BOSUN’S BAG

PRACTICAL TIPS FOR THE TRADITIONAL BOATER

WORDS TOM CUNLIFFE ILLUSTRATION MARTYN MACKRILL

A sail cover can hide a multitude of sins, with the front runner a poorly stowed main. On a modern yacht with a stack pack and lazy jacks, a tidy stow is nigh-on impossible, so zipping up the bag when the shorelines go on is the decent thing to do. For the classic sailor, gaff or bermudan, the neatly rolled, crease-free alternative is a thing of beauty. There should be no rush to cover it therefore, unless it’s to be left soaking up UV from the sun for a day or squadrons of incontinent herring gulls are out in force.

I learned how to stow a mainsail on an American schooner in the days when ‘Dacron’ cloth (known as Terylene in the UK) was in its infancy. Back then, what we now know as polyester canvas didn’t come stuffed with today’s fillers. It is these that make new sails the stiff and slippery nightmare to fold away that we all now suffer. The sails set beautifully, so maybe the price is worth paying, and even on the stowage front there’s hope for the future. As the filler degrades, or falls out, or whatever else happens to it with time, the fabric becomes more pliable. It grows ever more friendly with passing years until, at the last hour, it is as kind as the dry cotton or flax that our grandparents could stow to perfection – as long as it was bone dry.

If a sail is still crackly with filler, the only way to stow it is to flake it onto the boom. This is best achieved by lowering it slowly while the bosun heaves the leech out hard, keeping the foot flat while flaking it down. Any spare crew will assist along the bunt, clapping ties on as necessary to keep the whole slippery horror from sliding onto the deck. There is no pleasure in this job on a windy day, especially if there is a sea running. However hard we try, it’s never going to approach the beauty of an old-fashioned harbour stow.

Gaff is easier to flake than bermudan, because the leech is more vertical and the final stow is tied up to the gaff with no chance of sliding off the boom. The sail is lowered on both halyards, keeping the gaff more or less at its sailing angle until the throat hits the gooseneck. The peak is then lowered steadily while the flakes keep piling up.

When the sail is more pliable, either because it is of natural fibre or through the passage of time, the misery of flaking becomes history. A neat, tight stow is now readily achievable. Different boats have different methods, but here’s one that works on small sails, and is fine at least as far up as 1,000sqft (93m2). If the boom’s normal resting height makes reaching it a stretch, lower it with the topping lifts until you can reach the sail easily, taking up slack on the sheet. Gaffers will have to ease the peak halyards as well to keep the gaff handy to the boom. Once the sail is stowed, you can top the boom back up.

This time, the sail is not stowed while it’s being lowered, it is dropped smartly onto one side of the boom. The ship’s rugby player now grabs the leech. Starting at the peak of the gaff, or the head if the sail is triangular, he or she works down to the clew, hauling aft all the way, assisted by more of the crew if necessary. This removes any bunch-ups of canvas. The leech is now hauled hard aft from a point two or three feet above the clew depending on the size of the sail, forming a sort of bag between the fold created and the boom. The person on the leech now works towards the head or the peak, hauling aft all the time while bundling the sail into the ‘bag’. The rest of the team follow suit along the bunt, or body of the sail. When it’s all in, the crew shake the bag together to tighten the contents before working it up onto the boom in a neat, crease-free roll. If the sail is loose-footed you may have to miss out the shaking phase to prevent the stow from tumbling out under the foot. The ties should be ready rove between the foot of the sail and the boom so there’s no scrabbling for them while trying to hold the beast in place. The whole job can be done single-handed on a thirty-footer. As sails get bigger, the more hands the merrier.

On a gaffer, ties are led over the gaff and under the foot of the sail, but never around the boom. Leading ties between the gaff and the head of the sail is a bad idea. Not only does it look awful, it stretches the head-rope into bights.

The best ties are of broad webbing with a loop stitched into one end. If these are not available, stout rope ties will do, whipped at one end with an eye spliced into the other. By passing the end through the eye after it has gone round the sail, a whip purchase can be achieved for sweating up a tight stow, and the tie can be secured with a slippery hitch.

When the stow is complete, the boom is topped up to a perfect angle and gaffers can set the peak to suit personal taste. I like to see it parallel, or slightly up at the throat. Scandinavians keep their peaks well up, but in all cases, that tight roll sheds any rain. Water affected the lifespan of sails cut from natural fibre prone to rot with damp. The sailors of old prevented this with a proper stow and, as is so often true, what working people developed for pragmatic reasons still pleases the eye today.

