Galloping Ghosts

Description

With every scrap aloft, carrying more sail than many larger keel yachts, and the crew driving her as fast as possible on the edge of control, no other yacht captures the attention quite like an 18-footer in full flight. This is as true today as it was 100 years ago. From its origins in the 1890s as an over-canvassed, over-crewed 18-foot dinghy to the 7-man skiff types of the 1930s , and from the trapeze-driven moulded veneer creations of the 1950s to the carbon fibre flying machines of today, the 18-footer has retained its appeal for both sailor and spectator. For the first time, this 18-footer back-story has been put into context with the State, Interstate and Inter-dominion racing that has made the class so famous. Galloping Ghosts tells the full story and all the familiar names are there, Australian II, H.C. Press II, Aberdare, Taree, Intrigue, Myra Too, Envy, the Jantzen Girls, Taipan, Vernom, Schemer, as well as the men whom made them fly. Meticulously researched and lavishly illustrated, Galloping Ghosts in the history of the 18-footer as it has never been told before.