siandra yacht

• original hull
• partially restored deck
• substantially restored superstructure
• substantially restored layout
• original rigging
• substantially modified sails
• substantial modified gearbox
• substantially modified shaft
• timber planked
• overhanging stem
• overhanging transom
• displacement
• round bottom
• timber plywood
• keel hung rudder
• decked with cockpit
• auxiliary motor
• operational
• awards/trophies
• news clippings
• sport/recreation
• written, photographic, film, audio
• Discover More

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• / History of MHYC

"Tradition and Excellence Since 1939"

The first official meeting was held in the Griffin Brothers' Boatshed at the Spit. Mr Dick Down, a life member and past Commodore of the Sydney Amateur Sailing Club, was invited to be President and Togo Middows became Secretary. George Griffin, a first-class boat builder, remained an active member of Middle Harbour until his death and was the subject of many stories regarding his legendary strength and sailing abilities. Nicknamed, "Gorilla", Griffin built the first registered club yacht, "Flying Cloud", which was owned by Togo Middows. Throughout the war years the club still conducted races and after the war Middle Harbour Yacht Club, as it had now become known, started to go from strength to strength.

In 1944, the club introduced Saturday racing in two divisions; A and B class yachts. The fleet was mainly small craft, and a yacht had to have a fixed keel to be eligible to race. By 1947, there were eight yachts in A Division and ten yachts in B Division. There were fifteen other yachts which did not race so the total fleet numbered 33.

On November 27, 1954 the first clubhouse was opened by the Mayor of Mosman. At the time, members had little idea that by the 1980s the club would grow larger than all the combined clubs of the time. Nor could they have foreseen the explosion in popularity that their beloved sport of sailing was about to experience.

The first off-shore race conducted by MHYC was a modest affair. On August 21, 1954 ten yachts crossed the starting line for a race to Newport on Pittwater. Despite light winds, forcing some of the fleet to motor to Pittwater, the race was won by "Pinta" who threw up a spinnaker after rounding Barrenjoey Headland and crossed the finish line at 0335 hours on August 22.

"Pinta" had started a new era for MHYC and it was not long before club yachts were making headlines. In 1956, "Siandra" became the first MHYC yacht to enter the Sydney-Hobart Race. It was to become one of the most famous yachts of the 50s. In 1958, "Siandra" with Graham Newland as skipper and Ron Swanson, Frank Likely, Pod O'Donnell and Peter Mounsey as crew won this blue-ribbon ocean event. A winning tradition had begun and the 1959 Sydney-Hobart Race saw seven MHYC yachts take part with four finishing in the top ten places.

In 1960, "Siandra" won the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's first Blue Water Championship. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, MHYC yachts and their crews took many racing honours with boats such as "Carmen", "Cavalier", "Cadence", "Moonbird" and "Janzoon II" all prominent winners. At the club's 25th anniversary a new race from Sydney to Brisbane was created to be a feeder for the Brisbane-Gladstone Race. Again, MHYC yachts were winners, with "Cadence" and "Carmen" coming 1st and 2nd in the inaugural event.

In 1969, famous yacht designer and builder, Ron Swanson, on "Sundowner", made MHYC proud by taking out the double of line and handicap honours in the Brisbane-Gladstone Race. In 1972, the race fleet was hit by a cyclone and only six yachts finished with Peter Hopwood's, "Harmony" battling on through incredible 112 mph winds to win!

In 1965, MHYC placed eleven members in the first Australian Admiral's Cup Team and internationally the club started to make its mark with many honours over forthcoming years going to names such as Ron Swanson, Doug Gilling, Hugh Treharne and Warren Johns.

Since the 1970's, MHYC members have continued to be top performers in all facets of sailing, whether it be the classic ocean races or the activities of the Centreboard Division, which was created in 1963.

With the success and continued growth of the club a new clubhouse became essential. In 1963 the club obtained the site of the old Spit Baths and it was on this perfect vantage point that a marina complex and the present clubhouse were eventually built.

During the 1970s MHYC benefitting from improvements including a new clubhouse, saw membership climb to the 2,000 mark for the first time. In fact, in 1976 membership was 2,197 compared to less than 1,000 in 1971; an amazing growth period. The 70s also saw the creation of a Cruising Division for the adventurous non-racing sailors and the "Sailing Birds" group was established to develop training programs to teach people how to sail. This tradition of excellence in training and safety programs has continued to be a feature of MHYC to this day.

