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46-422: Sydney Flying Squadron Yacht club was founded in 1891 by Mark Foy in the birthplace of the famous Sydney Harbour sailing skiff classes. It was founded to allow people to enjoy skiff sailing regardless of financial background. The Sydney Flying Squadron, affectionately called The Squaddy by its members and locals, is Australia's oldest open boat sailing club on the shores of Sydney Harbour. Sydney Flying Squadron

92-593: A crew of ten or more, to today's high-tech, light-weight, high performance design. Parts of the history of the early days of skiff sailing, between 1892 and 1945, is found on the pages of the Australian 18 Footers League . Today there are two modern hull designs racing. The "International 18" is based on a design by Iain Murray , while the B18 was designed by Julian Bethwaite . The Australian 18 Footer League allows only

138-491: A drapery shop in Smith Street, Collingwood . This business prospered, occupying three shops by 1875 and six by 1880. Suffering from ill health, Foy Snr. and his wife left for Europe, handing the firm to their eldest son, Francis. In San Francisco his health worsened and Foy Snr. died on 14 January 1884. Soon afterwards Francis sold the stores. In 1885, Francis went to Sydney with his younger brother, Mark Jr., to establish

184-577: A new business under his father's name. The brothers opened their Sydney store in 1885 in Oxford Street. The business expanded rapidly and more surrounding stores were opened. A London buying office was set up in 1890, and additional premises in Oxford Street were purchased in 1894. Mark Foy's Fair, a sale usually staged twice a year, became a highly anticipated event on the Sydney shopping calendar. In 1888 Mark Foy married Annie Davey (1864-1921),

230-488: A ratio under 5%). In Australia, there is a fleet of approximately 20–25 18 Foot Skiffs at the "League" club in Sydney. Sydney's other traditional 18 Foot Skiff club, the Sydney Flying Squadron, has a small fleet and there are several boats in the state of Queensland. In New Zealand the class following is smaller but reached its zenith in the 1970s when most designs were by Bruce Farr. The 18 ft skiff

276-515: A revival of the early days of 18’ skiff sailing. Replicas of famous 18’ skiffs from the period of 1930 through to 1950 have been built using original techniques, including wooden hulls and spars, gaff rigs , several-piece spinnaker poles and unrestricted sail area. These boats race under the rules of the Australian Historical Skiff Association , which bans wings, trapezes , cleats for controlling ropes for

322-598: A spectacle which could be enjoyed by all members of the public regardless of their social background. In 1898, as Commodore of the Yacht Club, he took his 22 foot boat Irex to England to participate in Australia’s first International Race. Despite not emerging as the winner, the race was a groundbreaking event that began a long history of international competition. Mark was also a motor car enthusiast and owned numerous vehicles. He participated in many motoring events and

368-409: A true windspeed of about 8 knots, depending on sea conditions and off the wind can reach speeds that doubles the true windspeed. This is possible through the very high sail-carrying power to total weight ratio, which is above 30% with the no. 1 rig and approaches 40% with the no. 3 rig (for reference, a 30% ratio is needed to plane upwind and a 10% ratio is needed to plane at all. Most cruising boats have

414-717: Is a development class that is sailed in NSW, QLD and New Zealand The main regattas are the State, Australian and Interdominion championships. NSW also holds interclub regattas during the season at Lane Cove, Saratoga, Abbotsford, SFS and Greenwich. International 14's The International 14 is a high performance development skiff with two crew on trapeze supporting 50+ sq m of sail area including an asymmetric kite. I14's are sailed throughout Australia as well as worldwide in Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland,

460-546: Is located at the end of Careening Cove , Milsons Point in Sydney, NSW ; the Squaddy features spectacular water views and is situated next to Milsons Park which provides a large grassy rigging area during summer months. Racing takes place from October to Easter with a break over Christmas. Sydney's open boat scene boomed in the mid-1890s and the Johnstone's Bay Sailing Club had become the most vibrant and progressive club on

506-482: Is not without its dangers. The high speed makes it hard to handle and requires extremely fast reflexes and a broad awareness of your surroundings in order to anticipate changes. Major accidents can occur with inexperienced and experienced sailors alike. The 18 ft skiff is currently one of the fastest monohulls on the water. With its massive sail-plan of over 100 square metres on the no. 1 rig and three crew members on trapeze it can outperform nearly every monohull on

