Gatsby's Boat: A Luxurious Yacht In The Roaring Twenties

The boat in Baz Luhrmann's 2013 movie adaptation of 'The Great Gatsby' is a yacht. Specifically, it is a wooden cruising yacht designed by C. E. Nicholson of the famous English firm Camper and Nicholsons. The yacht is called the Hurrica V and was built in 1924 at the Berrys Bay, Sydney yard of W. M. Ford Boatbuilders. It was one of three yachts owned by William Oliver, a wealthy wool grazier of Melbourne.

The boat in the 2013 movie The Great Gatsby was a yacht

Hurrica V was constructed of Browns Pine carvel planking, copper-roved with Spotted Gum frames. It had Kauri (Agathis Australis) decks and thick outer edges of deck and bulwark caps in teak. The yacht was restored in 2001 by Norman R Wright & Sons, a renowned 100-year-old boatyard on the Brisbane River in Queensland, Australia.

Hurrica V was featured in a scene in Baz Luhrmann's 2013 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby. The production company paid $15,000 for a day's charter of the yacht, and only fifteen seconds of footage were used in the final film.

The yacht was called the Hurrica V

Hurrica V was originally owned by William Oliver, a wealthy wool grazier of Melbourne. It was one of three yachts he owned at the time, including a 55ft racer. Oliver, already 71 when the yacht was delivered to him, used it as a mainly private vessel for cruising Wilsons Promontory and Bass Strait. Up until 1938, Hurrica V was meticulously maintained by three live-aboard paid hands and was the stand-out yacht at The Royal Yacht Club of Victoria.

One of the paid hands was Selim Nurminen, a Finn who had been a crewman on a square-rigger. He spent 11 years working for Oliver on Hurrica V and eventually at St Kilda Yacht Club. By 1941, Oliver had been ill for some years and had let the boat go. It was sold in a dilapidated state for £2,000 to Will Stuart of Darling Point, Sydney. Stuart had the internal layout remodelled, changed the rig from gaff to Bermuda, and had the hull copper-sheathed.

In 1943, Hurrica V was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy. A new and more powerful Superior diesel engine, 32V genset and radios were installed, and the yacht was painted Navy Grey and renamed HMAS 542 STINGRAY. It served mostly in New Guinea and Milne Bay as a search and rescue vessel. After being paid off at Milne Bay in 1946, it was steamed to Brisbane and then towed to Sydney, suffering damage along the way.

After the war, Will Stuart bought Hurrica V back from the Navy for £1,650. He had her restored to her pre-war configuration and then sold her in 1947 as he had bought the larger Fife ASTOR. Hurrica V's new owner was Clifford Crane of Wahroonga, Sydney, a member of RSYS, Chairman of AMP & AGL, and on the Board of CSR. He used her on Sydney Harbour and Pittwater, mooring her off Malcolm Campbell's boatshed at Rose Bay for a couple of years. Crane had the hull re-sheathed in Muntz metal and had a new teak deck laid and a new 65hp Perkins engine installed.

When Crane died, Hurrica V was sold to E John Shaw Jnr of Shaws Sand & Gravel at Mona Vale. Shaw used her as a private vessel on Pittwater and, in 1963, cruised to New Caledonia and The Loyalty Islands, weathering a cyclone. In 1982, Shaw had the interior stripped ready for a refit, but the following year, the vessel was left for years on a mooring in a near-derelict state. In 1986, Hurrica V was bought by Gary Dover, a builder from Sydney, for $40,000. He had her rebuilt from the bare hull specifically for charter work out of Port Stephens, NSW, and renamed her THE GIFT.

In 1997, the boat was sold to Patrick Silver, a retired banker from Avalon, Sydney, who used her as a live-aboard. She was taken back to her original name, Hurrica V, and underwent several cruises, once to Fiji. In 2001, Silver sold Hurrica V to Annabel & Peter Gunns, who restored her over eight years at a cost of several million. The yacht was stripped back to a shell, and the ribs and planking were repaired. All the hull fastenings and the massive bronze keel bolts were replaced, and new masts and spars were built from laminated hollow spruce by Collars, the UK's premier wooden mast maker. The Gunns sourced Italian-made 'oil lamps' that matched the originals but provided light from low-drain LEDs.

Following her restoration, Hurrica V returned to her home port in February 2011 and sailed Bass Strait to take part in that year's Wooden Boat Festival. In 2016, Steve Gunns put Hurrica V up for sale, writing on her broker's listing: "I can sail my Sydney-based classic Nicholson 60, Hurrica V single-handed, and I repeat here that I am confident I could, on my own, sail the 1,200 miles from Australia to New Zealand." Hurrica V is now lying in California at Westpoint Harbor, Redwood City, in front of a new restaurant of the same name.

It was built in 1924

The boat in the 2013 movie adaptation of The Great Gatsby, titled Hurrica V, was built in 1924. It is a magnificent Edwardian classic, a wooden cruising yacht designed by C.E. Nicholson of the famous English firm Camper and Nicholsons. It was constructed at the Berrys Bay, Sydney yard of W.M. Ford Boatbuilders and was one of three yachts owned by William Oliver, a wealthy wool grazier of Melbourne.

