Cornerstones


The first in an occasional new series looking at some of the most significant ocean racing designs that have helped to shape the modern sport… and at those who created them. This month former Seahorse editor Julian Everitt looks back at the influence of Ron Holland, who enjoyed a legendary friendly rivalry with another famous young disrupter, Doug Peterson


Ron Holland and Doug Peterson had a remarkably similar trajectory into the esoteric world of yacht design. They sailed and raced together on the oceans of the world before, in their slightly different ways, getting a little financial support and a great deal of friendly encouragement, to set them on their way with the building of their first designs. While no formal, or otherwise, partner-


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ship existed between the two, Ron proved adept at getting publicity for their respec- tive efforts. I first came into contact with Ron in early 1973 when he strolled into the London offices of this very magazine when I was sitting in the editor’s chair. He told me a ‘fairytale’ story of a young Cali- fornian friend, Doug Peterson, launching his own designed One Tonner and taking on the might of the establishment in trials for the American One Ton team and winning – seemingly completely against the run of play and certainly against the expectations of their established rivals. Seahorse published this story and young


Doug began to be known around the world. Meanwhile, Ron was doing his own thing, with a Quarter Tonner called Eygth- ene which was built by his brother-in-law, Gary Carlin, in his Florida boatyard. Ron had his 24ft rocket-ship freighted to


the UK to compete in the Quarter Ton World Championship in Weymouth, but there he found himself racing against a big fleet of ‘new-breed’ Quarter Tonners with fractional rigs, lighter displacement and much wider and more powerful sterns. Ron’s pintail, heavy-ish masthead boat


almost looked out of place. But some luck combined with superbly consistent sailing saw Eygthene triumph as the fractional lightweights fell by the way for a variety of reasons. Eygthene won the Quarter Ton Worlds that year while never placing higher than sixth in a race. The orders did not, however, come


flooding in for Ron. Yacht owners have been notorious throughout history for having little faith in the abilities of so- called ‘small boat designers’ to recreate the magic in anything substantially bigger. It’s a ridiculous notion, but one that found Ron living aboard his diminutive world champion yacht in the winter of 1973 waiting for the phone to ring. Enter a certain Hugh Coveney, a well-


known Irish yachtsman who was looking to contact Doug Peterson who, ironically with Ron’s help, had come very close to winning the One Ton Cup with his own first design, Ganbare. Unlike Ron’s lonely experience with Eygthene, the obvious speed of Doug’s larger creation prompted a flurry of interested potential clients. So Hugh Coveney contacted Seahorse. However, the only contact information I had


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