50th Jubilee Interdinion 12ft Skiff Regatta – Gwen 12’s produce a gem

by Neil Kennedy on 26 Oct 2009
As the interest in the Classic 12’s regatta continues to grow the news that there are still Gwen 12’s actively sailing has given the event another boost.

Recent correspondence from Tim O’Shea in Adelaide has revealed that although the class held its last National championship in 1990, excellent examples of the class are still around, and certainly none better that Gwen 2695 Breakaway the last National champion sailed by Barry O’Shea Tim’s father.

As the photos show Breakaway is a superb example of a top quality plywood skiff beautifully maintained and fitted out as a racing yacht that epitomized the quality of centerboard sailing from the 1950’s until the 1990’s.

Built in 1976 the 'Macca Haslegrove'hull is built from Cedar plywood with Silver Ash trim with her all varnished hull accentuating the quality of the workmanship and the high standard of care and maintenance of Barry O’Shea over the intervening years.

Equally remarkable is the fact that she has been sailed at the top level during this time and proved to be a very good performer. Between her launching and her final National championship win in 1990, she recorded a 3rd in the 1982 nationals, and a 2nd in 1988/89 nationals, plus 4 South Australian state titles and no less than 12 club championships, which goes to prove that she was certainly campaigned hard for more than a dozen seasons.

Breakaway differs only from the original design in the fact that she incorporated the class rule changes introduced. Her hull incorporates the full length self draining cockpit without the aft deck, otherwise the hull lines are exactly the same as her predecessors. Her rig incorporates the deck sweeping jib design introduced in 1970 and she carries the large spinnaker of 140 sq ft introduced in the latter years of the class in an attempt to liven things up. She also has the intermediate 110 sq ft spinnaker and the original 80 sq ft spinnaker that the Gwen 12’s used in the early ID series.

She still uses the all round three way brace system for the spinnaker pole which was a feature of the class for many years. Fast spinnaker setting was a feature of Gwen 12 racing and this system although complicated to many eyes was considered the ultimate for the setting and control of the single luffed spinnakers used in the class.

As Tim stated the Gwen 12 design first appeared in 1951 in Victoria and did not really achieve much until the NSW Gwen 12 Farwac won the first ID series in 1957. From that point the class took off and spread across every state in Australia and at the height of its popularity in the 60’s/70’s regularly attracted 60 plus starters to its Nationals. Indeed it also attracted many top class sailors to its ranks one of the more prominent being Iain Oughtred who has become known world wide as a designer of classic craft based on traditional designs from Northern European waters using glued clinker plywood construction.

While the Gwen 12’s as a class are no longer active in a formal sense, we also hear that former NSW Gwen 12 sailors are planning a reunion In November at the St. George SC one of the NSW strongholds of the class.

The ID 12 classic regatta organizers are hopeful that in the light of Tim and Barry O’Shea’s response and the NSW interest we will be able to see a Gwen 12 in Auckland in January to join her sisters who competed in the first series in 1957.