‘A BRUSH with SAIL’ THE OCCASIONAL NEWSLETTER OF NEW ZEALAND MARINE ARTIST JIM BOLLAND

18 August 2007

‘WIND WHISPERER’

‘WIND WHISPERER’ (Detai)l. ©Jim Bolland 2007.

Geoff Stagg grew up in Eastbourne, a suburb close to the eastern shores of Wellington Harbour, just a short sprint from the Muritai Yacht Club where he made a name for himself as a young man in a hurry. He raced to win and took no prisoners. Fair, but tough! After progressing through the very junior classes Stagg found success in New Zealand and Australia in the Cherub Class, a hard chine plywood 12 foot dinghy. His yacht was called ‘Whispers’, designed by the rapidly emerging

Auckland designer John Spencer who, through the 1960’s and ‘70’s was championing hard chine, plywood yacht design and construction This was all happening during the late 1960’s, about the time that Chris Bouzaid took New Zealand sailing skills to Heligoland and demonstrated to the world in general that Kiwi’s can sail! Stagg was like a lot of young New Zealand yachtsmen who was inspired by Bouzaid’s success and he too, set his sights on distance racing in a bigger yacht. He again turned to John Spencer and the design outcome was a 13.7 m. version of the late Sir Tom Clark’s 18.6 m ‘Infidel’, a downwind flyer, still racing ( now 19.8m long) in the U.S.A as ‘Ragtime’. Spencer had originally drawn the smaller boat in 1965 Geoff Stagg and friends built the boat in a lean-to shed near the Stagg family home and launched ‘Whispers II’ in 1970. The new yacht was an immediate success and in the fresh to strong breezes that are the norm on Wellington Harbour, ‘Whispers II’ quickly became the yacht to beat.

‘Early Days’

Down wind she had no equal, but although a lot was talked about the design- and it was a quick boat- the skill of Stagg and his crew of ex-dinghy sailors also had a great deal to do with the yachts performance. Race after race the narrow, flying blue-green ‘Whispers II’ could be seen sailing on the edge down wind, mainsail easing out and trimming on as the helmsman required and spinnaker clew high to ease the leech and the luff just on the fold! Really ‘smoking’!

The chasing fleet consisted mainly of the pot-bellied, pinch end type that was common at the time and in an effort to stay with ‘Whispers II’ the more enthusiastic crews would hoist too large a spinnaker and in combination with crew-work that was not quite up to the job, a display of furious broaches and general mayhem entertained those watching from the hills that abound Wellington’s Harbour. Early Wellington success with ‘Whispers II’ gave Geoff Stagg the confidence to enter the 1971 Whangarei to Noumea Race. The thought of all that moderate to fresh breeze, down wind sailing, with the possibility of handicap victory over much bigger yachts was too much to miss. After all, it was the thought of the distance racing that gave Stagg the idea of a boat like ‘Whispers II’ in the first place! But alas, for the first time in many years the 1971 event turned into a drifter. The crew never broke into a sweat through hard work and ‘Whispers II’ never broke on to a plane!

‘Hobart Bound’.

That same year, ‘Whispers II’ competed in the Sydney Hobart race, placing 11th on line and 9th on handicap. Then followed the Hobart - Auckland race, after which, upon arrival in Auckland, they partially re-stocked the larder and immediately set sail for Wellington. They arrived home one and a half hours after the start of the Wellington to Akaroa race, gybed around the outer mark, crossed the start line and gave chase to the distant fleet!

As the 1971-72 summer season came to a close, plans were formulated for an assault on the 1973 Auckland - Suva race and before that, starting on Christmas Day 1972, the Wellington - Gisborne race. The conditions were perfect for ‘Whispers II’ in the biennial race up the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand to Gisborne and with the deep breath of the Southern Ocean on them and managing to hang on to a spinnaker almost all the way, the hard chine plywood needle set a record for the race that stands ‘till this day. They covered 268 miles in 28 hours and 53 minutes despite being marooned in dead flat conditions outside Gisborne for many hours! This record set ‘Whispers II’, Geoff Stagg and his crew in local sailing folk-law forever!

‘Setting the pace at Gisborne’.

On board for this race was the designer, the late John Spencer and he talked of his ‘unbelievable’ experience of going to sea with a crew he described as ‘mad men’. I spoke to him several months after the race and he described it to me as ’29 hours of hell!’ He said the ‘Whispers II’ crew were men possessed of a death wish. ‘It was blowing like hell, we broached, we bashed into the seas ahead of us, we continued to carry more sail than I thought was necessary and I was terrified! ‘What really pissed me off was the fact that everybody else was enjoying it! I must admit that when I stopped shaking I enjoyed the victory. Of course the stories about the ride along the coast get better with the re-telling, but it was some experience’

