The John Webber

Story John Webber loves yachts – so far he’s owned nearly 50. And while they’ve ranged from 3.6 to 14m in length, the common denominator is aesthetics. Here’s the story of a man who can’t resist beautiful yachts.

Born in Hastings in 1940, Webber’s first yachting experience was crewing for his father John in an old, leaking S Class dinghy in the first post-war regatta in Mill Bay, Mangonui.

“I bailed furiously while my father got this thing around the track,” he recalled.

While the Webbers’ finished dead last, they did win a prize for the best-dressed crew.

After a family Idle Along and a Howard Pascoe 14, Webber’s next yacht was a National 12, which he raced with some success. But this was sold to purchase Rosemary, a nicer-looking one built by Keith Atkinson.

“That National 12 was just scrumptious to windward,” Webber recalled with a faraway look in his eye.

Webber then bought Des Townson’s Mercury, “a beautiful little boat,” which some readers may recall was Townson’s second design. Webber raced Mercury in the general centreboard class with the Manukau Yacht Club.

He owned a number of other dinghies including a R Class, a X, a Finn, and a brace of International 14s, before – he can’t quite remember how – he acquired the Jack Logan-built 18-footer Slewfoot.

This seriously quick machine required top-level crewing and Webber struggled to recruit those sufficiently skilled. Seeing him struggle, sailor Ken Rushbrook suggested Webber swap Slewfoot for his beautifully built R Class Lynx, which only required one crew.

Webber didn’t enjoy the Finn, one of Clive Roberts old boats, “I get lonely by myself” and sold it quite quickly. But International 14s were another matter. “I loved them, though it was the days of Geoff Smale who towelled us all up.”

Webber’s second 14, Finesse, was a Laurie Davidson design built by Dave Marks from a single block of mahogany. “It looked exquisite, it deserves being found and restored,” he said.

But his favourite dinghy remains Uffa Fox’s Flying 15 of which he’s owned 15. How does one person manage to buy and sell 15 Flying 15s?

“Well I’d build a new one each year, or get one from somewhere, or whatever. I got into them because I was getting too big to get into the arse end of a centerboarder,” replied a sheepish Webber.

His second FF turned out to have been built by Lidgard’s Boatbuilders on Kawau Island, and while it looked ratty, when sanded down Webber discovered it had been beautifully built from full-length Kauri.

Webber crewed for champion sailor Sam Mason in the inaugural Flying 15 Nationals in Taupo and in a fleet of 24 they won the regatta. “Sam was one of the best sailors in the country.”

By now in his early 20s, Webber had filled out physically and was very fit. His fitness, combined with his ability to helm upwind in a breeze, won him the 1971 FF National Championship and qualified him for the Australian Nationals where he finished second.

Webber got into keelers with the Yachting World Diamond Facet, built by Allan Griffin. He considers the YWD a grossly underrated yacht and enjoyed several years racing with the YWD fleet.

Then he bought Oliver Twist, a 7.7m Holman and Pye ¼ tonner,

the hull of which had been built by the late Peter Blake prior to joining the Burton Cutter Around the World campaign. Finished off by Ken Chappell, Webber cruised and raced Oliver Twist for six years.

By now Webber had divorced from his first wife Carolyn and had got together with, and later married, Linda Mason, a fellow sailor. “The most extraordinary woman, truly magnificent, I was just smitten by her.”

After Oliver Twist, Webber bought the 8.8m Diablo, a ½ tonner designed by S&S designer Mario Tarabocchia, the first of many S&S designs he’d own. This was followed by Nazir, a production GRP Cavalier 36 designed by Doug Peterson.

While Webber liked Nazir, he hated her GRP interior and sold her to buy Centaurus, a 13.1m, an S&S design originally named Satanita. Webber dropped the name Centaurus and renamed her The Satanita.

The solidly-built yacht wasn’t at its best in light weather and in moment of weakness Webber decided to sell her. He then changed his mind, but too late as a buyer had put an offer on paper and enforced the sale.

Looking for another yacht, Webber came across Commotion, a 12m Gary Mull-design built by Neil Sussex for the Clipper Cup.

Then in 1991 he saw Trojan Eagle. It was love at first sight, more so when he discovered she was on the market. Designed by S&S, the 13.4m Trojan Eagle had been strongly built in aluminium. In what was to become a Webber trait – owning two keelers at once – he still had Commotion but managed to quit her by taking the John Lidgard designed and built Result as a part-trade. “Off the wind she [ Result] was something else.”

The couple really enjoyed Trojan Eagle and planned to go offshore in her. Somehow that dream became lost in the hustle and bustle of daily living and Webber – in another moment of weakness – sold Trojan Eagle to ferry boat skipper John Mansall. Linda was heartbroken, which had serious ramifications later.

“I’d sold the dream. That one decision changed my whole life,” recalled a rueful Webber.

But initially it seemed a good call because months later, early in 1995, Webber was offered Quicksilver, the S&S designed, Brin Wilson-built Admirals Cupper.

