Please select your home edition
Edition
Sea Sure 2025

Tasmanian sports boats heading for Audi Victoria Week

by Peter Campbell on 16 Jan 2010
Fang to the Max on the slips at Derwent Sailing Squadron. Photo: Fred Barrett Andrea Francolini Photography http://www.afrancolini.com/

Hobart naval architect, boat-builder and sailor Fred Barrett mostly designs, builds and races on other people's yachts, but next weekend he will helm his own newly-launched sports boat Fang to the Max at the Victoria Week regatta in Geelong.

A downwind flyer, Fang to the Max has already logged 18 knots under spinnaker in trials on the River Derwent last weekend. The FBYD 6.4m, described by Barratt as a 'tiny little boat', carries up to 80 square metres of sail downwind.

Fang the Max heads a Tasmanian contingent of five boats contesting the national sports boats series as part of the huge Victoria Week, previously known as Geelong Race Week.

The sports boat fleet of 23 is a record, with boats coming from NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. Fang to the Max will be representing the Derwent Sailing Squadron while other Tasmanian boats will be representing Port Dalrymple Yacht Club and Mersey Yacht Club.

Over the past decade Fred Barrett has been involved in many yacht design and building projects, including project managing the building of maxi yachts at McConaghy Boats in Sydney and shore and technical manager for the Spanish yacht Moviestar for the 2005-2006 Volvo round the world race, as well as running his own design consultancy.

His latest designs, in addition to Fang to the Max, include an 80-footer being built by McConaghy Boats for a Russian yachtsman and a GP26 nearing completion at Van Munsters in NSW. Much of his time has been in 'reinventing' the 40-footer Mr Kite which recently won line honours the Maria Island and Launceston to Hobart races.

'When I came back to Hobart after the Movistar project, the old man (father Noel) had some King Billy pine and said I should design and build a sports boat.he came up with a sail plan on a sheet of A4 and I drew the hull, keel and rudder,' Barrett said today after completing his current project, teaching his four-year-old son Max to swim.

'Max will need to swim if he's going to come sailing with me on this boat,' he quipped. Of his prospects at Geelong, he said the boat had been designed as a handicap winner not an out-and-out speedster, 'but she is quite quick.'

Barrett said he had included aspects of Volvo race technology in designing and building, the result being a stubby hull with a large rig including a state-of-the-art square top mainsail. The deep carbon fibre keel has 250kg of lead ballast at the bottom.

'We are in the process of beginning tooling for an update 6.6m design intended for the Swiss market.construction will start in Switzerland in the coming months,' Barrett added.

Sailing with Fred Barrett at Geelong will be Justin Foster, Justin Wells, John Wearne and Michael Hutchinson.

Sea Sure 2025Selden 2020 - FOOTERHenri-Lloyd Dynamic Range

Related Articles

MS Amlin re-signs with Kiwi race team
Leading European insurer MS Amlin have renewed their sponorship of Aotearoa Ocean Racing, Leading European insurer MS Amlin have renewed their sponorship of Aotearoa Ocean Racing, enabling the newly formed team to take part in a series of races in Europe later this year. The team is still seeking sponsorship for The Ocean Race 2027.
Posted today at 12:53 pm
Matt Allen AM matches AOC funding
To support 2024 Olympic Podium Performing Sailors Matt Allen AM has once again demonstrated his unwavering support for sailing by generously matching the Australian Olympic Committee's Medal Incentive Funding (MIF) for Olympic champion Matt Wearn and Paris 2024 silver medallist Grae Morris.
Posted today at 4:45 am
60th Anniversary Congressional Day 2
Monnin in the hunt for semi-final spot Switzerland's Eric Monnin and his Capvis Swiss Match Racing Team delivered a faultless performance today, the second day of the 60th Long Beach Yacht Club Congressional Cup.
Posted today at 4:26 am
Antigua Race Week Day 4
One-third of the classes started the penultimate day with boats tied on points at the top Racing at this year's Antigua Sailing Week is so close that one-third of the classes started the penultimate day with boats tied on points at the top of their respective leaderboards.
Posted today at 3:04 am
5.5m Alpen Cup at Fraglia Vela Riva Day 1
The Jean Genie makes strong start to title defence The Jean Genie (GBR 43, Peter Morton, Andrew Palfrey, Ruaridh Scott) took a commanding lead on a very tricky opening day of the 2025 5.5 Metre Alpen Cup at Fraglia Vela Riva, on Lake Garda, Italy.
Posted on 1 May
21st Sandberg PalmaVela Day 1
Magic Carpet E wins two from two on her debut The Maxi class officially opened racing today at the 21st Sandberg PalmaVela, completing two W/L races in which the newest elite 100-footer, Magic Carpet E, dominated with two clear victories in what was its first-ever races.
Posted on 1 May
52 SUPER SERIES Saint-Tropez Cup Day 2
Gladiator back on winning form Disappointed to miss out on winning the 2024 circuit title after coming into the last event of the season with a solid points lead, Tony Langley's world champions Gladiator crew started their assault on the 2025 title on the best possible footing.
Posted on 1 May
Life-Changing Experience in Melbourne Osaka Cup
The crew of White Spirit talk about their journey A resounding yes, they'd do it again for such an amazing life-changing experience, is how Cyrus Allen, skipper of the Beneteau 50, White Spirit, summed up the 2025 Melbourne to Osaka race, which he completed with co-skipper Lillian Stewart.
Posted on 1 May
Transat Paprec Day 12
Charlotte Yven & Hugo Dhallenne: "Now, it's all in the mind too!" He checked in mid-morning, and you could hear the joy in his voice — Hugo Dhallenne is doing what he loves most: racing at sea. He's at the front of the fleet in the Transat Paprec and fully enjoying this adventure alongside Charlotte Yven.
Posted on 1 May
Entry open for trio of Brisbane Finn events
For three weeks in February 2026 the Finn world will descend on the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Entry has opened for the main Finn events in 2026. For three weeks in February 2026 the Finn world will descend on the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, in Brisbane, Australia, for three back-to-back major regattas.
Posted on 1 May