The Spirit of Koomooloo sails on

by Ian Grant on 4 Feb 2009 There is no mistake about the personal passion that embraces the career of the well known Brisbane yacht broker and blue water racing yachtsman Mike Freebairn.

That passion was evident at an early age when he was serving his sailing ‘apprenticeship’ with dinghy racing and representing Queensland at the Australian 420 class championships.

He was always looking ahead to the next challenge using his dinghy racing while building important experience and sea time toward achieving his career goal of racing in the Sydney Hobart Race.

Fortunately his ocean racing career has always been personally and financially encouraged by equally dedicated parents Don and Margaret.

Their collective commitment became a reality when the Freebairn family entered the Australian blue water racing circuit as the proud owners of the 1968 Sydney Hobart champion Koomooloo.

As expected their love of timber built boats was reflected in the meticulous restoration of Koomooloo to allow Michael to live the dream of proudly flying the family ‘Battle Flag’ in Australia’s major races including the 628n/m Rolex Sydney Hobart and the 308n/m Brisbane to Gladstone classic.

Koomooloo was originally built at the Cec Quilkey boat yard for Sydney businessman Denis O’Neil to contest the Admirals Cup and the notoriously gruelling Fastnet Race in England during the late 1960’s and early seventies.
She captured the attention of numerous ‘Old Salts’ who understood her history when she was accepted to contest the 2006 Sydney Hobart while many new generation sailors were less convinced because the yacht had logged major race wins before they were born.

However it became evident that Koomooloo was ready to tackle the torment of the Tasman Sea after weathering Sydney Heads and setting a course for Hobart.

The 38 year old champion racing with a crew of good mates under the sponsorship of Ray White Real Estate had expressed the handicap rated speed of the ‘Golden Oldie’ to be named as the provisional overall leader on corrected time.

That was indeed a proud moment for the crew of low budget Aussie battlers but at 9.31 AM on December 27 a mayday call suggested the career of the internationally famed Koomooloo had dramatically ended when she suffered hull damage, forcing the crew to man the life-raft before the champion slipped below the waves.

This was a heart wrenching experience for all who had admired Koomooloo however three years later her spirit sails on in the form of the equally when known Admirals Cup and Fastnet Race champion Ragamuffin which has been renamed Spirit of Koomooloo.

Skipper Mike Freebairn has made sure that no moss will grow on the hull with the sloop’s racing program including the 61st Brisbane to Gladstone Race over the Easter Weekend.

He has left some charter crew berths open to provide the opportunity for either first time Gladstone Race sailors or offshore race veterans to enjoy the experience of setting sail on board the champion when she contests the Queensland’s premier blue water classic starting from Sandgate at 11am on Good Friday.