 He was also a crew member on "Gretel", Sir Frank Packer's challenger in the 1963 America's Cup.In 1963, Northam set himself the challenge of competing in the Olympic Games.He travelled to the United States, where he arranged for naval architect Bill Luders Jr. to design and build him a yacht, which was named "Barrenjoey" after the Barrenjoey Head Lighthouse near Northam's Sydney home.