Sail Number: 554
Vessel Type: Yawl
S&S “Landfall”
LOA: 44′ 0″ / 13.41m – LWL: 32′ 9″ / 10.02m – Beam: 9′ 9″ / 3.01m – Draft: 6′ 6″ / 2.01m – Design Number: 54 -;Designed: 1935 – Current Rig: Sloop – Original Displacement: 24,000 lbs (w/o engine) – Current Displacement: 25,000 lbs – Designer: Sparkman & Stephens – Built By: Percy Coverdale, Battery Point – Hull: Huon Pine/Houn Pine Frames – Original Owner: Guy W. Rex and C.E. Davis, Hobart, Tasmania – Current Owner: Michael Strong, Bundeena, Sydney
Yacht Club: Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania
Historical:
Landfall, built in 1935, is the first Sparkman and Stephens yacht built outside of the USA. S&S was then at the beginning of what was to become the most famous yacht design firm in the world. Olin Stephens, just 25 at the time, was extremely surprised to find his first overseas commission came, not from Europe, but from Tasmania. Landfall was commissioned by, Guy W. Rex and C.E. Davis, Hobart, to be an updated ‘Dorade type,’ similar to DORADE, but with a slight decrease in proportional beam. In Dorade the ratio of beam to LWL is 3.63 whereas in Landfall it is 3.36.
Originally constructed as a yawl, her mizzen mast was removed, and the main aluminum mast was moved aft 18 inches, leaving a perfevtly balanced helm to go along with here elegant lines.
Built by Percy Coverdale at Battery Point, the yacht has been sailed continuously ever since. Landfall finished 7th in the 1952 Sydney Hobart and at 40 years of age she competed in the 1976 race.
2014 Sydney to Hobart – To celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Rolex Sydney Hobart and her 80th birthday. Landfall, a 1935 Sparkman and Stephens designed sloop will be racing south again on Boxing Day.
Provenance (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Crew & Notable Guest):
Owner: (1935) – Guy W. Rex and C.E. Davis, Hobart, Tasmania
Owner: Michael Strong, Bundeena, Sydney