Old Boys Robert Menzies (1960) and Grant Menzies (1988) are the very proud father and son owners of Adina, who have been producing watches in Brisbane since 1971. Known also for their deep involvement with sporting events, including headlining the Adina Polocrosse World Cup in 2019, this year they celebrate their 50th year anniversary and with that have turned their attention to sailing by becoming the official time keeper for the 73rd Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race. Adina’s involvement came through the approach of another Old Boy Paul McGowan (1975) via Queensland Cruising Yacht Club (QCYC). As Patron of the QCYC, in what may well have been his last official engagement as the Governor of Queensland, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC is another Old Boy (1965) who was involved with this iconic event by officiating at the start of the race. The Adina partnership sees each member of the winning crew presented each with a very special edition Adina watch. So special in fact, that the only way to own one is to be a part of the winning crew.

In the days before the race, Grant had the opportunity to catch up with another fellow Old Boy Peter Harburg (1959). Peter is the owner of the 100 foot supermaxi Black Jack and gave Grant an insight into the operations of the yacht under race conditions in a multi-day race. Grant described Black Jack and the experience as: “An incredible piece of boating architecture and engineering. An experience that will stay with me for years to come.” Unfortunately, Peter and his crew met an untimely demise only two hours from Gladstone when they suffered a broken mast whilst racing at speeds of over 30 knots. Thankfully no one was injured.

Wistari, in her 52nd appearance in the 308 nautical mile blue water classic, was declared the overall winner. This marked her fifth overall win of the race. In an interesting twist, Wistari is owned by the Patrick Family who have been long term stockists of Adina in Gladstone.