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552-457: Is pictured here in one of his cars which he imported from France. A Panhard , it was described by the Telegraph as “the first of the powerful French motors to reach Australia”. In 1905 he was interviewed by a reporter and he said that at that time he had fourteen cars in his stable – two Daimlers, two Panhards, seven De Dions, one Liberia, one Firefly and one Oldsmobile. In October 2019 Foy

598-586: The Sydney Flying Squadron Yacht Club. Challenging the sailing conventions of that time by having coloured sails and prize money, the Squadron’s boats were banned from the 1892 National Regatta because they carried coloured emblems. It was claimed that the emblems encouraged gambling and spoiled the look of the white sails on Sydney Harbour. In response, Foy organised an opposition regatta which he financed himself and advertised it as

644-437: The mainsail , jib and spinnaker , and most of the other modern equipment which makes sailing easier. The class has proved very popular with former sailors of modern 18’ skiffs who, to quote a class champion John Winning , are looking for a challenge because "the modern boats have become too easy to sail". The historical 18’ skiffs have a crew of between 6 and 9, which often leaves an opportunity for visiting sailors to have

690-415: The 1990s. Sail area got progressively larger especially when wings were added. This enabled small crews to sail with extremely large sails in stronger wind strengths. As most boats were sponsored they could have multiple rigs to match the wind strength. Other modern features are carbon fibre prods (bowsprits) supported by bob stays, dolphin strikers and bow struts. This enabled quicker setting and dropping of

736-635: The Blue Mountains, a hydropathic resort with Swiss doctors and spa water from Baden in Germany. In addition he was a keen sportsman with interests in rifle shooting, boxing, sailing and motor racing. Mark Foy was born in Bendigo , Victoria on 15 February 1865. His father, Mark Foy Snr., had emigrated from Ireland in 1858. Foy's parents had gone to the goldfields establishing various stores. In 1870, Foy's father moved to Melbourne where he set up

782-504: The Flying Dutchman class race from 2:30 pm. On Sundays TBA. 18 Foot Skiffs Carrying over 1200 sq feet of sail power, the high performance 18-footer is recognised as the "formula-one" of sailing. It is the apex predator of sailing with nothing in its like harder or faster. It is recognised worldwide. And it's right here at the Sydney Flying Squadron. Historical Skiffs The Historic 18 Footers are replicas of famous 18's from

828-487: The International 18, with the annual JJ Giltinan International Trophy contended with the one design Murray hull. The European Class Association allows both designs to compete against each other. Although there are differences in the sailing aspects of the two designs, their measurements are very close, with a waterline length of 18 ft (5.49 m) and an average beam of 6 to 8 feet (1.83 to 2.44 m), not including

874-465: The Rajah of Pudukkutai with his Australian-born wife, the former Molly Fink . Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about the hotel in his autobiographical travel book. He said. Mark Foy used two of his Daimlers to take his guests to Jenolan Caves and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his family went on one of these tours. A photo of this event is shown. Sir Arthur is in the back seat with his wife Jean. In 1922 there

920-660: The United Kingdom and the USA. Foy Day Spring Series H1 33°50′42″S 151°12′54″E  /  33.84500°S 151.21500°E  / -33.84500; 151.21500 Mark Foy (businessman) Mark Foy (15 February 1865 – 15 November 1950) was an Australian retail businessman and entrepreneur who established the department store Mark Foy's in Sydney . He also opened the Hydro Majestic Hotel in

966-451: The controls to twist the head of the main in gusts to de-power. Flying 18 footers can now regularly exceed the actual wind speed when planing on all points of sailing. These innovations have made the skiffs very fast but very expensive to build. In New Zealand this has seen the class decline dramatically as top sailors were attracted into the more conventional one design Olympic classes . In Sydney and Brisbane Australia there has been

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1012-456: The crews too much on the brink of disaster for consistent success. While true 18' skiffs have no sail area or mast height limitations, the limit that the 18 footer League has specified for their one-design sub class is a maximum mast height of 33 ft (10 m), truly powerful on an 18' hull. The entire rig, which supports sails with unlimited area, is currently controlled by three trapezing crew members. The boat will plane upwind starting at

1058-581: The daughter of John Davey, a merchant from Melbourne. The couple had no children and in 1900 they were granted a divorce by the NSW Court. In the same year he married Elizabeth Dominica Tweedie who was the head of the Dressmaking Department in his Oxford Street Store. Elizabeth was also advertised by the store as being a leading fashion expert and designer. The couple had four children, two sons and two daughters. In 1891 Mark Foy founded

