The yacht was purchased in 1960 by the father of Billy Barry Cotter, founder of luxury yacht builder Maritimo. Cotter had fond memories of the tiny yacht he grew up with, and as an adult found it for sale on Gumtree.
“Bill had it where it was, and it looked like it was pretty bad,” the detectives said. “After 14,000 man-hours, this is the boat.”
On December 7, 1951, Eddie Masp, Bill Barlett and Dennis Tanner scrape the hull of Cuttonchar after arriving in Sydney.Credit: Fairfax Media
Although the Katunchar is the oldest boat in the fleet by some margin, and has been dubbed the race’s grand-grandmother, spies believe it could be competitive—and in 2019, it was.
That year, Katunchar won his division, the Grand Veterans Class. This year, Spy – who has the line and overall honors to his name, having won in 1999 and 2003 respectively – is after a major trophy. To do this, he needs unstable conditions that are beneficial for small boats.
“If the planets align, and it’s a small boat race, well, I’d like to think our name could come out of the hat,” he said. “Definitely in the back of our minds, we think we can beat most of the competition and win overall. [race].
