Member Spotlight
We celebrate the sailors who’ve recently shifted into new yachts, and stepped up into the ocean-going fleet. This brings fresh energy, ambition, competition and fresh faces to our offshore racing scene. From exciting upgrades to plans for bigger blue-water challenges, read on to see how our fleet is growing and evolving as we head towards the 2026 King Island Race.
From Valiant to Voodoo Child: for Jason Farnell
Voodoo Child Farewell Beacon / Photo Colleen Darcy
Jason Farnell, upgraded from Valiant, his Adams 10, to Voodoo Child, a Northshore 369, to step up his family’s offshore racing ambitions.
‘Voodoo Child is a nice solid yacht suitable for offshore sailing...’ Having just completed the Launceston to Hobart race this year with his son Will and daughter Imogen plus Conall and Mason, all young sailors with origins from Royal Geelong Yacht Club.
“Will (ORCV Young Sailor of the Year 2025) was the driving force for change,” explained Jason, “with a desire to do more offshore races and compete in a Tasmanian race this summer.”
Having so many young sailors on board for the Launceston race, Voodoo Child served its purpose and until a better planning boat comes to light, “Voodoo Child is our boat for summer providing that stepping stone” for his younger keen sailors to enjoy more offshore sailing.
“We hope to one day take on the Melbourne Hobart, Westcoaster which is more convenient to our home base in Geelong but in the meantime, may do another Cat 3 Launceston race next year,” with his young crew.
Phoenix a new chapter for Brenton & Jenn Carnell
Phoenix line honours winner 2025 Cock of Bay / Photo MIchael Currie
Rising from the ashes and regenerated feels entirely fitting for Phoenix, the Marten 49 formerly known as Carrera S, now owned by Brenton and Jenn Carnell.
After years of sailing everything from Etchells to a highly successful Sydney 38 campaign, and later a Melges 32, Brenton and Jenn were ready for a change.
Brenton explained “The Marten 49 ticked every box: speed, power, comfort and a strong carbon hull, all beautifully maintained by former owner Gerry Cantwell.”
With more than 34 Hobarts between them and loads of experience racing offshore, Brenton and Jenn knew exactly what they want from a boat. While Brenton had his eye on a Fast 40, Jenn drew the line at for safety reasons at it having runners, with the Marten 49 Carrera S being the perfect compromise.
Now reborn as Phoenix with new owners taking over on 1st November 2025, they entered the ORCV Cock of Bay for the first windward race.
“We left Geelong at 3am to make the start and then led all the way to the finish to claim Line Honours” before turning for home and a long day and the start of a new chapter.
Phoenix is also about people, not just performance. Brenton and Jenn are passionate about bringing young dinghy sailors and into keelboat racing, with five current crew members under 23. As Jenn puts it, “They just love wearing the uniform and being part of the crew.”
Tevake 11, Under New Helm with Tobias Swanson
Tobias Swanson and Tevake II / Photo provided by Tobias Swanson
January 2026 marks the start of the Radford designed, Tevake 11 journey under new ownership of Tobias Swanson, formally the owner of Dark and Stormy from Royal Geelong Yacht Club.
“I’ve always liked the Radford / Adams designed yachts for their sleek solid design, having first following Don McIntyre’s round the world campaign on his 50 foot yacht Buttercup, a Graham Radford / Joe Adams custom design.” said Toby.
“I was unsuccessful in buying Tevake 11 the first time it came onto the market a couple of years ago”, going on to explain “that he knew Angus knew boats and had setup Tevake 11 well with heavy duty gear for offshore and Southern Ocean sailing.”
“Currently Tevake 11 is on the hard stand, getting anti fouled and back up to Cat 2 standards with plans to race in 2026 King Island and all races including the Westcoaster this year.”
“Over time there are plans to upgrade the electronics, give it a new coat of paint and upgrade the sails.” said Tobias although I first need to get on the water and learn how to sail it well.
“With Dark and Stormy now sold and about to depart to new owners in Hobart”, Tobias said he can focus on learning how to sail Tevake 11, honouring the late Angus Fletcher and preparing the boat for its new chapter of racing, knowing he has “big shoes to fill with the Angus’s legacy.”
A New Foggy Dew? Robert D’Arcy’s Interim Upgrade
The J99 Foggy Dew / Photo by Spirit of Downunder crew
There’s a new Foggy Dew in the fleet, with skipper Robert D’Arcy still at the helm with Janet Wilks (Wilksie Marine) as co skipper.
Robert has long had his sights set on the next Melbourne to Osaka race, looking to continue offshore double-handed sailing with a little more comfort, speed and performance than the 2025 Foggy Dew, a Northshore 369, which has now been sold, and an order placed for the new Foggy Dew, a 48-foot JPK yacht.