1104-551: The early 1950s The Sydney boats put emphasis on carrying large extra sails down wind called ringtails. These were set outside the main with light spars top and bottom. They were carried in addition to spinnakers. In very light conditions watersails were carried under the main boom. The most revolutionary boat of this period was the lightweight boat Result, from New Zealand, which was cold moulded with 2 skins of Kahikatea glued together and nailed to lightweight Mangeao bent steamed frames every 21 1/2 inches. At 6 ft 3inches Result

1150-422: The ferries, but by the time the ferry had slowed down enough to allow the police boat to come alongside, mysteriously no money would be in site. Just a bunch of avid spectators. Sydney Flying Squadron conducts racing on Sydney Harbour for senior skiff classes on Saturdays and Sundays during the summer months, September through April. On Saturdays, the flying 18 Foot Skiff class, both Modern and Historical as well as

1196-418: The harbour. Races were held for all open boats up to 26 feet including several of the new 18-foot type that has begun to emerge. In January 1894, Mr T. Goodall, owner of the crack Brisbane 22-footer Caneebie, was in Sydney to follow the anniversary Regatta and discussed with Billi Golding, Caneebie's builder, the possibility of an inter-colonial sailing contest between NSW and Queensland 22-footer. Golding placed

1242-655: The large downwind sails. Huge spinnakers could be set quickly by having halyards geared by mini blocks running internally in the mast. Dacron sails were replaced by much lighter stiffer less porous material such as mylar plastic. Weights of the bare hulls dropped quickly when New Zealand designer Bruce Farr, using his experience in Moth and Cherub designs used thin 3mm ply supported by multiple lightweight stringers and stiffened with tissue fibreglass. These were quickly followed by foam and fibreglass hulls first designed by Russell Bowler. Bare hulls weigh 120 lbs but are very strong with

1288-471: The marketing of the hotel. From 1906 it was advertised as a luxury hotel for the rich and fashionable providing fine food and entertainment. It was patronised by many famous people. Dame Nellie Melba sang at the hotel a number of times as did English Opera singer Dame Clara Butt and Nellie Stewart . Australia's first Prime Minister Sir Edmund Barton died in the hotel in 1920. Other famous patrons were Sherlock Holmes ' creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle , and

1334-510: The matter before the energetic Johnstone's Bay Sailing Club who immediately opened negotiations with Queensland Yacht Club, and in March sent its three best 22-footers, Latona, Portia and Irex up to Brisbane for the first inter-colonial yacht races for open boats. Honours were shared in a two race series between the local champion Bulletin, owned and skippered by James Whereat, and Sydney's Irex, owned and skippered by Nick Johnson. A re-match in Sydney

1380-588: The period between 1900 and 1950. They are constructed and sailed by members of the Australian Historical Sailing Skiff Association (AHSSA) which was formed in 1991 by a group of ex-skiffies with the aim to preserve the history of Sydneys classic open skiffs. Flying Dutchman Flying Dutchman are raced all around Australia and in 44 other countries. World Championships are held annually, as are Australian National and State Titles. 12 Foot Skiffs The 12 ft skiff

1426-470: The purpose of re-establishing this club. Mr F.J. Donovan was voted to the chair, and called on Mr M. Foy to explain the object of the meeting. That gentleman then states his ideas on the matter, after which it was decided that the club be formed, and that it be open for boats from 18 ft to 26 ft’. At its first meeting in August 1894, members voted to name the club, the Sydney Flying Squadron. Mark Foy

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1472-441: The race. The fastest boats had to work their way through the fleet and hopefully catch the slowest boats on the last leg. There was another benefit. Gambling. At the time, there were anything up to 10 or 12 ferries following the racing. Each would have bookmakers on the boats illegally taking bets. Which boat would round the next mark first? Could one boat pass another on a spinnaker run? Who would win? The police would regularly raid

1518-404: The title, displaying the classes growing international appeal. The first flying 18 footers were either carvel or clinker built with multiple steam bent frames. Cotton sails were used and spars were solid wood. The crew number varied according to the wind strength, often with a boy carried to bail out water. Initial designs were conventional displacement shapes with emphasis on narrow waterlines. In

1564-415: The use of carbon and kevlar to locally reinforce mast steps, centreboard cases, chain plates and wing attachment points. Rudders were placed 500mm aft of the hull to give more control in extreme planing conditions when only the last few feet of the hull was in contact with the water. With very wide tube and net decks up to 29 feet wide modern boats can carry very large powerful square-headed mainsails that have