MARTYN MACKRILL Son of a marine engineer and grandson of a trawlerman, Martyn is Honorary Painter of the Royal Thames Yacht Club and the Royal Yacht Squadron. His depictions of classic boats, from clinker rowing boats to Edwardian schooners, have made him one of the most sought-after marine artists, and his work forms part of major collections worldwide. He and his wife, Bryony, sail the restored 1910 ga cutter Nightfall (CB328).

ROBERT SIMPER

A life by the Deben

Robert Simper has spent his life writing about boats, from the very rst issue of this magazine, and saving working vessels of the Thames Estuary

WORDS CATHERINE LARNER

The River Deben meandering through rural Suffolk from Woodbridge to Felixstowe has changed little in his lifetime, but retired farmer, sailor and writer Robert Simper says the people using the water are different now. often accompanied him with her portable typewriter, turning his scribbled longhand into the neat copy required by the editors. The subject matter continued to be an issue, though. “These magazines had lots of pieces about Saint-Tropez and the really big

From his seat at the polished mahogany dining table, in his yachts, with them all dressed in the white, having champagne. Suffolk-pink cottage, he can look out across the garden to rowers That isn’t my scene at all. If you fi nd some grotty old boat up a in their sleek sculls, wild swimmers in brightly-coloured caps, fl eets creek with some chap leaning on a pub bar, that’s more what I did.” of dinghies racing from the club on the other bank, and of course Deciding to focus on the topics that most interested him, Robert the vast ‘gin palaces’, speed boats and occasional waterskiers. took to writing books, starting in 1967 with Over Snape Bridge:

He grimaces slightly at the thought. There are many more people The story of Snape Maltings. When he wrote East Coast Sail in in the area now with their different interests, he says. His love is 1972, he was taken up by a publisher who commissioned fi ve old boats: he has spent his life writing about them renovating them. more books about the coast round the British Isles.

Robert, 84, has lived in this isolated corner of Suffolk all his But, whether it was working for editors or publishers, Robert life. An only child, he grew up in the coastal hamlet of Bawdsey became tired of being told what to write about, so he formed during the war, so didn’t stray onto the beach there until he was Creekside Publishing, which he has run for the past 22 years. nine. “Then there was a long period when they cleared all the “I always thought publishing was a specialist thing that only mines,” he says. After boarding school, very clever people did, but I would fi ll he worked the family farm at nearby the car up with books and Pearl and I Ramsholt and, apart from extensive would travel around selling them.” travels (usually afl oat), he’s never left. He’s written 42 books and there are

He was 11 when he fi rst started more to come. “I used to write a book going out on the Lassie, a 1924 Shingle each winter,” he says. “I was too busy Street fi shing boat, owned by his uncle. sailing or farming in the summer. I’ve

“My parents said ‘you’re not having possibly done more since my son has a boat until you can swim’. I hate taken over running the farm, about 22 swimming! My mother told me I had to years ago.” swim between two breakwaters, so I Having sailed throughout Europe did. They said, ‘Robert you had one foot on the bottom!’. But I got the boat. “You can’t let them and Scandinavia as well as all along the East Coast and for 10 years in Cornwall Once on the water I felt terribly at home.” rot away. They all have in his own Cornish lugger, the 22ft His parents weren’t convinced of his interest in the river but thought he stories to tell” Silver Stream, Robert delights in being at home in Ramsholt, by the Deben. might meet the ‘right’ people if he Robert Simper The cottage is down a long lane, sailed at nearby Waldringfi eld, so got perched on the river’s edge with a small him a Dragonfl y 14 called Lucky. “I barn alongside. Here he houses his was absolutely useless at racing,” Robert says, “and I couldn’t projects awaiting renovation, though acknowledges that he can’t get on with the people because they were all town people, working work on the boats himself. “So I pay somebody to do it. Which is in offi ces. So I started going for trips on barges, up the Thames , becoming increasingly diffi cult because there are not so many hearing all the swearing of the dockers and the bargemen.” people who can work with wood.”

