Big new toy (left) as John Winning steers the renamed Yandoo Comanche past the Heads on the way to taking line honours in last December’s Sydney Hobart. Needless to say there were some fast skiffies of all ages onboard Woody’s new ship for this adventure. Above: Winning has been a driving force – with 18-footer legend John ‘Steamer’ Stanley – of the thriving Historical Skiff class that turns out every Saturday in Sydney. Here he is racing his replica of the legendary Aberdare. Winning also owns or has an interest in five or six other boats in the fleet. And with another ‘Big Fella’ who knows his way round an 18, five-time champion Iain Murray (right)
nice connection, so we got onto Norm Wright and that is how we started. From the outset we had to race them,
not just sail them. And we have pretty much done that every Saturday in summer since, with some big days of eight boats most of which have at least seven onboard. It was great to see Harry Cudmore come out and race them. He’d done everything else and this was fun, he could fly under the radar coming wherever. But his goal was to win one, which of course he did! Great people and great sailing. I got
Steamer involved and I have known him since 1975. Now he is part of this on Australia and a big part of the history, documenting it all for us. But we do have to cheat a bit with these
wooden boats… If we had timber spars it would be too expensive and a mammoth job – so we sail with aluminium spars and that works well for us. Back in the day the blokes who sailed these were in their 20s and 30s – and we are in our 60s and 70s! So a bit lighter helps and with modern sail materials, but essentially the sailplans are pretty much what they were. We have 11 boats now and it’s not easy.
We had Russell Bowler come here to race. We gave them a good boat and they struggled; they got to Bradleys Head and nobody would bail and the next minute they are about to sink. They had never sailed on a boat without a deck or without venturi bailers. You need someone working a pump all
the time and using the bucket when they need to. So if anyone was in Sydney and they are reasonable sailors they should just turn up and introduce themselves at the club to get out for a sail. Back in the day we had a lot of people turn up to sail as a bailer with a bucket, like me! Then if people spotted they could move around a boat well, they asked them to sign up for a bit more… When you are gybing the old boats
there is plenty to do! Runners on and off, kicker, new brace on sheet – there is a job
for seven people when you gybe. And, mate, we sail them hard. In the old days the 18-footers never
sailed by the IYRA rules, until the late 1960s, so when they came together with other fleets there was a lot of shouting. They had rules like if you had a spinnaker up you had right of way because you couldn’t do much! With the historic skiffs when we are
going full noise with a full pole and a ring- tail on – well, we are 60ft end of pole to end of boom running square. So 60ft wide and we need a good gap to get through… and we need about three weeks’ more opportu- nity than a Laser skipping along. So if you see us coming, 25ft of boom and 14ft of bowsprit – give us a bit of room, eh. And, mate, they are heavy to steer… a
real workout. One crew, I asked her to sit to leeward of me and I said, ‘If I am going red in the face, all I need is for you to grab the tiller and pull it towards you as hard as you can.’
Going big And then Comanche came into our lives. Honestly, I am not that interested in going outside the Heads – but, boy, she is a fun boat to sail. It is heavy but she’s a simple boat to operate – as long as you don’t muck it up. If you do it properly it’s fine. As long as you plan right and don’t rush
it and work smart with halyards in moving the sails. With the good guys we have it is a piece of cake. Herman is the skipper, my philosophy
has always been that I prefer to sail on the bow as it is busy there; then I come back to have a steer. But if you are in the cockpit you need to know what is happening and why – why am I pulling this line? Taking the slack out of the furling line there is a fair bit of rope to pull – 20m in a short space of time. Steering the boat and getting those furled headsails to flick around to windward ready for dropping… big stuff. I sailed the first day here with very little
breeze, then we did Hamilton Island and that was great. We had good breeze there, then the little offshore stint before the Hobart. On a Hobart course there is no better feeling than having something up your sleeve compared to the rest of the fleet, and those were Hobart conditions for us last year. The boat is beatable, but knowing we are ahead with a good buffer, that is good enough. Once you get to Bondi and realise it is
600 miles to Tasman – all I want is a good steady race. I don’t want it to get too excit- ing as you might die! That may sound dra- matic to some, but the first three Hobarts I did we saw 60kt in Bass Strait every time. So you don’t want to lose a rig or hit some- thing… I have a very healthy respect for the sea, Blue, a very healthy respect. Two of the blokes who died on the Winston Churchill in 1998 were my crew from the 18-foot skiff, and I waved them off at the CYC dock on a bright sunny Boxing Day morning. So going up the Derwent – it is a great
feeling to be alive, I can tell you. Arriving at 1am we weren’t sure if the wind would hold in – but it did, and sailing Comanche up the Derwent in those conditions, with boats coming out to meet you, that is the best champagne sailing there is. Doing all that stuff out at sea with
nobody around is not that exciting – but it is all part of it, I need to have a boat nearby to get me excited. The crew on that boat are sensational, way more experi- enced than me, great human beings and no prima donnas. Getting the gun was wonder ful and a relief really – it would have been a bit embarrassing to be parked and get beaten, and you don’t have to park for very long to drop 10 miles… What’s next? Well, I think I will keep
sailing the modern skiff – have another go next year. I guess I am realistic about beating Herman, I have a great crew, but maybe I have to be realistic that I can’t do some of the things they do… John ‘Woody’ Winning is 71.
q SEAHORSE 49
ANDREA FRANCOLINI
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