1610-516: The water. It combines extreme speeds with an element of danger and is thought by many to be one of the biggest spectacles in sailing . Each year the JJ Giltinan International Trophy is contested on Sydney Harbour to decide the de facto world champion of the class. Typically the event was dominated by Australia and occasionally won by New Zealand, but in recent years entrants such as the USA's Howie Hamlin have taken out

1656-484: The wings. With wings the maximum beam is 14 feet for the "International 18" and 18 feet for Open 18's sailed at Sydney Flying Squadron and Skiffs Australia. When the boat is dry it should weigh not less than 375 lb (170 kg) including wings, foils ( centreboard and rudder ) and the number one rig of sails , spars and ropes . In the 1980s and '90s wings were widened to the extreme – some boats having maximum beam of 29 feet. Such wings proved unmanageable, with

1702-753: Was a fire at the hotel and it destroyed the Belgravia hotel, the Belgravia Wing and the art gallery with its entire collection of pictures. These were replaced with the art deco buildings which remain today. Mark Foy died in November 1950 at the age of 85 and was buried in South Head Cemetery in Vaucluse . 18footer The 18 ft Skiff has come a long way in more than 100 years of continuous development. From heavy boats carrying

1748-416: Was a long gallery which can be seen in the photo on the right. This was described in a newspaper article shortly before the hotel opened in the following terms. The hotel had its own electricity plant, boiler and ice houses, sewerage plant, library, hotel shop, billiard room, grand dining room, art gallery and a telephone in every guest room. The hydropathic therapies were not a success so Mark Foy changed

1794-401: Was applied after the race finished so until the officials had worked out each boat's finish time and handicap, nobody knew who had won. The scratch start provided a much more exciting race. The fleet was often close together at the finish line. Of course, spectators loved this approach. Sails with colourful insignia enabled them to tell boats apart, and you could see where any boat actually was in

1840-414: Was dropped and glued up hollow pear shaped masts became standard. By the late 1960s a greater understanding of the science behind planning saw hulls made with increasingly less rocker, very fine forward with very flat aft sections. Once trapezes were introduced the number of crew dropped to 4 by the early 70s and then to 3. Designs became wider, especially aft. As speeds increased so did capsizes, so an effort

1886-407: Was elected Commodore with Vice-Commodores, Messrs A. Roderick and Billy Golding. Club colours were to be a blue burgee with a white triangle. All boats were to carry ‘Large distinguishing colours on sails.’ This was a radical step. Sailing clubs and yacht clubs of the time restricted sails to plain colours and no insignia. There was considerable opposition from the establishment. Another radical step

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1932-649: Was inducted to the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame . In July 1904 Mark Foy opened the Hydro Majestic Hotel at Medlow Bath . Several years previously he had bought the Belgravia Hotel and the residence of William Hargraves (the son of Edward Hargraves discoverer of gold in Australia). Between these he placed the domed concert and dance hall (called the casino) which he had shipped from Chicago . They were linked by buildings one of which

1978-583: Was made to install built in buoyancy and some self draining capabilities with transom flaps, venturi floor drains built in tanks, especially forward and false floors. Foils became more hydrodynamic, especially after the availability of tank test models. Wood was dropped as a foil material in the 1980s and replaced by stiffer synthetic materials such as fibreglass then kevlar and carbon fibre. By 1970 hollow wooden spars were replaced by tapered aluminium of much smaller section and lighter weight. These in turn were replaced by much stiffer and lighter carbon fibre masts in

2024-502: Was narrower than the conventional boats but still had the same full bow sections typical of the displacement style boats. Result had spaceframes of wood to support the mast and centreboard. In any breeze over 10 knots it was faster than any previous 18s because of its planing ability. From this period increased knowledge and understanding of hydrodynamics and aerodynamics, coupled to the availability of plywood and reliable waterproof glues saw dramatic changes. Clinker and carvel construction

2070-502: Was promised and set to coincide with the 1895 Anniversary Regatta. The advent of inter-colonial open boat racing set the Sydney scene humming. Every yacht club wanted to be involved, even a recently deceased one. In the Sydney Morning Herald 12 April 1894, on page 6, a small paragraph appeared starting: “Sydney Flying Squadron Yacht Club” A meeting of sailing men was held at Rainsford's Cambridge Club Hotel last night for

2116-409: Was to introduce a scratch start. This meant the fastest boat started off scratch, or at a particular time, and every other boat had a handicap. They started a number of minutes before the scratch boat. A boat with a 10-minute handicap started 10 minutes before the scratch boat. The intention was that all boats would finish at the same time. Previously racing had all boats starting together. The handicap

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