Sailing After Seventy

by Jackelyn Norris on 6 Sep 2011 Hailing from North Haven, Adelaide, the pair are here at the Sealink Magnetic Island Race as part of the event’s official racing committee, with Stewart the Racing Officer for the F18 Class and Rosemarie helping out behind the scenes where needed.

The exciting event, now in its fifth year and held off the sunny coast of Townsville, is one of the fastest growing regattas in the Asia Pacific, this year attracting a record number of 90 boats. This is also Stewart and Rosemarie’s fifth year at the regatta and both are still having an absolute ball. ‘It’s a great event, really good fun and everyone’s very supportive and works together,’ Rosemarie said.

‘It gets a bit hairy sometimes when boats come over the line five and six at time and you can’t read the sail numbers, and you’re trying to get them down second by second,’ she laughs, ‘but no, it’s a really great thing to do.’

For the last eight years, Rosemarie and particularly Stewart have been heavily involved in regattas all over Australia. Stewart is South Australia’s first and only International Race Officer and is a very high profile among the local yacht clubs. Having sailed and raced competitively out of Lakes Bay Sailing Club for many years he was eventually approached by the club to come on board the committee.

‘I thought it was a good chance to put something back into sailing. So I got back as a volunteer on the committee boat and sort of worked my way up through there,’ Stewart said. ‘I got my state accreditation and then my national accreditation. I had my national for about four years and then I got my international, but being over 70 you only get an accreditation for two years,’ he laughs. ‘So next year I’ve got to go again, they’re afraid I’ll forget.’

Needless to say, the two ‘kids’ haven’t slowed down since, even though they’re both retired. ‘In Adelaide I’ve done the 14 footers, the Prince Philip Cup, The Australian Youth’s, the 420’s, and I do the Lincoln Race Week each year, which I’ve been involved in now for five years,’ Stewart said. ‘And interstate I do Melbourne, Geelong, Airlie Beach Race Week, once at Hamo, Magnetic Island Race Week, and I also do a lot of work in Perth. This year I’m doing the Javelin Nationals.’

‘But between now and when we get home I’ve got the Australian Masters Games, and on the last day of that I’ve got to pull the pin and hop on a plane and go to Lincoln because we’ve got the Interdominion Schools Teams Racing Championship, then its sail Melbourne, Perth and after I’ll come back and do Geelong and Lincoln Week.’

Of course Rosemarie is always in the background wherever Stewart goes. ‘I haven’t had as much experience in sailing as Stewart, but I’ve always been there for him, and we’ve always enjoyed it as a family, when the boys sailed with him.

Stewart, initially a Melbourne boy, began sailing at the age of 15 at The Royal St Kilda Yacht Club in cadet dinghies, before progressing to Dragon’s, 21 footers and then 14 footers. ‘I sailed in 14 footers for probably five or six years and then got married and that put a stop to sailing for a while,’ he laughs playfully.

Working as an Industrial Engineer at ARC Engineering in Melbourne, a company he co-founded, Stewart was eventually transferred to Perth where he sailed out of Perth Dinghy Club for 12 years, as well as, racing competitively. ‘I then got transferred to Adelaide, and we were in Adelaide for a while and then they wanted us to go to Sydney, and I said, “No way! I’ll pass thank you!”’

It was in Adelaide Stewart swapped his Laser for a trailable sailor, Sonata 6.7. ‘I hopped in a Laser at the end of each day, and to get to the trailer I had to crawl up the beach because I was so buggered,’ he laughs. ‘So I decided I had better things to do, and we got a Sonata 6.7, which I raced fairly extensively down at Lakes Bay Sailing Club. I then updated it to a Sonata 760, which is an extended sports version of the 6.7, and we were very successful in Adelaide in that. But of course as we got on my leader decided she wanted an Olex, she wanted a bit of luxury,’ Stewart mimics glancing at Rosemarie.

‘I asked Father Christmas for an Olex every year and eventually he came good,’ Rosemary jumps in laughing. ‘Once he won several local championships I think he thought he’d better give in.’

The pair mainly use the Olex for cruising and have traveled all over Australia; drink in hand, lazy days in the sun, sailing from one paradise to another. Life really is a breeze when you own a yacht and these two grey nomads, when they’re not occupying the regatta scene, enjoy exploring different waters. ‘Yes we love that part of it. This year we went via Darwin to come over here, and last year we went up to Far North Queensland and came back to Airlie. We vary the way we go so we get a chance to look at Australia at the same time,’ Rosemarie said.

After Magnetic Island Race Week Stewart and Rosemarie will be sailing south to visit friends in Sydney, and then docking at home in October for a short period, before their official race duties commence again.