Webber had been lusting after Quicksilver ever since she’d been launched in 1973 and over the years had made three unsuccessful attempts to buy her. When owner Martin Howson finally offered Quicksilver to Webber he didn’t hesitate. “She was the quintessence of S&S, she was wooden, and gorgeous.”

But he was seeing Quicksilver though rose-tinted glasses and she needed work, and Linda didn’t appreciate her austere, gloomy interior. A year later she left their marriage; Webber was shattered.

Quicksilver was eventually sold and in 1998 Webber bought the 14m Solara, a Frers-designed, Wilson-built, two-tonner. “Went to windward like you wouldn’t believe. But a cruising yacht, no way – running backstays, boltrope main, massive headsails – all the drama,” recalled Webber.

Totally unsuited to family cruising Webber sold Solara and went looking for something more suitable. He eventually bought the Wilson-designed-and-built Tempo, which he’d long admired, after her owner Cliff Johnson died. “Tempo is exquisite, just a beautiful boat, the prettiest one of them all,” said Webber.

He owned Tempo for three years and had some excellent racing with other period yachts including the S&S designed Young Nick then owned by Richard Stephens.

Then in 2003 Webber saw Quicksilver again, “She was in a state of complete disrepair, I was just appalled.”

He felt he had to buy her back and in a complicated deal managed to sell Tempo to Stephens while taking Young Nick as part payment. For a few days Webber actually owned Quicksilver, Tempo and Young Nick before finally pulling the deal off. Then Webber bought the Dragon Amanda. “A lovely yacht, just sweet,” which had been built by Wilson for Bob Stewart. Webber won a NZ Dragon Championship in Amanda, but sold her when the Dragon class shifted from Pine Harbour to the city.

His next keeler was Riada, the Laurie Davidson-designed, Donald Bros-built 14m, ketch, “A stunningly beautiful yacht.”

However he struggled to handle Riada by himself though, and in 2007 sold her to John Bertenshaw and Kirsty Hardie-boys, who remain her current owners today.

After brief fling with another Davidson IOR yacht Puppet – “the gorgeous Puppet, a beautiful yacht” – Webber bought the Bruce Clark-designed, Wilson-built, Allegresse. “She is the sweetest thing I have ever sailed.”

As Fate would have it, three years later Webber was told that Quicksilver’s owner had died and the yacht was heading for an uncertain future. Despite requests from his new partner Carolyne Wagstaff and others, Webber made the mistake of looking at Quicksilver again.

Heedless of the consequences Webber wound up buying Quicksilver for the third time, which he now freely admits, wasn’t one of his best decisions. “I had one yacht on the marina, another on the hard and it was bankrupting me.”

Incidentally, until this point in time Webber had managed to break even financially – more or less – on his yachting. It was only from here on his yacht buying addiction started costing him big time. He eventually accepted a low offer for Allegresse, but then jumped from the frying pan into the fire when in 2014 he bought Trojan Eagle for the second time.

“I was trying to recapture the dream, but I didn’t see all the yacht’s issues,” he said ruefully.

He bought the boat relying on his past experience and a relatively recent insurance survey supplied by the vendor. “That survey must have been done on a dry day because there was no mention of the leaking decks. But the owner must have known.”

First was the delivery voyage from Picton to Auckland, which one of the crew, Gary Morrison, a commercial fisherman, described as the voyage from hell. Instead of the forecasted 30 knots, they encountered 60 knots and blew out two sails.

It got worse after Webber and an exhausted crew eventually sailed Trojan Eagle into Pine Harbour. They soon discovered the stainless steel fastenings used to bolt the winches and teak decking to the aluminium had caused serious corrosion issues necessitating virtually rebuilding Trojan Eagle’s decks. The costs were horrendous.

“I knew I’d bought a pup, it would have been cheaper to give her away. I should never have sold Allegresse.”

Continuing in that vein, Webber’s words of wisdom to other boat addicts are: “If you own a lovely yacht, recognise you have it and don’t sell it. You can’t sensibly have everything you want.”

Webber has since found Trojan Eagle too big to handle singlehanded – “I can’t even lift a sail bag” – and has listed her for sale.

Fortunately for his bank account he’s managed to sell Quicksilver, but then – surprise, surprise – he hasn’t been able to resist buying another yacht, a John Lidgard Demijohn ½ tonner named Reminisce.

Reportedly one of the best-built Demijohn’s, Reminisce’s late owner had put the yacht into a shed, dismantled most of her equipment but then died. Brought sight unseen on Trademe, Webber now has a major reassembly job and a full repaint on his hands.

It gets worse. In conjunction with a silent partner, Webber has bought the 11.8m Fife-designed Impala M, which is being totally rebuilt by craftsman boatbuilder Peter Brookes. Fortunately for the cash flow, at age 76 Webber is still gainfully employed.

“I’ve had more women than houses, more boats than women, but the one constant in my life is I’ve always had a job,” he chuckled.

No question a psychologist – after long and expensive therapy – would explain Webber’s addiction to beautiful yachts. But the truth is nothing more complex than a man who loves beautiful yachts, and if he sees one that captures his eye, can’t resist buying her. B