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LARAPINTA at sea
Larapinta
LARAPINTA at sea
LARAPINTA at sea
Private Collection

Larapinta

Vessel numberHV000280
Vessel Registration NumberJB723N
Previous NumberMH36
Date1945
DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 11.28 m x 3.66 m x 1.83 m, 13.1 tonnes (37 ft x 12 ft x 6 ft, 13.31 tons)
DescriptionLARAPINTA was completed in 1945 by professional shipwright William Gordon, but it is understood amateur builder Walter Fabbige had begun building the yacht for himself. At this time it was called SEAFAIRER. While the design is credited to AC Barber it is thought that Barber based the yacht on the style of a Colin Archer designed yacht, and the similar American Atkins’ designs. Barber is known to have adapted the design of PHALAROPE (HV000191) from an Archer lines plan. The canoe stern shape is a typical Barber feature, but the Archer and Atkins designs also had canoe sterns. Peter Mounsey notes that LARAPINTA's stern is probably finer than the more rounded Atkins style. The heavy displacement hull was typical of the sturdy and seaworthy ocean going yachts built post-World War II.

Peter Mounsey was a master mariner working on coastal ships when he sailed as navigator aboard one of the entrants in the 1953 Sydney to Hobart race. The ocean racing experience started him thinking about a circumnavigation and the Mounsey's began to plan their voyage. LARAPINTA was purchased in 1954 for 3000 pounds and they set about repairing poor framing. Other changes were also made in preparation for the long voyage. During this four year period Peter and Lesley lived aboard the boat in Mosman Bay.

They departed Sydney in late May 1958, sailing north to take the trade winds across the Indian Ocean to South Africa and then up the Atlantic Ocean to England. From there they sailed for home via the West Indies, Panama Canal and South Pacific Islands, returning in 1961.

It was a leisurely and satisfying cruise with occasional rough passages. Along the way, the novelty of being a husband and wife cruising couple ensured they met with an inquisitive, and then friendly, reception at the ports they called at. This contrasts with voyages such as the all-male Jack Earl circumnavigation in 1947/48 aboard KATHLEEN GILLETT (HV000042).

Although not as widely reported as Earl's famous voyage, the Mounsey's cruise was certainly well known amongst the Australian sailing fraternity. Their voyage on LARAPINTA encouraged other couples and women to undertake ocean cruising. It also gave Peter Mounsey a taste for short-handed sailing. In the 1960s and 70s he became one of the pioneers of short-handed and single-handed ocean racing in Australia. He was also associated with the AUSTRALIA II America's Cup challenge in 1983.

Reference: Bluewater Australians, Peter Fry, ABC 1987


SignificanceLARAPINTA is a heavy displacement 11 metre (37 feet) cruising yacht designed by prolific Sydney naval architect AC Barber. Launched in 1945, it was sailed by Peter Mounsey and his wife Lesley who became the first Australian couple to make a world-circumnavigation in the late 1950s. This was at a time when few couples of any nationality had taken to ocean cruising and it is probable that Lesley was the first Australian woman to sail around the world on a yacht.
KATHLEEN GILLETT racing in Gaffer's Day 2004 on Sydney Harbour.
Colin Archer
1939
PHALAROPE in 2007, fitted out for cruising offshore as a capable small vessel.
W Holmes Boat Builder
1930
RIVAL on display at WHARF 7 Darling Harbour
Harold Griffin
1928
WINDWARD II on Port Phillip in 2008
Percy Coverdale
1929
Berrimilla II during the Grand Veterans Race on Sydney Harbour 18 April 2010
Professor Peter Numa Joubert
1977
PARRY ENDEAVOUR on display in 2013
R Williams & J Chute Partnership
1979
MARIS at Lord Howe Island in 2013
Alan Payne
1958
BLACKMORE'S FIRST LADY is now on display in the Australian National Maritime Museum.
Laurie Davidson
1984
Veteren yachtsman Peter Mounsey aboard SMOKY CAPE at the AWBF 2017
Cec Quilkey
1973
METUNG in London on its circumnavigation
JC Bull
1956
Undine at the Wooden Boat Centre Franklin Tasmania 2023
Don Colborne
1948
SOLO on Moreton Bay Qld, around 2011.
Alan Payne
1955