Holland started competitive sailing at the age of eight and was apprenticed as a boatbuilder in Auckland, where he built his first design, the 26' sloop White Rabbit in 1966.[1] He was educated at St Paul's College, Auckland[3]
In the USA
While working in Florida, he designed the 24' Eygthene, which won the 1973 Quarter Ton Cup. (The name of the boat was a pun on the New Zealand pronunciation of the word 'eighteen': quarter-ton yachts are rated at 18-feet under the IOR rating rule). The success of Eygthene led to a commission to design a One-ton class yacht for Irish businessman Hugh Coveney. Golden Apple enabled Holland to set up as independent designer, and he relocated to County Cork in Ireland.
In the Republic of Ireland
In 1974 he designed, and Killian Bushe built Golden Shamrock, his 30' design for the Half Ton Cup in la Rochelle. This was followed in 1975 By Golden Leprechaun another variation of the Half-ton Class. The Shamrocks went into production in Cork. One of these boats, Silver Shamrock, built lightly by Killian Bushe at South Coast Boatyard and steered by Harold Cudmore won the 1976 Half-ton Cup in Trieste, Italy.[4]
This was followed by Silver Shamrock III in 1977 which was built in cold moulded spruce for the Half Ton Cup in Sydney Australia. The boat should have won the Half Ton Cup, but lost her mast in the last race. A later design along the same theme was called the Shamrock Silver Jubilee or Nicholson Half Tonner. Probably the best known of these yachts is Grimalkin, which took part in the Fastnet Race of 1979, and became the subject of a book entitled "Left for Dead: The Untold Story of the Tragic 1979 Fastnet Disaster". Although Grimalkin was abandoned at sea, she was later salvaged afloat and still sails.[citation needed]
Meanwhile, Holland's Nicholson 33 design, for the English boatbuilder Camper & Nicholson, had begun production and one of these, Golden Delicious, won the 1975 Fastnet Race. This remarkable feat was repeated in the 2005 Fastnet when "Iromiguy", another Nicholson 33, took the trophy as overall winner.[citation needed] Other remarkable boat designs include Big Apple, Regardless, Golden Apple of the Sun and Silver Apple of the Moon.[citation needed] Further commissions followed, including a new Morning Cloud for the former British Prime Minister Edward Heath. Holland's designs featured prominently in the 1977 and 1979 Admiral's Cup series of races in Cowes.[citation needed]
His 40-footer Imp won the 1977 Fastnet Race. This led to commissions for the 80-foot Maxi Class yachts Kialoa and Condor and for a series of designs for Finnish yachtbuilder Nautor's series of Swan yachts between 1979 and 1990. The Freedom 39 PH, a pilothouse cat-schooner with freestanding masts was also commissioned by Freedom Yachts and began production in 1982. A Holland 30, Screw Loose, won the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in 1979.[citation needed]
Condor, the Maxi Class yacht built in 1981, still sails as a passenger boat in Australia's Whitsunday Islands. In 1982, Nolan Bushnell (founder of Atari), commissioned "Charley" - a 67-foot sloop, designed by Ron Holland using the same design thesis as "Kialoa". "Charley" went on to win Line-Honors in the 1983 Trans-Pacific Yacht Race and other Pacific racing events.[5] In 1983, Peter Blake engaged Holland to design his next Whitbread Around the World Race yacht, Lion New Zealand, a 78-foot maxi, which claimed line honours in the 1984 Sydney to Hobart as well as second on line in the 1985-86 Whitbread.
'NCB Ireland' was the Irish entry in the Volvo Ocean Race. Although built and launched with great fanfare, she did not perform as well as expected or as well as the more adventurous designs from the southern hemisphere sporting a Mizzen rig.
The 103-foot Whirlwind, launched in 1986, was Holland's largest design to date and one of the first of a new breed of superyacht - large yachts which used new technologies to provide strong sailing performance without requiring a large crew.[6]
The 247-foot Mirabella V, launched in 2003, was not only Holland's largest design, but also the largest ever single-masted sailing yacht.
In Vancouver, Canada
Ron Holland currently resides in Vancouver, Canada where he continues work at his yacht design studio. In 2018 Ron Holland published his memoir, titled "All The Oceans, Designing by the seat of my pants".