He loved listening to the stories of boatmen. “There used to He has saved several clinker open boats: the 15ft 1922 lobster be an old fi sherman called Arthur Hunt,” says Robert. “He was boat Pet; then the 18ft Three Sisters (of 1888). There was the my great hero. He’d sit in the cabin of his boat on Ramsholt 1954 Tollesbury smack’s boat Mussett and most recently the Dock, making nets. He’d been a barge skipper in the First World Faversham barge boat Atlas. He is particularly fond of the 12ft, War. I reckon I actually went to sea before the First World War 1879 Woodbridge pilot boat Teddy which he had to negotiate because I lived the stories he told me.” from local shipwright Frank Knights of Woodbridge.

Robert started writing down all these stories and experiences “I used to enjoy listening to Frank’s stories of the river,” says when his doctor told him that a back injury from farming was Robert. “One day we were looking for something in the cellar. always going to be a problem. He left the heavy lifting to others There was an old boat lying there. ‘How long have you had it?’ I and spent his evenings writing farming columns for the local paper. asked him. ‘Well, I put it in there just after the war,’ he said. He The editor at the time told him: “Your spelling is appalling, your eventually let me have it for a copy of my book The Deben River!” grammar even worse, but you know how to put a story together.” After having her rebuilt, Robert lent Teddy to Woodbridge

The agricultural subject matter was “too much like the day Museum. He continues to support other maritime heritage job” though, so Robert switched to articles on boats and sailing enterprises. He’s chaired two barge trusts and has recently formed for the yachting magazines. When the editors started asking for a trust to save the Four Daughters, an Aldeburgh beach fi shing boat. photos with the articles, he bought a camera and took them too. The passion for boats has passed onto the next two generations.

There were lots of jaunts around the coast and up rivers, but The family business has expanded to include a fi shing fl eet, and he was also invited by Windjammer Barefoot Cruises on their Robert’s son and grandson are also obsessed with retrieving old four-masted schooner Fantome in the West Indies and a trip on a boats from gardens, sheds and riverbanks. “You can’t let them rot fi ve-masted square-rigger around the Italian coast. His wife Pearl away,” Robert says. “They all have stories to tell.”

THE MUSKETEERS

After a modest debut in 1957, Giacomo Colombo launched his boatyard like a rocket in 1960 with a small series of four racing V8 ‘speedsters’

WORDS GERALD GUETAT PHOTORAPHY HENRI THIBAULT ARCHIVES MUSEO DELLA BARCA LARIANA AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS

Right:Pucci II and Pucci III running together Like Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers, the first-series Colombo were in fact four: four extreme and overpowering mounts destined for competition more than for Gran Turismo. The creation of these exceptional runabouts from 1960 owed nothing to chance and everything to local circumstance. At the time, the Centomiglia del Lario endurance race founded in Como in 1949 triggered the creation of new projects and year after year stimulated the spirit of competition over the region. It last took place in 2020 despite the pandemic, proving that in Italy at least, speedboat racing is still alive and in rude health. Since the beginning, the event has fuelled the ambitions of gentleman drivers, often major industrialists or local luminaries with the money to have new boats capable of winning built nearly every year. In that context, in 1959, Giacomo Colombo received a first commission from Achille Roncoroni, a renown industrialist of Como.

A sailor and a member of the Italian ‘Azzuro’ sailing team at the 1948 Olympics, Roncoroni had the privilege to obtain in 1959 from Carlo Riva the extremely rare agreement to have a unique Tritone Speciale Cadillac made specially for him, longer and more powerful than all the series examples. In the meantime, he also greatly promoted the establishment of a Riva service yard in Menaggio, on Lake Como, in 1960, an ultra-modern facility entrusted to Giacomo Colombo as manager.

On 26 July 2021, Bruno Huber, a Swiss architect living in Lugano and the present-day owner of Pucci I, met Giacomo Colombo to ask him a few questions. The retired boatbuilder clearly understood the crucial importance of Roncoroni and Riva in the orientation of his career: “Signor Roncoroni helped me in putting me in touch with Carlo Riva to be recruited as woodworker in his boatyard in Sarnico, becoming there a master shipwright. As a consistent Riva client, Roncoroni also was instrumental in the foundation of Menaggio’s Riva Boat Service that I had the privilege to manage from its grand opening. But I have always designed the hulls and general lines of my boats myself.”