“I was originally looking at a slightly smaller JPK model, which would have taken about 18 to 24 months to arrive” explained Robert. “When they mentioned the 48-footer, it was only another twelve months beyond that.
“I’m young enough to wait, and it will be that little bit more comfort and performance.” explained Robert.
“Selling the Northshore 369 Foggy Dew wasn’t originally part of the plan, but a strong offer, combined with the opportunity to purchase an interim boat, changed the timeline.” Enter the J/99 Foggy Dew (formerly Rum Rebellion from Sydney), which was already well set up for Category 1 double-handed sailing.
“What the J/99 Foggy Dew lacks in length, it promises to make up for in speed and simplicity,” said Robert. “These boats have a great reputation. It’s well prepared for Category 1 double-handed racing, requiring little extra investment, and it’s much easier to move around without a large wheel in the middle of the deck.”
After putting the new J/99 Foggy Dew through her paces at the Festival of Sails, the next test will be the 2026 King Island Race in early March, as plans continue for offshore double-handed racing and fully crewed sailing in the bay, while the wait begins for Robert’s next-generation Foggy Dew, a JPK to arrive.
ORA – Allan Gontar
Ora / Photo by Al Dillon
ORA, skippered and owned by Allan Gontar is a well-appointed Sydney 36CR, which Allan believes is possibly the last of the Sydney 36s ever built. Originally commissioned by Martin Vaughan with a clear vision and set up with double-handed sailing in mind, he describes the boat as a “solid and capable offshore platform capable of being sailed fully crewed or double handed.”
ORA was previously known around the bay as Coco and originally named Wildside.
“I’ve previously crewed on boats like YOKO and Cadibarra, and now I’m really looking forward to building a good, solid ocean crew, having owning and campaigning ORA for the past 12 months on bay races.”
With 15–20 years of ocean racing experience, Allan is focused on building miles and developing both crew and boat. “We ventured offshore for our first ocean race to Devonport late last year, and now we’re building towards King Island and the Coastal Sprint series,” he says with “a Westcoaster” definitely on the radar.
Allan plans to campaign her both fully crewed and double-handed, already ticking off a personal milestone by sailing her solo back from Devonport last year, a long-time bucket list achievement.
BELLE – skippered by Richard Taylor and Kylie Balharrie
Belle / Photo by Damien King
Having owned Belle for the past two years, Richard Taylor and Kylie Balharrie are now stepping up from Category 3 to Category 2 sailing, with their next major venture being King Island.
First launched in South Africa in 2004, Belle, the LY60–designed yacht, cruised the Mediterranean and completed an Atlantic crossing before being brought to Melbourne, where she passed through multiple owners.
“We bought Belle roughly two years ago,” Kylie explained, recalling how sad she had looked. “For about eight years, Belle had been left in the marina pen, without a mast and completely untouched.”
“Richard and I worked full time on the restoration for three months, sanding and restoring the carbon mast and bringing her back up to standard, completing all the work ourselves. Our goal was to be able to sail Belle to New Year’s Eve in Docklands, which we did.”
On deck, Belle features a special carbon in-boom furler that allows three reefs to be put in while still maintaining beautiful sail shape, along with an A4 spinnaker boasting some 280m² of sail area. Down below, she is beautifully appointed, with generous cabins, hot showers, and a well-set-up galley.
“Getting to Category 2 has been a lot of work, but rewarding in other ways,” Kylie explained. “We connected with the original European designer, who provided documentation on the boat’s polars, measurements, stability data and other fascinating information.”
Over the past two years, the focus has been on building miles, cruising to Deal Island, around Tasmania, including ORCV Category 3 races to Apollo Bay and the Coastal Sprint.
“In our first year alone, we had her out more than 70 times. More recently, we’ve begun competing double-handed with ORCV and SYC on the Bay, with our focus now shifting to fully crewed offshore racing as we build toward King Island, Apollo Bay and hopefully a Westcoaster this year.”
They also have a busy sailing calendar ahead, both in Melbourne and overseas. Later this year they’ll join family, Sally Ann Balharrie and Mark Chew, to compete in the Swan Worlds in Spain, before returning to SYC for the J24 Worlds. Both Kylie and Richard are accomplished sailors, and these events form an exciting part of their broader campaign beyond Belle.
“Our five-year plan is to have Belle ready for the next Melbourne to Osaka race,” Kylie said, adding with gratitude, “We are so lucky to have the support of people like Damian King, skipper of MRV, and Aaron Cole from North Sails, who generously share their knowledge.”
“We pinch ourselves that we can do this,” Kylie finished.
Cheer for them in the 2026 Melbourne to King Island Race! Click here for race information, entries close Monday 23 February.
