Oakeley
Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: Dinghy classes
Forum Name: Dinghy development
Forum Discription: The latest moves in the dinghy market
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12601
Printed Date: 07 Jul 25 at 3:33am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Oakeley
Posted By: Oinks
Subject: Oakeley
Date Posted: 22 Dec 16 at 8:16pm
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So 2016 takes another...
Sir John D A Oakeley. I've just taken out his book "Winning - The Boat, The Crew & The Race" He was a man this forum would have loved. Not just a great sailor, but an innovator too. Just looking at the picture inside the front cover of his FD "Shadow" being sailed by him and David Hunt. Possibly one of the greatest photos of a dinghy being sailed perfectly - Hunt statuesque on the trapeze, slot between genoa and main inch perfect. This man inspired me. I will try and find a way to post that picture over the Christmas period. |
Replies:
Posted By: fab100
Date Posted: 22 Dec 16 at 10:20pm
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IIR, there's a story in Winning, possibly even a pic, of them planing the FD home under bare poles it had got so windy. ------------- http://clubsailor.co.uk/wp/club-sailor-from-back-to-front/" rel="nofollow - Great book for Club Sailors here |
Posted By: jaydub
Date Posted: 22 Dec 16 at 11:59pm
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Just dug out my copy of Winning. Bought for the princely sum of £3. Bit of a bargain. There's certainly a pic of them sailing the FD in winds averaging 35 knots. A tad windy, so no great surprise that the main is flogging a bit. Will see if I can find the story of sailing under bare poles. The man was certainly an innovator. I can recall him selling compensator sails under the Oakley sails badge. And I think he may have had a hand in the bendy mast on Lionheart.
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Posted By: Oinks
Date Posted: 23 Dec 16 at 10:01am
| Read Chapter 17 about stopwatches. A whole chapter on yer stopwatch. Does anyone even think about their stopwatch these days? Only maybe when it hides itself in the darkest recesses of your kitbag and you run around in a complete blue funk cos you can't find it! |
Posted By: Oinks
Date Posted: 26 Dec 16 at 11:10am
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This was what I wanted to be when I was about 11 years old. IMHO a truly great shot of a racing dinghy, and one of the great teams. 
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Posted By: MerlinMags
Date Posted: 17 Jan 17 at 11:50am
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I would take "winning" out of the local library often, as a teenager. I must hunt down a copy on ebay for my collection. Pictures like the one above are great fun to look at, even if the clothes make you smirk a bit.
Was it "Winning" that had the story about painting the hull bottom with egg, and letting it dry in the sun before a race? |
Posted By: Oinks
Date Posted: 17 Jan 17 at 11:34pm
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Got mine in just about perfect condition (plus a number of other gems) for under £25 from Amazon. Three (Winning) on there now from £5.49. I also bought at the same time...Winning in One Designs (|D Perry)...Jack Knights Sail Racer..Start to Win by Eric Twiname (Original version), and (wonder if anyone remembers this)Small Sailboat Racing With the Champions by Bob Fisher (c.1975ish). All great books for a dark winter's evening in front of the fire!
And, yes, the clothes look a bit dated, but they looked better on them than what my Dad and I were resorting to at the time! That was cutting edge late 60s/early 70s! And the weird stories of what people got up to in those days to win a race....I'd have been scraping the egg off, slapping itbetween two bits of bread with brown sauce and breakfast sorted. |
Posted By: patj
Date Posted: 18 Jan 17 at 7:38am
| I bought a copy of Winning from Bookbarn for £1 just a couple of days before his death was announced. It's where most of my older sailing books have come from but it does eat up a few hours trawling through their shelves! |
Posted By: MerlinMags
Date Posted: 18 Jan 17 at 9:18am
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"it does eat up a few hours" ????
I think you meant "it does mean a joyous few hours". |
Posted By: Dougaldog
Date Posted: 18 Jan 17 at 10:07am
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Whilst 'JohnO' was a real gent in the truest use of the word, it shouldn't be overlooked that a lot of the mythology surrounding goings on in Shadow ( FD K133) was really the 'antics' of his irrepressible crew, David Hunt. David was also involved in a lot of the innovation that went on, he wasn't only in the front of the boat but he was way out front in terms of thinking! On audio tape (and video!) I've a couple of lovely cameos of Jack Chippendale talking about the young John Oakley, getting his first all new National 12 - even then, Jack recognised him as a helm that would be 'going places'! From there of course John went on into Merlins and with 3 wins, a 2nd, a 4th and 5th place helped cement the reputation of the Proctor/Chippendale combination as the 'winning' brand. Dougal
------------- Dougal H |
Posted By: SUGmeister
Date Posted: 18 Jan 17 at 11:14am
I have a sort of memory from when I was a child that suggested that David Hunt despite being 6ft6ish made a pair of 5inch platform soled shoes to extend his weight even further out when trapezing. Also recall that they were banned. Cunning! |
Posted By: EddyP
Date Posted: 18 Jan 17 at 11:44am
That can't have been comfortable!
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Posted By: MerlinMags
Date Posted: 18 Jan 17 at 11:55am
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This was all in the days of (legal) weight jackets I assume?
I can't decide whether the platform soles or the big lump on your shoulders would have been worst for trying to get under the boom when tacking... |
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 18 Jan 17 at 12:51pm
| A great chap David Hunt. On at least a couple of occasions I remember him giving up his own time to go rooting round dark corners of the Needlespar factory with me in search of odd bits to help me try out some of my crazy ideas on the cheap. Got me out of trouble too with getting a boom together in double quick time when I broke one. And I wasn't even a very regular customer, think I only ever bought one mast and a couple of booms from him. |