us. She’s a long,<br />
thin yacht with a modern Marconi rig<br />
so she can point closer to the wind than<br />
we can in <strong>Mariquita</strong>. She arrived at the<br />
first weather mark off Norris Castle way<br />
ahead of us and we all thought Sumurun<br />
was going to be a formidable competitor.<br />
Although she sailed well upwind we<br />
managed to haul her back in on the<br />
downwind legs. While Sumurun was<br />
doing gybe angles <strong>Mariquita</strong> was running<br />
dead downwind to the leeward mark. I<br />
have lost count of the times our downwind<br />
speed got us out of jail this season.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
1914<br />
Yacht Sumurun<br />
Length 28.60m / 94ft<br />
Beam 5.10m / 17ft<br />
Year Built 1914<br />
Sail area 4,000 square feet<br />
Designer William Fife<br />
271
CHRIS TIBBS<br />
Navigator<br />
My involvement with <strong>Mariquita</strong> started with sail trials in the<br />
Solent immediately after her restoration, and two seasons later I<br />
was the main race navigator on board and have been ever since.<br />
Navigating <strong>Mariquita</strong> is not just about avoiding rocks and<br />
going around the correct course, but commences well before<br />
we leave the dock in the choice of sails. As a meteorologist my<br />
day starts early, making a forecast for the day’s sailing where one<br />
of the most important calls of the day is whether we can use<br />
the jackyard or not. This makes a significant difference to our<br />
performance. If we get this wrong then we are left struggling<br />
for boat speed in light wind, or when over-canvassed fighting<br />
for control with increased drag and leeway; the loads on the rig<br />
and boat also skyrocket. It is the same for a reef, relatively easy<br />
when on the dock, but on the race course requires heaving to,<br />
which effectively rules out a competitive finish.<br />
We know that the wind builds in the Solent through the day<br />
with a maximum speed mid-afternoon, but predicting just<br />
how high it will rise is difficult. Although starting with a light<br />
morning breeze, this can easily build to over 20 knots by midafternoon:<br />
conditions that require a reef and small topsail. The<br />
early morning forecasts and discussions on board are therefore<br />
critical to getting the correct sails bent on for the day to come.<br />
Once on the water one of the prime roles for the navigator on<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> is timing, with a minimum of one minute’s notice<br />
required for a tack, and preferably two or three, predicting<br />
where we will be in this time frame is critical. Although<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> is an elderly lady she is raced hard and with the<br />
strong Solent tides, gaining a few yards by being out of the<br />
tide in shallow water is imperative when racing, but so too is<br />
limiting the amount of manoeuvres on such a physical boat.<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> needs time to build up speed after a tack and it is<br />
easy to tack yourself to a standstill whilst also exhausting the<br />
crew before the windward mark.<br />
With John on the helm and David calling tactics it is my<br />
job to keep us in the right part of the Solent for wind and in<br />
favourable tide, following the correct course and looking ahead<br />
to the next leg. With Solent tides and an advantage being on<br />
the north shore, many times this season the crew gave it their<br />
all, tacking up the western Solent with just a few inches of<br />
water under the keel.<br />
Running downwind is no easier, as gybing the boat is a<br />
massive task taking around six minutes from balloon jib set<br />
to balloon jib set on the other gybe. Once we are off the<br />
wind we have no electronic wind instruments as they are<br />
blanketed by the topsail. Working out wind and gybe angles<br />
to minimise the number of gybes whilst staying in the best<br />
tide is all consuming. Getting this wrong and putting an<br />
extra couple of gybes may take seconds on a modern boat,<br />
but for <strong>Mariquita</strong> it takes minutes.<br />
One of my overriding memories from the 2015 Solent racing<br />
season was running with everything up past Gurnard Ledge.<br />
Sailing dead downwind with John steering by the lee when<br />
possible, any veer in the wind would have us on the Ledge<br />
but dropping the balloon jib and gybing would take four<br />
minutes, and require a gybe back again soon after. It was<br />
touch and go whether we could have actually gybed before<br />
hitting the rocks and the crew were therefore on standby. We<br />
scraped past and then had a direct line to the finish. Everyone<br />
was fired up from John on the helm, the crew on standby<br />
and David calling the gusts.<br />
Overall the 2015 season was special, <strong>Mariquita</strong> was pushed<br />
hard in waters that we know well, and from the spectacular<br />
Round the Island Races to the cut and thrust of ‘round the<br />
cans’ the boat performed magnificently.<br />
Navigating such a yacht is something special and to be<br />
successful as a team we need exceptional teamwork: from the<br />
deck crew working the sails, to the relationship between the<br />
tactician, navigator and helmsman. This needs to be one of<br />
mutual respect and, although some of our jobs overlap and<br />
there can be lively discussions, keeping cool on the afterdeck is<br />
important. We do use some modern technology with GPS and<br />
electronic charts, but much of the sailing of the boat was how<br />
it was sailed 100 years ago.<br />
272
273
274
It was a huge honour for us. It’s the first time that <strong>Mariquita</strong> has won the Westward Cup. A great honour to be asked to take part in the event.<br />
A wonderful regatta in every sense of the word. Wonderful to come first. Wonderful to win the Westward Cup.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
275
ROUND THE ISLAND<br />
27 JUNE 2015<br />
I did my first Round the Island with Max Aitken on his<br />
schooner Lumberjack when I was seven years old … so I’ve<br />
been doing the race most of my life. John Caulcutt<br />
The Round the Island Race holds a very special<br />
place in the calendar of British yachtsman,<br />
as <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s helmsman explains, “The only<br />
time I’ve ever missed<br />
one is when I’ve been<br />
away at sea on one of<br />
my cruising projects.<br />
So to be doing such a<br />
