It was originally owned by Grant Wharington and constructed by Hart Marine. The cedar strip constructed boat was originally 47’ with a lifting keel, but was converted in 1993 to 50’ by extending the transom of the boat by 3 feet and a new keel was installed and permanently locked in position. Hart Marine also did this work under the design and guidance of Andy Dovell. During Wharington’s ownershi
p, Wild Thing competed in both the Brisbane to Osaka and double handed Melbourne to Osaka yacht race, establishing the race record in 1996 which still stands today. Geoff Lavis purchased Wild Thing in 1999, and is still the current owner today. In 2002 UBS joined the boat as major sponsor and the boat became UBS Wild Thing. That sponsorship is still current today and indeed the boat is often referred to as simply UBS. Another name, sometimes used is the “Flying Toothpick”. The boat has been fastidiously maintained and improved over the years with the first major improvement being the introduction of a bow sprit. Andy Dovell was again employed to design the bow sprit to enable UBS Wild Thing to begin running asymmetrical spinnakers without the use of an oversize spinnaker pole. At the same time Dovell also designed carbon fibre ribs to replace the timber ribs in the bow. These changes were handled by Andy (Noddy) Hay of Northside Shipwrights. The result was a quicker, safer and easier boat to sail. In early 2015 a blusterery westerly CYCA Winter Series race was the catalyst for the next round of upgrades. A stong 30+ knot gust hit the boat just as the spinnaker was filling out of a gybe and the backstay on the old aluminium mast gave way with a bang. Although the mast didn’t come down, the top section was bent forward and was compromised beyond repair. If it wasn’t for the runners, it was likely the rig would have been lost. Lavis turned this negative event into an opportunity to further improve the safety and ease of sailing of the boat. A new carbon mast from NZ Rigging was ordered with swept back spreaders along with new carbon boom……and then the fun began! The new rig was moved 500mm back and deck stepped. The new mast was also 500mm taller which of course meant that the entire sail plan had to be updated to suit. The boom height was raised and the traveler was moved aft behind the helm. This was all backed up by further reinforcing of the hull and a full deck and hull re-spray. For people who didn’t know the history of UBS Wild Thing, you would think she was a brand new boat. Many people were involved in the refurb including Andy Dovell, Andrew “Spot” Smith, and Andy “Noddy” Hay. So now running non-overlapping headsails, raised boom height, and no runners, UBS Wild Thing is a much safer and easier boat to sail. Added to this, she feels much more responsive and is quicker on the breeze. UBS Wild Thing has been extensively campaigned by Lavis, including twelve Sydney Gold Coast races, three Mooloolaba races and four Hamilton Island race weeks. Some achievements over the years include 1st overall in PHS in 2006 Sydney to Gold Coast Race, 3rd in 2007 and 2nd in 2009 as well as a third in division at 2006 Hamilton Island Race week. Other campaigns include Brisbane to Gladstone, Brisbane to Keppel, Airlie Beach Race Week and Magnetic Island Race Week, all in 2012. After the latest changes it was decided to campaign the boat under IRC, this proved to be auspicious as UBS Wild Thing also just recently achieved 1st place in IRC Division 2 in the Land Rover Sydney to Gold Coast race under her new setup beating many newer and more modern yachts. UBS Wild Thing has also achieved many places in the CYCA Winter Series recently finishing 2nd in Division for the 2016 series. The next focus for UBS Wild Thing being the CYCA Ocean Pointscore in 2016/17.
