68 CLASSIC BOAT AUGUST 2016RAINBOW II
The One Ton Cup is a trophy presented to the
winner of a sailing competition created in 1899 by
the Cercle de la voile de Paris (CVP). These
regattas were at the beginning of races between
one-tonner sailing yachts, dinghies, according to
the 1892 Godinet rule. This Coupe Internationale
du Cercle de la Voile de Paris, its original name,
has been raced since 1907 on International 6-M
yachts, except for four years, from 1920 to 1923,
when it was raced on 6.5m SI. In 1965 the Cup
was thrown in within the scope of ocean racing,
on CVP member Jean Peytel’s initiative, following
the activity slowdown of the 6m JI class. The One
Ton Cup was then raced according to the RORC
rule on 22ft boats, and on IOR rule on 27.5ft
boats from 1971, followed by IOR rule 30.5ft in- In 1999, the One Ton Cup was allotted to
the Corel 45 class world championship, renamed
IC 45, a one-design boat designed by Bruce Farr.
The One Ton Revival Cup is open to one-
tonners built 1965-94 and it takes place from
August 25-28 during Breskens Sailing Weekend,
the Dutch Open IRC Championships, run on the
Westerschelde estuary. Around 20 owners had
entered as we went to press, with boats coming
from New Zealand, France, Belgium, Sweden, the
Netherlands and UK.
onetoncuprevival.orgNoel Holmes’ book
about Rainbow’s
feats is a fantastic
read and was
enjoyed by many
at the timeAbove left: hull
stripped bare
prior to sheathing
and painting;
Leaving Horizon
Boats after a
12-month
restorationOne Ton Cup trophy
The original concept was to put Rainbow II back into
presentable shape and donate her to the Voyager
National Maritime Museum, but this was soon modified
to give her original crew the opportunity for another
romp around the harbour and hopefully take the boat to
the One Ton Revival Cup (see panel).
The volunteers include Max Carter, the man who
built the boat back in 1966, John ‘Bulldog’ Street, Tony
‘Womble’ Barclay, and Roy ‘Rocket’ Dickson led by
Wayne Olsen and Mike Smith at their Horizon Boats
yard north of Auckland. When built, Bouzaid had
stipulated a single skin of local Kauri wood with glued
splines between the planks in order to minimise weight,
and he was amazed to find after the paint had been
stripped away, how well she has stood the test of time,
considering how hard Rainbow II had been raced during
the first three years of her life. All they found was a small
amount of rot in the marine ply deck, none in the hull.
The exterior has since been sheathed, the cabin top
and teak toe rail have been reinstated and coamings
scraped back and re-varnished. The interior has been
sand-blasted, floors and mast step replaced, her original
bunks restored, the galley and nav station refurbished.
Still to come is a new engine box – the engine itself has
been fully reconditioned and repainted – and a new
performance electronics package.
It’s now approaching 50 years since Rainbow II’s Cup
victory shared equal front page billing in the Auckland
Star with Neil Armstrong’s moon landing story (headed
‘One Small Step For Man’ on the left and ‘Rainbow
Wins Battle Of Jutland’ on the right). “Heck,” says
Rainbow’s irrepressible skipper. “She even had her
picture on the an Arnotts Biscuits tin lid.”
He takes great pride in the fact that Rainbow II’s
feats are credited with launching New Zealand as a
force in ocean racing, resulting in Kiwi designed boats
and crews winning every major event in world offshore
racing, many of them more than once. This includes
the Whitbread Round the World race, the Trophee
Jules Verne, the America’s Cup, all three Ton Cups
(Quarter, Half and One), together with the Admiral’s
Cup, Southern Cross Cup and Kenwood Cups. That’s
some legacy. No wonder they want to put Rainbow II
on a pedestal.