Andy McCutcheon100 Years of Wooden Glory - Azzura Yachts
September 6th 2007 11:50
Cambria II at Sanctuary Cove Boat Show
Azzura Yachts
Azzura Yachts, arguably the largest manufacturer of customized classically styled vessels in Australia will always hold a special place in my heart. When I first came to Australia from Canada I was on a restricted visa that didn’t enable me to work, but after seven months and my inherent restless nature, I really looked forward to beginning work in this new country - as far away as possible from the pressures of my previous life in the entertainment industry as a celebrity bodyguard.
Azzura unlike many of its classic counterparts in the boat building industry, elected to build larger cruisers from the start and with several runs on the board before I even landed in Australia, it was time for owner Iain Murray to branch out into new territory and develop the first of their 100’ gentlemen’s cruisers.
Knowing that I had a passion for boats but not knowing the local market all that well, I enlisted the help of my mate Raj Agarwal who at the time was working next door at Riviera.
He had worked at Riviera for several years during their heyday and he seemed to have his finger on the pulse of the boat manufacturing fraternity contained within the burgeoning marine precinct located at the Gold Coast City Marina and as I discovered, Azzura was just one of probably fifty companies involved in both refits as well as new builds in the precinct.
Due in part to its location, Azzura seemed like a natural place to begin knocking on doors and I only had to knock once – as General Manager Paul Wrench hired me on the spot. In retrospect, his decision to hire me likely had more to do with the fact that I was breathing and had a pulse than for my boat building skills - but nonetheless, despite the arduous task of fairing a 100’ vessel I rather enjoyed the work and came to have a profound respect for Paul’s abilities as a shipwright.
The ongoing work being done to “Oscar” at the Azzura facility attracted its fair share of media attention and regular visitors to the Azzura yard included the company’s elusive owner Iain Murray who would schedule regular meetings with Paul to ensure that production was going as planned.
Iain who was born in 1958 and raised in Sydney was educated at the prestigious Balgowlah Boys High School and by 1977 had commenced a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of New South Wales before committing his energies to full-time sailing.
As a young man, Iain had been brought up through the ranks of sailing from small dinghies and skiffs, winning more championship races than could be detailed in this chapter, but while his heart pointed him out to sea, his destiny seemed to be pointing him in the direction of property development.
Iain’s grandfather had started the very first real estate agency in Manly on the north shore of Sydney in 1911 and it had remained a stronghold of the Murray family until recently. Since 1994 following a slowdown of his sailing commitments, Iain through several partnerships has completed and sold a mixture of nearly 2000 houses, units and apartment blocks.
While real estate remains a major part of Iain’s family heritage, he has consistently leveraged his available time towards the pursuit of sailing and yacht design and continues to develop interests that lead him back towards the water.
His tireless dedication to yacht racing and to the betterment of the sport, alongside his love of classic vessels and a desire to preserve our rich maritime history earned Iain a berth in Australia Day celebrations in 1992 where he was awarded the prestigious Order of Australia.
In 2003 Iain consolidated his many personal and business interests into a company called Murlan Pty. Ltd. which now owns property development interests as well as an electronics company, two boat manufacturing yards and a hospitality yacht charter operation to name but a few.
Azzura Yachts the booming classic boat manufacturing arm of Murlan Pty. Ltd recently launched their second 100’ gentleman’s cruiser in as many years at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in 2006 and in doing so raised the design bar for traditional vessels.
Back when Paul Keating was the Prime Minister of Australia, Iain Murray was quietly on the hunt for a classic sailboat and set out with several other investors including his old friend John David to purchase a yacht of distinction to restore.
The search for the vessel of their dreams was both elusive and exhausting and it wasn’t until Prime Minister Paul Keating himself called Iain and said, “Why are you looking for a boat like that overseas – when one fitting that description is lying in Townsville, here in far north Queensland.”
Immediately following that phone call, arrangements were made to go see “Cambria” first hand and at the time, the former 1928 K-Class America’s Cup contender was in derelict condition, being used as student accommodation.
An agreement was drawn up for her purchase and despite its condition “Cambria” was gently sailed from Townsville on the northern tip of the Great Barrier Reef down to Viking Industries, then known as the Brisbane Marine Industry Park for a complete ground up restoration.
After a certain degree of deliberation, Norman Wright & Sons located in Bulimba near the mouth of the Brisbane River, were given the immense responsibility of bringing the much maligned “Cambria” back to life as the major contractors on the job.
It was an intense restoration that called upon all facets of the decades of experience that the Wright brothers had accumulated in working with wooden boats and after many months and many millions of dollars, the glorious sailing vessel Cambria returned to her rightful place in the sea.
The fit out was opulent and rich in character with generous amounts of mahogany and it epitomized the style and flamboyance characterized by the “roaring twenties” in the decade it was originally made.
After some time, Iain bowed out of the part ownership of Cambria and the vessel was campaigned extensively by John David and the remaining partners on several voyages overseas before being sold and put back into charter, where it currently resides today in the Mediterranean.
Several years later, John David came back to Iain and told him that he yearned for another vessel that held the same character and opulence as Cambria – but this time, perhaps feeling his age a bit more, insisted on a motor yacht instead.
From a designers point of view it’s difficult enough designing powered vessels to look good in their own right, but to build a motor yacht that contains in some ways the spirit of his former sailing vessel is a tall order in anyone’s books – but Iain was keen for the challenge and undertook to deliver “Cambria II” to John David.
With Azzura now firmly in place in their newly purchased premises, literally 200m from where I had worked on “Oscar”, Iain Murray, Paul Wrench and their dedicated core staff began to construct “Cambria II”.
Iain told me in a telephone interview that, “it was the most technically complex boat they have ever built” and during its official launch it was the star of the show. Its long clean lines and traditional exterior elements combined with its upscale Edwardian interior are an ongoing testament to the creative design genius and dedicated craftsmanship that Azzura aspires to each and every day.
Andy McCutcheon, 100 Years of Wooden Glory. Copyright 2006
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