king billy yacht

Thirty-year-old King Billy will be competing in its sixth Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race this year. Pic - CYCA

King Billy to compete in sixth Sydney Hobart

Phil Bennett’s King Billy is returning for her sixth Rolex Sydney Hobart campaign in 2021.

The 38-footer – built from King Billy Pine and designed by John King – turns 30 this year.

This year’s crew aboard King Billy will look very similar to that which took part in the 2015 edition, including Bill Wright, who competed in the 25 th , 50 th  and 75 th  Rolex Sydney Hobarts.

For the full story, see: https://rolexsydneyhobart.com/news/2021/pre-race/king-billy-family-returns-for-sixth-rolex-sydney-hobart-campaign/

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• Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

Phil Bennett skippered  King Billy   to 75 th   overall in the 75 th   race in 2019.  Built from King Billy Pine by Sailors Bay Boatshed (now known as Northside Shipwrights) in Northbridge, the aptly named boat was designed by Australian John King.  Bennett’s other Hobarts with   King Billy   were the 50 th   in 1994 when she placed fourth in Division F, and in 1995 finished 50 th   overall.  Along with the bulk of the fleet, he retired from the 1998 race.  The two returned for the 2015 Rolex Sydney Hobart and placed an excellent 14 th   and second in the Corinthian division.  They have also contested four Lord Howe Island and 10 Pittwater Coffs races and has won the Gascoigne Cup twice.

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2023 CYCA Club Merchandise is ON SALE NOW

Visit the CYCA Online Store today where you will find the latest range of men's and women's Club clothing exclusively manufactured by  Helly Hansen .

Our new range is out now... but it won't last long. SHOP NOW!

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All Rights Reserve 2016

www.sportsailingphotography.com I [email protected]

Ponant Sydney Noumea Yacht Race 2025

King Billy was built in 1992 and is made of King Billy Pine.  The designer was John King and she was built by Sailors Bay Boatshed situated in Northbridge, now known as Northside Shipwrights. King Billy has competed in four Hobarts, 4 Lord Howe Island races, 10 Coffs races and has won the Gascoigne Cup twice.

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OFFICIAL CYCA - Helly Hansen MERCHANDISE

Shop the official CYCA - Helly Hansen clothing range 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.

Reduced again Triple Dia King Billy Fast Cruiser

Used yachts for sale, sail monohulls 35ft > 40ft.

The Voyages of King Billy

“It is not how much we have but how much we enjoy that makes happiness” Charles Spurgeon

About King Billy

We bought King Billy 1 (formally Pariah ) in June of 2014. At the time she was moored in a pretty little bay in the Huon River just above Port Huon in South Tasmania and owned by a local farmer, who had just returned from a trip around the Pacific. By then we had viewed and considered around fifteen other boats of various sizes and designs. By the time we settled on KB we had looked at a range of boats in varying ‘project’ conditions and seen enough to know that we wanted a number of specific things in a boat.

We had decided pretty firmly that we wanted a metal boat to endure all the potential bumps and abuse we might inflict upon her in the process of crossing an ocean or two. We wanted a boat under 40ft that was small enough to be crewed easily by the two of us, since that’s how we envisaged sailing most of the time, yet spacious enough that we could comfortably live aboard which to us meant a separate sleeping cabin. We wanted a dependable seaworthy offshore design, strongly built and rigged. We wanted a boat that was in a fair condition and ready to be sailed. We didn’t want to have to spend every weekend for the next two years working on her! We’d rather be sailing! The most important consideration though was she had to be simple! We needed a boat that the two of us could easily repair and maintain. No unnecessary or overly high-tec systems that required expensive parts and expert labour to fix! KB has few essential electronic systems on board. Windlasses and winches are all simple, heavy duty manually operated affairs. No electric pumps in the head or galley. No microwave, TV, or water maker or any of that gumf. We adhere to the K eep I t S imple S tupid approach to the systems on board so that we have some chance of understanding and fixing them when problems inevitably arise.

So KB seemed to tick all the boxes. She certainly has a good seaworthy pedigree, which I’ll talk about plenty later, and she’s tough! She is heavily rigged. She has a robust 12m keel stepped mast, mast-head rigged with 10mm 1×19 stainless steel stays, inner forestay, jumpers and double spreaders and shrouds. Plus Ive just updated her with extra dyneema running backstays. People often comment on how overly rigged she is which makes us happy! Her running rigging and sails are a little tired but oversized and heavily constructed so although we may not be winning any races with our less than efficient sail shape there’s still plenty of life left in them and we’re planning on upgrading things when we can afford to. She was professionally built to Alan Payne’s original design and specifications in Fremantle, Australia in 1985. Her lower hull and keel are 6mm steel, her upper hull and topsides are 5mm and her decks 4mm thick steel. Of the dozen or so steel boats we looked at she was far and away the best maintained with very little rust.

