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Freydis

Vessel numberHV000566

Sail NumberB J 1

Builder Charlie Peel

Designer Charlie Peel

Previous owner Brighton Fleet Committee

Date1935

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 5.49 m x 4.88 m x 2.01 m x 0.4 m, 0.95 tonnes (18 ft x 16 ft x 6.6 ft x 1.3 ft, 0.93 tons)

DescriptionIt was a series of storms that gave rise to FREYDIS. In 1934 two very serious gales swept across Port Phillip and many moored vessels on the eastern shoreline were lost. Racing fleets were seriously depleted, prompting the commodore of the Royal Brighton Yacht Club to suggest that a new one-design class should be considered to rebuild the fleets. At a meeting hosted by RBYC agreement was reached between the other Melbourne clubs on a set of requirements for a yacht 18 feet (5.49m) long. The requirements were given to Charlie Peel, the principle Victorian yacht designer and builder of the period. The design featured a carvel planked hull 5.49m long, just over 2.0 m wide, with an open cockpit, steel centreplate and rigged with a Bermudan sail plan. The yacht was ballasted with about 250kgs of internal ballast. The characteristics gave a strong, safe and sea kindly craft primarily for racing on Port Phillip, which can develop quite big seas even though it is enclosed from the ocean.

As well as building the first hull, Peel created a full set of plans and specifications to ensure the class remained a one design. It was to be called the Jubilee class in honour of the 1935 Jubilee of King George V's reign and FREYDIS was the prototype.

FREYDIS was christened by Dorothy Linacre and launched from RBYC in October 1935, with sail number J 1, and within six months there were 10 boats sailing in the class. It proved ideal, able to sail well in light conditions as well as handle any heavy weather races. Within a few years it began to be adopted interstate. In July 1938 the Sydney Morning Herald reported in two consecutive articles that the class had been sponsored by the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club and carried full details of the design.

“NEW YACHT CLASS. The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club has officially decided to sponsor the 'Jubilee' class of yacht, which was developed in Victoria three years ago. Nine boats are under construction, and orders have been placed for several.
The class first found favour In New South Wales among yachtsmen who frequent Pittwater and it was to provide for the boats which are being built there that the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club has begun to provide boatshed, slipway and other accommodation on its property at Green Point near Newport.

Victorian experience has shown that the boats, although comparatively small, are of powerful and stable design, and can be easily slipped or beached and launched. They can safely tackle bad conditions in Port Phillip Bay, and will make good headway in light conditions They have also been successfully used for cruising and camping in Port Phillip."

The class was well supported in NSW, and soon fleets were established in each state, and they competed nationally for the Huntingfield Cup. Unlike the 21 Foot Restricted Class, the Jubilees survived beyond the 1950s and remained strong in both NSW and Victoria well into the 1980s. This was helped by the introduction of a fibreglass hull as an alternative to timber, and in the first few years 25 new craft were built. A combination of good all round characteristics and the advantages of a one design where everyone has an identical boat have helped give the Jubilee class longevity.

FREYDIS sailed with RBYC for over 50 years with the Linacre family, and was relaunched in 1985 on its 50th anniversary by Dorothy's granddaughter Jan. FREYDIS eventually moved on and in 2000 it was racing on the Swan River in Perth, and then moved across the continent to Airlie Beach at Hamilton Island in Queensland. Around 2004 it represented the Whitsunday Sailing Club at the Huntingfield Cup on Pittwater, and soon after it was purchased by the RBYC Jubilee fleet and taken back to its home club in Melbourne in time for its 70th anniversary launching.

In 2013 it remains active with the RBYC Jubilee fleet on Port Phillip, under the watchful eye of the Linacre family's current generation of sailors.

SignificanceFREYDIS was built in Melbourne Victoria in 1935 by its designer Charlie Peel and is the first of the Jubliee class of racing yachts. This class helped re-establsh racing fleets on Port Phillip in the mid-1930s after storms had damaged a number of yachts. The class spread to become a national racing class and remained strong well into the 1980s with close racing for the Huntingfield Cup.