FLYING FISH, Mark Foy's catamaran
Photographer
William Hall Photographic Studio
Date1897
Object number00013804
NameGlass plate negative
MediumEmulsion on glass
DimensionsOverall: 164 x 215 mm, 1 mm, 0.15 kg
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Transfer from the Mitchell Library
DescriptionDated 6 February 1897, this image shows Mark Foy's catamaran FLYING FISH, built as a 24-footer in 1894 and modified to a 22-footer for the Intercolonial Challenge in 1897 just prior to the date of this image (IS).HistoryIn 1894 Mark Foy trialled the first racing catamaran on Sydney Harbour. His locally built FLYING FISH caused a sensation among spectators and critics, not in a good way. They scoffed at the ‘freak’ boat and highlighted its ‘remarkable habit of turning somersaults’. However, they could not deny FLYING FISH ’s speed in the right conditions and it was remembered as the “fastest thing off the wind that Sydney Harbour had ever seen”.
William Hall Photographic Studio
c 1900
1898-1938
Sydney Flying Squadron
1892
26 October 1910
