The John Lidgard-designed 60ft sloop Fuga Ultima (launched in 1985 as Final Approach) has come up for sale in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Custom-built in New Zealand with a cold moulded, double-diagonal kauri hull for DJ Johnson, the cruiser-racer elicited widespread international interest, including from American yacht designer Robert H. Perry.
Perry described the Lidgard 60 in glowing terms for Sailing magazine (USA) in 1986. “This big Lidgard boat should provide lots of speed for the owner. It is built in wood with one-inch Kauri skin, edge-fastened and glued, covered with two 5/16-inch diagonal Kauri layers and finished with a triaxial glass cloth and epoxy. It’s a rocket but a comfy one.”
Although built primarily for cruising, like so many New Zealand boats of that era Final Approach was very fast. “The designer was obviously trying for all the speed he could get, while still maintaining a very comfortably laid out yacht,” Perry wrote.
DJ Johnson enjoyed a distinguished racing career with her, including contesting the Sydney-Hobart in 1991, where she finished 12th, and the 1995 Transpacific Race to Hawaii, where she placed 18th.
A model of the boat is now a trophy for winners of the DJ Johnson Three-Day Oahu Regatta at the Waikiki Yacht Club each year.
