Harold won that series at the Cleveland Yacht Club which further ignited his passion for Olympic glory. However, Harold’s dream boat was not a Finn but a “Flying Dutchman” — they were also a new Olympic class and said to be the fastest monohull in the world at the time, even faster than the 18-foot Skiffs of the day. Our Dad agreed to finance the purchase of a brand-new Dutchman shell which was constructed at Norman Wright’s boatshed at Bulimba. It was built out of cedar veneer strips glued over a mould. Each layer was glued down to the one below and stapled while the glue dried. There were thousands of staples after each layer. To save money, our family would travel from Cleveland to Bulimba to remove the staples. Eventually a beautiful light cedar shell was completed and transported to our shed at Cleveland Point. Harold was a third-year carpentry apprentice and a fine craftsman. He proceeded to finish the hull, forehead deck and side decks, which rolled into a self-draining cockpit. I don’t recall any other Dutchman with a similar cockpit layout. Harold then built a wooden mast and boom, using me to sit on the mast to hold it steady. I was so proud when he announced that I was “the best little mast-holder for my age” as I was quite solid at the time. The hull and deck were then varnished and the finishing touches applied — it was a masterpiece. Harold named her ‘Whirl Wind’. Harold always had difficulty finding a committed forehead hand. They needed to be at least 100kg — strong enough to handle the 80sq.ft genoa and fit enough to sail on the trapeze and operate the spinnaker. He never really found the right person. However, in light air he was competitive! There was no competition for the Dutchmans at the Cleveland club so we would travel to the Bulimba Reach to race on weekends. He sailed against Bob Miller (who later changed his name to ‘Ben Lexcen’ of America’s Cup fame), Craig Whitworth (co-founder of Whitworths Chandlery), Norm Wright, Denis Land and others. All big names in Queensland sailing circles. Having won the Queensland Flying Dutchman championship in 1960-61, Harold was now Queensland’s Olympic representative. Dad took Whirl Wind, Harold and a forehead hand down to Melbourne to race in the national championships against all the heroes from Melbourne, Sydney, WA, etc. Notably, Rolly Tasker was in the Regatta as well as other highly-rated sailors. Unfortunately, Harold proved to be not competitive in that company as the wind strength was generally too strong, and the other boats’ fittings and sails were far superior to Whirl Wind. Keeping pace with the standard required to win races was a very expensive business! Harold and, forehead hand on that day, brother Geoffrey, sailing ‘Whirl Wind’ in Raby Bay outside our home at Cleveland Point. Pic: Supplied Mainsheet 2026 Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Yearbook 56 The sailor behind the trophy
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