fabulous race, so close<br />
to my heart in home<br />
waters on <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
was exciting to say<br />
the least.” There<br />
had been much<br />
discussion the night before on the start line<br />
scenarios as John recalled, “The difficulty we<br />
had was the race always starts just as the last<br />
of the flood tide is coming in, so we needed<br />
to be inshore to pick up the first of the ebb<br />
off Cowes Green. It was a pre-determined<br />
decision. We looked at the tides and decided<br />
there was only one place to start. But then<br />
you’re mixing it with all the big boys, in<br />
our case the TP52s.<br />
We were lucky – we<br />
found a lane. We<br />
were on starboard,<br />
had to call for water<br />
and the race course<br />
was full. The guys on<br />
those modern yachts<br />
are race hardened<br />
professionals. So we<br />
did mix it with the<br />
big boys on the start line with all the risks<br />
that went with that. Anyway we pulled it<br />
off and probably picked up a half mile lead<br />
on our opposition.” The race was on. How<br />
would <strong>Mariquita</strong> fair against a fleet of over<br />
1,600 yachts?<br />
276
goose rock<br />
cleat<br />
sails<br />
black<br />
rock<br />
shingle bank<br />
threading the needles<br />
varvassi<br />
fore<br />
eddy<br />
starboard<br />
mainsheet<br />
jib top<br />
westerly<br />
deck<br />
wind<br />
shift<br />
hamstead<br />
ledge<br />
figure<br />
of eight<br />
newtown<br />
knots<br />
upwind<br />
compass<br />
thorness bay<br />
bosuns chair<br />
cowes<br />
island sailing club<br />
round the island<br />
staysail peels<br />
freshwater bay<br />
compton bay<br />
hannover point<br />
jib tops<br />
aft<br />
crew<br />
southerly<br />
rocken end<br />
circumnavigation<br />
MAYOR CYRIL WINDELER<br />
solent<br />
english channel<br />
windward<br />
northerly<br />
osborne bay<br />
apparent wind<br />
sir max aitken<br />
bembridge ledge<br />
icap leopard<br />
purple haze<br />
amidships<br />
tide<br />
astern<br />
downwind<br />
trim<br />
bowline<br />
ketch<br />
beaufort scale<br />
backstay<br />
mast<br />
gooseneck<br />
easterly<br />
schooner<br />
current<br />
header<br />
trim<br />
277
XII<br />
XII<br />
23<br />
22<br />
XII<br />
OO<br />
I<br />
13<br />
14<br />
II<br />
IX<br />
21<br />
15<br />
III<br />
VIII<br />
20<br />
VII<br />
19<br />
18<br />
VI<br />
17<br />
V<br />
16<br />
IIII<br />
XII<br />
XII<br />
23<br />
22<br />
XII<br />
OO<br />
I<br />
13<br />
14<br />
II<br />
IX<br />
21<br />
15<br />
III<br />
VIII<br />
20<br />
VII<br />
19<br />
18<br />
VI<br />
17<br />
V<br />
16<br />
IIII<br />
Wake up in the morning at 4am to prepare the boat and go sailing. With the start line at 7 o’clock in the morning.<br />
It’s unusual ... I’d never done that before.<br />
Guillaume Covat<br />
278
XII<br />
XII<br />
23<br />
22<br />
XII<br />
OO<br />
I<br />
13<br />
14<br />
II<br />
IX<br />
21<br />
15<br />
III<br />
VIII<br />
20<br />
VII<br />
19<br />
18<br />
VI<br />
17<br />
V<br />
16<br />
IIII<br />
279
XII<br />
IX<br />
VIII<br />
21<br />
VII<br />
XII<br />
23<br />
22<br />
20<br />
19<br />
XII<br />
OO<br />
18<br />
VI<br />
I<br />
13<br />
17<br />
V<br />
14<br />
16<br />
II<br />
15<br />
IIII<br />
III<br />
The trick is to go in as aggressively as you dare.<br />
But you must have an escape route.<br />
Chris Tibbs
DIARY ENTRY<br />
It should be mentioned at this time how brilliant Class 0 was<br />
with us in that opening beat out to The Needles. There were<br />
a handful of moments where another boat could have called<br />
starboard on us in spaces where room to manoeuvre was very<br />
limited. But without fail they all recognised that they could turn<br />
XII<br />
IX<br />
VIII<br />
21<br />
VII<br />
XII<br />
23<br />
22<br />
20<br />
19<br />
XII<br />
OO<br />
18<br />
VI<br />
I<br />
13<br />
17<br />
V<br />
14<br />
16<br />
II<br />
15<br />
IIII<br />
III<br />
far faster and more safely than we could and made the course<br />
change of their own volition. If any of you are reading this, we<br />
on board <strong>Mariquita</strong> thank you! M.O.<br />
281
XII<br />
XII<br />
23<br />
22<br />
XII<br />
OO<br />
I<br />
13<br />
14<br />
II<br />
IX<br />
21<br />
15<br />
III<br />
VIII<br />
20<br />
VII<br />
19<br />
18<br />
VI<br />
17<br />
V<br />
16<br />
IIII<br />
DIARY ENTRY<br />
Only once since her relaunch in 2004 has <strong>Mariquita</strong> raced around the Isle of Wight. It was a race peppered with some interesting incidents, including a sail tie made halfway up the spinnaker and a man overboard in<br />
the swell off St. Catherine’s. And that was during the 2008 BCYC regatta, when the fleet numbered closer to 60 rather than 1,600. So to set off in the 2015 Class 0 start with TP52s and trimaran flying machines was an<br />
ever-so-slightly different experience. Let’s back up a moment. We had to practise for it all first, and to do that we brought in some heavy hitters like the Butlers of Brightlingsea, Rich ‘Tank Commander’ Sawle, the legend<br />
himself, Bram van Loovren, and our Aussie Ace Adam Norris. From bow to stern we were packed with some serious talent and little did they know that they were about to get the race of a lifetime. M.O.<br />
282
XII<br />
XII<br />
23<br />
22<br />
XII<br />
OO<br />
I<br />
13<br />
14<br />
II<br />
IX<br />
21<br />
15<br />
III<br />
VIII<br />
20<br />
VII<br />
19<br />
18<br />
VI<br />
17<br />
V<br />
16<br />
IIII<br />
283
XII<br />
XII<br />
23<br />
22<br />
XII<br />
OO<br />
I<br />
13<br />
14<br />
II<br />
IX<br />
21<br />
15<br />
III<br />
VIII<br />
20<br />
VII<br />
19<br />
18<br />
VI<br />
17<br />
V<br />
16<br />
IIII<br />
George and Matty had identified this as one of the big days of the season. We’d really put the<br />
A-Team back together for this race which was great fun and we really needed them.<br />
Stephen Hemsley<br />
284
XII<br />
XII<br />
23<br />
22<br />
XII<br />
OO<br />
I<br />
13<br />
14<br />
II<br />
IX<br />
21<br />
15<br />
III<br />
VIII<br />
20<br />
VII<br />
19<br />
18<br />
VI<br />
17<br />
V<br />
16<br />
IIII<br />
ROUNDING THE NEEDLES<br />
285
XII<br />
XII<br />
23<br />
22<br />
XII<br />
OO<br />
I<br />
13<br />
14<br />
II<br />
IX<br />
21<br />
15<br />
III<br />
VIII<br />
20<br />
VII<br />
19<br />
18<br />
VI<br />
17<br />
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16<br />
IIII<br />
DIARY ENTRY<br />
