member and the widow of one of the club ' s departed members , S . R . Dickinson . Tue idea was said to have originated onboard two yacbts--Peter Luke ' s Wayfarer and Charles Cooper ' s Asgard - that were laying in the Basin , in the Pirtwater , in 1944 . It was from this ' get-together ' that a decision was made to fonn the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia . Those who took pan in the decision were : Charles Cooper , S . R . Dickinson , Jack Bari , P . G . Goldstein . Vernon Hart , Norman 0 . Hudson . Peter Luke . J . Rosendale , S . B . Search , Bruce Tart and Bert Walker . By 1945 the Cruising Ync : ht Club bad nine members , n Commodore , A . E . ( Bert ) Walker , and an Honorary Secretary , Jack Earl . Captain J . H . Illingworth , RN . was made an honorary member and it was suggested to him by Peter Luke that as Bert Walker , Jack Earl and himself were going 10 cruise down to Hoban be might like to come along . To this Captain llliogworth is reputed to have replied : ' Good idea-why don ' t we have a race ?' Peter Luke agreed and so the Hobart race was born . 111e Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania agreed to finish the yachts and entered PerceCoverdales ' Winston Churchill . The first race was sailed in December l945 .
During this period many yachtsmen were working furiously to get their prewar boats back into racing condition and little around-me-buoys racing was taking place . One thing , however . is sutprising--even in those days facilities at the Pittwater were better for working on boats than those in the Harbour . Members who used to slip their boats in the Harbour tended to bring them up to the Pittwater and work on them there .
In l 947 the club introduced the popular 350-milc ocean race from Sydney around Montagu Island and return . This race commences the first Friday in October and usually finishes on the Sunday or on the Public Holiday which occurs on ! he Monday . The club also controlled the Sydney end of ! he 1947 Trans Tasman race which was sailed under severe conditions with winds up to JOO miles per hour . Peer Gynt , owned by club members Trygve and Magnus Halvorsen , won the race .
Winston Churchill . This famous old vessel was built and owned by Perce Coverdale of Hoban in 1939 . F . Job and R . Fealherstone assisted in the building . During World War II she made many trips to the TMman Island Lighthouse to replenish stores . Rigged as a yawl , she raced in the first Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in 1945 . Winston Churchill was later owned by Sir Arthur Warner and she spent some time in the Pacific Islands . She was subsequently driven ashore near Wilsons Promonrory during a heavy southerly
and finished up on ! he beach . II speaks well of the craftsmanship of her builders ! hat she was towed off virtually unscathed . Now owned by J . W . and S . M . Ball , Winston Churchill lies peacefully in the Pittwater .
The impressive Royal Prince Alfred Montagu Island Race Trophy was first raced for in 1947 . lt is a great shame that this race was abandoned in 1987 .
An early Montagu Island Race start .
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