1976 saw the inaugural Sydney-Suva Yacht Race started by the Governor General of the Day, Sir John Kerr. It was also mentioned in the Rear Commodore's report around this time that MHYC was conducting races on 170 days per year for over 200 entrants surpassing any other yacht club in Australia. The success of club members and their yachts during this period was legendary. It would be impossible here to list all the racing successes but in summary, MHYC representatives won practically everything on water including the Sydney to Mooloolaba Race, Brisbane to Gladstone Race, Dunhill Half Ton Cup, Ampol Tasman Trophy, South Solitary Island Race plus numerous State, National and World titles. In 1983, MHYC was the first club to welcome back the victorious Australia II crew, including club member Hugh Treharne, after they won the America's Cup.

During the 80s Twilight Races, The 3 Ports Race and the Philips Night Race all emerged as exciting MHYC activities. Despite the economic difficulties in the community during the 1980s MHYC, through the tremendous efforts of club members and volunteers, remained a progressive and viable organisation. MHYC emerged from the 80s a stronger outfit with the largest membership and yacht register of any yacht club in Australia. The club had established an excellent racing record, a comprehensive yearly calendar of first-class events, an enthusiastic Cruising Division, a tremendous junior membership program and first-rate training and safety schemes.

The 1990's saw a long financial struggle for MHYC, and the Club continue's today as a result of the resolve and contributions of its members. The Club now has no external debt. More importantly the Club was able to finance and construct a new 76 berth floating marina, which now forms the centrepiece of not only the Club's sailing activities but also its revenue stream. 

As a result of the Junior Sailing program held at MHYC during the 90's we developed a strong line up of Aussie Sailors. Culminating in the success of Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page in the 470 Class. Nathan and Malcolm won all before them, 4 World Championships, and finally Olympic Gold in Beijing in 2008. MHYC continues its junior racing activities to bring along more talented young Australian Sailors.

MHYC is the scene of year round sailing activity. The club boasts a comprehensive calendar of events that sees action on and off the water taking place virtually every day and evening of the year. This broad spectrum of events and activities offers participants at all levels and in all aspects of our sport the opportunity to experience and enjoy the many rewards sailing has to offer cradled in a unique atmosphere of spirit and camaraderie.

The History Continue's

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2024

This yacht is one of Sydney's three "Lion" class yachts and has performed very well so far in this, her first season. She has won the first two events in the Cruising Yacht Club's program this year and will be trying to maintain her record.

Competitor Details

OFFICIAL ROLEX SYDNEY HOBART MERCHANDISE

Shop the official clothing range of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in person at the Club in New South Head Road, Darling Point or online below.  

From casual to technical clothing, there is something for all occasions. Be quick as stock is limited!

Graham Newland – A well navigated life

Written by his daughter Jan Newland, the book titled “Graham Newland – A well navigated life” will be launched at MHYC on 30th November.

The hidden life of one of Australia’s greatest ocean racing navigators is discovered in a box of scrapbooks When Graham Newland’s daughter inherited a box of old scrapbooks, she had no inkling of how rich her father’s life had been. Of course, Jan Newland knew about the two Sydney to Hobart victories her father had won when she was young. There were rumours of Admiral’s Cup glory while she was living in Perth. She had heard mention of other contested cups including the Congressional Cup and the One Ton Cup but she lived in London and Toronto. And then there was the race from Bermuda to Copenhagen using nothing but a sextant to find the way and the America’s Cup in Newport, Rhode Island on Gretel II. Turning the pages of the scrapbooks she also found a sailor who had been toasted by the Duke of Edinburgh and partied with the Aga Khan. Graham had raced with the who’s who of Australia’s golden age of racing. His skills were sought out by the great yacht designer, Olin Stephens of Sparkman & Stephens from New York. Known colloquially as The Yacht Doctor, the boats Graham had tuned for success stand as a litany of that age; The very first Ragamuffin, Vittoria, Love & War, Stormy Petrel, Salacia II, Mark Twain, Queequeg to name just a few. The scrapbooks highlighted just how important Graham had been in making Australian yachts, not just contenders, but victors, on the international scene. But Graham was also a quiet man, as happy tinkering in his engineering workshop as he was, sailing on Sydney Harbour. He wasn’t a man to blow his own trumpet. However, the accolades in newspaper clippings and correspondence outline the glory over a forty-year career had transfixed his daughter, so Jan read on. One of his greatest achievements was the creation of the very first Ragamuffin and being its first mate for several years. This is an excerpt from a letter to Dennis Miller, famous English yachtsman in September 1968.