Then it was out past Hurst Castle and The Needles were within reach. Starting when we did meant that we could get past Hurst Castle and around The Needles without a thousand other boats around us, and once we were<br />
on course for St Catherine’s, up went Dan, down came the pole, and up went the kite. And so began one of the most mind-bending spinnaker runs we’ve ever had on board. With a quick dog leg and a gybe to get around<br />
the southern tip of the Isle, we carried that kite all the way towards Bembridge. We were keeping up with all those slippery modern things that are supposed to outpace us, but somehow couldn’t get any distance away from<br />
the Old Girl. It was ear to ear grins all around, even as the pole would sky in a gust. On the foredeck we did a good job hiding our concerns for the rig, as it was hard not to enjoy the rush and speed of the boat. M.O.<br />
286
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It was a perfect day for <strong>Mariquita</strong>. Beautiful sunshine, blue water and a long downwind leg after The Needles fully powered up<br />
and pushing water. The amount of water that is being displaced is astonishing.<br />
Will Gibbon<br />
288
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290
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DIARY ENTRY<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> doesn’t handle well in heavy conditions. She was designed for flat water sailing on the Clyde. I don’t tend to get sea sick but <strong>Mariquita</strong> has a weird movement especially in sloppy conditions. Her movement can<br />
be unpredictable; one rogue wave can throw you off balance especially when you’re dealing with wind against tide in the overfalls off St Catherine’s. In 2008, while preparing for a tack one of our regatta crew working on<br />
the main runner team slipped off the boat in sight of the lighthouse. Thankfully he was picked up by the rib and safely put aboard but it was salutary lesson of the dangers off the back of the Wight. M.O.<br />
291
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Down the south of the island <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s sail plan really helped us. With the big balloon jib we can go really deep downwind.<br />
The newer boats, especially the ones with asymmetrics, are having to gybe out which takes them into more tide.<br />
Chris Tibbs<br />
292
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293
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Photography Note<br />
The Round the Island Race is one of the largest and most famous races in the world. As a photographer<br />
it’s a godsend because, unlike most yacht races, you have a fair idea where the fleet is going to go! There<br />
are various landmarks which make super backdrops such as the RYS, St Catherine’s lighthouse and of<br />
course The Needles. By the time the yachts make it to the forts in the eastern Solent, it’s quite late in the<br />
day so I was particularly pleased with this shot of <strong>Mariquita</strong> off Spitbank Fort. All the competitors<br />
have to leave the fort to port and <strong>Mariquita</strong> chose an angle which brought her quite close in. As she<br />
approached she eased her sails coming off the wind and headed a little to starboard opening up the<br />
length of the boat giving me the perfect angle as the sun popped out and lit the decks. B.W.<br />
294
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The Round the Island Race is one of the longest races we’ve ever done in <strong>Mariquita</strong>. Often at the end of long races on the aft deck<br />
you hear all the conversations about the tactics and navigation. Occasionally you can be frustrated that a few decisions didn’t work<br />
out and some manoeuvres could have been better. But on the Round the Island Race there was none of that. We absolutely nailed it<br />
on tactics and navigation. It was a tremendous day.<br />
Stephen Hemsley<br />
295
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DIARY ENTRY<br />
Final beat. Once Portsmouth hauled into sight we knew we were nearly home. We began the final beat up the eastern Solent and through the forts, with nary a vessel in competition around us.<br />
The wind had lessened and we tried to eke out every last knot we could from the Old Girl. The cloud had bubbled up but it didn’t dampen our spirits as we finally reached the finish line as the 43rd boat to<br />
cross the line – a remarkable showing for a classic of <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s age and pedigree. But there was no time to celebrate, there were almost 1,600 other boats behind us and the finish line is no place to linger.<br />
It was time to head back to Lymington and away from the crowds. M.O.<br />
296
START<br />
FINISH<br />
...6 HOURS 48 MINUTES
PANERAI BRITISH<br />
CLASSIC WEEK<br />
18 – 25 JULY 2015<br />
You have to take it right to the edge. That’s why you are doing a<br />
yacht race in the first place. John Caulcutt<br />
Having won the Panerai Trophy in the<br />
Mediterranean in 2014, this was an excellent<br />
chance for <strong>Mariquita</strong> to try and repeat<br />
her success in the more challenging Solent<br />
conditions. George<br />
put together a top<br />
crew for what was<br />
going to be the most<br />
competitive week of<br />
the season. For some<br />
of the older permanent<br />
crew the event<br />
held fond memories,<br />
as Matty recalled, “It<br />
had been seven years<br />
since we’d been a part of the British Classic<br />
Yacht Club’s regatta here in the Solent. The<br />
familiar atmosphere was and is a comfort to<br />
any yacht that arrives, as this week tries to<br />
embody the Corinthian ideals that underlie<br />
the foundations for our little world. There is a<br />
very long history of honour and fair conduct<br />
in sailing these classics, and as Cowes is the<br />
home of yachting it is only fitting that it’s<br />
here we feel this legacy the most.” As the week<br />
unfolded there was<br />
the added thrill of<br />
seeing the America’s<br />
Cup yachts training<br />
out of Portsmouth<br />
in advance of the<br />
World Series event.<br />
A couple of fly-bys<br />
caught <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
in the same frame<br />
as the new foiling<br />
yachts skimming over the water, as John<br />
Calcutt noticed, “There are some wonderful<br />
photographs of us and them together on the<br />
water in the same shot. Ancient and modern.<br />
Both at the pinnacle of their technical<br />
advancements in their respective years.”<br />
