Last Thursday, 27th February, 2014, Lou Abrahams the owner Of“Challenge”, hull number 3863, passed away peacefully after a long battle with illness aged 86 years. Lou was a passionate supporter of One Design racing and a wonderful ambassador for the Sydney 38 class. He previously owned “Another Challenge”, hull number 3817 which he sold to Chris Lewin in 2004 to race as a university team in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race that year. Lou very much supported young sailors and introduced many talented sailors particularly with dinghy backgrounds to the class, in particular Carl Schmidt and more recently Mark Bulka.
I can recall travelling to Sydney with Lou and Carl to test sail the first Sydney 38, “Asylum” on the harbor. After tacking upwind in a brisk southerly, we blasted down the harbour, passing a well known Cookson 40. Lou said “I think we should get one!” Lou loved his Sydney 38’s and particularly enjoyed his deliveries just as much as he did the racing. He sailed “Another Challenge’ to the Whitsundays on 3 occasions. A convert to 40 footers because they “fit between the waves” Lou thought theSydney 38 was strong and competitive enough to compete in seven of his forty – four Sydney to Hobart races. In 2003, “Another Challenge” was second and in 2006 “Challenge” was third overall in the IRC results.
But it was One Design racing that excited him. “No rating wars, rule changes and chasing the last second of the handicaps.” Lou loved his Sydney 38’s and the close racing saying on many occasions “how good is this!” Right up to his passing, Lou was interested in how his boat was performing and was particularly thrilled with “Challenge” winning the National Championship in 2014 sailed at Geelong. This was the fourth time his name appears on the trophy. One of the main reasons for this success was his ability to hold a strong team together. As he was on land, he was quietly spoken, but inspirational to the extent he had the respect of his crew who felt privileged to sail on his yachts. His philosophy was “No excuse to lose!” so his boats were well equipped and prepared.
After winning the 2014 series, the crew got together at Sandringham Yacht Club three weeks ago for a celebration. This was to be Lou’s last visit to the Club he loved dearly and the following picture will become a fond memory to the crew, many of whom have been sailing with Lou for 10 or more years.
Lou received many personal awards including:-
Australian Ocean Racer of the Year in 1984 and 1990
Victorian Yachtsman of the Year in 1983 and 2006
Veteran Ocean Racing of the Year in 2006
Commonwealth Medal For Services to Sailing in 2002
He also served as Commodore of the Sandringham Yacht Club and was on the Executive of the Sydney 38 Association since buying his first Sydney 38 until recently.
At the recent National Championships, it was announced that “Challenge” is now on the market so with the passing of Lou and the imminent sale of his yacht, these events will leave a large hole in the Victorian yachting scene. Lou will always be remembered as a true gentleman who was admired as much for his gentle nature as his yachting achievements. However, the legend of Lou Abrahams will be forever in our minds.
Rowan Simpson
28th February, 2014