It’s been 180 years since the Tamar Yacht Club received its first piece of publicity in Launceston newspaper, The Cornwall Chronicle.
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The journey of the club in that time fills the pages of Julian Burgess’ new book, The Tamar Yacht Club, A History of Sailing in Northern Tasmania.
Officially launched on Friday, the book is the culmination of more than a decade’s worth of work for the author, who is also a past Commodore of the club. Having already written about Duck Reach and the Waverley Woolen Mills, Mr Burgess described detailing the past of the yacht club as a “passion project”.
“I like writing about local history,” he said.
“I first joined the club in the 1960s, so this is something I’ve really wanted to do.”
There may have been yacht racing in Van Diemen’s Land before 1837, but the establishment of a club in the North marked the start of organised sailing regattas on the Tamar River.
Since then, it has co-hosted Australia’s first ocean yacht race, the Rudder Cup, in 1907, and been home to the Sydney to Hobart’s first Tamar entrant, Wanderer, which was skippered by 1940s Commodore Eric Massey. Current Commodore Mitch Ranson said the Tamar Yacht Club story was an important part of Tasmania’s social and sporting life.
“The great thing about someone professionally documenting the history is you discover the difference between a popular rumor and what really happened,” he said.
