Warrior Takes Aussies On A Ride of Their Lives

By Ralph Nicholson

There wasn’t really a plan.

He was a Chemistry Professor on a research grant in Santa Cruz, California. She was a Linguistics Professor, briefly side-tracked, and beta-testing multi-player, online, role-playing games.

They used to joke that when they retired they would buy a boat and sail home to Australia, but it was really just one of those flippant remarks. And besides, nowhere on their collective resume did it say anything about boats, or sailing.

Then one day he cracked.

‘‘Robin was the president of a homeowners’ association fighting with the City Council of Santa Cruz, California,” recalls Michelle Bendall. “He came home completely frustrated from this one meeting, and he walked upstairs, hopped online, looked at sailboats, and this is the second one he saw.”

What caught his eye was Warrior, a 15.3-meter (50 feet) custom-made, cutter-rigged sloop designed by Britt Chance. The same Britt Chance who helped design Stars and Stripes, which would famously wrest the America’s Cup back off the Australians in 1987.

Commissioned by Al Castle of Sparcraft Masts, Newport Beach, California, and built in 1970 by De Dood & Sons in Bremen, Germany, Warrior was a wooden-hulled, racing boat.

Undeterred by their lack of experience, and working on the theory employed my most academics — anything can be learned — Robin and Michelle sold their condominium, and became the fifth owners of the boat.

Besides, if the Bendalls needed a vessel which would cross the Pacific Ocean, then at least Warrior knows the way. She was first home in Class A of the annual Transpac Ocean Race back in 1973, finishing the 2225 nautical miles between Los Angeles to Honolulu in nine days, ten hours, 56 minutes and 58 seconds.

© Ralph Nicholson

It probably should be noted here, she did that with a crew of 12.

The Bendall’s first outing was less than stellar.

“We lived on the boat for six months,” recalls Robin.

“The first three months you are itching to try things out. I was waiting for the wind to die down but I got sick of it so we tried to go motoring, but I couldn’t get it out of the slip.

“We ended up on the side of another boat.”

When they did get past the breakwater, the couple headed up to San Francisco Bay — reportedly one of the great training grounds for new sailors and their boats.

“The winds are strong and variable,” says Michelle. “You will be coming long the city edge in the protection of the wind, ten or 15 knots, and you will poke your nose out and suddenly, wham! You’ve got currents, and wind changing direction everywhere you go… we really learned what reefing was about out there.”

That steep learning curve was nearly two years ago. Since then they’ve been to Mexico, right up into the Sea of Cortez, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, and this week they washed up on the shores of Playa Flamingo.

Like all seasoned mariners they have their stories — limping back into port at Santa Rosalina, Mexico, a broken heat-exchanger has temporarily killed the engine, then the mainsail tears in 25-knot winds. Robin, born on a farm in Tasmania and used to fixing things all his life, is able to make temporary repairs.

© Ralph Nicholson

“Our aim was to sail in all weather conditions, no matter what,” says Michelle. “So if there is two knots of wind, we try to keep the boat moving, if there is 25 knots of wind we try to keep the boat moving.

“We made ourselves do some challenging things in preparation for the crossing. We think we have done pretty well really, we have hardly ever motored the boat.”

These days Warrior is fitted more for cruising than racing. She has four solar panels which can generate about 30 amps of power, the Bendalls make all their own water, and while there is an integrated radar, chart plotter and Global Positioning System (GPS), they prefer to use all paper charts.

Again, it was something Michelle taught herself.

“I made myself work out everything on the paper chart, then I would check it with the GPS to see if I had an error,” she says. “And that’s how I taught myself to do it. I’m still plotting by paper chart, I love it.’’

The couple plan to enjoy Central America for a few months. They’ll leave Panama for Ecuador in November and the Galapagos Islands for Australia in February.

“We have a lot more work to do on the boat, then we’ll go to Galapagos, swing south round Easter Island, then end up here (he points to a large map on the galley wall) at the Gambier Islands.

“I’m actually looking forward to crossing that big blue bit for three weeks,” he adds, pointing again.