298
norris castle<br />
300
Once the spinnaker is set there is not<br />
much more I can do except enjoy the<br />
view. I’m in a pretty unique position<br />
up there. But if the wind gets up it’s a<br />
different story.<br />
If we get too much wind and the boat starts rounding<br />
up it gets pretty scary. I’m standing where the main mast<br />
runners attach to the main mast and hearing the sound<br />
of the rig as it moves around can be hair-raising. You can<br />
feel every bump on the runners that the guys make below<br />
at deck level. You can feel and hear the entire rig flexing<br />
and moving around you.<br />
Dan Adam-Azikri<br />
301
302
1911 2015<br />
We’ve seen Ben Ainslie’s foiling boats this summer on the Solent. If you think that is cutting edge design, think back 104 years<br />
ago when <strong>Mariquita</strong> was designed by the Fife yard. In her day she was just as radical.<br />
Jamie Matheson<br />
303
We used those basic elements, the wind and the tide,<br />
very much to our advantage this season. And in some<br />
respects we got lucky: on the upwind legs we had the<br />
tide behind us and on the downwind legs the tide<br />
against. Southwesterly wind, ebb tide, being able to<br />
go dead downwind. <strong>Mariquita</strong> really came into her<br />
own this season in the Solent.<br />
John Caulcutt
305
We had a lot of new faces in the regatta crews in 2015. Very good<br />
sailors but not <strong>Mariquita</strong> sailors. The modern sailors know how to sail<br />
and race better than us to be honest. But it’s not the same thing on a<br />
classic – what’s a topping lift … what’s a jigger?! They don’t know the<br />
terminology but then again it doesn’t take them long to pick it up. It’s<br />
probably easier for them to learn the classic way than the other way<br />
around but it’s a challenge for everyone. The loads are much bigger …<br />
we don’t use power winches. On a modern boat the next manoeuvre<br />
is one click away. On <strong>Mariquita</strong> it’s about the strength of the crew as<br />
opposed to systems so everything takes longer. It’s a big learning curve.<br />
George Newman<br />
306
The way these classic boats are sailed today is really<br />
the same as they were sailed a 100 years ago. There<br />
is manpower but also timing, balance and a sheer<br />
confidence amongst the crew. There is total commitment<br />
from everyone on board. It’s very impressive.<br />
Robin Whitefield<br />
307
It’s a great atmosphere on <strong>Mariquita</strong>. It’s relaxed but very professional. It’s fun but spot on. You have to be on the ball. Everyone has that<br />
lovely respect for a boat which is a bit of a handful. She’s like a thoroughbred horse. You can’t not concentrate for a moment or you get the<br />
feeling that <strong>Mariquita</strong> could bite!<br />
Shirley Robertson<br />
308
Photography Note<br />
Photographing the big schooners like Eleonora is definitely a step up from the more flighty Metre boats especially when you are up close on the bow. The power of a yacht on this scale screaming past you is quite<br />
frightening. I love this shot though as it was taken during some close racing between <strong>Mariquita</strong> and Eleonora. We had taken a calculated risk and come across her bows in the the rib as she headed up to a mark<br />
off Gurnard. As we swung round on her starboard side the foredeck team popped up on the bow preparing for the next tack. Eleonora is fully powered up here just like Westward would have been back in the day.<br />
It was one of the few occasions that Eleonora got the better of <strong>Mariquita</strong> during the 2015 season. B.W.<br />
309
PANERAI BRITISH CLASSIC WEEK<br />
Big Boat Class Winner ~ <strong>Mariquita</strong>
The feeling that people get when they step on board, particularly for the first time, is<br />
quite special. It’s almost as if they step off planet earth and onto planet <strong>Mariquita</strong>.<br />
Jamie Matheson<br />
311
RYS BICENTENNIAL, COWES<br />
27 – 31 JULY 2015<br />
Not everything always goes to plan. These are complex boats.<br />
Things do happen that you can’t legislate for. Jamie Matheson<br />
2015 was the year the Royal Yacht Squadron<br />
achieved its bicentenary. To mark the<br />
occasion the Squadron hosted an invitational<br />
regatta to bring together as many clubs and<br />
friends as possible<br />
from around the<br />
globe to share their<br />
common interests<br />
and love of sailing.<br />
Twenty-five yacht<br />
clubs from around<br />
the world were<br />
invited for five<br />
days of racing in a<br />
200 strong fleet. The range of yachts was<br />
mouth-watering. Sir Charles Dunstone’s<br />
yacht Spectre contested a competitive IRC<br />
Fleet sailing alongside classic beauties such<br />
as Saskia, Tomahawk and Mike Slade’s grand<br />
prix racer, Leopard. The J-Class also had a<br />
four strong fleet with Velsheda, Ranger and<br />
Lionheart joined by Rainbow. The weather<br />
during the last week in July was stormy<br />
with 30-40 knot winds recorded on the<br />
Monday. <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
sensibly took the<br />
day off and kept her<br />
powder dry for the<br />
Wednesday when<br />
the Race around the<br />
Isle of Wight was<br />
scheduled. The day<br />
dawned bright and<br />
sunny, with lighter<br />
winds of 15-20<br />
knots, perfect for <strong>Mariquita</strong> who started at<br />
8am. Two hours later the Js and 8-Metres got<br />
away. As the firing of the canons signalled<br />
the final start, RYS member and race officer<br />
Jonathan Peel remarked, “That’s it ladies and<br />
gentleman: two years’ work – up in smoke!”<br />
312
There were some magnificent classic sailing yachts that stole the limelight at the<br />
Royal Yacht Squadron’s bicentenary celebrations in 2015. Heads were turned at<br />
the sight of the superbly maintained and varnished <strong>Mariquita</strong> competing against<br />
some of the fastest yachts afloat today in the Race Around the Isle of Wight,<br />
following the same course as the original America’s Cup in 1851.<br />
With Sir Ben Ainslie leading the Squadron’s current campaign to bring the<br />
Cup back to the UK in very high speed catamarans, the contrasting beauty of<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong>, which was the fastest yacht of its type 100 years ago, is a reminder of<br />
a more elegant age fortunately still on display thanks to the vision and generosity<br />
of the current owners.<br />
