Family legacy
John Muir will carry on the family legacy when he steps inside the commentary box for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
30 November 2017
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The Muir family tradition will continue when John Muir joins Gordon Bray and Phil Brasington at the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race to provide commentary at the finish line this year.
It began with John’s father, the legendary Ernest Jack ‘Jock’ Muir. The Tasmanian boat builder became synonymous with the race after constructing Sydney Hobart yachts Westward, Waltzing Matilda, Lahara, Wild Wave, Balandra and Patsy of Island Bay.
He also skippered and raced many more, competing in 19 Sydney Hobart Yacht Races.
One of Jocks enduring legacies was his efforts in keeping the wooden boat building tradition alive by training so many apprentices. He was a master of wooden boatbuilding, designing over 100 vessels and building more than 80 yachts and vessels including Salacia, Astrolabe, Lass o Luss, Van Dieman and Lady Nelson.
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His book, Jock Muir: Maritime Reflections, is a terrific insight into one of Australia’s premier yacht designers and sailors, cobbled together from scrapbooks, photography, newspapers, yacht club records and excerpts from Jock’s personal memoirs.
This vast collection paints a picture of Jock Muir’s life and work in Battery Point and on the open seas.
Jock Muir’s philosophy on yacht design; “I always set out to design – within the requirements of what the owners wanted – boats that were easy-to-handle, sea-kindly, safe, off-shore cruising boats.”
John Muir has continued this maritime tradition, founding Muir Winches and running the historic Muir’s Boatyard. He also has his own book, Blood Sweat & The Sea, by Walkley Award winning journalist Mike Swinson.
John remains involved in Tasmanian yachting, and is much looking forward to this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
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