Achille Roncoroni was also well aware of Carlo Riva’s aversion to racing while Colombo had all the skills needed to build a unit that could claim the honours at Centomiglia. Colombo designed Pucci I, the first of its kind, with a hull inspired by that of the Riva Super Florida, giving birth to a 20ft (6.2m) long. Above the waterline, Colombo opted for an American ‘speedster’ configuration, with a central engine and a two-seat rear cockpit that was almost back to the transom. The idea was to obtain a craft capable of flying over the water projected by the rotation of its propeller while staying as horizontal as possible. With 280hp from a standard V8 Ford Interceptor, Pucci I’s performance quickly proved satisfactory and Roncoroni climbed onto the Centomiglia race podium, third in the 1961 race. That was more than enough to have this wealthy driver moving to a faster boat, ordering from Colombo the Pucci II for which he obtained, by personal connections, the direct import from the United States of a 400 hp Interceptor Ford V8.

Clockwise from top left: Giacomo Colombo at the Pianello del Lario Museum; the dashboard of a Pucci model; Pucci III at speed; 007 on show at the museum

In 1962, this 7-litre V8 was in fact the engine block that would soon be used by Ford to campaign in the 24 Hours of Le Mans races with the Carroll Shelby’s famous Cobras… For Roncoroni, a second place in the Centomiglia the same year fully justified the risks taken at the wheel of Pucci II trying to tame this bestial V8. The boat could have won if, believing that he had already won the race while not yet in sight of the finish line, Roncoroni had not eased the throttle, leaving victory to a competitor he had not seen in front of him and closer to the finish line.

At the beginning of the 1960s, the word “rocket” was much in the mood of the times and Colombo coined this model name for its ‘speedster’: Super Rocket reflected the sage of the Moon race that was then still in its infancy. After his success, Colombo designed a new hull to give birth to the following two boats, Pucci III (1963) and 007 in 1964.

The latter obviously took its name from James Bond’s first films, while Pucci III continued the small series begun by Roncoroni in 1960. The development of these two Super Rockets was not without difficulties and their hulls had to be modified several times to better take advantage of the engine power, a 400hp Interceptor for 007 and a brand-new Italian V8, the famous BPM Vulcano of 8 litres and more than 400hp for Pucci III. But the Vulcano, still in development, was quite fragile and from 1966 was replaced by a 250hp Chrysler engine.

The years passed on and the Super Rockets, legendary boats on their home waters, changed hands to become the pride of new owners still as passionate about these true water-borne Cobras. In the early 1970s, Pucci II was equipped with a backed-up rudder mounting designed by the famous Renato “Sonny” Levi, who also broke a speed record with another Colombo hull. Today, Pucci II is still in the family of its original sponsor, Roncoroni.

In 1975, Pucci III entered into the collection of GianAlberto Zanoletti, founder of the Museo della Barca Lariana.

Soon after that date, 007, still equipped with its 400hp Ford Interceptor, also became the pride of Zanoletti’s unique museum to be preserved forever, as is, unrestored. Thus, the four musketeers of Giacomo Colombo have gone through all kinds of adventures for 60 years to testify to a bygone era, that of the gentlemen-drivers of a local race. But, the Super Rocket also marked the fanfare debut of a new boatyard that has prospered to this day.

95 years of experience in traditional yacht refit & restoration

The UK’s leading classic yacht refit and repair facility

The complete service for all motor and sailing yachts under one roof

Teak decking & joinery Spray & hand finishing in paint & varnish Traditional rigging, ropes & splicing Timber masts & spars Marine engineering & electronics Bronze & stainless fabrication Race preparation & support

Fox’s Marina & Boatyard, Ipswich, Su olk, IP2 8SA +44 (0) 1473 689111 foxs@foxsmarina.com foxsmarina.com

MORE THAN 60 YEARS OF PRESTIGE

After its first prototype in 1957, Giacomo Colombo made himself a name in boatbuilding with a timeless small production known for its constant quality. From early childhood, he dreamed about woodworking and hull construction at the Cranchi boatyard. While also witnessing the racing success of another illustrious neighbour, Guido Abbate, Colombo did his Master Builder classes at a certain Carlo Riva, opening the way towards a boatbuilding career. In this sense, Giacomo Colombo’s destiny seems to have been crystal clear from his modest beginnings in his own name from 1956 onwards, then as a full-fledged shipyard four years later under the prestigious banner of Riva Boat Service on Lake Como. Like an Arcangeli on Lake Garda, Colombo knew how to honour the confidence of Carlo Riva to build a reputation as a producer of his own models.