Two of <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s owners are Members of the Royal Yacht Squadron which made<br />
this vessel’s participation at our bicentenary even more poignant. The owners take<br />
it in turn on the helm which is impressive at a time when professional sailors are<br />
tending to dominate the yachting scene at this level.<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> provided our bicentenary with a glimpse of how yacht racing would<br />
have looked in the early 20th century. Technology may move on apace but some<br />
aspects of yacht design have never been bettered and <strong>Mariquita</strong> is the perfect<br />
example.<br />
Christopher Sharples<br />
May 2016<br />
James Robinson Taylor<br />
314
RAISING THE ENSIGN 08.00 EVERY MORNING AT THE RYS<br />
315
THE RACE AROUND THE ISLE OF WIGHT<br />
WEDNESDAY 29 JULY 2015<br />
The Race around the Isle of Wight, as distinct from the Round the Island Race held on the 27th June, was the highpoint of the International Regatta recreating the spectacle of the original America’s<br />
Cup race sailed in 1851. With over 70 yachts competing including six from the USA, this was one of the main reasons why the syndicate had agreed to bring <strong>Mariquita</strong> up from the Mediterranean<br />
for the season. Yachts on the startline included classics such as Eleonora and Sumurun, the J-Class and modern flyers such as Jethou and the all-carbon maxi Rambler.<br />
The significance of the day was that it recreated and emulated the race that took place in 1851 which was the original America’s Cup Race. The course starts east, running in the opposite direction<br />
to the Round the Island Race. It all came about because the United States wanted to show off its new yacht designs as part of the Great Exhibition organised by Prince Albert. So the America was<br />
built by a syndicate from the New York Yacht Club and duly sailed across the Atlantic in order to challenge the members of the RYS. One of the RYS members, Lord Anglesey, bought a cup called<br />
the £100 Cup and a date was set for the race. Although there were 15 yachts on the start line the members of the RYS expected the result to be a formality. Interestingly it wasn’t a modern day start.<br />
Instead all the competitors were moored off the Squadron. The raced turned on a brave piece of navigation by America off Bembridge. After she rounded The Needles she passed Queen Victoria who<br />
was watching from the royal yacht. Having established that America was in the lead she asked who was in second. She was told, “Ma’am there is no second”.<br />
316
317<br />
James Robinson Taylor
DIARY ENTRY<br />
Wednesday was to be our baptismal day, and what better way to welcome crew to <strong>Mariquita</strong> than to take her around the Isle of Wight with a seaway off the back? Just when we thought we had gotten away from an English<br />
season without the soaking one would get in Falmouth, it came for us and didn’t disappoint. Soaking aside, it proved to be one of the best races ever on <strong>Mariquita</strong> as we clocked a time six minutes faster than our epic run at<br />
the end of June! With a downwind start to the east we were smack on the line with the pole down and bore away powerfully at the gun. The kite set was tough but clean, and you could feel the boat lurch forward as the clew<br />
popped out and the spinnaker started to draw. Everyone remembers the first time they see <strong>Mariquita</strong>’s kite open, no matter how long ago it may be. To watch the faces of those seeing it for the first time is a reminder of the awe<br />
it still inspires. We carried the kite all the way to the turn south, and let the reaching staysail take over from there as we rocketed past Bembridge. M.O<br />
318
To go east around the Isle of Wight, on the original America’s Cup course, is always<br />
special. We had a good start and the sight of all those wonderful spinnakers set<br />
going eastbound towards Bembridge was absolutely fantastic.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
319
320
You could see the swell. You could see the overfalls. You could see the wind against tide situation in St. Catherine’s in the distance. Indeed you could see<br />
the yachts ahead of us starting to pitch. I think for the whole regatta this was the critical moment as regards heavy wind and sea state – an aggressive<br />
situation for a lovely boat like <strong>Mariquita</strong> to get into.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
321
It’s not about the crew. The crew are going to survive perfectly<br />
well if the boat does. So it’s all about nursing the boat through<br />
the seaway. Keeping her driving forward but stopping her as<br />
best one can from slamming.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
322
With each descent into the trough, the water is flooding across<br />
the foredeck … I can feel the mast shivering in its step.<br />
Matty Oates<br />
323
Photography Note<br />
The back of the Wight. The overfalls. St Catherine’s. On Round the Island days this is where the big incidents always seem to happen. So as a photographer it always pays off to go the whole way round.<br />
This photograph was taken just after <strong>Mariquita</strong> had made it past the lighthouse and through a nasty squall. Close hauled with no other boats in sight. B.W.<br />
325
326<br />
James Robinson Taylor
LEADING THE J’S HOME<br />
Although we had a massive head start on the Js, it gave a huge boost to all the crew ... we’re going to keep these guys behind us ... we’re going to cross the<br />
finish line before them. Velsheda was leading the charge and she was gaining on us quickly, but we did hold her off.<br />
George Newman<br />
327
NEW MARIQUITA ROUND THE ISLAND RECORD: 6HRS 40 MINS<br />
It was a sleigh ride and, not only that, we held off the Js right to the finish. What a feeling<br />
... what a way to start a regatta. I’ll always remember it. Hands down best day.<br />
Matty Oates<br />
328
Jonathan Hoare<br />
Jonathan Hoare<br />
329
FRIDAY 31 JULY 2015<br />
330
Photography Note<br />
One of the most frustrating aspects of photographing <strong>Mariquita</strong> is the pre-starts. The foredeck team only pull out the jib top as she crosses the start line, so for the hours leading up to that moment the sail<br />
configuration is not complete. This particular morning was different. <strong>Mariquita</strong> needed to win the last race of the regatta and was therefore keen to sail. Both Eleonora and Sumurun were unconvinced that there<br />
