Sir James Hardy-Yachting Legend retires

by Sean Whittington on 24 Feb 2006 One of Australia’s most successful – and enduring – sailing careers will come to an end this weekend when Sir James Hardy participates in his last competitive yacht race. Fittingly, Sir James, 73, will crew aboard Hardys Secret Mens Business, in South Australia’s premier yacht race, the Blue Water Classic, starting on Friday.

The 150 nautical mile race will be a fitting finale to an international sailing career spanning more than 50 years, and has included two Olympic Games (1964 and ‘68), four America's Cup campaigns - three as skipper (‘70, ‘74 and ‘80), one World Championship (505 class in 1966), and 13 Sydney to Hobart races.

‘I can’t wait to get out there with all the other yachts and start racing – it’s such an exhilarating feeling,’ said Sir James Hardy, great grandson of Thomas Hardy, founder of the Hardy Wines empire, announcing his retirement today from competitive ocean racing at the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia.

‘Hardys Secret Mens Business is such a magnificent boat. I am very privileged to have been invited to be part of her crew,’ he said.

‘After being bitten by the sailing bug when I was about 10 years old, and I’m now 73, I can say with confidence this will be my last competitive race – and I’m looking forward to it immensely.

‘You never say never….but I’m more at home pleasure sailing with friends. That’s more my speed these days than competitive sailing.’

Fresh from its Top Ten finish (IRC Handicap) in the recent Sydney to Hobart yacht race, Hardys Secret Mens Business is one of the favourites for Handicap honours in the 57th Blue Water Classic.

This year’s race – from Adelaide to Port Lincoln - has attracted more than 80 competitors from across Australia, including the Super Maxi, Skandia.

Competitors will sail from a starting line off the Cruising Yacht Club of SA at North Haven at 3pm on Friday, with the first boat expected to cross the finish line in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Hardys Secret Mens Business owner/skipper Geoff Boettcher said he was delighted to have Sir James as part of his crew.

‘Sir James is an absolute legend of Australian sailing. To have him as a crew member will be an experience of a lifetime for me and the rest of the crew,’ Boettcher said.

‘We are hoping to pick up where we left off in the Sydney-Hobart race, where we bettered our time from the previous year by more than 24 hours,’ he said.

‘I’m sure Sir James will instill a lot of wisdom and experience on the other crew members along the way.

‘The Blue Water Classic is one of my favourite races. This will be the 17th time I have competed in the event.

‘Not only is it one of Australia’s oldest yacht racing events, it also has the potential to be one of the toughest, in terms of sailing conditions.

‘The race takes the yachts through some of SA’s most spectacular waters, including Investigator Strait and the Southern Ocean.

‘But these waters can also rate as among the most treacherous in Australia with strong winds and wave build up.

For only the second time in the race’s 57 year history, multi-hull yachts will compete in this year’s event.

The Blue Water Classic is the lead up race to the Lincoln Week Regatta – a six-race event off Port Lincoln, in Boston Bay.

Hardys Secret Mens Business will compete in all six races.