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Australia II will always be Australia’s most famous sailboat but Bob Miller’s 1959 18-footer Taipan is not far behind. The original was found in a barn 20 years ago then restored under Carl Ryves’ guidance before being relaunched in 2007… with Ryves joined for her ‘first’ sail by John Bertrand together with his old FD crew Dick Sargeant. This replica continues to race in Sydney’s well-supported classic 18-footer series. The original Taipan was really built too light, even for Miller, plus she was also declared out of class at her first championship in 1960 for having too much covered decking – something Miller soon fixed with a big saw. His follow-up, Venom, won easily the following year, after which it is no exaggeration to say that nothing in the 18-foot skiff class was ever the same again
professional European and Eastern block teams Carl came fourth… after the hull of their home-built boat started to come apart. It was also over a cup of tea on the balcony that Carl suddenly
became serious. His default setting was of laughter and smiles – but not at that moment. He gathered his thoughts and said, ‘Blue, I don’t know if I have told you this, but it seems I have dementia. It’s not good. So there you go…’ I first noticed a hint of this when he was asked to stand and
speak about the Mexico Olympics at an Australian Sailing awards the previous year, where he began and then stopped, then started and stopped again, his account a Swiss cheese of accurate facts and silent holes. Carl had recently visited his doctor and, driving one of his beloved
Italian sports cars, had gone in to take some tests then had his car keys quietly taken from him. Quite quickly things began to happen. With his children close by, Carl moved into full-time medical care, and over the past two years I would book a Zoom meeting through the staff, and we would continue to chat together. I think he recognised me a couple of times, but I could see from his eyes he wasn’t sure who I was. His son perhaps? No. And was Blue a person, a concept – or simply just a colour? And so after 10 remarkable years of Carl telling me about his
life – I started to tell him about his life. The staff encouraged this, to try to help his memory and so, with nurses sitting either side of him, over the months I spoke of Benny and the timber Finn, of Carl winning Australian championships with his mates, about the replica of Benny’s 1961 World Championship-winning 18ft skiff Venom, which Carl had painstakingly built and stored in his garage to keep the memory alive as the original rotted away near oyster beds in Queensland. Benny’s Taipan and Venom designs revolutionised the 18-Foot Skiff class, both blisteringly fast and controversial in equal measure – not for the last time in Lexcen’s career. I also spoke of Carl travelling to the States in 2006 to present
the America’s Cup Hall of Fame with a replica of the rudder from the Taipan – complete with winglets that Benny was working on 24 years before Australia II. And about him travelling to Denmark
22 SEAHORSE
to stay with his close friend Paul Elvstrøm at his home, stunning news to the Danish locals who regarded Paul as a bit of a hermit. It was easy to see how Carl’s warmth and easy charm forged deep friendships all over the world. I then spoke about how Alan Bond and Warren Jones had invited
him over to Perth in 1986, to bolster their Cup defence, as part of the afterguard on Australia lll, helping it to victory in the 12-Metre World Championships. Or back to life as a teenager, heading off to weekend regattas where they would strap their Flying Dutchman to the roof of the family’s Holden, driving up to Lake Macquarie, where they often sailed all night when the breeze held in. Just for the love of sailing. All of these anecdotes over many calls were met by a slight frown
from Carl, a shake of the head and a quiet, ‘No. Sorry. I don’t know about any of that…’ And so after each video call my wife would see me shut my computer down and quietly walk out of the house, a slight eddy of sadness trailing in my wake, to walk deep into the forest to help try to make sense of it all. On our last Zoom call Carl looked at me – polite but puzzled,
simply not knowing who I was. When I asked if he remembered the Mexico Olympics, he shook his head. ‘Carl, you raced against Rodney Pattisson, you and Dick Sargeant, and then towards the end of the Olympics Benny flew in to help you repair the boat…’ Then Carl looked at me, his frown relaxed a little and he said, quite clearly – and to the delight of the staff sitting next to him – ‘We got fourth, 0.7 of a point behind third place, just missing out on a bronze medal…’ And then he smiled. We sold our house in the Southern Highlands last week and have
returned down to the coast, moving to the top left-hand corner of Jervis Bay, back to the blazing light, white sand and steady sea breezes. There is a sailing club there too. But I shall miss the reservoir
club – full of Highland farmers, mechanics, schoolteachers, vets and builders all kitted out for cold water sailing 750m up in the clouds, who welcomed me 10 years ago, and encouraged a rules and strategy briefing from me before each race… to pass on the
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