Flotsam & Jetsam 17.04.26
Restoring PETREL Episode 13
Larry Eastwood’s wonderful Youtube Channel seems to be growing with each new episode and so it should! While not quite at Gooldenesque proportions, it worth every second of the nine minutes in Episode 13 in which construction shifts to the cabin roof, where laminated beams are meticulously shaped and fitted. The process involves crafting individual components, from bevelling cabin sides to assembling hatch frames with precision joinery. Every piece is carefully measured and notched to ensure a perfect fit within the boat's existing framework.
Inverloch in Japanese
We are a bit off the pace with bringing you a report of the 2026 Inverloch Classic Dinghy Regatta. We published some images back in March but here’s a comprehensive report thanks to Greg Barwick…Better late than never!
This year the weather gods really did smile on the regatta: not only was it sunny, but the winds were light to moderate, the sandbars (mostly) behaved and there was plenty of beach, even at high tide.
Most boats had arrived by Friday afternoon and by the time the compound was locked for the night there were a lot of Sailfish lined up along the western boat rack, in what quickly became known as Sailfish Alley. This year the regatta celebrated 70 years of the Australian Sailfish, so a good turnout of boats and also people who used to sail Sailfish was expected. Later in the weekend and by popular demand, SGYC presented the title: “a Swim of Sailfish”, which henceforth will be their honorary collective noun!
Come Saturday morning and it was time to complete registrations, hand out regatta shirts and take boats down to the beach in preparation for the afternoon’s racing. In total we over 40 on-water entries this year with the Sailfish, as usual, making up a large swag of that. But we also had Mirrors, Sabres, Moths and a scattering of other classes and classic design boats to fill out the numbers.
Image-Ian Taylor
With signs up around the town, and through The Glade pointing people towards the regatta, there was a steady flow of interested people around the compound and down on the beach checking out what the event was all about.
Saturday afternoon saw light to moderate winds, increasing steadily as the day wore on. Race one saw the Sailfish take out the top three places, with Bentley Conn on 874 leading from Steven Floyd on 3400 and Chris Cleary on 1918 in third. Close behind them was Craig Ginnivan in his Finn followed by Jonathon Pullman in his scow Moth filling out fourth and fifth places.
Race two was again won by Bentley on his Sailfish as the wind increased slightly but this time Rob Hartnett took out second place in his Sabre followed by Jonathon in his Moth. Fourth place was Jim French on his Sailfish 1806 and fifth was Steven Floyd Sailfish 3400.
That was the Saturday racing done and dusted, it was time to clean up and get ready for the Regatta Dinner, with the pre-dinner entertainment provided by the Wonthaggi Citizens Band. At dinner good food and good company was augmented with door and raffle prizes and there were even quiz prizes. As 2026 marks the 70th Anniversary of the Australian Sailfish, Greg Barwick and Chris Cleary gave a brief talk about the history of the class and how the Sailfish came about, designed as it was by two bayside mates when they were sick of the hassle of finding regular crews.
Sunday dawned, with very few apparent hangovers. So once again it was boats to the beach in preparation for races 3 & 4 of the regatta.
Race three was ‘interesting’ for many. As it had the day before the breeze started off lightly from the east but as the fleet made its way towards the finish line that breeze dropped out all together. It then swung nearly 180 degrees to come in from the west sou’west and that caught out quite a few boats that were between the top mark and the wing mark. As a result final placings for the race received a bit of a shake up. First home in race 3 was Dan Bentley in his Flying Ant followed by Rob Hartnett in his Sabre and Craig Ginnivan in his Finn. Fourth went to Chris Cleary on his Sailfish and fifth was taken by Jim French on his Sailfish.
The breeze continued to freshen for Race 4, but at least it was steady now. First home was, again, Bentley Conn on his Sailfish, followed Steven Floyd on his Sailfish and yet again Craig Ginnivan in his Finn. Fourth was Jonathon Pullman in his Moth and fifth was Dan Bentley in his Flying Ant.
And so to the presentations –
Dennis Ginn Cup for 1st place in the Regatta – Bentley Conn, Australian Sailfish 874, “Lucy”
Jack Carroll Memorial Trophy for 1st place in the Australian Sailfish – Bentley Conn, 874, “Lucy”
Junior Trophy, Community Bank Inverloch – Merjie Simnett and Rowan Fairlie – Mirror “Charlie Brown”
Best Presented Australian Sailfish – 2218, “Westerly”. Built by Chris Cleary and this year sailed by John Dowzard
Best Presented Moth – 8797, “Hot to Trot”, built by John Dowzard (many years ago), restored by Richard Milton, sailed by Christian Knott
Overall Best in Show – Gwen 12 2042, “Aquarius”, restored and sailed by Andrew Chapman and crew Polly Parise
People’s Choice Award – Finn 92, “Mickey Finn”, restored and sailed by Craig Ginnivan.
And here is a charming two minute video of the event courtesy of TV Asahi Japan. I don’t want a translation. I just enjoy listening to the language!
And please note- The good folk at the South Gippsland Yacht Club have decided to change the date of the next ICWDR to the weekend of 20th and 21st February 2027. This was done to allow people attending the Hobart Wooden Boat Festival time to return home and prepare for the Inverloch regatta. Put it your diary NOW!
RPEYC Classic Yacht Regatta
It’s hard to find any written reports on what looks like a spectacular event on the Harbour last weekend. The results of Race One can be found HERE, but there doesn’t seem to be any information available for the other races? Also, I can’t really find any imagery apart from a few instagram posts such as these from Crossfire Photography
Does anyone want to give the non-Sydney sailors the full story on this great initiative? And I may be reading too much into this …but I’m wondering why the staples of the CYCA Classic Fleet weren’t involved. (MARGARET RINTOUL, FIDELIS, CAPRICE OF HUON, WRAITH OF ODIN, ARCHINA et al) I hope there isn’t a turf war developing?
Serious talks with Museums
Two weeks ago, just before the start of the 78th Brisbane to Gladstone Race, an article appeared on the ABC website out of their “Capricornia” office. It was about the legendaty KATWINCHAR
This is the gist of it…
The skipper of a yacht built in a London brewery 122 years ago is chasing glory as he launches into what could be the boat's final race before entering a museum. The Maritimo Katwinchar is among 29 taking part in the 78th annual Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race today, with a race briefing starting at Moreton Bay from 10am.
"We'll sit down with the boss but … nothing's forever, maybe it's time to share the love with the boat and there are serious talks with museums,"
Maritimo skipper Michael Spies said.
Ashley Dart Photo
Well KATWINCHAR ended up coming 5th out of 20 on IRC
Nothing heard since, but it would be sad if this famous old boat ended up as a museum piece. For example the ANMM’s record with keeping its fleet active is not exactly stellar, (cf KATHLEEN GILLETT, THISTLE, AKARANA) and we all know that the best way to preserve an old boat is to use it as much as possible.
Interesting to see where this story ends up.
Read the full ABC article HERE
SWS Calendar
We updated the SWS Calendar again this week and we now have over 25 events listed. And its getting a lot of visits. So don’t miss out. Send us the details of your local event, however big or small and we’ll add it in.