Images(5)

STRUEN MARIE at the start of the 1951 Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

STRUEN MARIE sailing to windward early in the 1950s.

Struen Marie

Vessel numberHV000197

Vessel Registration NumberNO2O3Q

Sail Number117

Builder Les & Barry Steel

Designer Robert Clark

Date1950

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 10.67 m x 8.23 m x 2.9 m x 1.83 m, 7.38 tonnes (35 ft x 27 ft x 9.5 ft x 6 ft, 7.5 tons)

DescriptionSTRUEN MARIE was built by Les Steel at his Speers Point boatyard on Lake Macquarie, NSW in 1950. Steel based the design on a plan by English naval architect Robert Clark. He adjusted the shape to fit the 35ft maximum length allowed for yachts racing with the Sydney Amateur Sailing Club (SASC). The first owner was Tom Williamson, a chemist, whose wife was named Sheila. The yacht was named after their daughter Struen Marie and later in its life, the third owner was his son Michael Williamson and his wife Casandra Firman.

The 10.67m wooden yacht is carvel planked in full length Huon pine on laminated spotted gum frames, supported by grown timbers for floors, stem and knees. This sturdy construction is a mark of the high quality skills typical of Les and Barry Steel's boatbuilding.

STRUEN MARIE is one of the early purpose-built yachts designed for the Sydney to Hobart race, and it won this event in 1951. At the same time it also set a race record which stood for another 11 years.

In its first year of sailing STRUEN MARIE won most of the major races it entered, and continued to have a fine career racing offshore and on Sydney Harbour for a number of years. Included in its trophy list is the Kelly Cup from the SASC, which dates from 1893 and is one of the oldest remaining yachting trophies in Australia. Now as a classic yacht, STRUEN MARIE has won many classic yacht regattas in Sydney and Queensland.

The Mercury December 31 1951 carried the following report about STRUEN MARIE:

"The crew of Struen Marie thought their inability to take off the yacht's spinnaker off the south-east coast of Tasmania on Saturday night would put them out of the race.
In a hard blow the skipper (D. A. Williamson) was forced to head seaward before the wind while the crew worked to get the big running sail down. Struen Marie, moving fast through the water, was taken miles off course.
A weather change, which gave Struen Marie a big advantage over the rest of the fleet, allowed her to improve her position from fifth to third. Williamson said that at times in her run off course Struen Marie was moving faster through and at times "over" the water than was considered possible by a craft of her size.
She finished only 16 minutes behind Lass o' Luss, which crossed the line 43 minutes after Margaret Rintoul."

SignificanceSTRUEN MARIE is a wooden racing built in NSW in 1950. It won the Sydney to Hobart yacht race in 1951 and is also an early example of a yacht that was purpose-built for the event. The 10.67m (35ft) yacht was built by important regional boat builders, Les and Barry Steel at Lake Macquarie in NSW.