Metung Yacht Club Hall of Fame inductee 2019
by Jeff Rose 9 Apr 2019 06:37 BST
4 May 2019
Bondi Tram - Hall of Fame inductee 2019 © Jeff Rose
On the 4th May this year Metung Yacht Club will hold their annual presentation night. But unlike any previous, this one will be marked with a difference in that for the first time the inaugural Hall of Fame Trophy will be presented to one of its member's.
The Hall of Fame is not just about honoring of outstanding achievements for yachting excellence and achievements at the highest level. But more importantly it demonstrates to any junior sailor that anyone from Metung Yacht Club can succeed at the highest level.
With the help of the many people over the years including the likes of Bill Newcomen, Pam Scrivener and Geoff Russell in particular, Metung Yacht Club junior program has produced many good sailors over the years. You only need to look at the success at National and State championship level by Graham Aldersea, Damian Daniels, Craig McCallum or Aaron Hill to see that.
Then there are the other former Metung juniors who are currently making full time careers out of sailing. Rob Scrivener is currently sailing as a professional on the world sailing circuit competing in such events as the Congressional Cup. Johnny Warren works for North Sails, the world's leading sailmaker, and Richard Smith is working as the chief engineer on one of the world's largest sailing yachts.
One person however has achieved more. He has sailed on some of the most iconic and world's fastest yachts of their time. He has been part of winning teams at international level such as the Big Boat Series in San Francisco, California Cup match race series and One Ton Cup in Flensburg. Represented Australia in some of the most prestigious yachting events in the world such as the Sothern Cross series in Australia, Admirals Cup in England, and Clipper Cup series in Hawaii. And in has represented Metung Yacht Club winning at National and State level. Not bad for a Metung Yacht Club junior who started out in International Cadets.
Therefore, the 2019 inaugural Hall of Fame Trophy inductee is Stephen Bull. The trophy will be presented to Steve (AKA Calf being a little Bull) on presentation night by the 2018/19 Metung Yacht Club junior champion.
Steve's position was generally on the bow (or the most front position on these yachts). Sounds easy, well I can tell you from personal experience it's far from it, nor is it for the faint hearted. At the start of a race while jockeying for the favored position, you are the eyes and ears of the skipper. (who by the way is about 70 feet away) the bowman is calling the time and distance to the line and/or competitors around you. Again sounds easy until you have to perform this on a start line for the Sydney Hobart race with 200 other competitors, thousand s of spectators, helicopters overhead, add a few ships, high speed ferries and the occasional submarine.
The bowman's position is the as tough as any job on the boat. You spend half the time waist deep in water on the narrow bows of the yacht as they struggle to raise and lower sails, sometimes in freezing cold water, thirty knots of wind and the middle of the night. And whenever anything goes wrong up the 120-foot mast, it's the bowman who is hoisted up to fix it. Not a lot of fun at night in the middle of Bass Strait.
The list of International, National and State regattas, and the iconic yachts that Steve has sailed on would be the envy of most international sailors, and in simple terms if you're not one of the best in the in the world, you don't get on the crew list of these boats in the first place.
To make a comparison those yachts Steve sailed on in the 70's and 80's you only need too simply look at what Wild Oats and Comanche are today. The world's biggest, fastest and dominated the sailing world. Some of those yachts included Ballyhoo, Bumblebee 4, Apollo, Windward Passage, Kialoa 3 and Kialoa 4. Then there were the Australian Americas Cup contenders, Australia and Challenge 12.
Some of Steve's achievements at International level include:
- Line honors - Sydney Hobart race - Ballyhoo
- Line honors - Sydney Hobart race - Bumblebee 4
- Line honors - Fastnet race - Kialoa 4
- World Ocean Racing Champion - Kialoa 3
- Winning - Cal Cup Match Race series Ballyhoo
- Winning - China Sea Race Ballyhoo
- Winning World One Ton Cup - Scallywag
- Represented Australia in the Admirals Cup Teams on Bondi Tram in 1981
- Represented Australia in the 1982 Clipper Cup series in Hawaii - Margret Rantoul
- Was selected as crew member on Americas Cup challengers - Australia and Challenge 12