One of the many stories that remained from that race is one of John Spencer making one of his few appearances in the cockpit. At the same moment a very hard squall hit them and as the boat accelerated over a cresting sea, John glanced at the instruments and said, ‘I would have thought it was blowing harder than 35 knots!’ Geoff Stagg promptly replied ‘It is! That’s the boats speed you’re looking at. Get down below and out of the way you silly old bugger!’ As this race is sailed in conjunction with a race from Auckland to Gisborne the two fleets combine for a two-day regatta and ‘Whispers II’, enjoying her success in the race from Wellington performed well in the regatta and impressed the sailors in the Auckland fleet. By this stage, Geoff Stagg was now well known as one of the countries leading off shore sailors and coupled with his continuing success in harbour racing in Wellington, the ‘Whispers II’ crew went to the start line of the 1973 Auckland - Suva race with confidence, tempered by the knowledge that they needed the breeze to climb the scale for them! And it did! The John Spencer design with the crack crew from Wellington planed her way to Suva arriving only 11 hours behind the much fancied Sparkman and Stevens designed ‘Ta’Aroa’ to take overall victory. A very happy ‘Whispers II’ crew celebrated solidly. The training regime was forgotten!

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New Zealand sailors were becoming drawn to the idea of entering a team in the Admirals Cup Regatta at Cowes, England. Geoff Stagg was also looking for new challenges, for himself and his crew and the Admirals Cup trials to be sailed in Auckland offered just that. But he realised that ‘Whispers II’ rated off the scale for that competition and asked John Spencer to design a rating, hard chine yacht for Admirals Cup competition.

Within a few years Stagg and his crew had said their farewells to ‘Whispers II’ and started working up their new race yacht ‘Whispers of Wellington’.

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Geoff Stagg’s fellow Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club member Arthur S Wyness became the owner of ‘Whispers II’ in 1977 and for the next five years the yacht consistently campaigned the Wellington harbour race series and local offshore races around Cook Strait winning several line honours pennants and ‘Club championship series. In 1982, Lindsay R England, who had been a crew member of ‘Whispers II’ under the Arthur Wyness ownership, purchased the ageing racer and in 1985, with design input from Farr Yacht Design, replaced the keel, rudder and mast at the same time incorporating a rebuild of the underwater sections of the plywood skin.

The England years. ‘Whispers II’ racing in Gisborne.

In 1988, England and his team contested the Tauranga – Brisbane race across the Tasman Sea winning first on line, IOR and PHRF. The highlight, according to owner – skipper England, was the last 250 miles sailed in only 24 hours of reaching and running in big following seas. Regardless of the advent

of more modern, light displacement ocean racing yachts, eighteen year old ‘Whispers II’ could still ‘dish it out’ downwind! Two years later, during a harbour race on the home ‘track’ in Wellington, ‘Whispers II’ was severely damaged by a port tack yacht that failed to give way. The damage was so bad that the hull was completely rebuilt including frames, plywood sheathing and complete fibre glassing. For the next four years, following the re-build, ‘Whispers II’ raced regularly in the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club’s harbour race series, contested coastal events starting from Wellington to; Akaroa, Nelson, Kapiti – Picton, Mana – Chetwode Island – Ship Cove, Brothers Island and the annual Cook Strait Christmas race winning many trophies and line pennants. As part of the 1994 50th anniversary of the annual Sydney – Hobart race, a Tasman Triangle series was organised, starting from Wellington and racing to Sydney. The Sydney – Hobart race was to be the highlight second leg and a Hobart – Wellington race would complete the triangle. Lindsay England entered ‘Whispers II’ in the event and in the Sydney – Hobart race ‘Whispers’ won division line honours and third on IMS, achieving an overall 58th on line (out of 373 starters) and 36th on IMS. ‘Whispers II’ completed the triangle, winning the overall series on IMS and second on line. 24 years old and still winning! To complete the celebration, ‘Whispers II’ was awarded the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club Boat of the year award for the 1994 –1995 season. Lindsay England reluctantly sold ‘Whispers II’ to an Auckland sailor in 1998.

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‘Wind Whisperer.’ Oil. 56 cm X 93 cm (22”X 36”). Jim Bolland 2007.

So, what happened to ‘STAGGY’?

