Drew plays the classics
by John Curnow 22 Dec 2017 18:05 AEDT
From the time when the bridge was done to when the shells took pride of place - the classic S&S fleet in the 2017 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race © Andrea Francolini
Well and truly spanning the time from when 'the coathanger' was built to when the great Dane, Jørn Utzon, made his shells, these four Sparkman and Stephens designs have graced many waters, won a few races and made loads of people smile. They are all in Sydney for the 2017 Sydney to Hobart. Andrea 'Drew' Francolini shares his images of the classic collection, which all made the title seem very apt seeing as they were in front of the Opera House..
S&S were synonymous with ocean going craft for ages, and the four seen here were all from that golden era. The earliest is Dorade from 1929/30. The glamourous S&S 52 is back in the southern hemisphere completing a series of major races and regattas for American owners Matt Brooks and Pam Rorke-Levy.
Next is the very famous, and former Line Honours winner from 1971, Kialoa II. She is the 73-foot aluminium yawl that the late Jim Kilroy launched in 1964. You can see Andrea's sensational on water images of her here. The other two hail from 1981 and comprise of the 34 footer, Komatsu Azzuro, that her present owner, Shane Kearns, bough with his credit card. The final member of the clan is the Swan 65, Eve. Nautor's Swan have used S&S, Ron Holland and German Frers to design their craft over their exemplary history.
You can go and read the history of Sparkman and Stephens sparkmanstephens.com/our-story/history