Ron Holland received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Cortina Italy, where Boat International Media held the Design and Innovation Awards in January 2019.[7]
Eygthene - One of Ron Holland's first designs, launched in 1973. This design brought attention to the young designer after winning the 1973 Quarter Ton Cup. The name is a play on the New Zealand (accent) pronunciation of 18. Production boats built in Florida by Kiwi Boats were named Kiwi 24.
The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy and the other from the yacht club that is challenging for the cup. Matches are held several years apart on dates agreed between the defender and the challenger. There is no fixed schedule, but the races have generally been held every three to four years. The most recent America's Cup match took place in March 2021.
Bruce Kenneth Farr is a New Zealand designer of racing and cruising yachts. Farr‑designed boats have won, challenged for, or placed highly in the Whitbread Round the World Race, America's Cup, and Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, among others.
The Fastnet Race is a biennial offshore yacht race organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) of the United Kingdom with the assistance of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the City of Cherbourg in France.
The J Class of racing yachts were built to the specifications of Nathanael Herreshoff's Universal Rule. The J Class is considered the apex of the era when the Universal Rule determined eligibility in the America's Cup.
The International Offshore Rule (IOR) was a measurement rule for racing sailboats. The IOR evolved from the Cruising Club of America (CCA) rule for racer/cruisers and the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) rule.
Gary Mull was an American yacht designer who created many popular fiberglass sailboats.
Lawrence Karl Davidson was a New Zealand sailing yacht designer. He is most notable for his International America's Cup Class sailboats which successfully challenged and defended the America's Cup sailing trophy.
Lulworth is a racing yacht that was built in Southampton in 1920.
Royal Huisman is a Dutch shipbuilding company that specializes in the newbuild construction and refit, rebuild and renewal of sailing and motor yachts.
Kialoa was a maxi yacht campaign founded and led by Jim Kilroy spanning from 1956 to 1989.
Endeavour is a J-class yacht built for the 1934 America's Cup by Camper and Nicholson in Gosport, England. She was built for Thomas Sopwith who used his aviation design expertise to ensure the yacht was the most advanced of its day with a steel hull and mast. She was 130-foot (40 m) and launched in 1934 and won many races in her first season including against the J's Velsheda and Shamrock V. She failed in her America's Cup challenge against the American defender Rainbow but came closer to lifting the cup than any other until Australia II succeeded in 1983.
Charles Ernest Nicholson was a British yacht designer.
Morning Cloud was the name given by the British politician Edward Heath to a series of five yachts which he owned between 1969 and 1983.
Shamrock V was the first British yacht to be built to the new J-Class rule. She was commissioned by Sir Thomas Lipton for his fifth America's Cup challenge. Although refitted several times, Shamrock is the only original J-class never to have fallen into dereliction.
Britton Chance Jr. or Britt Chance was an American naval architect who developed core elements of three yachts that won the America's Cup and won the World Championship six times. The New York Times said he "was known for having a mathematician's precision and a renegade's willingness to experiment". Professional Boatbuilder called him "one of the brightest minds in yacht design".
Akarana is a racing yacht which was built in Auckland, New Zealand in 1888 by Robert Logan (Senior) to represent that country in the Australian Centennial Regatta held on Hobson's Bay, Victoria. She was restored as New Zealand's bicentenary gift to Australia and is today currently the oldest vessel in the collection of the Australian National Maritime Museum.
Alfa Romeo I is a 27.43-metre (90.0 ft) fixed keel maxi yacht, launched 2002, which placed first in the 2002 Sydney-Hobart race and the 2003 Giraglia Rolex cup regatta.
Greg Elliott is a New Zealand sailing yacht designer. He is most notable for the Elliott 6m, an Olympic-class keelboat selected for the women's match racing event for the 2012 Olympics.
Camper and Nicholson was a yacht design and manufacturing company based in Gosport, England, for over two hundred years, constructing many significant vessels, such as Gipsy Moth IV and Prince Philip's yacht Bloodhound. Its customers included Thomas Sopwith, William Kissam Vanderbilt II and George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough. Its yachts competed in The America's Cup, The Fastnet Race, the Olympics, the Ocean Race and many other yacht races.
Elliot, Harold; Kidd, Robin; Pardon, David (1999). Southern Breeze - A History of Yachting in New Zealand (Hardback). Auckland: Penguin Books. ISBN0-670-88650-5.
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