On Sunday 27th August 2023 SoPYC hosted a highly successful special event to celebrate the 50th year anniversary of the launch of the Spacesailer 27 and 22 yachts.
A total of 23 boats from 5 river clubs assembled for an informal race and social gathering to celebrate this momentous milestone. The Spacesailer range of boats was designed by Kim Swarbrick when he was a very young man and they have been very much a pillar of small keelboat sailing in WA. The boats were strongly made and were available in varying degrees of completion. Many families bought the basic mouldings and completed the fitting out and rigging as a family project. Many owners have moved from smaller to larger versions of Spacesailers.
SoPYC has been the home of the largest fleets of these versatile boats and strong 27 and 22 class Associations have been active since their inception. The State Championship trophies are a living history of the class.
The day was a little grey & the breeze was a bit on the light side but the racing was good and friendly. The boats were split into their classes. The winners were, Breakin Even from RPYC in the 27s, Shamrock from RPYC in the 24s and Twilight from SoPYC in the 22s.
The highlight of the following social event was a talk from the very modest designer himself, Kim Swarbrick. Two big screens were set up showing rolling images of Spacesailer boats over the years. There were many old, happy faces as past skippers and crew filled the ballroom with specially designed black T-shirts. The whole event had a wonderful, genuinely friendly club feel.
Many people were involved in organising the highly successful day initiated by Tim Harrison. David Hanham devoted an enormous amount of time and energy to the logistics. There is no doubt that the efforts were highly appreciated by all involved. The day was very generously financially sponsored by Railway Parade Short Stay proprietor and long-time SS27 supporter, Amanda Watson.
Spacesailers can be readily bought comparatively cheaply and great support can be provided to new owners. These boats continue to provide a great atmosphere and opportunity to enjoy our wonderful sport.
