One Ton Cup Champion Rainbow II emerges from Vos Shed ahead of launch

by Alan Sefton on 30 Jan 2015 Former One Ton Cup Champion, Rainbow II emerged from the historic Vos Shed on the Auckland waterfront after a full restoration.

She has been taken to the Pier 21 where the rig was stepped and final preparations are being made for the boat’s launching at 10am on Monday (2 February, 2015).

Rainbow’s skipper Chris Bouzaid was on hand for the move along with key people in the restoration.

Mrs Lorraine Street, wife of Auckland waterfront identity John Street, will do the traditional honours to rechristen Rainbow II at Pier 21.

John Street is the driving force behind, and chairman of, the Classic Yacht Charitable Trust which now owns Rainbow II. The iconic Sparkman & Stephens 36-footer was donated to the Trust by Bouzaid who, in 2012, bought back the yacht that he sold to Bermuda after she won the One Ton Cup in 1969 and, with the help of some friends, had her shipped home to New Zealand.

She was in a sad way but has now been fully restored by the Trust and, as a modern classic, will make a racing return to the Hauraki Gulf on the 28th of February when she features in the fleet for the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s five-race One Ton Revisited regatta.

Another entry swell One Ton Cup fleet to eight boats

Kevin Kelly’s Impact has swelled to eight the fleet for the inaugural One Ton Revisited.

Impact is a John Lidgard 'Imp' design with Kelly a stalwart of the Panmure Yacht & Boating Club.

Her crew for One Ton Revisited will include Andy Ball and Ian McKenzie as well as sailmaker Kenny Fyfe.

Ball was tactician on Ian Gibbs’ Swuzzlebubble II when she finished 5th in the 1977 Half Ton Cup, in Sydney, and was in then, on Swuzzlebubble II, in the New Zealand team, with Jenny H and Smir-Noff-Agen, that won that year’s edition of the Southern Cross Cup. He filled the same roll when Gibbs’ Swuzzlebubble III finished top individual points scorer in the 1981 Admiral’s Cup.

McKenzie is the son of the late John McKenzie, former commodore of the RNZYS (1975/76) and a highly respected offshore racer in his hard-chine Spencer design Sirius, while sailmaker Fyfe is a former, multiple R-Class champion who has raced everything else from Quarter Tonners to Bob Graham’s 48ft Davidson design Snow White II.

One Ton Revisited dinner and special film evening

The dramatic events that, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, surrounded Chris Bouzaid and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron winning and then defending the One Ton Cup, were the launch pad for this country’s remarkable rise to dominance of world ocean racing and its attendant marine industry.

Some 25 years later, they culminated in New Zealand and the Squadron winning yachting’s greatest prize – the America’s Cup.

Not many people realise that those first faltering steps to sailing pre-eminence also launched two more Squadron members – Peter Montgomery and Bill McCarthy - on to an unsuspecting sailing public

Both became household names throughout New Zealand – Pete as the 'voice of yachting' and Bill as sportscaster and then television presenter of TVNZ’s national news.

We’re bringing all three back together – Bouzaid, Montgomery and McCarthy – to present a special evening that will be a precursor to the One Ton Revisited regatta (25 February to 7 March inclusive).

Peter will be MC and Chris the guest speaker as we take a trip down the One Ton Cup memory lane that will feature rare footage of the 1969 and 1971 One Ton Cup events assembled and presented by now-video producer and editor Bill.

Then, as a special bonus, another Squadron member, Larry Keating, will give us a sneak preview of his yet-to-be released international television series that, in high definition, reveals the America’s Cup as it has never been seen before – great history and tradition, powerful players, intrigue and dirty tricks, warts and all.

It should be a night to remember!!!

RNZYS, Wednesday, 25 February (7.30pm)
Guest speaker Chris Bouzaid
MC Peter Montgomery

Movie inserts to include 1969 and 1971 One Ton Cups

PLUS yet to be released America’s Cup special

Three-course meal and fine wines

Contact RNZYS reception for bookings: Jan Yeager
Phone: (09)360-6800 Fax: (09)360-6802 Email: reception@rnzys.org.nz

Coffee baron gets in behind Wai Aniwa

Wai Aniwa’s OTR quest has won the support of Wellington coffee baron Geoff Marsland and his popular brand Havana Coffee.

Marsland has been at the forefront of the New Zealand coffee business for 25 years is one of the larger-than-life characters of the Wellington business community. He’s also a veteran sea dog who, as a youngster, worked as a fisherman on the 'wild side' of Cape Palliser. More recently, he has become the owner of the lovely old motor-sailer 'Nameless'.

Wai Aniwa, meanwhile, arrived safely in Auckland at the start of Anniversary Weekend. Her mostly uneventful sail up from the capital did, however, feature the almost compulsory 'dusting' while rounding East Cape.

Her owner/skipper Roger Foley says visitors to Wai Aniwa, on her berth in Westhaven, will be able to find the boat by following the alluring aroma of Havana Coffee!

Foley is beefing up Wai Aniwa’s crew for the contest. One 'rock star' recruit is Tom Dodson (formerly of North Sails) who has skippered a long list of New Zealand yachts in international contests. There are more, but Foley is keeping his other cards close to his chest.