Jack Beaumont Earl (1908-1994) enjoyed an international reputation as both a renowned sailor and acclaimed marine artist. 

“The sea and ships gave me everything I ever wanted. Sailing small boats was a liberation. It gave me independence and taught me self-reliance and gave me more self-confidence than anything else I ever did….The sea made me.” *

A co-founder in 1945 of both the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race and the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Jack subsequently took the family’s sturdy ketch Kathleen Gillett (CYC29) on a memorable 26,000 nautical mile circumnavigation in 1947-48, only the second Australian yacht to do so. 

The beautifully illustrated log he compiled during that voyage testified to Jack’s prodigious skill as an artist. It was also an extended love letter to wife Kath (Kathleen Gillett), who had remained in Sydney with their young children, Mick and Maris. 

For some years the family lived on the Kathleen Gillett. She was one of three fine yachts commissioned by Jack, which he helmed on his numerous blue water adventures. The others were Maris (780) and Smoky Cape (255).

The Earl and related Tomaszewski families have been Mosman Bay residents for more than 70 years, and the SASC was Jack’s sailing home during the final decades of his life. 

An Honorary Life Member of the Amateurs, his exceptional achievements on the water and in the studio were honoured in 1994 with an Order of Australia Medal, while his much-prized paintings today hang in galleries, yacht clubs and private collections around the world.

His grandson, SASC Life Member Ben Hawke, joined Ian Macintosh on the northern shore of Mosman Bay to reflect on Jack’s eventful life.