Onboard Alfa Romeo during a test sail in Sydney, Australia in preparation for the Rolex Sydney to Hobart 2009.
‘Alfa Romeo’, the second yacht built by New Zealand skipper and owner, Neville Crichton, to carry the name of the Italian car maker, was penned by leading American yacht designers, Reichel/Pugh and built in Sydney by McConaghy Boats.
Posts tagged Sydney
26
Nov 09
Nov 09
Moth Mach 2
Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia 33º51’06″S 151º15’59″E
Scott Babbage in a training session on his Moth Mach 2 in Sydney Harbour, Single-handed sailing dinghy with hydro-foils.
McConaghy Boats understand strong, light and fast and in no time at all McConaghy partnered with McDougall and began to build the next generation of foiling moths. Drawing upon the two names McDougall / McConaghy and acknowledging the name of the 2nd moth ever built by founder John McConaghy, they formed Mach 2 Boats Pty Ltd.
23
Sep 09
Sep 09
Sydney Sand Storm
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 33º51’63″S 151º12’50″E
Apocalyptic vision of Sydney, shrouded in red dust blown in by winds from the deserts of the outback.
Sydneysiders woke to a red dawn this morning as a thick dust storm caused havoc with transport and raised health fears.
The size of the dust cloud surprised weather experts, who say it has covered half of NSW.
24
May 09
May 09
Bide a Wee
Balgowlah Heights, New South Wales, Australia 33º49’93″S 151º15’70″E
A 13m vessel, the Bide a Wee, on her side with holes in her timber hull, having been battered by heavy seas. The ketch went aground after leaving North Harbour under sail, it was was marooned on the rocks at Grotto Point near Dobroyd Head at Balgowlah Heights, Sydney.
A Maritime vessel and a police boat were both unable to reach two men on the ketch because of the wild waves and strong winds.An officer was winched down onto the stranded vessel from police helicopter PolAir to rescue the two.
They were winched to safety and flown to Manly Hospital for treatment.
The men did not appear to be injured.
17
May 09
May 09
Lauryn Eagle
Manly, New South Whales, Australia 33º48’57″S 151º16’33″E
Lauryn Eagle attempted to be the first female to water ski continuously from Sydney to Newcastle and back in a record time of under three and a half hours.
Lauryn Eagle is an Australian water ski champion, stunning model (Miss Teen Australia 2004, miss Teen International 2004), Foxtel presenter and social and community entrepreneur.
15
Apr 09
Apr 09
470 Page/Belcher
Sydney Heads, New South Whales, Australia 33º49’73″S 151º17’26″E
Training session for the succulently talented crew of Malcolm Page 5 times 470 World Champion and gold medallist at the Olympic Games
in China and it’s new helmsman Mathew Belcher, behind the scene it was Victor Kovalenko the super coach for the Australian Sailing Team. Who like to say:
“Get your dream, trust yourself and follow your dream.”
Motivation, motivation…
14
Dec 08
Dec 08
Loki
Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia 33º51’03″S 151º15’82″E
Onboard the 63 feet Loki for the first test sail in the Sydney Harbour.
McConaghy Boats in Mona Vale, Australia built the new Reichel-Pugh 63 Loki For Stephen Ainsworth. In Norse Mythology, Loki is a God. Loki sometimes assists the gods and sometimes causes problems for them. Loki is a shape shifter and in separate incidents he appears in the form of a salmon, mare, seal, fly, and possibly an elderly woman. Loki’s positive relations with the gods end with his role in engineering the death of the god Baldr. Loki is eventually bound by the gods with the entrails of one of his sons.
18
Oct 08
Oct 08
Bondi Icebergs Swimming Club
Bondi Beach, New South Wales, Australia 33º53’24″S 151º16’47″E
Photo assignment for Lexus magazine.
The Swimming Club’s origin dates back to 1929 and owes its origins to the desire of a band of dedicated local lifesavers who wished to maintain their fitness during the winter months. They formed the Bondi Icebergs Winter Swimming Club and drew up a constitution and elected office bearers. Included in the constitution was a rule that to maintain membership it was mandatory that swimmers compete on three Sundays out of four for a period of five years. The Icebergs became licensed in 1960 and the members moved from a tin shed into comfortable premises with Bar and Poker Machines. A further update took place in the 1970s enabling the Club to operate on two floors. In 1994, female members were admitted and in 2002 the Club opened their new premises. 
20
Dec 07
Dec 07
Rosebud
Tasman Sea, New South Wales, Australia 33º50’83″S 151º21’97″E
Onboard Roger Sturgeon’s Farr design Transpac 65 Rosebud during a training session in Sydney, preparing for the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race 2007. The American yacht, won the IRC handicap race and, thus, the Tattersalls Cup as the overall winner of the 2007 race. Roger Sturgeon had to leave before today’s formal prize giving at the yacht club. But at yesterday’s dockside ceremony where the divisional winners were formally announced, Sturgeon was awarded a Rolex Yacht-Master timepiece, the keepsake to the Tattersall’s Cup perpetual trophy for the overall handicap win and promptly handed it to his bowman, Justin Clougher. Hobart-born Clougher – known as “Juggy” in the sailing community — now based in Newport, Rhode Island, has built an international reputation sailing on around-the-world races and in the America’s Cup. But he remains very much a Tasmanian boy. Clougher has sailed in eight previous Sydney Hobart races with the best result aboard Larry Ellison’s Sayonara for her line honours win in 1998.Local family members and his American wife Kerry, children Zoe and Graeme, were in the crowd of several hundred at Constitution Dock, when Sturgeon passed on the watch to a completely surprised Juggy, with the acknowledgement that he had been the most valuable crewman on his STP65′s Australian campaign. Juggy’s role as a wind spotter, high up the mast — as the boat negotiated the calm that slowed her for two hours just outside the mouth of the Derwent River — contributed to her win. “This is a huge shock to me,” said Juggy. “I love sailing, I love Hobart and being able to race home is fantastic, I just love it. And to bring the boat home in a strong position is just such a good feeling. I was so excited.”“I have no idea what the watch is worth, but to me you couldn’t put a price on it and I think every other sailor in this whole fleet would be the same. You can take the watch off the front but you leave me that back plate with the words on it (2007 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race).”From weather reports Rosebud knew there was a northwesterly breeze blowing in Hobart. “We just had to hope it would fill in down the river. We wanted to keep the boat moving towards the Iron Pot in any way, shape or form so we could get into that new breeze. We got it…just.”The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race marked the end of Rosebud’s Australian campaign’s unbeaten record. Earlier in December, Rosebud won the IRC handicap division of the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge on Sydney Harbour and IRC Division 1 in the Rolex Trophy Rating Series.
Words: KPMS
