Lindsay Cunningham AM
Lindsay Cunningham is among the most innovative multihull designers of all time. His accomplishments include the design of the Yvonne in 1952, Quickcat, wing sailed C Class, Yellow Pages holding the World Speed record for 11 years and culminating in Macquarie Innovation breaking the 50-knot barrier in 2009.
Lindsay Cunningham is one of the world’s most highly regarded multihull designers and sailors. Often referred to as the father of Australian multihull design and a legend of both the Little America’s Cup and speed sailing worlds, Cunningham’s achievements have set him apart from his competition over a period of more than 50 years.
Born into a sailing family with innovation in his blood, Cunningham first cut his teeth designing boats with his father Charles.
“Dad was a compulsive boat designer,” said Cunningham, “and we worked together on many of his designs.”
Their Yvonne design of 1952 became arguably the first modern Australian catamaran class and paved the way for a multitude of Cunningham’s multihull designs including the C Cat, Quick Cat, Mini Quest, Elwood Junior, XY16, Dolphin and Quest B2 classes. While an electrical engineer by formal training, Cunningham applied those engineering skills to create a fleet of modern multihulls which were a feature of the Australian “Off the Beach” multihull scene throughout the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.
At the same time, Cunningham’s engineering and sailing skills were being honed and tested in the search for ultimate sailing efficiency in the Little America’s Cup. A world International C Class champion in 1964, Cunningham and his Quest line of catamarans competed for the Little America’s Cup from 1965 to 1977. In 1985, the team returned to Roton Point, Connecticut to reclaim the Little America’s Cup for Australia using the first multiple slotted, wing rigged C Class catamaran, Victoria 150. Spectacularly efficient, particularly downwind, Cunningham’s twin slotted winged sails started a domination of the sport that lasted for more than ten years.
Renowned internationally for his expertise in low-speed fluid dynamics, Cunningham consulted on major yachting projects, including Australia’s first defence of the America’s Cup, as well as providing expert witness testimony in the 1988 “Deed of Gift” America’s Cup match between a catamaran and monohull. With an ever-watchful eye on new technology and new ways to extract more performance from the wind and water, it was inevitable that new challenges would attract his attention. In 1992, Cunningham turned that attention to setting the World Sailing Speed Record.
What eventuated from the Cunningham design board for this challenge was truly revolutionary. Yellow Pages Endeavour represented sailing technology and efficiency at a level never before seen. Even the likes of John Bertrand, who unveiled the craft in Melbourne, was unsure in what direction it would travel. But travel it did and in 1993 and in only 19 knot winds on an inlet south of Melbourne, Yellow Pages Endeavour became the fastest sailing craft in history with a speed of 46.52 knots. Not satisfied with this, Cunningham and his team built a new yacht with the sole purpose of being the first yacht to break the magical 50 knot barrier. On March 26, 2009, Lindsay Cunningham’s Macquarie Innovation made history by being the first yacht to exceed 50 knots over the 500-meter course. This represented a major milestone in performance sailing demonstrating to the world that the cavitation induced speed ceiling at 50 knots, was indeed penetrable.
Macquarie Innovation’s record in her class still stands today as an unwavering testament to the design brilliance of Lindsay Cunningham – a brilliance that has shone brightly on the world stage for more than 50 years.