My mate Jeff who I sail with who has done 13 races said in the early years when a 40 footer was considered a big boat in the race all the instruments would stop working by the second day and to work out roughly were you were you would try to spot lighthouses and time there flashes as you went up and down in the swell
He said whoever was helming would be a bit optimistic about how much ground they had covered on their stint to make the other helmsman think they had done a better job on the tiller
He also said that the downwind races were hard work sometimes with two people on the tiller to keep the boat heading in the right direction and he recalled a race where he was holding the tiller with two hands and another crew member was trying to shove a sandwich in his mouth but most of it was going up his nose
I love hearing the stories of when boats that were racing were more like the old jiggers a lot of us sail now
Regards Don

www.facebook.com/sailorgirlHQ/videos/1089841467852758/

Sublime - perfect noreaster - the sort of footage that Aust Tourism should get hold of and use.

Smuggler is showing as still racing. Perhaps the boat you saw is the old one?

Many years ago I was in the race and found the book about the disastrous Fastnet Race on board the boat.

Read the whole thing when I was meant to be asleep in my pipe cot over the 5 days.

Dunno why.