Two great days to remember for yachtsman Mick York

• NEWS
• 26 Dec, 2007 04:55:00 PM

Two great days to remember for yachtsman Mick York

Sixty-two years ago today, 18-year-old Sydney yachtsman Mick York set sail on his first long ocean race, 628 nautical miles south in the Tasman Sea from Australia’s oldest seaport, Sydney, to the second oldest port in the nation, Hobart.

Sixty-two years ago today, 18-year-old Sydney yachtsman Mick York set sail on his first long ocean race, 628 nautical miles south in the Tasman Sea from Australia’s oldest seaport, Sydney, to the second oldest port in the nation, Hobart.

He was a member of the barefooted crew of the schooner Mistral II, one of 19 yachts in the second only Sydney Hobart in 1946, the start of a sailing career that was to lead to international participation, including the America’s Cup.

Today, again on Sydney Harbour, the distinguished, now 80-year-old York had the honour of firing the starting cannon to send an 82-boat fleet on its way in the 63rd Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Among the crews racing south was his son Andrew.

It was a perfect summer’s day for the start of what is regarded as one of the three great ocean racing classics in the world, a warm and sunny afternoon tempered by a light to moderate nor’easterly seabreeze.

Between 2,000 and 2,500 spectator craft, from large passenger ferries to paddlers in kayaks gave the fleet the traditional Boxing Day farewell while some 300,000 people packed the headlands that surround magnificent Sydney Harbour. Overhead, 15 news helicopters filmed and photographed the two-line start.

Mick York can’t remember what he was wearing as Mistral II surged down the Harbour 62 years ago, but today he was resplendent in ‘Newport Red” trousers, a black reefer jacket, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia club tie and skipper’s cap.

“I’ve had these red pants since I went to Newport, Rhode Island to sail aboard Gretel in the America’s Cup in 1962,” York recalled. That year, York was bowman on Gretel, Australia’s firstever challenger for the America’s Cup.

With him on board the official starting boat, Aussie One, was his wife Jeannette, the first woman to be elected a life member of the CYCA, whose father, the late Merv Davey was a founding member and the third Commodore of the club – and also a life member.

The Yorks have been great supporters of the club that each year conducts the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Jeannette the President of the associates committee for many years, Mick now the oldest surviving member of the CYCA.  “I joined as the club’s first junior member in 1945, the year of the inaugural Sydney Hobart, and sailed to Hobart the next year,” he said today.

As a young marine engineer, he had his own slipway and workshop on the present site of the modern CYCA in Rushcutters Bay, on the southern shores of Sydney Harbour.

His illustrious sailing career, in addition to the America’s Cup, includes being bowman on Caprice of Huon in Australia’s first challenge for Admiral’s Cup and Olympic selection in the crew of the 5.5 metre class yacht Barrenjoey at the Mexico Olympics. 

Mick competed in 15 Hobarts, the last being in 1975 on the famous US maxi ketch Kialoa III, the year she set the race record for the Rolex Sydney Hobart that was to stand for 21 years.

Joining Mick York as the official starting team today were Hamish Grieve and Russell Price, two other veterans of early Sydney Hobarts, who fired the cannons for the 10-minute and 5-minute signals respectively.

Aboard Aussie One today it was gathering of past Commodores and life members of the CYCA, all delighted with the fact that the present Commodore Matt Allen was skippering his own yacht Ichi Ban to Hobart.

“It’s the first time since 1998 that a commodore has raced his own boat in the race,” recalled past Commodore John Messenger, who provided an excellent running commentary of the pre-start manoeuvres, the spectacular two-line start and the tactical tacking down the Harbour to the Heads.

Other past Commodores of Australia’s major ocean racing club on board included John Brooks, Graham Evans, Bill Psaltis, Les McClean, Hans Sommer and Kerry Roxburgh, while life members included Jeannette York, Denise Van, John Keelty, Allen Brown, Phil Grounds, Bill Psaltis and Richard Grubb.

Also aboard were a couple of rather disappointed yachtsmen not racing south this year – Cameron Miles who saw his race hopes founder in the Mediterranean in October with the wreck of Loki and Hugh Treharne, who had to forego a race aboard the British yacht Jazz because of a shoulder injury. - Peter Campbell/Sail World