Swan 82S

Crackerjack V is a Swan 82S, one of the largest and most capable yachts to come out of Nautor’s Finnish yard — drawn by German Frers for her hull and naval architecture, with Lazzarini Pickering responsible for an interior that comfortably sleeps eight guests across five ensuite cabins. At close to 25 metres and drawing just over 4 metres, she’s built with genuine offshore performance in mind rather than as a pure cruiser, and this particular hull has carried that racing pedigree since her original build in 2008 for a long-time Swan owner who campaigned her at Swan regattas across the Mediterranean.

She now belongs to a syndicate of four Tasmanian friends — Richard Fader, Stewart Hutcheon, Craig Clifford and Michael Cooper — who found her in Hong Kong and brought her home to Hobart, spending ten months on a full refit before she rejoined the racing circuit. It’s the latest boat in a long run of regatta campaigns for the group, who have previously raced together aboard a Buizen 52 and a Hanse 540e. There’s serious sailing pedigree behind the ownership too: Craig’s father, Bob Clifford — founder and chairman of the shipbuilder Incat — took line honours in the 1994 Sydney to Hobart aboard his maxi Tasmania, with Craig alongside him.

Crackerjack V now races out of Hobart under a crew of around twenty, drawing on the four owners’ circle of longtime sailing mates along with local talent picked up wherever the boat happens to be racing. She made her first appearance under her new ownership at Airlie Beach Race Week in the Performance Cruising division, run by a boat manager who oversees her both on the racecourse and through the logistics of moving an 82-footer around the Australian east coast between regattas.