Danu
Vessel numberHV000862
Designer
Alan Payne
(1921 - 1995)
Date1962
DescriptionDanu is a 36 ft Tasman Seabird yacht that was built by Jack Gutierrez in Brighton Victoria in 1962. It was designed by renowned Australian Naval Architect Alan Payne. Danu has a 9.5 ft beam, 4.6 ft draught, and displacement of 8 tonnes. Upon launching it was christened as Julie O, then Waterwitch III to 2016. Dan’s carvel hull is Oregon planking over spotted gum frames, steam bent during construction. Its keel is made of turpentine hardwood, its cabin and deck a mixture of wood and fibreglass. Its rigging is aluminium. Danu was commissioned and first owned by Jock Sturrock and launched the same year Sturrock sailed another Alan Payne design, Gretel, famous as Australia’s first challenger for the America’s Cup.
Payne had prepared the Tasman Seabird design as his response to the need for a strongly built ocean racing boat suitable for the rough conditions on the eastern coastline. He then optimised the design to take advantage of aspects in the RORC Rule that was used to handicap events at that time. MARIS (HV000233) for Jack Earl was the second one to be launched, but the first to be sailing, KALEENA (HV000081) the second to sail and CHERANA (HV000428) the third.
Soon after launch Danu competed in the 1962 Sydney to Hobart and came fourth on handicap and sixth over the line. Six other Tasman Seabirds competed in 1962 and Danu was first out of the six. Danu was used predominantly as a racing and cruising yacht in Sydney harbour until 1966 when it moved to South Australia. Here, Danu spent twenty years sailing around Adelaide with the Royal South Australia yacht Squadron. It made regular trips out to Kangaroo Island. In the 1990s it was replaced with a teak deck which subsequently fell into disrepair.
Danu was taken on by a new owner in 2016 and its deck was replaced in 2019 with marine ply sheathed in fibreglass and resin. Its motor was also replaced with a Beta 30 HP. In December 2021 Danu’s hull was restored and sheathed. Upgrades were also made to the galley and electrics. As of 2024 Danu is moored In Callala Bay on the NSW South Coast and is in excellent condition.
SignificanceDanu is a 36 ft Tasman Seabird yacht that was built by Jack Gutierrez in Brighton Victoria in 1962. It was designed by renowned Australian Naval Architect Alan Payne, and follows a fleet of other Tasman Seabirds recognised on the ARHV including MARIS (HV000233), KALEENA (HV000081) and CHERANA (HV000428). Danu’s first owner was the highly regarded sailor Jock Sturrock, perhaps best known as the skipper of Gretel - Australia’s first challenger for the America’s Cup. Danu competed in the Sydney to Hobart Race in 1962 and came sixth over the line and fourth on handicap, beating six other Tasman Seabird’s also in the race that year. From 1966 to 1986 Danu sailed in South Australia with the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron, making regular trips to Kangaroo Island. As of 2024 it is moored in Callala Bay on the NSW South Coast and is in excellent condition.
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