would even be enough wind to start the race. So John had <strong>Mariquita</strong> sailing around off the RYS with everything up including the jackyard topsail. This photograph shows <strong>Mariquita</strong> on the start line in excellent<br />
position with Eleonora and Sumurun in her wake. B.W.<br />
331
I then saw something on <strong>Mariquita</strong> that reminded me of just how special she is. I saw the finest example of the mariner’s art. With no shouting, no nonsense. The only damage, when it could<br />
have been a total calamity, was to the top mast itself. Nothing else lost and three hours later we were back on the dock in Cowes. George our skipper took charge of the situation. Within minutes<br />
Matty and Dan were up the rig securing the topmast. Not one single piece fell to the deck, not one. Nothing else broken, nothing else lost and thankfully no injuries.<br />
Jamie Matheson<br />
332
DIARY ENTRY<br />
The throat halyard was what parted, causing the forward end of the gaff to drop until the wire-to-rope splice jammed<br />
in the lower throat block, thereby preventing it from falling further. The shock loading, however, pulled the top hamper<br />
over the back, jackyard topsail and all. Let us point out some important things here: the jackyard and its spars were all<br />
fine, as was the mainsail. The two halves of the topmast remained aloft in the rigging, and most importantly, nobody<br />
was hurt. Looking back, it could not have happened at a better time for a myriad of reasons. What was really frustrating<br />
was it was the picture perfect day for a sail on <strong>Mariquita</strong>. M.O.<br />
333
After the race the owner of Eleonora, Zbynek Zak, recounted how his crew were so mesmerised by the sight of <strong>Mariquita</strong> adrift close to<br />
the Brambles Bank, that they had to be called to order to prevent an accident of their own.<br />
334
We had a tough incident, but it’s a credit to the crew who were<br />
able to unscramble the knitting – that ‘snakes honeymoon’ that<br />
was aloft.<br />
John Caulcutt<br />
While I would never have wished the damage to the topmast,<br />
I saw something that to my mind absolutely epitomised the<br />
spirit of <strong>Mariquita</strong>. I have never seen such an exhibition of<br />
teamwork and professionalism.<br />
Jamie Matheson<br />
335
DIARY ENTRY<br />
Coming back to the dock that evening, once everything had been cleared away, a passerby wouldn’t even know anything had gone wrong, especially if they kept their eyes on deck. Even if they did look up, <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
would just appear a bit shorter than she would normally be. The deck was packed up, brass polished, varnish rinsed and wiped. Chafe gear was in place, and shoes lined up like normal along the offshore rail. It<br />
was a difficult way to end the last day of the regatta, the last day of the season. It would have been easy to mope and stay quiet, but thanks to the prodding of some very good people, we started a party instead.<br />
And people stopped by and stopped by and stopped by. M.O.<br />
336
MARIQUITA’S CREW RYS BICENTENNIAL<br />
The whole part of the fun and the feedback of being on <strong>Mariquita</strong> is seeing the<br />
experience through other people’s eyes, and seeing youngsters come away, and they<br />
are absolutely amazed at what they’ve done, where they have been and who they<br />
have been with. That is in no small part down to George the skipper and Matty<br />
whose continuity and attention to detail is second to none.<br />
Tubby Brook
338
339
340
DIARY ENTRY<br />
With the cocktail shakers going in the galley driven masterfully by Ed and Ed, the crowds began to gather. First Jamie and Angela arrived to taste their first <strong>Mariquita</strong> Espresso Martini (a legend in its own right),<br />
then John with Stephen and Sherron, and then the crew of Sumurun (one of them arriving head first through the forehatch), and then faces from Eleonora and friends and family, and everyone in between. Music<br />
was played, songs sung and stories told. I certainly can’t remember that many people having that much fun in the forepeak. A great way to end a memorable day. M.O.<br />
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OWNERS & CREW 2015<br />
JOHN CAULCUTT STEPHEN HEMSLEY JAMIE MATHESON<br />
GEORGE NEWMAN<br />
MATTY OATES<br />
CHRIS TIBBS<br />
DAVID BEDFORD ANGELA MATHESON SHERRON HEMSLEY<br />
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OWNERS & CREW 2015<br />
TUBBY BROOK DAN ADAM-AZIKRI WILL STORY<br />
WILL GIBBON<br />
EMILY DOBSON<br />
GUILLAUME COVAT<br />
GUY RIBADEAU-DUMAS<br />
JOE DONOHOO<br />
EILAH<br />
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RESULTS 2015 SEASON<br />
OLD GAFFERS<br />
FLEET REVIEW<br />
WESTWARD CUP<br />
ROUND THE ISLAND RACE<br />
IRC GROUP 0<br />
Parade of Sail<br />
Wings<br />
Mikado<br />
Thistle<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
Sumurun<br />
Eleonora<br />
6 hours 48 minutes 17 seconds<br />
[6.48.17 secs]<br />
43rd fastest boat out of<br />
1584 entries<br />
PANERAI BRITISH CLASSIC<br />
WEEK<br />
RYS BICENTENNIAL<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
Sumurun<br />
Sumurun<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
Eleonora<br />
Eleonora<br />
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THE YEAR IN NUMBERS<br />
MARIQUITA<br />
17,422 PHOTOGRAPHS<br />
890 PENNANTS<br />
424 CUSTARD CREAMS<br />
271 ESPRESSO MARTINIS<br />
200 YEARS OF THE RYS<br />
172 PHONE CALLS TO JOE<br />
127 EGGS ON PIZZA<br />
102 ROLLING HITCHES<br />
9 MOBILES IN THE WATER<br />
2 TOPMASTS<br />
&<br />
1 ROUND THE ISLAND RECORD<br />
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FIXING THE TOP MAST<br />
The heel of the topmast sockets into the top of the mainmast.<br />
It is vacuum sealed so very difficult to dislodge. With chisels<br />
and hammers Matty and Dan tried to split the wood down the<br />
middle to break the seal. It wouldn’t budge and by mid afternoon<br />
they decided on a different method. By fixing two eye bolts into<br />
the wood they were able to attach a crow bar creating a ‘Spanish<br />
windlass’ that sucked out the wood just enough to break the seal.<br />
It’s not unusual for gaff-rigged yachts to lose a topmast. Back in 1911 when the 19-Metres<br />
were first raced they pushed the boats really hard, basically to breaking point. At one<br />
infamous regatta on the Clyde in July 1912, both Norada and Corona lost their main<br />
