Sailing Magazine
by Richard Crockett
To conclude this series of features which started simply as a reminder of the work done by a bunch of university students to re-engineer a yacht and make her capable of taking line honours in the 1985 South Atlantic race to Uruguay has turned out into several features on the maxi yachts competing in that race at the time.
Yet prior to the 1985 Uruguay Race, Alan Tucker’s ‘Rampant II’ had competed in the Sydney to Hobart race with 11 of the 15 man crew being South Africans. That was in December 1982 – over 40 years ago now!
The report on that race is an intense, yet well-written account of proceeding from start to finish by the effervescent Finn sailors Barry Burton-Barbour who was on board.
It’s a compelling read which followers of that race will get an understanding of how the race unfolded in those days.
As an aside I contacted her designer Angelo Lavranos to enquire if he knew where she is today. As quick as a flash he sent me this: “She’s in St Martin, in good nick! The owner loves her like a baby! She is pretty much as original except for having been fitted with a shallower draft keel. She was badly damaged in the late ‘80s during Hurricane Louis when she dragged and grounded there”.
READ THE RACE REPORT HERE: rampant sydney hobart 1983 02 – SA Yachting – OCR
