Sports

Son keeps dad’s memory afloat with yacht made from a shower, batteries and an old plane

As a fleet of 57 yachts sets off from Brisbane's Moreton Bay today, there will be one boat in particular that has sailed against the odds year after year.

The family-owned yacht Wistari will this year mark its 50th time competing in the annual Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race.

The 10.7-metre boat was built from scratch from salvaged parts by Noel Patrick six decades ago.

His son, Scott Patrick, said it was built on a "very limited budget".

"My father didn't have a lot of money — he had to scrounge and it was handmade," he said.

"The plywood in the hull was war surplus wood from a mosquito plane."

Scott Patrick sails the Wistari yacht, date and location unknown.

Other curious parts of its make-up include a lead ballast cast made from melted-down car batteries, an old shower base and roofing nails.

"There was a lot of ex-war stuff going cheap in the 1950s," Mr Patrick said.

Wistari a winner

Historic photo of yacht Wistari being lifted by a crane as it is launched in Gladstone harbour in 1965.

Scott Patrick was five years old in 1965 when his father first launched Wistari onto the water in Gladstone in central Queensland.

"I pretty much grew up on Wistari," Mr Patrick said.

The yacht did not win the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race when it first competed that year, despite it being quite a radical high-performance boat for its time.

Yet Noel Patrick finessed his design and Wistari ended up winning gold four times between 1971 and 1982.

"It really was in its element in 1974 and then more modern designs started coming in and surpassing it," Scott Patrick said.

Legacy kept alive

Noel Patrick died in 1993, leaving the boat in the family.

"When my father died, Wistari was on its last legs," Scott said.

Scott Patrick never sailed alongside his father in the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race, but after his father's death, he decided to do up the yacht and start competing in the annual Easter racing tradition.

"It's a relatively pleasant race. It's usually a following breeze race. It breezes from behind and it's warm," he said.

Historic photo of the handmade Patrick family yacht Wistari being transported to Gladstone harbour in 1965.

With high winds forecast for Friday, Scott said conditions were not looking in Wistari's favour, with bigger boats more suited to the conditions.

The race is 308 nautical miles with the current record at just over 20 hours.

"At the end of the day, I'm still very competitive — I always race the boat hard," he said.

"I'm not here to cruise up the coast. I always hope we do well in the finals."

The Wistari, which was built by Noel Patrick from surplus materials after the war, pictured in the 1960s.

Mr Patrick said his father would probably be amazed that Wistari was still competing in the annual race.

"He'd be dumbfounded — he wouldn't believe it," he said.

"It's pretty emotional and nostalgic — I guess that's why you keep coming back to doing it.

"Wistari's showing her age in a few spots but she's still seaworthy — it's done very well sailing up and down the east coast over the years."

Noel Patrick aboard a yacht, date and location unknown.

Original Article

[contf]
[contfnew]

ABC .net

[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]

Related Posts