Jimmy Blacksmith and The Ancient Mariners!
by Bob Appleton on 9 Feb 2006
Jimmy Blacksmith and her crew Bob Appleton
On Saturday 11th February, after being out of the water for two months for an extensive 'skin graft' to it's hull, the Adams 12 yacht, 'Jimmy Blacksmith' will be relaunched at the Royal Geelong Yacht Club to re-enter club racing on Corio Bay.
That, in itself is quite an achievement, but when you line up the crew who man this vessel there's an even bigger and 'older' story!
The skipper and three others are in their 70s with some even knocking on the door of 80. Mind you, there's a couple of 'younger' fellows to assist, notably Bob Umhauer in his 60s and Geelong Otway's Roger Grant who is just over halfway to 100!
For many years, over half of the crew sailed in Dragon class yachts and raced against each other and collectively, these gentlemen of the sea have amassed a total of over 400 years of sailing experience. This combined wealth of sailing knowledge would fill a library.
The owner/skipper at 77 is John Sykes. His lively crew consists of; Bob Lucas 79, Des Allen 75, Don Townson 73, Bob Umhauer 60 plus and the 'youngsters' on board are, Roger Grant, Graham Thompson, Bruce Hogan, Lawrence Mole and Garry Raynor, all in their 50s! The addition of this 'young' brigade brings the average age on board down to 65!!
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