TASSIE TOO
TYPE
21 Foot
Restricted ClassLOA
25ft (7.6m)LWL
21ft (6.4m)
BEAM
7ft 6in (2.3m)BUILT
1927DESIGNER
WP “Skipper”
BattTASSIE TOO
In her first race, something of a warm-up for the
21 Footers, she was disqualified for hitting a starting
mark. But two days later she gave notice of her potential
by winning the Albert Cup – an annual race that
preceded the Forster Cup in the calendar – and the local
press changed its tune dramatically. Soon afterwards, in
the Forster Cup itself – contested by all six states for the
first time – large Tasmanian crowds gathered ashore and
afloat to watch their boat and were delighted to see her
win the first race. In the second, she had a poor start in
light winds, but as the breeze strengthened she gradually
made her way up the fleet and won by 77 seconds. With
10 points going to the winner of each race and only four
to the second boat, this gave Tassie an unassailable
overall lead; for good measure, she went out and won
the third race as well. “I’m proud to have won,” said her
designer and helmsman, Skipper Batt, afterwards, “and
prouder still that Tasmania has won the cup.”
After Tassie retained the trophy in 1926 in Perth
and again in 1927 in Adelaide, the RYCT decided
to build another boat. The process was similar to the
last time – funds raised from members, the design by
Skipper and his two cohorts, and the build by Lucas
and Gronfors – but this time it was started much earlier.
Tassie Too was launched in November 1927, in plenty
of time for trials before the next Forster Cup in Sydney
the following February. With Skipper’s brother Harry
at the helm, Tassie Too was immediately victorious,
while Skipper sailed Tassie to second place. In 1929,
after Tassie won again, with Tassie Too slipping to third,
the RYCT decided to produce another boat, Tassie III,
which was designed by Skipper Batt and built by CharlesLucas. Plans were later made to build a fourth Tassie,
but these were never realised.
Tasmania’s domination of the Forster Cup was
extraordinary. It was held 27 times between 1922 and- One, two or all three Tassies competed in 20 of
those, and one of them won it on 16 occasions (Tassie
four times, Tassie Too 10 times and Tassie III twice). The
best year was 1931, when, once again in home waters,
the trophy was won by Tassie III, with Tassie second
and Tassie Too third equal. The class was, for many
years, one of the most hotly contested in Australia, with
many of the country’s top sailors taking part. The class
also attracted two of Britain’s most famous designers:
William Fife designed three in the 1920s but none of
them covered themselves in glory; while Charles
Nicholson’s Eldora, representing Western Australia,
came second (to Tassie) in 1926 and won the cup in
Perth in 1932, albeit as the sole competitor because lack
of funds prevented every other state from taking part.
Before the Second World War, Skipper and Harry Batt
were the main Tasmanian helmsmen, and after that
Harry’s son Neall came to the fore. George Makepeace
was a crew member in all but one of the 20 races, and
won 11 times. Tassie Too also won the Albert Cup – the
class’s second most prestigious trophy – seven times,
including six consecutive years soon after the war.
The last three Forster Cups were poorly attended (and
none of them by Tasmania) for financial reasons but also
because other classes such as Dragons and Sharpies were
becoming more popular. So after the last Forster Cup in
1955, many – but not all, by any means – 21 Footers
began to fall into disrepair or were lost altogether.
Above left: Half
models held by
the Royal Yacht
Club of Tasmania