Images(3)

Serifa

Vessel numberHV000790

Sail NumberR1363

Builder J J Savage

Date1961

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 9.98 m × 7.92 m × 1.37 m, 6.67 tonnes (32.75 ft × 26 ft × 4.5 ft, 6.56 tons)

DescriptionSERIFA is almost 10 metres long, and is carvel planked in Australian timbers with a planked deck and cabin house, and still has its original timber mast in a time when aluminium sections have replaced many of these craftsmen built spars. It is an excellent example of Jack Savage’s design skills and the workmanship of his family boatyard. It represents a regional example of the different designs built in different states to suit their conditions and the local market before bigger stock design builders were able to dominate the market on a national scale.

Bernie Case raced SERIFA on Port Phillip and entered SERIFA in the 1966 Sydney to Hobart race. On the first night of the race it was running 9th overall, and up amongst much larger yachts such as the 50 foot long steel THEKLA, a copy of the famous SOLO, a previous race winner. It eventually placed 6th on handicap in a race where the smaller yachts were helped along by the weather conditions toward the end of the race, with the leaders becalmed for a period.

In 2020 the yacht remains in largely original condition excepting the usual wear and tear repairs after almost 7 decades of sailing. It races with the other classic yachts on Port Phillip and coastal cruising sailing from Mornington yacht club.

SignificanceSERIFA is a timber racing yacht built in Victoria in 1961. It was designed and built by Jack Savage at his boatyard in Williamstown, Melbourne for highly respected Victorian ocean racing yachtsman and dentist Bernie Case, a veteran of 40 Sydney to Hobart yacht races. This was the first yacht he owned and raced in the Sydney to Hobart race. It is also an excellent example of the Savage 32 yacht, where a small number of sister ship yachts were built by Savages yard during this period, pre-dating the introduction of fibreglass stock yacht designs. They were a small but important class on Port Phillip during the 1960s, and represent a specific Victorian designed and built yacht for their conditions.