John Lincoln Gale , now Secretary Manager of the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club . has held office conrinuously since 1956 .
Some of the club ' s fines ! boats of this rime were built especially for ocean racing . Amongst them were :
Srruen Marie . 36-ft s loop owned by T . M . Williumson 8Ild winner of 1he 1951 Sydney Hoban Race .
Lass o ' luss , 42-ft sloop owned by J . Coloquhoun . Nlmb11 . t , 34-ft cutter built by A . L Cohen . Jan : oo11 ( fonnerly Creole ), 42-ft sloop owned by
Russell Slade .
Margaret Ri111oul , 44-fl yawl owned by Austin Edwards and , wi ! h Frank Barlow as skipper in 1953 . holder of the Sydney Hoburt record . One-time winner of the Montagu Island Race record .
Solvelg , 36-fisloop . owned byT & M Halvorsen . Lmerncunerand winncrorthe 1954 Sydney Hobart . and entrant in rwo Honolulu races .
Rurhean . 54-ft k . e1cb owned by Vic Toll of Newcastle .
Potsy , 48-ft Tasmanian-buill cuner owned by A . C . Cooper .
By 1955 yach ! S were of mcdium-to-light displacement with lighter gear and more easily handled sails than the earlier yachts . They were introduced because of the cost of building their forerunners . which being of heavier displacemem were much more
expensive 10 build o . nd mo . intoin . With the advent of syn1hc1ic materials and plywood lamina1es , many of the old cons1ruction problems had been ovel ' COlllC and this light displacement boa • hnd proved as stroog and , in many cases , just ns durable as her old heavier sis1ership .
An importanl item in this regard was the use of prefubricated steel and bronze floors in hull con · struction in ~ tead of the cumbersome grown or sawn Ooors and knees of ten or fifteen years earlier . Light new alloys such ns stainlcs .~ steel for rigging and monelmetal for linings and faslcnings bad also brough1 about quite revolutionary changes in the weight of gear , both on deck and up aloft . Advances in phennlic resin glues which were 1mally water · proof and very strong had simplified the building of hollow spars , making them lighter and srronger , as well as more durable . Advancements in quality and weight of sailcloth and 1he trend 1oward5 the high aspect ratio sail with the main work being done by the foretriangle . had also revolutionised the use and care of sails .
The trends in hull design following the light displacement in cons1ruction continued to a further cuning away of the forefool and long clean runs aft . There was a slight tendency to reverse sheer , but whilst this had become popular in England i1 really did not catch on here , although there was a South Austrnlinn conrestant in the 1954 Sydney Hobart Race , Sourlrern Myth , which curried the reverse sheer in her bull construction very successfully .
In SJ > ite of all the scientific advancement in the designing . building and equipping of the modem racing yacht ( which has today advanced even further with Ilic inll ' oducrion of fibreglass construction , probably the greatest advancement of all ), the human beings which skipper and crew d1ese ' State of the An ' masterpiecesarestill madeof 1hesnme flesh and blood a .\ their forefathers who . sailed those black sliding gunter rigged yachts of the 1860s with their big Mones for balla .~ t and their clouds of canvas . lbey can still only stand a certain amount of bucket · ing about oulside working to windwa . rd in a nasty cross sea .
The prnc1icc of having a club steamer fo llow the races was still in vogue and La Radar wns booked for the 1954 season . In November 1954 it was resolved
to mnke a levy of Ss Od per full member from the commenccmem of the next financial year for the operation of the Yachting Association and Australian Yachting Feder . itioo provided all other member clubs made a retroactive annual contribution Cl5 suggested by the special sul > -comminee of tl1e Ynch1ing Association of New South Wales .
II was decided 10 pay tlie Yachting Association of New Sou1J1 Wales 2s 6d for the balance of 1heclub ' s year I 954-55 . provided collection difriculties could be overcome and all other member club > conrributed the amounts nllcx . ated .
In 1954 the Prince Alfred Yacht Clul > -Pinwater Division . became a reality . It was rc ; olved 1hm
the Vicc • Commodore prepare the necessary rules for the forma tion of a club at Green Point 10 be named 11S approved by 1he Commiuce , such rules 10 be submitted at the next meeting or the Comn1iuec .
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