Launched | July 1977 (date of contract) |
Owner |
Kelsea, Kailen, Liza, and Casey Cummings |
Purchased | June 2010 |
Contact | |
Configuration | |
Colour | |
Berthed |
Initially purchased in Honolulu, was circumnavigating in 2007-08 |
Sail Number | R 198 |
State Registration | O/N 851239, Fremantle |
Call Sign | |
Builder | Swarbrick Bros |
Hull Number | 41 |
Fit Out | |
Previous Owners |
William & Joan Bone (Stray Bit), David & Liz Brown (Mango Groove 1991 – ?), Brian J Caldwell Michael Stewart (Stray Bit) 2005-07 K. Kaminski, leased to Natasza Caban (Tanasza Polska) 2007-10 |
Previous Names | Stray Bit, Mango Groove |
The Yacht’s Story
Bill & Joan Bone sailed Stray Bit from WA to Queensland around 1982. This from
Joan in 2012:
S & S 34
Yacht STRAY BIT 1978 1991. Owners/Builder Bill & Joan Bone.
Stray Bit was built at the Swarbrick Bros Boat Yard- Perth by
Bill Bone using the S & S 34 mould which he leased from them at the time.
In 1977 he laid up the fibreglass hull & deck. Moving it to the
back yard of their home by truck, the fitting out took place with the finished
yacht being launched at RPYC on 17th November 1978.
Bill & Joan spent the next 41/2 years club racing at RPYC,S&S 34
Assn and Fremantle Sailing Club. They achieved very good racing results which
included The Cathay-Pacific sponsored race off Fremantle and the inaugural 1981
International Fremantle to Bali Ocean Yacht Race.They were placed 2nd
in the YAH division on the return leg Bali to Dampier.W.A.
1984 saw them leave Perth and they cruised the NSW coast and
Pittwater for the next 12 months.Being able to lower the mast,( a necessity for
Perth river yachts to be able to go under bridges to get to sea,) they were able
to explore some interesting waterways. 1985 they leisurely cruised north to
Queensland finally basing themselves at Bowen. and spent the next 6 years in the
Whitsunday Islands and Queensland waters north to Lizzard Island, enjoying a
life most people only dream of doing. The yacht was sold to Liz & Dave Brown in
1991 and sailed to Hawaii.
Some additional info:
Purchased by Dave and Liz Brown in Bowen in 1991 and renamed Mango Groove. They
lived aboard with their two young children and cruised her into the Pacific.
Contact with the yacht was lost for a while when when Dave and Liz Brown sold
her to an American Brian J Caldwell who wanted to circumnavigate the world. He
proposed that there be an around the world race for S&S 34s, single handed. But
didn’t progress the idea. As far as we can tell he got as far as Honolulu
where the boat was left on a mooring for far too long. Mike then bought
her and undertook a
refit. After some discussion with Natasza Caban in Hawaii he then sold the yacht
in 2007 to a company that leased it to Natasza for a circumnavigation with
an option to buy later.
Natasza Caban is a Polish
sailor who bought an S&S 34 in Hawaii in 2007 and completed her solo circumnavigation
on 2/12/09, becoming at 32 the youngest Polish woman to circumnavigate
solo single handed (another record for the S&S 34!).
Click here for a
Sail World article re her voyage and click
here for an article re the completion of the voyage
Some other links are:
excerpt below from the website:
www.pljournal.com:80/people/natasza-caban.html
Nataszas skills together with her
After that, if she decides so and finds a |
From Casey Cummings, Aug 2010:
In order to update your files I provide the
following information:
Casey Cummings purchased Tanasza Polska (Hull No.
41) in June 2010. Tanasza Polska will be moored in Haleiwa, Hawaii USA. She
will be maintained in her original purchased condition and her name will remain
Tanasza Polska. She will be sailed primarily on the North Shore of Oahu with
trips to the outer Hawaiian Islands. The yacht seems to have had very few
changes made since her original construction. She is in very good condition for
a yacht having sailed at least one circumnavigation.
About the Owners
See the links above re Natasza Caban
Re Michael Stewart in 2005:
Mike is an old member of RPYC (1991) who purchased a S&S 34 in Hawaii (Honolulu)
in 2005 called Stray Bit. The yacht will be hauled out for a few months while
Mike works overseas. He intends to eventually get her back to Australia. He’d
like to contact the old owners, He’s after mast specs, and sail specs etc and
any other info they may have pertaining to the history of the boat. She was
involved in a record attempt by a guy called Brian Caldwell who can’t be contacted at all (missing!). Anyway she is sound and has all the old sails etc and numbers on her, including a sticker of a black swan and the old RPYC flag logo and Fremantle written on the transom in very faded letters… completely lost on the local boat owners though..
Photos
(previously called Stray Bit). Photo: Casey Cummings, 2010 (click on photos to enlarge)