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The highlight of the 5.5 metre class would undoubtedly be the winning of the gold medal in Tokyo in 1964 by Sir William Northam . It is history how grandfather , Bill Northam , outsmarted the sman Don MacNamara of the United StateS , who was the favourite to take the gold . Fortunately , or unfonunatcly , MacNamara ' s Bingo was moored on the adjacent dock to Northam ' s Barranfoey . Bill , each morning , with stockinged knees , would limp down the dock , nursing a bottle 01 ' Jim Hardy ' s ' Black Bottle ·, singing in great voice the song , ' MacNamara ' s Band '. Poor Mac couldn ' t hanclle this-here was an old man , partially crippled and probably pickled , being assisted on board the Australian yacht Barranjoey each day . and hot oo the trail ropick up a gold . Bill was a superb showman but underneath that weather-beaten and wrinkled face was a man who had carefully planned the scenario back in 1962 . Bill was in the Un ired States involved with the 12 mecre Gretel , skippered by Jock Sturrock . On board Gretel there were two young Austra · Jian crew members , Peter ( Pod ) O ' Donnell and Dick Sargeant . When the America ' s Cup scene was over in Newport , Rhode Island , Bill organised Poddy and Dick ro remain in the States and gain as much knowledge and experience as they could by sailing in the 5.5 metre reganas . This they did , and Poddy and Dick were rewarded with a gold medal when crewing for Bill in Tokyo in 1964 .
A gre .:. 11 sup }' l <) rrer anct 1 '{) 0n ~ or of the class in the United Kingdom was Owen Aisher . Every vessel that Aisber built was called Yeoman . The Victorian yachtsman , Bill Dagg , imported the 6 metre yacht
Yeoman to Melbourne to defeod the Northcote Cup against the onslaught from New South Wales . The
5.5 mette yachts that were sold to AuscraJia by Ai sher were Yeoma11 / V , purchased by Rob Cuningham and subsequently sold to Tom Williamson ; Yeoman V . Frank Harrison and Yeoman V / 11 , Tristan Antico . All of these yachts raced on the Pinwater where a very competitive class of these yachts evolved .
Russell Slade . a kee11 ocean racing member , became involved in the class and commissioned Alan Payne to design Karee / a for him . The A YF allocated sail number I 3 toKareela , however . after an incident which resulted in the mast crane breaking in two at1d hoLing Karee / a , Russell made a rapid change to sail number 18 . Other yachts built for Russell Slade included the Britton Chance Baragoola and Lhe Bill
Luders-designed Burrabra .
History of the 5.5 metre class would nor be com · plere without recording the name of Frank Tolhurst . Frank broke into the class by purchasillg the original Southern Cross from Norman Booth . Then Bob Miller ( later to be known as Ben Lexcen ) designed a small boar , Kings Cr <> ss , with which Frank had moderate success . Then came his run of A nm gas . the last beingAl ' u11ga Vlll , although one orhis favourite 5.5s was Southem Cross / II which he re-purchased
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recently aJld in spiteofbeing the oldest boat , won the Australian Gold Cup in 1986 . Frank has won many State , national . gold cups and world events .
Some of the members wbo were involved in developing this class include : Tony Carr ( Alrair ), Gordon Jngate ( Kirribilll , Pam ). Peter Miller ( 811rradoo ), Peter Holmes a Court ( Sabri11a ). Harold Vaughan ( H1mey ) -Harold subsequently won a world championship in France sailing Amores . John Taylor of 6 metre fan1e , built Toogooloowoo I II ; Jack Carr . another 6 metre buff , built Jabiru , later 10 become Vanessa . Prank Bird . who named aU of his yachts after feathered friends , had the 30 square merre Teal , Flying Fifteen Feather , Yachting World Diamond Tem and the 5.5 Teal II . Carl Halvorsen has also supported the class well with Crest and Skagerak . Carl has always made l1is vessel available toCrownPrinceHaraldofNorway , when competing in Australia . The club ' s well-known artist , Alec Hall , ! llmed his haod to design and build Twain , Triad and Robbie . The club " s gold-medal winner in the Star class in Munich in 1972 , David Fol ' bes , blitzed the world in Kevin McCann " s Corabella in 1970 off Palm Beach .
Perhaps in no other class has the RPA YC been so eminently successful as it has been with the 5.5 metres . Maybe it was Sit William Northam ' s success in the Tokyo Olympics tl1at sparked off the whole chain but , from rhere on , out of seventeen world
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World chan1pionship racing for 5.5 metre yachts on the Palm Beach Circle in 1986 . |
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