Images(8)

CALYPSO III under construction in Lindfield NSW in the late 1940s

CALYPSO III being moved from Lindfield NSW early in the 1950s

CALYPSO III under construction in Lindfield NSW in the late 1940s. The builder Ron Mitchell and…

CALYPSO III in the Pacific Ocean, moored in a lagoon on the island of Moorea near Tahiti in the…

Calypso 111

Vessel numberHV000209

Vessel Registration Number317639

Designer John Hanna

Date1946 - 1952

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 10.82 m x 9.14 m x 8.23 m x 3.12 m x 1.37 m (35.5 ft x 30 ft x 27 ft x 10.25 ft x 4.5 ft)

DescriptionCALYPSO III was built by Ron Mitchell at his home in Lindfield NSW, to a design by the American yacht designer John Hanna. Mitchell began building the yacht in his backyard in 1946 and worked on it in his spare time. Backyard building on this scale was not that unusual around Australia in the years after World War II.

Mitchell wanted to cruise around the world. The yacht's double-ended shape, typical of what is called a Tahiti ketch, has excellent sea-going characteristics. It is based on the style and proportions used by noted naval architect Colin Archer much earlier, in the 1900s and 1890s.

CALYPSO III is carvel planked in spotted gum and Queensland cedar, with spotted gum frames, providing a sturdy construction. Mitchell followed Hanna's detailed plans meticulously, but he sold CALYPSO III when he moved to Queensland with his family when the yacht was close to being finished.

New owner Charles Dilloway who was left to fit out the interior. Dilloway launched the yacht in 1953 in Sydney. Mitchell however never lost his interest in sailing and eventually bought a yacht called IRENE. In 1960 he took the opportunity to buy CALYPSO III back from Dilloway in exchange for IRENE (then called SEYMOUR). Mitchell sailed SEYMOUR to Sydney returning to Queensland with his original boat CALYPSO III.

The Mitchell family, (Ron, Florence and Ron Jr) cruised CALYPSO III along the Queensland coast for the next five years, until late in 1966 when they set sail to cruise the world.

From 1967 to 1972 the Mitchells sailed CALYPSO III across the Pacific and West Coast of North America, the Caribbean, the east coast of North America and across to the UK and Europe, returning to Australia through the Panama Canal and the Pacific islands. They arrived in Gladstone, Queensland on 25 November 1972. During this trip they were personally welcomed to Alaska by the state's governor who provided a letter of greeting in recognition of their adventurous voyage. In 1970 they stayed in Newport Rhode Island as patriotic Australian supporters for GRETEL II's Australian Challenge for the America's Cup and the boat's visitor's book proudly displays the name of GRETEL II's designer Alan Payne, who visited them while they were there.

Back in Australia the Mitchells continued to sail the yacht on coastal trips and longer passages to the Pacific, as far as Fiji. After their final voyage in 1987 they sold the yacht to its current owner. CALYPSO III continues to cruise the Queensland coastline.
SignificanceCALYPSO III is a wooden yacht built in suburban Sydney NSW. It was launched in 1953 and is an example of an amateur home-built yacht intended for world cruising which achieved its builder's ambitions. Home building was a typical feature of Australian boating in the 1950s and 60s. CALYPSO III's owner and builder cruised the world extensively in the late 1960s and it was one of the first Australian yachts to visit Alaska.