Langman switching from speed to nostalgia for 2006 Rolex Sydney Hobart

• NEWS
• 27 Jun, 2006 12:34:00 PM

Langman switching from speed to nostalgia for 2006 Rolex Sydney Hobart

In 1935 Maluka struck a cyclone during her first attempt to cruise to Hobart which put her on the rocks at Cape Conran on the Victorian coast near Marlo, at the mouth of the Snowy River.

Sean Langman is switching from speed to nostalgia by restoring a 1932 built 9 metre yacht to contest this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, 70 years after the boat made its only successful voyage to Hobart - having being wrecked on the first attempt.

The man dubbed the skipper of the ‘skiff on steroids’, who is well recognised for his many successes with his 66-footer AAPT, and his need for speed, has applied to enter what is likely to be the smallest and oldest boat in this year’s fleet - a gaff-rigged yacht called Maluka.

“The Rolex Sydney Hobart is about personal challenge and this year I’m going back to the grass roots, back to why the race came about,” says Langman, who is likely to be amongst those still bobbing around at sea come New Year’s Eve if it’s a light air race.

Not that that has affected his ability to gather a crew, he’s already confirmed his five crewmembers including his 2IC John ‘Hector’ Crawford, who he wrongly assumed wouldn’t be interested in such a slow ride to Hobart, and his architect at Woolwich Dock where the boat is being restored, who is also called John Crawford.

An eight month full restoration of the gaff-rigged Maluka Langman fell for when he spotted it moored off Abbotsford in Sydney 14 years ago is underway at his Woolwich shipyard. Well known for having his team of shipwrights work round the clock to make it to the start line, the timeline for this project is equally tight with an expected launch date of late November, just four weeks before the start of the Boxing Day classic.

“We are replacing everything structural apart from the Huon Pine timber planking,” says Langman.

“This is a once in a lifetime restoration for the two shipwrights and three apprentices I’ve got working on it. She’s being fitted with a new keel and rudder and the original gaff rig is being put back in.”

Designed by Cliff Gale and built for Sydney brothers George and William Clark, Maluka, an Aboriginal name meaning respect and affection, successfully completed a 3,400 nautical mile cruise to Cooktown in 1933.  Then in 1934 the ‘Lucky Clarks’, as they became known, sailed across the Tasman Sea to Lord Howe Island, surviving a cyclone on the return voyage.

In 1935 Maluka struck another cyclone during her first attempt to cruise to Hobart which put her on the rocks at Cape Conran on the Victorian coast near Marlo, at the mouth of the Snowy River. Later the following year, having repaired the damage from their shipwreck, they set sail again, this time enjoying an incident free cruise to Hobart taking 5 days 12 hours of actual sailing time to complete the passage.

“I’m looking for other challenges,” says Langman a former 18 foot skiff champion who is always pushing the boundaries.  

He was the first to stun his fellow offshore sailors by lining up for the start of the 2003 Sydney Gold Coast Race with AAPT in a 25 knot sou’wester with just five crew plus himself on board. They had to work non-stop to keep the boat under control in the wild downhill conditions and went on to take line honours in that race.

The plastic surgeon of the waterfront, thanks to his successful shipyard business Noakes Boat & Shipyards, Langman has been tweaking AAPT for years to squeeze every last ounce of speed out of the boat and has recently delved into two-handed sailing.

Langman denies his latest venture is a sign he’s getting old. “There’s still a fire in me for some things. I just think the challenge of doing a Hobart should be a personal one so this year I’m going back to basics”.

Maluka is the second applicant for entry for this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart, with Kiwi skipper Phil Chisolm the first to apply to enter for the second consecutive year.

In 2005, Chisholm, from Bucklands Beach, Auckland, decided that it was his goal to skipper in a Rolex Sydney Hobart.  He chartered one of the smallest and older boats in the fleet, a Townson 35 called Navenka, did the qualifying miles, sourced his crew from all around the world and entered the world famous ocean classic.  This year he has upped the ante with a Sydney 38 called Compass Point which was officially the first to apply to enter.

The Notice of Race for the Rolex Sydney Hobart 2006 which will start at 1.00pm on Boxing Day, 26 December, is now available to download from http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/editorial.asp?key=1711