When you’re in the marine industry for a few decades you tend to meet a few boating legends - Tony Smith (74) is one of the most memorable, as the owner of the most raced yacht in New Zealand (and a genuinely lovely chap).
His Ross 930 yacht has completed almost 6,000 races, and well over 100,000 nautical miles (that’s equivalent to roughly 4 circumnavigations of the world). He has also had around 1,400 crew on his yacht and taught hundreds of beginners to sail.
We chatted to the man himself to learn a bit more about his long history on the water, and his legendary yacht - Fast Company.
The launch of Fast Company
Tony was born and raised in Thames. Rugby was his sport for most of his life, but when he discovered sailing, things changed. He was taken by it - and was out on the water year round.
He started in the P-Class, moved up to Cherubs, then started keel racing - Tony even competed in the dinghy world championship representing New Zealand.
Of course he didn’t know it at the time, but the course of his life (and many others) changed one day in 1984 when he bought a Murray Ross-designed Ross 930 yacht. At the time, he and his two mates at the Thames Sailing Club decided they had outgrown their 24 footers and one committee night they all agreed they needed an upgrade.
At the beginning the yacht was just a bare hull and decks, but Tony finished and named her in the garage with his father. His dad was a perfectionist, so the old girl has always had boat-show quality joinery and varnish throughout:
“Over the years things have worn out. Since she’s a racer we don’t replace everything - since the big challenge is keeping everything light. She’s always tidy though,” Tony said.
This has to be done within the limits of her class. Her keel can’t exceed a set weight, her rudder can’t be too deep, the boat has to seat five and needs to carry a toilet:
“Within those limits, like most Ross 930 owners, I added bigger sails and a bigger keel bulb for around 7% more speed. It’s a bit like Formula One really, you have to push for lightness but can’t sacrifice structural strength.”
“Women are better sailors than men”
Sailing is a fairly male-dominated sport, and most of the crews which win races consistently in Auckland yacht clubs are predominantly male. Except on Tony's boat - he reckons women are better sailors:
“All of my crew are very quick to learn, very happy to be here. And look, there are two ways to crew a boat. You can go with all hot shot experienced sailors, or train people up - I do a lot of training!”
This isn’t by design, it’s down to the fact that Tony is just so welcoming and will have anyone on his boat regardless of experience. In fact, he won Seven Sharp and ASB’s Good as Gold Award, which recognises good buggers in the community. When they filmed the segment, one of his crew described him perfectly:
"Tony is incredibly generous, he's an amazing sailor, he's hilarious, he's a character, and he makes people feel special. We all look up to him, we respect him, and he really takes care of us in return."
Tony is famously analogue when it comes to sorting his crew out. He arranges several races a week by simply phoning his crew members, although some younger crew have started WhatsApp groups to help him out.
You would think filling a boat up with newbies would slow you down. But Tony’s a great teacher and even if you’ve never sailed he’ll throw you in the deep end - and still win a lot of the time. He’s deeply competitive and we can tell he loves the winning bit, but somehow he manages to keep his sailing social and fun.
In fact, his crew told Boating NZ countless friendships have been made on the boat, a few marriages, and at least 10 children have been born as a result. They’re all business on the boat, but they have lots of fun at the rum races (where crew members take it in turn to bring a bottle) and they have a Christmas function at the pub where they meet partners they wouldn’t otherwise. In Tony’s words:
“I’m very lucky to have my crew. They do such a wonderful job and we all have a great time out there.”
When the mast goes overboard
Tony has had a remarkably good run on his boat with very few major incidents despite hosting thousands of bums on seats and racing countless nights. But the fact is, when you’re racing a near 45 year old boat every night of the week, things happen!
Tony has had the mast snap and go overboard. And he’s had a couple of other major breakages, which are (because of the age of the boat) a little bit costly to repair. In the meantime boats have become harder to insure, with some companies completely ruling out coverage of vessels in some locations.
Despite that, every time something goes wrong, Tony has called Aaron (Mortimer, Managing Director of Mariner Insurance) and the team with no issues:
“Yup. Three big claims. Not a problem, not a worry. Mariner is very highly thought of in the yachting community. The reason being, Aaron is a yachty, he’s raced in the past. He’s not some unknown voice on the phone who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
“Whenever anyone asks I just say ‘call Aaron’.”
Lots of racing left in me
At 74 Tony’s not slowing down a knot. He reckons he’s got several seasons left in him, but when he can’t sail he’s not planning on stopping:
“A good mate gave up his competitive yacht and moved into radio-controlled yacht racing instead - still racing, just differently. I reckon I could get into that!” Tony laughs.
Whatever he does, Tony has changed hundreds of people's lives. He’s taught countless Kiwis how to sail and for some that has turned into a life long passion - he has sparked a few marriages and several friendships. And he’s done it all with a bloody good sense of humour and a stripped 30 footer that goes surprisingly fast. He told Seven Sharp he’s having an absolute blast:
"I couldn't have a better life than what I do."