Hurrica V was built using Browns Pine carvel planking, copper-roved with Spotted Gum frames. It had Kauri (Agathis Australis) decks, with thick outer edges of deck and bulwark caps in teak. The yacht was delivered to Oliver in Melbourne as a private vessel for cruising Wilsons Promontory and Bass Strait. It was fastidiously maintained by three live-aboard paid hands and was the stand-out yacht at The Royal Yacht Club of Victoria until 1938.

Hurrica V was sold in 1941 and underwent several changes in ownership, with each owner making modifications to the yacht. It was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy in 1943 and renamed HMAS 542 Stingray. It served mostly in New Guinea and Milne Bay as a search and rescue vessel. After the war, it was bought back by its previous owner, Will Stuart, who restored it to its pre-war configuration before selling it in 1947.

The yacht changed hands several times over the years, undergoing refits and restorations, until it was bought by retired banker Patrick Silver in 1997. Silver used it as a live-aboard and took it back to its original name, Hurrica V. It then went through another extensive restoration by the renowned boatyard, Norman R Wright & Sons, from 2001 to 2009.

Hurrica V returned to its home port in February 2011 and participated in the Wooden Boat Festival that year. It was later sold to the owner of Westpoint Harbor in Redwood City, California, where it currently resides.

Hurrica V was owned by William Oliver, a wealthy wool grazier

Hurrica V, the yacht featured in Baz Luhrmann's 2013 movie "The Great Gatsby", was owned by William Oliver, a wealthy wool grazier of Melbourne. Built in 1924 at a cost of £10,000, the Hurrica V is a magnificent Edwardian classic wooden cruising yacht designed by C. E. Nicholson of the famous English firm Camper and Nicholsons. It was constructed with Browns Pine carvel planking, copper-roved with Spotted Gum frames, and Kauri (Agathis Australis) decks.

William Oliver was 71 years old when the yacht was delivered to him in Melbourne. Hurrica V was mainly used as a private vessel for cruising Wilsons Promontory and Bass Strait. Until 1938, the yacht was meticulously maintained by three live-aboard paid hands and was the standout vessel at The Royal Yacht Club of Victoria. One of the paid crew members was Selim Nurminen, a Finn who had worked as a crewman on a square-rigger and spent 11 years working for Oliver on Hurrica V and later at the St Kilda Yacht Club.

Hurrica V was one of three yachts owned by Oliver at the time, including a 55-foot racer. However, by 1941, Oliver had been ill for several years and had neglected the boat, eventually selling it in a dilapidated state for £2000 to Will Stuart of Darling Point, Sydney. The new owner remodelled the interior layout and changed the rig from gaff to Bermuda by removing the mizzen mast. The hull was also copper-sheathed during this time.

In 1943, the Hurrica V was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy and underwent several modifications, including the addition of a wheelhouse, flybridge, sponsons, and machine guns. It was renamed HMAS 542 STINGRAY and served primarily in New Guinea and Milne Bay as a search and rescue vessel. After being paid off at Milne Bay in 1946, the yacht was steamed to Brisbane and then towed to Sydney, sustaining some damage along the way.

Following the war, Will Stuart repurchased the Hurrica V from the Navy for £1650. However, the yacht was in poor condition, with a seized engine and genset, a splintered stem, loose sponsons, and damage to the decks and bulwarks. Stuart had it restored to its pre-war configuration before selling it in 1947 as he had acquired a larger vessel.

The Hurrica V then passed through several owners and underwent various modifications and restorations over the years. In 1986, it was bought by Gary Dover, a builder from Sydney, who had it rebuilt from the bare hull for charter work and renamed it THE GIFT. The yacht was later sold to retired banker Patrick Silver in 1997, who used it as a live-aboard and took it back to its original name, Hurrica V. In 2001, it was purchased by Annabel and Peter Gunns, who undertook an extensive eight-year restoration costing several million dollars.

Today, the Hurrica V is considered a classic yacht, renowned for its beauty and glamour, befitting its brief moment of fame in the movie "The Great Gatsby".

The Hurrica V was designed by C. E. Nicholson

The Hurrica V is a triple-headed auxiliary ketch, with a long continuous keel, sinuous lines, and a well-proportioned form. Its pronounced overhangs lead forward to a spoon bow and aft to a retroussé transom, characteristic of the period. The extensive deck provides ample space for the crew to relax, and a tall bulwark helps to minimise splash and creates a sense of enclosure.

The Hurrica V underwent a major rebuild and restoration in the early 2000s, which cost "two truckloads of cash" according to owner Steve Gunns. The restoration work was done by the renowned boatyard Norman R Wright & Sons on the Brisbane River in Queensland. The yacht was stripped back to its shell, with ribs and planking repaired, and all hull fastenings replaced, including the massive bronze keel bolts. New masts and spars were crafted from laminated hollow spruce by Collars, the UK's premier wooden mast maker.

The Hurrica V is now recognised as a significant yacht of its period, listed in the Australian Register of Historic Vessels. It has graced the screen as the yacht of the 1920s mining magnate Dan Cody in the 2013 film adaptation of "The Great Gatsby".

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