Lidgards join line-up for One Ton Revisited regatta

Two of the “royals” of New Zealand offshore racing – John and Kevin Lidgard – have joined the line-up for the One Ton Revisited regatta to be held Feb 28-Mar 8, 2015.

Successive generations of the Lidgard yachting dynasty, father and son John and Kevin are to crew for Bevan Hill on the John Lidgard-designed and built Result. The 36ft 2in (11.02m) Result was constructed, of kauri/kahikatea (glassed), for the 1977 One Ton Cup in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.

One of John Lidgard’s many great moments in a highly-distinguished offshore racing career was in 1971 when he skippered New Zealand’s Southern Cross Cup team that comprised Pathfinder (Brin Wilson), Runaway (John Lidgard) and Wai-Aniwa (Chris Bouzaid). That trio notched up an unprecedented (and, one suspects, never-to-be-repeated) 1, 2 and 3 in the Sydney-Hobart classic to also clinch New Zealand’s first win in the Southern Cross Cup teams’ series. That would have been particularly satisfying for John Lidgard – designer, builder and skipper of Runaway and captain of the team – quite a “fourfecta”!

Another newcomer to the fleet is the S&S design Young Nick, which was also built for the 1971 One Ton Cup defence in the Hauraki Gulf. She was commissioned by industrialist, the late Lou Fisher, and skippered by former Rainbow II tactician (now yacht designer) Alan Warwick.

With the entry deadline looming on August 30, there are a number of would-be entries that are working their way to putting their hats in the ring. So, to be as inclusive as possible, the RNZYS has agreed to accept late entries, right up to the eve of the series, at the Squadron’s absolute discretion and with a 10% loading on the regular entry fee. To facilitate this, an official amendment to the Notice of Race will go out in the next few days.

Here are the entries to date…