Page 81 - Mark Chews Forty Two Australian Wooden Sailing Boats Sept 17 2020

This one might be a little controversial because YENDYS is not an original boat but
an exact replica of an original 1924 design, but how could a list of Australia most
important wooden sailing boats not have an 18ft skiff in the mix? And I admit I chose
her more as a representative of the Historical 18 foot skiffs based at the Sydney
Flying Squadron than a particular design. And I also admit that this is not my area
of expertise so I’m very happy to be corrected on any of the info below
Sydney 18-footers have raced on Sydney Harbour for over 120 years. They evolved
from heavy wooden boats with a crew of 15 to the 3 person carbon fibre speed
machines of today. The peak of their popularity was in the early 1920s and 1930s
when thousands came out to watch the racing. It was as big as cricket or football is
today.
Those boats took a unique set of skills to manage. They carried ridiculous amounts
of sail. Crew were ballast constantly working to keep the boat upright. One stray
puff, or rogue wave, or miscalculation and it was all over for the afternoon.
Like most of the past, you would expect it to only exist in museums and books. In
this case, it is different. A fleet of boats have been built over the last 20 years that
are based on the designs of those boats. Famous 18-footers built between 1900
and 1950. Each has been the subject of research through drawings, photographs,
and prodding the memory of the few remaining who sailed the original.

The original YENDYS was built for Norm Blackman who raced her very successfully
with the Sydney Flying Squadron, with a crew up to 15, until the 1942/3 season.

She is one of the the ‘big beamers’, the wide bodied 18-footers, that raced on the
harbour before 1933. After that date a new seven-foot beam type began to emerge.

The name YENDYS is Sydney spelt backwards.

CYAA Magazine Issue 43 September 2020 Page 81