TASSIE TOO
Forster, who lent the team his own boat, Corella. With
the greater participation the event attracted more
attention, and the Victorian Yacht Racing Association
chartered two steamers from which members of the
public could spectate. Once again, New South Wales
were the victors.
With the next event in Hobart, it was time for the
Tasmanians to design and build their own boat. To pay
for it, the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania (RYCT)
decided, in September 1924, to raise the money by
subscription from its members. This met with immediate
success, and a design was produced by WP “Skipper”
Batt, with the help of Alfred Bore and John Tarleton. It
looked as if Skipper would also build the boat, but soon
afterwards he announced that, due to a shortage of
materials, skilled labour and time, he wouldn’t be able
to. The club then contacted a number of other builders
all over the country, who also expressed concern about
the time frame, but eventually Hobart boatbuilder
Charles Lucas agreed to take it on. With assistance from
by Finnish boatbuilder Ivar “Chips” Gronfors, the new
boat – with Huon pine planking, blackwood frames and
King Billy pine decks, all native Tasmanian timbers – was
built in just four weeks. She was christened Tassie.
As a result of her hasty construction, Tassie had a
somewhat rough and ready appearance, which prompted
the press and public to give her little or no chance of
success. So when she fi rst set her sails there was no
expectation that she and her two subsequent namesakes
would dominate the Forster Cup from then on.L
ord Henry William Forster was appointed
Governor General of Australia in 1920. During
his fi ve-year term he wasn’t as involved in the
country’s politics as his predecessors had been,
but he was particularly keen on sport, especially cricket,
horse racing and sailing. He was, himself, a keen sailor
and he was eager to encourage greater participation
across Australian society.
One day not long after his arrival in Australia, Forster
was in Melbourne’s Government House, from the top of
which there was a reasonable view across Port Phillip
Bay. A few small vessels were sailing back from a regatta
in Geelong in a gale of wind and Forster noticed through
his powerful fi eld glasses that one of them seemed to be
coping particularly well with the conditions. The boat
was heading to Brighton Yacht Club, and he made his
way down there to fi nd out more about her. He then
discovered that she was a 21ft (6.4m) waterline half-
decked centreboarder called Idler, which had been built- along with a sistership, Namoi – in 1909, and which
had resulted in the Victorian Yacht Racing Association
forming the 21 Foot Restricted Class four years later.
In 1921 Lord Forster became Commodore of both
Melbourne’s Royal Yacht Club of Victoria and the Royal
Sydney Yacht Squadron, and would play an active part
at both. At an early committee meeting at the latter club,
he announced that he intended to donate a trophy for
competition between the six Australian states. There was
then some debate as to what class of boat should race for
it: some favoured the Star and others the 6-M, but
eventually the 21 Foot Restricted Class was chosen.
Apart from the specifi ed waterline length, other class
rules included a maximum overall length of 25ft (7.6m)
and beam of 8ft (2.4m); minimum internal ballast of
10cwt (5,080kg); a maximum upwind sail area, initially
of 350sq ft (33m^2 ) but soon increased to 450sq ft (42m^2 ) - the rig type wasn’t specifi ed but nearly every boat
would be gunter, or high-peaked gaff; and other
restrictions regarding scantlings, freeboard, draught,
transom rake and midships girth. During the course of
the early 1920s, some rules seem to have been open to
interpretation and so were tightened up in 1928.
RISING CLASS
The fi rst Forster Cup was held in February 1922 in
Sydney Harbour, with six boats representing New South
Wales and two from Queensland. There were three races
(as there would always be throughout the history of the
competition), and in the second race, places at the front
of the fl eet changed multiple times, with a Queensland
boat eventually taking the gun by the narrowest of
margins. “It was the greatest yacht race ever seen on the
Harbour,” reported the Sydney Morning Herald. It was
a New South Wales boat, Gumleaf, however, that won
the other two races and the trophy.
Forster had stipulated that the venue should rotate
between all six states, and so the following year the cup
was held in Brisbane, albeit still with just Queensland
and New South Wales taking part, but each state was
now limited to three boats. New South Wales retained
the trophy. However, in 1924, fi ve states took part in
Melbourne: just Western Australia was absent, while
Tasmania’s involvement was entirely thanks to LordBelow: Lord
Henry William
Forster,
Governor-
General of
Australia, 1920