masts in a nasty squall at the mouth of Rothesay Bay. Nowadays it’s less common but<br />
there have been some recent incidents. The 15-Metre Tuiga had a bad run of luck at Les<br />
Régates Royales. Three years in a row on the same day at the same leeward mark she lost<br />
her topmast. They were out racing the next morning.<br />
Back in the day the crew would work through the night to fix the topmast for the next<br />
day’s racing. In 1911, there were no cranes so they would raise the spinnaker pole really<br />
high, lashing it in place. They would then set up a tackle at the end of the pole as the hoist<br />
point, essentially using a block and tackle to hoist the new topmast up so they could then<br />
drop it in from a great height. The boat might be ready to race the next day, but the same<br />
might not be true of the crew. Not only would they be tired from working all night but<br />
they would also have the incident from the previous day at the back of their minds.<br />
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OVERWINTERING IN LYMINGTON<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> returned to Lymington on Sunday 2nd August with<br />
George and the permanent crew keen to fit the replacement<br />
topmast brought up from France in April. Within a few days the<br />
new topmast was ‘stepped’ and <strong>Mariquita</strong> was looking as good<br />
as new. By the start of the following month her canvas winter<br />
cover was in place. Specifically designed for <strong>Mariquita</strong> the cover<br />
protected her topsides, blocks and varnish while crucially letting<br />
air pass through and around the deck.<br />
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BEN WOOD - PHOTOGRAPHER<br />
Solomon Wood<br />
The first time I saw <strong>Mariquita</strong> was on a<br />
slightly disheartening morning in Scotland<br />
on the opening day of the Fife Regatta in<br />
2008. I had made the trip up from the Isle of<br />
Wight and the conditions for photography<br />
on Day 1 were typically Scottish. It was<br />
a cold, wet and slightly misty day when<br />
suddenly, from behind Cumbrae, appeared<br />
this boat. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’d been<br />
photographing the classics for over 10 years<br />
but here was a yacht from another world.<br />
As she glided past, the crew were in their<br />
matching uniforms ready for the pre-start<br />
briefing with Jim Thom and Chris Tibbs – it<br />
looked pretty serious and very professional. I<br />
didn’t photograph many of the other yachts<br />
that week!<br />
Fast forward exactly eight years and I’m<br />
knee deep in photographs of <strong>Mariquita</strong>.<br />
Choosing the pictures to go into this book<br />
has been one of the hardest selections I can<br />
remember. Over three years we’ve taken<br />
over 40,000 photographs! On these pages<br />
are a few of my favourite images that didn’t<br />
quite make it. Hopefully the photographs<br />
speak for themselves. I do however have a<br />
few people to thank.<br />
First of all I’d like to thank the <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
syndicate for inviting me to be part of the<br />
team and giving me the opportunity to<br />
photograph this magnificent yacht over<br />
three years in some pretty special locations.<br />
Secondly I’d like to thank the numerous<br />
people who have helped with the<br />
photography and the production of this<br />
book. Compiling a monograph such as<br />
this is a massive jigsaw puzzle and certainly<br />
something I could never have completed<br />
on my own. I’d like to thank all the crew<br />
on <strong>Mariquita</strong> but especially George and<br />
Matty for putting up with all my questions<br />
and requests over the years!<br />
Thirdly I’d like to thank all of the<br />
photographers who have kindly given<br />
permission to use their work to illustrate<br />
some of the moments I missed.<br />
Finally I’d like to thank Stephen Hemsley<br />
who back in 2013 not only recognised<br />
the importance of <strong>Mariquita</strong>, the only<br />
surviving 19-Metre yacht, but also gave<br />
me the chance to capture the <strong>Mariquita</strong><br />
Project in all its glory.<br />
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Notes on the Photography<br />
Following one of the classics around the farflung<br />
ports of the Mediterranean is hard enough<br />
with just a rucksack and the reassurance from<br />
the train station loudspeaker that your train<br />
will be arriving on time. Now add to that bags<br />
and bags of delicate camera equipment and<br />
a fairly tight schedule and you begin to see<br />
the adventures Ben has had in his time with<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong>.<br />
From his first day aboard in Cowes in 2010 when<br />
he was shoved around from spot to spot, he has<br />
done it all with a smile and an innate ability to<br />
capture both the fast action and easy joy on deck.<br />
And when everyone else is sat down at a prizegiving<br />
dinner, Ben was still on his feet zipping<br />
from angle to angle to capture the festivities.<br />
When we awoke at four in the morning to race<br />
around the Isle of Wight in 2015, Ben was already<br />
setup on shore, snapping away at <strong>Mariquita</strong> on<br />
her mooring. He is tireless.<br />
I hope he’s aware of the big and beautiful<br />
window he’s created over the last few years.<br />
An insight that has allowed family, friends and<br />
strangers a glimpse into our world. Whatever<br />
pressure or fatigue may have come from its<br />
creation, it has melted away to leave behind<br />
memories that we’ll be able to treasure for years<br />
to come.<br />
Matty Oates<br />
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EPILOGUE<br />
Joining the <strong>Mariquita</strong> syndicate in 2012 was a step into the unknown. I’m not a<br />
yachtsman but the whole experience has been a wonderful surprise. The classic scene<br />
is such tremendous fun. It’s more friendly and less aggressive than modern sailing and<br />
there is a great sense of camaraderie between the yachts. The whole Hemsley family has<br />
been involved, and I know Sherron, Sarah, James and Vicky have all enjoyed their days<br />
on <strong>Mariquita</strong>, whether we’ve been racing in the sunshine of Barcelona or the wind and<br />
rain of the Solent! Having La Mascarade available to follow the racing was a highlight of<br />
our two years in the Mediterranean. Plotting the next day’s tactics with the after guard<br />
