COLORBOND sailing on Sydney Harbour
Maker
BHP, The Project Group
Date1985 - 1987
Object number00001081
NamePoster
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 755 x 642 mm
ClassificationsPosters and postcards
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from BHP, The Project Group
DescriptionThis colour poster depicts the 18-foot skiff COLORBOND on Sydney Harbour. The three crew members can be seen on the starboard trapeze. Skiff racing champion and skipper, Kevin Nixon, can be seen to the left. The sail reads 'COLORBOND prepainted steel'.HistoryThe 18-foot skiff class remains a world renowned feature of Australian yachting and sporting culture. Along with the vision of exciting sailing on Sydney Harbour on a summer's weekend it has close associations with the larrikin side of the Australian character.
Behind this motif is a vibrant social story, a way of life for many people. What emerged was a culture of exciting, highly skilled sailing which changed over the twentieth century to reflect developments in technology.
The 18-foot skiffs probably began as a formal class in the 1890s, and were in many respects a smaller version of their bigger relations the 22-foot and 24-foot half-deckers and open boats. These were the boats for the working class, the tradesmen of the foreshores.
The reckless nature of the sailing captured sailors into the class and lured crowds to the shoreline; the regular Saturday 18-foot skiff races were a premier sporting event throughout the summer. Detailed reports were run in the daily media. It was followed on the water by a small fleet of chartered ferries and immediately latched onto by the bookmakers.
Over the early twentieth century the popularity of the sport continued and vessel designs continued to evolve. By the 1980s, 18-foot skiffs had become a major campaign and were expensive to own and sail. Significant sponsorship was a prime requirement to maintain a position at the front of the fleet with an up-to-date competitive craft. COLOR 7 was joined by LYSAGHT COLORBOND, WRIGLEYS PK GUM, CHESTY BOND, PRUDENTIAL INSURNACE, STUBBIES and other well-known brands.
The 18-foot skiff COLORBOND was designed by Scott Jutson and sponsored by BHP for the 1986-1987 skiff racing season. Made of Nomex and pre-impregnated carbon fibre and manufactured in the USA in 1985, it exemplified 18 footer developments at its most hi-tech and grandiose before the class introduced design restrictions to limit escalating costs.SignificanceThis colour poster features an image of the 18-foot skiff, COLORBOND, which came to represent a time in design and construction that favoured hi-tech and grandiose elements. It remains a symbol of a decade that thrived on large budgets through corporate sponsorship and exhibited elaborate designs such as huge rigs and asymmetrical spinnakers.
