I told him I had inherited Flotsam, one of the first two Moths built in New Zealand. We joked about adding foils and entering her in the event.
Even with foils – and setting aside the significant changes in class rules – we agreed that the 71-year-old Flotsam might not complete the course within the race time limit. But he had the great idea to contact Paul Pearson, Head of the Championship’s Organising Committee at Manly, to see if they would like to display Flotsam at the competition.
Paul’s committee thought it would be “absolutely fantastic” to have Flotsam on display. For Flotsam, it was an opportunity to find a permanent home where she would be preserved.
The story of the Moth class begins in 1953, when seven young, newly married men living in Northcote with a passion for sailing convinced their wives to grant them one day a week to return to the sport they loved. The catch? They had to limit their sailing to just that one day, a condition they gladly accepted.
With affordability in mind, they decided to build their own yachts. Pooling together £10/6/1 each (roughly $686 in today’s dollars), they purchased a stack of kahikatea, cedar, Douglas fir, and kauri for the hull, mast, boom, centreboard and tiller and then set to work.
An Auckland sailmaker offered them a special deal, supplying seven sets of sails for just £8 each (about $532 today). The costs for rigging and fittings varied, depending on how much each sailor could fabricate themselves.
The result was a fleet of boats, costing as little as £22/10/- each, which is around $1,534 in today’s money. The finished cost depended largely on the builder’s metalwork skills making whatever rigging components they could.
Drawn to its combination of speed, ease-of-building, and low cost, the sailors chose the Australian championship-winning Mark II Moth design by Len Morris. United by their shared vision, they formed the Shoal Bay Yacht Club because they believed that a strictly one-design class required close supervision and that would be best achieved by forming
a dedicated club. With their own club, they could set the rules and keep them few and simple. They also wanted to race each week without having to sail to distant locations like Tamaki Point and Point Chevalier.
There were only two rules: a hull length of 11 feet (3.53m) and a maximum sail area of 80 square feet (7.43m2).
Not much has changed there – the current International Moth class rules specify a hull length of 3.355m and a maximum sail area of 8.25m2.
The first two Moths were completed and registered in 1953.
A coin toss assigned sail number 2 to my father, Bevan Haysom, for Flotsam, and sail number 1 to Jack Greenwood for Mon Ami.
In 1954, the other five sailors registered their Moths: Dave Patton’s Patto, Jack Kendall’s Robyn, Skip Higgins’ Zena, Alan Farquharson’s Frances, and John Higgins’ Lorraine.
Racing at Shoal Bay was close. In four of the first six races of 1954, there were three different winners. On February 20th, at the Northcote and Birkenhead Y.C. Regatta, only four minutes separated the first and last Moths.
On January 29th, 1955, the first Moths-only event took place in the 105th Auckland Anniversary Regatta. Seventeen Moths entered, with handicaps ranging from scratch to 9%. John Higgins, a highly skilled amateur yacht builder and owner of both a circular bench-saw and a surface planer, was on 1%; Jack Greenwood, 3%; and Skip Higgins, 4%. The other founders had handicaps between 6% and 8%. Already the class had more than tripled in size, with the highest sail number being 36.
John Greenwood and Paul Higgins, childhood friends and sons of two Moth class founders, eagerly joined me in restoring Flotsam. Reuniting through this project, we honoured our fathers by making her look her best for display at the championships.
We sanded the 1970s red hull paint back to bare wood. Paul recalled his father saying that a yacht can be any colour as long as it’s white – and that 1950s DIY yachts were painted with leftover house paints. Later, admiring the completed high-gloss white epoxy finish, we wondered if we should have used house paint for authenticity.
We lightly sanded the boom, mast, centreboard, tiller, and extension before varnishing them. They now look just as they should at the age of 71 – well cared for and original.
The stainless-steel fittings required only minor polishing and the brass gooseneck still has its beautiful patina. Interestingly, its stainless mast connection is stamped Field Instruments, Melbourne, which is near where the Mark II Moth originated.
The rigging screws and spreader stays needed replacing. Despite a busy schedule with his company Sailutions, master rigger Cory McLennan crafted two new spreader stays to match the original mast stays. The thimbles he made for the stays drew John into a nostalgic trance. “I remember my dad spending hours making these for the yachts we built together,” he reminisced.
Admired by Derek Scott of North Sails as a “work of art,” the original cotton sail needed no restoration whatsoever.
Everyone we approached during the restoration was incredibly helpful. Cory fixed all the rigging issues. Adam Bell provided invaluable painting advice. Yachting historian Robin Elliott shared his knowledge of the introduction of early Moths and supplied publications, including an article written by Jack Greenwood in 1954. David Gunn of Murrays Bay Sailing Club lent us a trailer. Protective Paints and Will Crispin of WPC both supplied paint.
The restoration complete, January 1 dawned with Flotsam proudly on display at the regatta, amid the excitement and energy of the championships.
A few days later, Russell Coutts stood beside me, quietly gazing at Flotsam, lost in deep thought. I didn’t say anything. Then, he turned to me and said gently, “This is what it was once all about – a father and his son building together.”
Later, I realised he meant more than just building a boat – he meant building a deeper bond between parent and child.
The days of home-built sailing dinghies have passed. Wood has been replaced by costly resins and fibres. Industrial production has overtaken craftsmanship. The skills needed to build wooden box-profile masts are all but lost.
A 71-year technological arms race has driven Moth costs exponentially higher. The Mackay Boats’ BM-V3 Bieker Moth starts at around $90,000. Flotsam, built for $1,534 in today’s dollars, cost about 60 times less. Even a simple Laser now costs $14,000, while a foiling Waszp is $25,000.
Yet, despite all the changes since 1953, the most important aspects of sailing remain unchanged – the willingness to help others, the friendliness, the enthusiasm and the passion. Everyone we asked to help with the restoration responded generously and many of them had sailed a Moth in their younger years, often as their first yacht.
Manly Sailing Club members and volunteers were welcoming, helpful, friendly, and thrilled to have Flotsam on display. The Championship sailors, hailing from all corners of the globe, were eager to share their deep love for the sport. They loved the bay and radiated passion and ambition, but also a remarkable spirit of support – offering advice and even spare parts when competitors found themselves in need. It was a rare sight, especially in world championship events, where fierce competition often overshadows such selfless acts.
Three Japanese sailors – Kei, Hiroki, and Furuya – were particularly intrigued by Flotsam’s history and construction, eagerly asking me to email them all of the documents I possessed.
Among the local Youth competitors, a profound bond was evident. Many had spent years training together on the foiling Moths, forging a camaraderie that went beyond competition. Their collective spirit was unmistakable, and on prize-giving night, the depth of their friendship and celebratory unity shone brightly – a testament to the power of shared dedication. Watching them, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the seven remarkable young fathers we knew as toddlers.
At the prize-giving ceremony, Manly Vice Commodore Harold Bennett placed his hand gently on Flotsam’s bow, traced its complex curves, and said, “This is identical to the first boat I ever sailed – 1960, the Mark II Moth. It banged its way upwind, but planing downwind, it flew.”
That was a fitting metaphor for the event. Fifteen months and thousands of hours of effort upwind followed by an exhilarating downwind ride – an event defined by heart, passion, friendship, and above all, exciting sailing.
Now, Flotsam needs a permanent home. The Moth class has a rich history and remains strong. The Auckland Maritime Museum considered adopting her but cited funding constraints. Perhaps sailing industry partners could step forward?
If you have any ideas or can help, please contact David at 027 277 3371.