over a few drinks on La Mascarade was great fun. After our first season in 2013 we<br />
redoubled our efforts to win the Panerai trophy. <strong>Mariquita</strong> is a race boat and we felt that<br />
352
STEPHEN HEMSLEY, OWNER<br />
with a year’s experience in the bank and an ever-improving crew anything was possible. Holding<br />
the Panerai Trophy aloft at the Cannes Regatta, 12 months later, was a wonderful achievement<br />
and I’d like to thank the crew from that season for all their endeavours. It’s no secret that I wasn’t<br />
keen on bringing <strong>Mariquita</strong> up to the UK for the 2015 season – I could have happily managed<br />
another season floating around the Mediterranean! However, I was persuaded by John and Jamie,<br />
and I have to say that the racing in the Solent was even more exciting. The winds are stronger, the<br />
courses and tactics are more interesting and navigating such a narrow piece of water in a yacht<br />
as powerful as <strong>Mariquita</strong> takes great skill and courage. The Round the Island races were two of<br />
the most exciting days I’ve ever had on the water. I’ve often felt that what makes <strong>Mariquita</strong> really<br />
unique is her history and pedigree. Having the ‘Old Girl’ back in the waters where she enjoyed<br />
her greatest successes was a fitting and happy end to our adventure.<br />
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THE FINE ART<br />
Excerpts from The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad<br />
published by Doubleday, Page and Company, Garden City, New York (1924)<br />
Of course, yacht racing is an organized pastime, a function of social idleness ministering to the<br />
vanity of certain wealthy inhabitants of these isles nearly as much as to their inborn love of the<br />
sea. But the writer of the article in question goes on to point out, with insight and justice, that<br />
for a great number of people (20,000, I think he says) it is a means of livelihood – that it is, in<br />
his own words, an industry. Now, the moral side of an industry, productive or unproductive,<br />
the redeeming and ideal aspect of this bread-winning, is the attainment and preservation of the<br />
highest possible skill on the part of the craftsmen. Such skill, the skill of technique, is more than<br />
honesty; it is something wider, embracing honesty and grace and rule in an elevated and clear<br />
sentiment, not altogether utilitarian, which may be called the honour of labour. It is made up<br />
of accumulated tradition, kept alive by individual pride, rendered exact by professional opinion,<br />
and, like the higher arts, it spurred on and sustained by discriminating praise.<br />
This is why the attainment of proficiency, the pushing of your skill with attention to the most<br />
delicate shades of excellence, is a matter of vital concern. Efficiency of a practically flawless kind<br />
may be reached naturally in the struggle for bread. But there is something beyond – a higher<br />
point, a subtle and unmistakable touch of love and pride beyond mere skill; almost an inspiration<br />
which gives to all work that finish which is almost art – which is art.<br />
The sailing and racing of yachts has developed a class of fore-and-aft sailors, men born and bred to<br />
the sea, fishing in winter and yachting in summer; men to whom the handling of that particular<br />
rig presents no mystery. It is their striving for victory that has elevated the sailing of pleasure craft<br />
to the dignity of a fine art in that special sense. As I have said, I know nothing of racing and but<br />
little of fore-and-aft rig; but the advantages of such a rig are obvious, especially for purposes of<br />
pleasure, whether in cruising or racing. It requires less effort in handling; the trimming of the<br />
sail-planes to the wind can be done with speed and accuracy; the unbroken spread of the sailarea<br />
is of infinite advantage; and the greatest possible amount of canvas can be displayed upon<br />
the least possible quantity of spars. Lightness and concentrated power are the great qualities of<br />
fore-and-aft rig.<br />
A fleet of fore-and-afters at anchor has its own slender graciousness. The setting of their sails<br />
resembles more than anything else the unfolding of a bird’s wings; the facility of their evolutions<br />
is a pleasure to the eye. They are birds of the sea, whose swimming is like flying, and resembles<br />
more a natural function than the handling of man-invented appliances. The fore- and-aft rig in its<br />
simplicity and the beauty of its aspect under every angle of vision is, I believe, unapproachable. A<br />
schooner, yawl, or cutter in charge of a capable man seems to handle herself as if endowed with<br />
the power of reasoning and the gift of swift execution. One laughs with sheer pleasure at a smart<br />
piece of manoeuvring, as at a manifestation of a living creature’s quick wit and graceful precision.<br />
Of those three varieties of fore-and-aft rig, the cutter – the racing rig par excellence – is of an<br />
appearance the most imposing, from the fact that practically all her canvas is in one piece. The<br />
enormous mainsail of a cutter, as she draws slowly past a point of land or the end of a jetty under<br />
your admiring gaze, invests her with an air of lofty and silent majesty. At anchor a schooner looks<br />
better; she has an aspect of greater efficiency and a better balance to the eye, with her two masts<br />
distributed over the hull with a swaggering rake aft. The yawl rig one comes in time to love. It is,<br />
I should think, the easiest of all to manage.<br />
354
A THANK YOU<br />
To all those who have been part of the <strong>Mariquita</strong> experience<br />
since we purchased her in October 2012 … our heartfelt thanks.<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> was designed and built as a race boat in 1911 and it<br />
is heartening to note that with your help we are still winning<br />
races 104 years later.<br />
“There are good ships and wood ships and ships that sail the<br />
sea, but the best ships are friendships and may they always be.”<br />
(Irish Proverb)<br />
John Caulcutt Stephen Hemsley Jamie Matheson<br />
mariquita<br />
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS<br />
Xandra Bingley, Brian Cantwell, James Chastney, Barnaby Edwards,<br />
Bella Janson, Rosemary Joy, Nicola Kearton, James Lord, Alex Martin,<br />
Mersea Maritime Museum, Martin Piper, Joe Thomas, The Wyvern Bindery,<br />
Anna Wood and David Whistance<br />
355