In 1974 Graham turned his back on sailing and purchased a 1,650-acre farm near Gulgong in NSW, called Tarawong. It only took a few years for Graham to improve the property into one of the most productive in the district before the call of racing had him back on the water as navigator, tactician and part helm on Gretel II in the America’s Cup. It wasn’t just in the sailing and farming world that her father had achieved. He brought a husband and wife run airline business in Mt Molloy in Queensland with just two planes and the longest mail run in the world. Within a few years Graham had enlarged the fleet to twenty, with services operating throughout the Top End of Australia. As he got older, Graham settled on one last major quest – to cruise his 56ft, 55 ton motor yacht, Siandra II from Australia to Alaska. It was a challenge that would take him three attempts as a civil war, volcanic eruption and illness attempted to stop the dream. With friends and family, he ended up spending three glorious summers tracing the Inside Passage of Alaska followed by an amazing journey across the Pacific Ocean bringing Siandra II home to Sydney. The book is rich with anecdotes and a collage approach provided by the scrapbooks, Jan’s book, Graham Newland, a well navigated life, has created an engaging portrait of one of Australia’s sailing pioneers, a story of recognition that needed to be told, one that brings to life a man who just happened to be her beloved father. “Graham was a quiet achiever in the golden era, when Australia took on the sailing world. He was one of the very best crew mates I ever sailed with.” – Sir James Hardy

The Author: Television producer Jan Newland, is the owner of the leading production house, Eden Media, based in Sydney. She has worked around the world and is something of an explorer herself having being one of the first non-Russians to travel the Trans-Siberian railway from Vladivostok to Moscow in 1971. She is also an accomplished competitive sailor and a stalwart of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.

The Book: Graham Newland, a well navigated life is a 220 page full colour book published by Eden Media. Its retail price is $38 plus delivery (increases to $75 on 10th December). Copies can be ordered by emailing Jan [email protected] or by clicking on the QR Code below

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This new sydney venue looks (and tastes) like you’re on the amalfi coast.

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The clear water laps the sand. The white fringe on red and white striped umbrellas on the beach rustle gently, as do the white curtains of the dining room I’m seated in. I’m dipping melt-in-your-mouth potato flatbread into a tahini dip drizzled with a spicy green sauce, savouring the different flavours as I lean back against my chair’s pink and white striped cushion, taking it all in.

You’d be right to think I was on Amalfi Coast , dining at an authentic Italian seaside restaurant. But, in fact, I’m in Sydney, just a 30-minute drive from home. I’m at St Siandra , which quietly opened in February this year and sits right on Middle Harbour in Mosman. It’s named after the famous Middle Harbour-based yacht that won a Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race double in the 1950s and 1960s.

Co-owners Gavin Gray, who has over 20 years of hospitality experience, and chef-turned-restauranteur Mitch Davis had been working together for six years when the space adjacent to the Middle Harbour Yacht Club went up for lease.

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“We’d been chatting for a while about finding a spot to create a new venue,” says Gray. “Locations like that don’t come up often so we jumped on it, starting to gather up a team of top hospo talent together — from interior designer Sally Taylor, to passionate young chef Sam McCallun — and came up with the concept of St Siandra.”

Fresh from his time running Revolver Espresso in Bali, Adam George is the venue’s general manager. Gray describes it as a relaxed, coastal holiday-inspired restaurant and bar, which makes the most of the stunning water views at Mosman’s The Spit. He says there’s nothing else quite like St Siandra in Sydney.

He says the best way to set the scene for a breakfast (Friday-Sunday), lunch (Wednesday-Sunday) or dinner (Thursday-Saturday) here is to arrive by water — either in a water taxi or private boat — breezing into the private berth, before skipping across and the sand and settling into a table overlooking the water.

“Order up a glass of Laurent-Perrier Champagne to start, or perhaps one of our cocktails named after historic yachts from the area,” Gray says. “The Champagne Charlie with Manly Spirits Limoncello, citrus and processco is a popular option.

To follow the drink, Gray suggests ordering the potato flatbread paired with tahini is a must, along with skewers of Clarence River baby octopus and Skull Island prawns cooked on charcoal. Then, share a market fish, lamb shoulder and prawn spaghetti over a bottle of summer-style wine. That said, it’s the Jack’s Creek Angus MB4 striploin with lobster tail in a Champagne and Pedro sauce that’s Gray’s favourite dish on the menu.

