Boat Profile: Pippa Sm 303
Pippa Sm 303 “the little red boat” Owners: Jeffrey & Gai Woolhouse
Regular Crew: Gai Woolhouse, Bob Crozier and John Snare
Boat type: Triton
LOA 24ft 7.54m LWL 6.48 Beam 2.67 Draft 1.45
Weight 1.954 tonnes Main Sail141sq.ft No1 218 ft Spinnaker 460 sq.ft
Built in 1973 by Triton Boat Co. Pty. Ltd.
Designer: John C Alsop, (who was a Qantas pilot at the time)
I have found out that owning a Triton is a bit like owning a FX Holden. I often hear, “I used to sail one of those ... years ago”.
Pippa is one of the smallest yachts active at Sandringham. There are 2 other Tritons at SYC - ‘Willarie’, a Wednesday Wonders regular, and the pretty ‘Dolphin Play.’
Pippa is my first keel boat after sailing Hobie cats for 20 for years at Carrum, and competing in State and National regattas. For leisure and pleasure on my retirement, I purchased Pippa from Peter Bolton (Klinger). Peter’s reputation as a ‘Wednesday Wonders’ sailor on Pippa was a hard act to follow, but he and his crew mate, Ted offered lots of advice.
On Wednesdays some sailors have mistaken Pippa for a lead boat to show them where the markers are for the course and for the first few legs they ‘just follow that little red boat’. It took a while to realize why we were watched so carefully by other skippers and were known by all in the Wednesday Wonder races. Nearly all boats also have to pass us to win!
With a lot of encouragement particularly from Wednesday sailors and the inspirational tower ladies, we have leant to sail it around the course reasonably efficiently. It was a quick learning curve (Most Improved Sailor, Wednesday Wonders 2001).
We have managed a few times to get into the top ten boats at the end of the season for Wednesdays Wonders. In 2006/7 we won the Shibessa Shield. Earlier trophies we quietly mention - The Breakwater Trophy for nudging the Breakwater without a motor, and an Alarm Clock Award for the latest start time 22mins - but we did not come finish last in that race!
My wife Gai is now a regular crew since retiring . We managed to win the Two Handed ‘Le Cascadeur Trophy’ (by less than a minute) in 2007. This was our first two handed race, and the first time spinnaker we used in a race.
The Triton has been a great boat to learn on with no vices. It was built throughout the 1980’s. It even scores an entry in Wikipedia! It was a different Triton that sailed around the Horn - and I do not think Pippa will follow that route....yet!
And finally an invitation to share some quality jazz with me last Sunday in the month at SYC Sunday Jazz through until November
According to an advert in Sea Spray Annual circa 1970
The Triton 24 is much more than just another 24 ft yacht:
‘At Triton we build fine yachts for people who seek the unbounded pleasures of sailing’.
We think this is a good description for Pippa.
Jeffrey & Gai Woolhouse Sm303
