Please select your home edition
Edition
V-DRY-X

Famous Classic Yacht targets Australian Races in 2017 Campaign

by Kirsten Ferguson on 21 Apr 2017
Dorade sailing in Maine last summer Cory Silken
Over the past 86 years, the iconic Sparkman and Stephens classic yacht Dorade has sailed hundreds of thousands of nautical miles across open water and won more ocean races than any other yacht in history.

This year marks yet another milestone for the legendary 52-foot yawl, as she and her crew travel for the first time to the southern hemisphere for the “Dorade Down Under” campaign, with plans to race in seven events off the southern coast of Australia before taking on the 628-nautical mile Rolex Sydney Hobart Race in December.

“We’re looking forward to doing something that Dorade has never done before in a place that neither Dorade nor I have ever been to,” said Captain Matt Brooks who with Pam Rorke Levy purchased the classic yacht in 2010 to demonstrate that a classic racing yacht like Dorade, properly restored and sailed, could still be competitive in the modern racing world. “We have done a lot of offshore ocean racing with Dorade, and I know the yacht and crew are capable, but it will be a challenge nonetheless, especially the iconic Rolex Sydney Hobart which is well known for severe weather conditions.”

Designed in 1929 by 21-year-old Olin Stephens and built under his younger brother Rod Stephens’ supervision, Dorade’s revolutionary design – a deep keel with external ballast, an achingly narrow beam of just 10’3”, and a generous sail plan – took the yachting world by storm, quickly establishing the Stephens brothers as two of the sport’s most gifted innovators. In 1931 the brothers raced Dorade in the Transatlantic Race from Newport, Rhode Island to Plymouth, England, competing against much larger boats owned by some of the world’s wealthiest sportsmen and crewed by veteran sailors. An upset victory that made headlines around the world, Dorade was the first boat to finish by a margin of more than two days. In the decade that followed, she continued topping the charts in some of the world’s most renowned offshore events, including overall victories in the Fastnet, in both 1931 and 1933, and the TransPacific Race in 1936.



Like Dorade’s predecessors, Brooks’ spirit for adventure knows no boundaries; he had already accomplished momentous expeditions both on land and in the air; he is a gifted aviator, holding multiple circumnavigation speed records, and a seasoned mountaineer with many first ascents under his belt. His successful track record for organizing ambitious campaigns and recruiting a team comprised of the best people helped turn Dorade’s campaign into a reality. “Whether it’s scuba diving, flying, mountain climbing or sailing, my main goal when doing it is to enjoy the outdoors and always take the road less traveled.



“We looked at a lot of boats when we were planning to start campaigning and racing, and many may have been a better fit, but when we saw Dorade it was love at first sight, and we are grateful for all the places Dorade has taken us.” said Brooks, who with Pam Rorke Levy, spent a year restoring Dorade to its original condition before kicking off the “Return to Blue Water” campaign. Their goal with the campaign was to repeat all of the major ocean races the yacht had won in the 1930s, matching or bettering her original performance in the Transatlantic, Newport-Bermuda, Fastnet and TransPacific ocean races. The campaign was successful beyond their wildest dreams, with the team not only bettering Dorade’s original times in all of the races, but also reaching the podium in every race and winning the 2013 Transpacific Yacht Race overall on corrected time, 77 years after Dorade won that race for the first time. In 2015, the campaign wrapped up with stellar performances by an all-star crew, placing second in class in an exceptionally rough and windy 2,800-mile Transatlantic Race, followed by second in class in the Rolex Fastnet Race, where Dorade finished seventh overall out of 356 boats.



The “Dorade Down Under” campaign presents a new set of challenges in unfamiliar waters, with the Dorade team facing the heavy breezes and tricky conditions that prevail in southern waters, competing against a fleet of modern boats optimized for these conditions.

“The conditions are likely to be much rougher than what we’ve experienced with Dorade in the past, so we’re going to try and find conditions like that to test in and see where we can find improvements,” said Dorade tactician Kevin Miller. After several months of updates over the winter, Dorade was transported to Ventura, California this spring to begin final preparations for racing in extreme conditions, including a series of races along the west coast of the US, before being shipped to Australia in June.

“Dorade has always proven to be a really strong boat, but this will be a tougher test of the boat than even the Transatlantic in 2015,” says Miller. “We need to make sure the boat is bulletproof. We’re going to be dealing with volatile conditions and a serious wind-against-tide component when we get down there, so we need to work on our upwind speed in heavy air and make sure our instrumentation is perfectly calibrated. If our instruments are even just a tiny bit off, any information we get regarding the tide will be completely inaccurate.”

For more information, follow Dorade on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or visit website.

Selden 2020 - FOOTERCyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTERMackay Boats 728x90 BOTTOM

Related Articles

Rolex Fastnet Race IRC Four preview
The pinnacle of grass roots sailing has 97 entries The very largest yachts, including the 100ft Ultim foiling trimarans and 60ft IMOCAs are an essential part of the spectacle of the Fastnet Race, however a critical element in the race's enduring appeal is that this is predominately a grass roots event.
Posted today at 7:36 pm
Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta day 2
Classic Long Beach conditions return The weather conditions at the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta shifted noticeably today, delivering the classic Long Beach breeze that many expect from this world-class venue.
Posted today at 6:44 pm
NYYC International Women's Championship update
Third group of skippers includes Nicole Breault, Dominique Proyoveur, Laura van Veen While there is no nationality requirement for the crews that will compete in the 2026 New York Yacht Club International Women's Championship, a number of teams are embracing the opportunity to wave their respective national flags at the debut edition.
Posted today at 5:42 pm
New Class 40 campaign for Global Solo Challenge
Ronnie Simpson aims to be first American to win singlehanded, non-stop around world race American sailor Ronnie Simpson has launched a new ocean racing campaign to compete in the Global Solo Challenge race; a singlehanded, non-stop around the world sailing race that begins and ends in Vigo, Spain in 2027.
Posted today at 5:10 pm
The Sardinia Cup set to return in 2026
The competition will make its long-awaited return to the waters of the Costa Smeralda The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) is pleased to announce the return of the Sardinia Cup, one of the Club's most iconic regattas and a renowned international sailing event.
Posted today at 3:39 pm
How inclusive is sailing?
Largest global survey aims to find out The Magenta Project has today launched the 2x25 global survey, marking the start of the most ambitious equity and inclusion review ever undertaken in sailing and the wider marine industry.
Posted today at 1:18 pm
Aegean 600 - Snakes and ladders in extremis
Event was the sixth in the IMA's annual Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge If the previous two Aegean 600s were among the most brutal offshore races on record with storm force winds and violent gusts, conversely this year's fifth edition of the anti-clockwise lap of the Aegean Sea was largely the lightest.
Posted today at 12:14 pm
Is Your Boat Ready for Racing Season?
Rooster has gathered some of the best videos and blogs to make boat care easier From fine-tuning your rigging to quick repairs before a race, keeping your boat in top condition doesn't need to be complicated. ?
Posted today at 11:00 am
2025 Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta kicks off
The first week of the OCR includes five Olympic classes The highly anticipated 2025 Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta officially commenced on Saturday, 12 July, marking the beginning of Olympic campaigns since the venues were announced.
Posted today at 8:14 am
How Transpac's first finishers earned the podium
The first teams to reach Diamond Head are as varied as they are inspiring From a maxi-sled to a doublehanded keelboat and a 68-foot catamaran, the first teams to reach Diamond Head are as varied as they are inspiring.
Posted today at 3:35 am