In Episode 29 of UK Sailmakers’ Lessons Learned podcast, host Buttons Padin talks with Ceris and Paul Arns about Obsession, the Mark Mills designed MAT 1245 they campaign out of Western Australia.
Ceris and Paul are the poster children for a husband and wife team fully committed to a racing program. “We’re just committed to racing Obsession. If the boat is not used, we feel bad,” Ceris noted. That commitment has paid off with back to back Ocean Racing Western Australian Championships and a long list of major wins.
They trace their path from New Zealand to WA, coming back to sailing after raising a family, and building a crew culture that Ceris describes as “as much a family as we are a crew of good sailors.”
Paul credits three things for the results: seamanship and boat management, disciplined maintenance and sail upgrades, and strong team leadership from Geoff Bishop, owner of UK Sailmakers Fremantle. “We discussed our sail inventory, and we went entirely with UK Sailmakers’ recommendations. We were a test platform for UK’s new Integrated Structural Luff technology, and ISL, like all our UK sails, just plain works!”
The episode also covers the WA sailing scene and clubs, what makes the MAT 1245 such a delight upwind, sea survival training, and their decision to truck Obsession 4,000 km east to race the Sydney to Gold Coast and then Hamilton Island Race Week in the Whitsundays, Queensland, which runs 15 to 22 August 2026.
Whether you are building an offshore program from scratch or looking to get more out of the one you have, this episode is full of practical takeaways from two sailors who have achieved a lot in the last few years.
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