“It’s our take on a surf and turf, celebrating great local produce and rich, moreish flavours,” he says.

To finish, Gray says the pineapple pavlova with crème fraiche and molasses has been a big guest winner. And that the real best way to end your time here is to retire to a deck chair on the sand of the private beach, digestif in hand. He says he wants guests to walk away feeling relaxed, reconnected and happy – how you’d feel after a much-needed beach holiday in a far-flung location.

St Siandra’s first-floor events venue, Bluebird Room and Deck, is a soft blue space with a private bar and deck that caters for functions with up to 70 people. You can also grab takeaway coffee from St Dreux and pastries from Seaforth’s Staple Bakery from the venue any day of the week.

“Dining here, you’ll feel like you’ve travelled much further afield than just up the road or across the bridge,” Gray says. “It’s a bit of escapism, a holiday in your own backyard, a trip to the Amalfi Coast without the price tag, a bit of endless summer year-round.”

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Sandra Jordaan

The founder of The Ultimate Yacht Purser Course talks about her superyachting life.

My father is a pilot for South African Airways. After university, I went through a rigorous interview process to become a pilot before realising that it wasn’t my passion. I had been considering working on superyachts for a while and in 2006, an opportunity magically presented itself via a friend of a friend who was recruiting. I landed the job, caught a flight to Barcelona and never really looked back.

I spent some years as a chief stew on board, plus a short stint in yacht management in Monaco, but I always wanted to be a purser, overseeing the logistics and administration of a superyacht. I felt like I’d be the perfect fit for it, but it was challenging to find out precisely what captains were looking for. Regardless, I felt confident that I’d be suitable, as I’d studied law as well as accounting, finance, tourism, project management and superyacht management. Eventually, I stepped into a purser position on a 90-metre yacht that had never had a purser before. Despite being thrown in at the deep end and having to carve out the role onboard, the fantastic female chief officer was instrumental in guiding me through the process.

I realised in hindsight that there were not enough purser courses out there for people like me who already had a lot of education and experience. It took me about six years to land my first purser role, and if more information or mentors had been available, I would have progressed more quickly. I launched The Ultimate Yacht Purser Course to provide theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to manage yacht administration and logistics confidently. It took me about two years to write, and it’s one of the most comprehensive courses out there. It’s not just a case of turning up to ten classes and receiving a certificate; it’s very interactive. I am constantly updating it as regulations change so quickly in this industry.

I think there is an unconscious bias that the purser role is only about filing papers and checking receipts and therefore not a highly skilled position, but it is so much more than that. On large yachts, the purser steps in to complete all the administrative tasks that the captain and officers are too busy to do anymore. Therefore, it is essential that the purser has an excellent understanding of the legal and regulatory environment and how to minimise risks accordingly.

I’m also an ambassador for She of the Sea – a platform launched by Jenny Matthews to start conversations about gender and diversity in the industry. I am always keen to get involved with organisations that support women, because it’s such a patriarchal society and I think women face many challenges in leadership roles.

Chilean Patagonia

I value connecting with different people and yachting has allowed me to have the most incredible friendships with people all over the world. That’s been the best thing about my career – as well as the travel, of course. One of my most memorable experiences was in the Bahamas. I had been working really hard on a busy charter yacht, and at the end of the season, the owner thanked us by letting us have the boat for a week! He even said we could invite friends and family onboard, so I flew my cousin out from Texas. It was just the most incredible holiday, cruising around the Exumas for a week like guests!

I also loved cruising Chilean Patagonia and Antarctica. They are both such surreal places. It is so, so quiet, with the most incredible landscape and wildlife. It’s this dream world where the sun doesn’t really ever set at night, so you get this pink haze every evening. I love diving too, so Cocos Island, between Costa Rica and Galapagos, was pretty spectacular.

Where is still on my bucket list? Japan, for skiing!

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• original hull
• partially restored deck
• substantially restored superstructure
• substantially restored layout
• original rigging
• substantially modified sails
• substantial modified gearbox
• substantially modified shaft
• timber planked
• overhanging stem
• overhanging transom
• displacement
• round bottom
• timber plywood
• keel hung rudder
• decked with cockpit
• auxiliary motor
• operational
• awards/trophies
• news clippings
• sport/recreation
• written, photographic, film, audio
• Discover More

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