When you climb down KB’s companionway and into her cosy jarrah wood lined saloon you can’t help but feel safe and at home! In fact out friend Joe, who has enamoured himself of many a pub interior around the world, says she reminds him of an old English pub inside! She’s just missing the roaring open log-fire but our ever dependable Refleks diesel heater makes a good substitute on cold Tasmanian evenings! When Laurie and I first climbed down the companionway steps we were smitten although neither of us said so to each other at that moment. On that first inspection we quickly went into what was by now becoming a well rehersed routine of cursory looks around the engine compartment, scanning the condition of the bilges, testing the various systems and asking the seller endless questions. It wasn’t until we were walking back to the car after that first inspection did the familiar question of “Well, what do we think?” surface. Almost in unison, we both answered “Love her!, she’s perfect”. And that was that! We had made up our minds. KB was the boat we’d been looking for, for a year and a half and to think she’d been 50kms down the road all this time! The next step was a more thorough inspection and survey and then the dreaded negotiations but that’s another story best left to another time…..

KB’s cosy interior!

Gleamin’ decks from on high!

Previous owners:

Peter Ford (2010-2014).

James and Simone Andrews (1990-2010).

Stephanie ? (?- 1990?)

James and Simone lived on board when they bought her and during a lengthy circumnavigation which they completed in 2002. They moved into a house in 2003 and kept Pariah near Melbourne until they sold her in 2010.

Appeasing the Sea-gods (and Laurie) at the renaming ceremony.

KB1 is a 38ft (11.6m) Alan Payne designed steel cutter-rigged sloop. She is a ‘Koonya’ design that first came off the drawing boards in the mid 1950’s. The late Alan Payne was a renowned Australian yacht designer who focused on the design of strong and seaworthy ocean racing and cruising yachts. He is renowned for designing the 12 metre class Gretel, Australia’s first America’s Cup challenger in 1962 along with Gretel II in 1970 and Advance in 1983. You can learn all about Alan, his life and his work at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Payne_(naval_architect) . The Koonya design with its multiple steel chine kinks, sloping overhangs and deep, enclosed lead keel are all giveaway Payne trademarks. We think she’s real pretty!

“ The number one criterion for a cruising yacht is the ability to survive the ultimate in bad weather” Alan Payne.

“They (Koonya’s) are capable of sailing to the ends of the earth … and across the middle,” David Payne (Alan’s nephew).

The Koonya was designed to be built in steel and as “ a real world girdler” . Alan designed his boats tough and it was these credentials that helped us to decide that KB1 was the boat for us. A number of other Koonya designs have sailed notable voyages around the globe including  Skookum , skippered by George Payne and Margaret Hough in 1990. 50,000-mile odyssey from Cape Horn, down the South Atlantic to the bowels of Antarctica and back.

Survey haulout inspection. It was a cold but beautiful winters morning on the Huon River.

Boat Specs (for the true boat-nerds amongst you)

Lister-Petter LPW 4cyl. 35hp Diesel engine with PRM delta gear hydraulic gear box. 1.25” shaft through PSS dripless seal to 18 inch, 3 blade bronze prop.

Plans for King Billy’s sister ship Rebel , WA. Kindly provided by Alan’s nephew David Payne.

The French-flagged steel yacht Gringo had been on passage between Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria and was about 20 miles offshore when it was hit by a freighter; boat and crew made it safely back to port to tell the tale! And that children, is why we chose a steel boat!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Payne_(naval_architect) – sourced 25/11/2015

http://www.clippers.com.au/clippers-articles/1996/5/10/metal-as-everything-under-sail/ – Sourced 10/03/2014

http://www.yachtingworld.com/blogs/elaine-bunting/yacht-run-down-by-ship-18229 – sourced 25/11/2015

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Used Yachts For Sale

Sail monohulls 35ft > 40ft, reduced again triple dia king billy fast cruiser  .

ABOUT THE SELLER

Contact the seller.