Geoff Stagg’s foray into the Admirals Cup trials was not successful. His ability and that of his crew was unquestioned but sidelined by the poorer than hoped for performance by their new ‘Whispers of Wellington’. John Spencer had established himself as a leader in the design of ‘no holds barred’, plywood hard chine race yachts, but in moving his theories into the hot bed of IOR design, he was up against established designers like Sparkman & Stevens and the new ‘ wonder boy’ from down-under, Bruce Farr. These established IOR designers had years of experience wringing blood from this International rule and ‘Whispers of Wellington’ was Spencer’s first major involvement in squeezing and pushing what he liked to draw, into some mathematicians formula. It was against his natural artistic desire. Stagg sold ‘Whispers of Wellington’ and became an early ‘helmsman for hire’ and was involved in several successful syndicated entries in the Southern Cross Cup and other events. His talents as helmsman and instilling the ‘win’ factor in crews, was eagerly sought. In 1979 he became involved in Peter Blake’s ‘Ceramco New Zealand’ entry in the 1981-82 Whitbread Round the World Race and was a great success as a watch captain and helmsman. In Blake & Sefton’s book ‘Blakes Odyssey’, Geoff Stagg, (who was then 33) was described by Blake as ‘a proven performer and a hard-driving man’. Wrote Blake; ‘Staggy’ was an automatic choice (for one of two watch captains), who would be responsible for the performance of the boat, 24 hours of every day because of his nature, ability and track record. ‘He was one of New Zealand’s best known skippers in his own right, with boats such as the Spencer designs ‘Whispers II’ and ‘Whispers of Wellington’ and then the Farr design ‘Granny Apple’. He’d won the 1973 Auckland – Suva race in ‘Whispers II’. He might have a bit of trouble fitting in under me, but I was sure that could be overcome’. Peter Blake was correct. Geoff Stagg was all he had hoped he would be as a watch captain and exceptional helmsman. Stagg’s ability to set a boat up for racing, as well as his helming and winning attitude to anything he undertook, caught the attention of Bruce Farr and Russell Bowler. Not too long after the ‘Ceramco New Zealand’ adventure, Geoff packed his bags and headed to Annapolis, Maryland, USA to join the Farr Yacht Design organization.

He rapidly became President of Farr International, the sales arm of Farr Yacht Design for 23 years. In mid -2005 Geoff Stagg purchased Farr International, changing the name to Stagg Yachts, but continuing the close association with Farr Yacht Design and running the class management of the Farr 40, Mumm 30 and Farr 395 programmes. Stagg Yachts also run the sales and marketing of the new Farr Yacht Design boat products Mumm 30, Farr 36, Farr 395 and Farr 40 and the boat brokerage and project management services for which the company has become famous. It’s been quite a journey all the way from Wellington, New Zealand to Annapolis in the United States of America for the wavy-haired lad who left a very full chapter of sailing history in New Zealand. …………………………………………………………………………………………..

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‘New Breeze’ (Reliance 1903) © Jim Bolland

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PORTIMAO, PORTUGAL for the TP52’s Monday the 20th of August is the first day of the fourth and penultimate round of regattas that count for the 2007 Med – Cup competition. Portimao, Portugal sets the stage on the Atlantic Ocean for more of the best keel yacht racing on the planet as 24 of this successful box rule class do battle over six days. I’m a fan of Peter de Ridder’s Corinthian effort with Team Mean Machine, winners of the Med Cup last year, but with a lifting of skill levels across the fleet and some of this seasons new boats showing a tad more speed, it’s only an outside chance that I will be cheering Valle Romano Mean Machine as a winner this year. Perhaps they’ll tell themselves that EVERY race is the last one of the series! Here’s how the top ten stack-up on points, as they go into next weeks regatta; 1. Caixa Galacia. ESP. (Farr). Vincente Tirado 142 2. Artemis. SWE. (J/V). Torben Tornquist 154 3. Seimens. ARG. (J/V). Alberto Roemers 160 4. Bribon. ESP. (Farr) Jose Cusi / H.M. Jaun Carlos 161 5. Patches IRE. (R/P) Eamon Conneely 175 6. Matua Madralena. ESP. (B/C) Vasco Vascotta 195 7. Platoon. GER. (J/V) Harm Muller-Spreer 203 8. Valle Romano M/M.MON. (J/V) Peter de Ridder 203 9. Stay Calm. GBR. (Farr) Stuart Robinson 228 10. Balearia. ESP. (B/C) SR D Javier Moreno Pons 244

TP52 Valle Romano Mean Machine Photo © Gilles Martin-Raget

Kiwi’s on the OK Podium.

Although British sailor Nick Craig further extended his winning way with his third OK World Championship win at Leba, Poland in late July, Kiwi OK sailors can be well pleased with their showing in the 119 boat fleet. Mark Perrow of Auckland won the silver medal while Karl Purdie of Wellington took the bronze, adding that to the Leba Mayor’s Cup that he won in the warm-up regatta. It is also confirmed that the 2010 World Championship regatta will be staged on Wellington Harbour with the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club as host. 2007 OK World Championship results;

1. Nick Craig (GBR). 6. Gunter Arndt (GER). 2. Mark Perrow (NZL). 7. Jorgen Lindhardtsen (DEN). 3. Karl Purdie (NZL). 8. Matt Stechmann (NZL). 4. Kersten Hitz (GER). 9. Andre Blass (AUS). 5. Paul Rhodes (NZL). 10. Fabian Gronholz (GER).

Other New Zealand placings; 14. Greg Wilcox. 15. Joe Porebski. 26. Steve McDowell. 27. Trent Pryce. 29. Mike Wild. 31. Luke O’Connell. …………………………………………………………………………………………..

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‘WIND WHISPERER’. Oil. 56 c.m. X 93 c.m. (22” X 36”). ©Jim Bolland. 2007.

A limited edition print run of the painting ‘WIND WHISPERER’ has been commissioned. Details regarding these are still being

finalized. For further details please contact jim@jimbolland.co.nz ……………………………………………………

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