Bruce King “Scheherazade”

King “Scheherazade” Specifications: ASOLARE (ex SCHEHERAZADE)

LOA: 154’8″ / 47.15m * LOD: * LWL: 118’05 / 36.10m * Beam: 28’06 / 8.69m * Draft: 13′ 00 / 3.96m * Ballast: 153,000lbs * Bare Hull Weight: 110,000 lb * Sail Area: 9,940 sq ft * Main Mast Above Deck: 174′ * Mizzen Mast Above Deck: 110′ * Yard Number: 404 * Hull material: Wood construction * Rig: Ketch * Designer: Exterior Bruce King / Interior Andrew Winch * Built by: Hodgdon Yachts, Maine* Year Launched: September 27, 2003 * Restored By: * Current Name: ASOLARE * Original Owner: Bill and Barbara Stewart * Contract Cost: * Current Owner: * Sail Number:

Hull Construction:

Scheherazade’s hull is made of multiple layers of Douglas fir, western red cedar and WEST SYSTEM epoxy. Total hull thickness is 3-1/2″. The first layer glued to the frames is vertical grain Douglas fir, 7/8″ thick and oriented longitudinally. The next four are 7/16″ thick and oriented diagonally, primarily western red cedar with occasional substitutions of Douglas fir in highly loaded sections of the hull. The last layer will be another layer of 7/8″ thick Douglas fir oriented longitudinally. The hull will be encapsulated with two layers of fiberglass cloth and epoxy before it is faired and finally rolled over.

Known Racing History: ?

Known Restoration History:

Historical:

The yacht “Scheherazade” was named after the clever and exotic heroine of The 1,001 Arabian Nights, ” (a collection of West and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age.”

With a staff of up to one-hundred people working on Scheherazade at one point during the build, the project took approximately four years to complete.

On a foggy morning on September 27 in East Boothbay, ME, 3000 people showed up for the launch of Scheherazade. The 154’ ketch is the largest private yacht built in the US as of 2003.

Related posts:

• Bruce King “Whitehawk”
• Bruce King “Whitefin”
• Bruce King “Signe”
• Bruce King ” Antonisa”

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BoatNews.com

Galway Blazer II, the first junk-rigged schooner to sail around the world

Bill King was born on June 23, 1910. A British naval officer, yachtsman and author, he completed a solo round-the-world voyage in 1973, after three aborted attempts. It was aboard the Galway Blazer II, a schooner rigged as a junk, specially designed for circumnavigation, that he became the first navigator to accomplish the feat on this type of boat.

Build a junk-rigged schooner for a world tour

In 1967, Bill King had the ambition to sail solo around the world . He had a boat built for this purpose at the Souter shipyard in Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. Galway Blazer II was a 42-foot schooner , designed by Angus Primrose, inspired by Chinese boats that the naval officer had discovered during his travels. She is built in plywood and cold molded. Her junk rigging and sails are based on traditional Far Eastern rigging. It is similar to Jester, the junk-rigged Folkboat used by former Royal Marine Colonel Herbert Hasler in the first solo transatlantic race, the OSTAR. The boat was exhibited at the London Boat Show in January 1968.

Launch of the first solo race around the globe

At the same time, the start of the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race , the first non-stop single-handed round-the-world race, was announced. Since the project coincided with his desire to circumnavigate, Bill King decided to participate. At 58, he is the oldest participant in the race. He explained that he had joined the starting line on August 24, 1968 to recover psychologically from his 15 years of service in submarines.

Fast and elegant, Galway Blazer II lacked guardrails and shrouds, a handicap for safety. To solve this problem, Bill King installed a steel rope that extended from the bow to the stern, and on which he fixed a harness. This method was later copied by other sailors such as Loïck Fougeron and Bernard Moitessier .

An aborted first attempt

On October 31 of the same year, while resting, the boat was laid up in waves of nearly 15 m, while it was northeast of Gough Island, in the roaring forties. Both masts were broken and the sailor and his boat were towed back to Cape Town. The race was over.

The third one will be the good one in spite of important damages

In 1969, King attempted a new round-the-world voyage, in vain, still aboard the repaired Galway Blazer II. In 1970, he made one last attempt, which he succeeded in despite several setbacks. On December 12, 1971, while he was below deck, a sea creature damaged his boat at the hull level. The man then had the idea of heeling it as much as possible so that the hole was out of the water, and managed to repair it in three days. He was then about 400 miles from Freemantle, Western Australia , which he eventually reached. After further repairs, he left Australia to finally complete his circumnavigation on May 23, 1973. He became the first Irish-based sailor to accomplish this feat, and Galway Blazer II the first junk to complete a circumnavigation .

Shipwreck in the Atlantic

The boat continued to sail in other races, such as the OSTAR, before being sold to Peter Crowther, a Devon pub owner. Bill King passed away in 1992 at the age of 102. His boat continued to compete in single-handed and crewed races, but also sailed as a family. The life of Galway Blazer II ended on June 24, 1996, during the tenth solo transatlantic race from Plymouth, England, to Newport, Rhode Island in the United States. The boat sank in the Atlantic after structural damage in heavy weather . Crowther wrote a book about his adventures aboard his boat.

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Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2024

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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!