These days, the Colombos should be considered unique in that, since the 1960s, they have shown a retro style long before it became a fashion among boat designers. This style makes them timeless and allows

Above: A rare moment where the three Pucci boats run together. 007 is an the museum

Below: Pucci II at speed on the lake them to keep their value. To acquire a Colombo is to display a discreet disregard for fashions and the passing of time, a bit like some boatyards in New England for which the lobster boat style has never been a simple fashion affectation, but a true philosophy. After the end of the production of his last wooden hulls in 1969, Colombo embarked on a small series of GRP boats. Fifty years and about 20 models later, Colombo managed to weather the global oil and financial crises by establishing a solid and respected name. The Menaggio yard may have fallen silent in the early 2000s, but having become a brand under the control of the Gruppo Sarnico (Cantieri di Sarnico) in 2007, then re-launched in 2012 with new ambitions, Colombo remains a quality label in the context of a very limited production while the pre-used units, from the 1960s to today, hold their value well.

The authors would like to thank Bruno Huber and Marco Stoppani for their invaluable help on Lake Como.

Zenita • £130,000 Brown Owl • £155,000

Zenita is a 30ft Thornycroft built in 1929 and recently expertly restored. She has a fully equipped galley, an electric toilet and shower. The main saloon features a drop leaf table with storage and wine rack and provides a comfortable dining area. The main saloon also comfortably sleeps 2 and there is a spacious bunk in the fore cabin. She is offered for sale with her highly desirable mooring at Harleyford Marina, Marlow where she is available for immediate viewing. Dunkirk Little Ship ‘Brown Owl’ is a 42ft John Bain design, built in 1928 by J A Silver of Rosneath. She has been maintained to a high standard and has attended the ‘Dunkirk Returns’ since 1980. Brown Owl can sleep up to six and benefits from a warm air heating system throughout. She is equipped with full navigation equipment and her sale includes her flags issued during WW2. Available for viewing Teddington.

For further information visit: www.cymltd.co.uk • Email: captainhook@cymltd.co.uk • Tel: 07966 578825

ARTISAN BOATWORKS

CUSTOM YACHT BUILDERS

NORTH BY NORTHWEST

Buying a classic motor sailer in Dover meant a long, solo delivery trip home to Scotland for her new owner – whose last boat was a Drascombe

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS TOM COLVILLE

Dawn mist hung across the gentle sea. In the half-light a dark fin sliced the bow wave. Then, just as mysterious, it vanished. I watched intently for some minutes. Of a sudden, alongside and astern, the grey waters thronged with uncountable others, converging from all sides. South west Wales lay 20 miles to starboard. Half a century before, this Sole Bay ketch had frequented Welsh and Irish waters. Now, with schools of dolphins as escort, Vega of Garth had returned.

Designed by J Francis Jones (see our feature on page 54) and built in Scarborough during 1965, Vega is a survivor of the Sole Bay class of motor-sailing ketches: small wooden yachts with enclosed wheelhouses, real power for longer periods under motor, and a traditional rig to give reliable sailing ability. Scantlings and lines were derived from all-weather commercial craft and naval traditions. They sold well. Around 40 boats were built by notable boatyards during the 1960s. Much admired back then, today few ever reappear for sale.

Through 2020, travel became so difficult, the idea of family voyages nearer to home, taking grandchildren on a classic yacht, held out great promise. Hours became devoted to online research.

Online, many elegant yachts grace the Wooden Ships brokerage. Powerful sheer lines and mirror coats of varnish inspire dreams. Old sailing friends were inspired also, but muttered: “Perhaps he will learn a lesson – he must know wooden boats are unaffordable?”

In April 2021, Vega of Garth appeared for sale. I already knew of her. Channel crossings connect our family. In Dover’s Wellington dock, Vega had often caught my eye. On request, hundreds of ‘intimate’ new images were emailed through. A conditional offer was made. With gear packed up in readiness for a month away, one small snag remained – Vega was moored 500 miles from our West Highland home.

Built originally for a Liverpool-based lawyer, and kept at Garth, by Bangor in north Wales, 30 years later she was rescued from a sorry decline on the south coast of England. Re-decked and totally refitted in South Wales, her experienced new owner moved aboard, voyaging the coasts and inland waterways of northern Europe.

Above:Vega in her new home

The many formalities of lifted survey, insurance, and ownership transfer were completed in one busy week, once we reached Dover. It became a valuable time, living aboard, getting familiar with the boat. Vega came fully equipped and seaworthy. Tanks were full, all stood ready.

Early one Friday evening, Port control authorised departure: outward bound for Scotland – a huge semicircle voyage of 850 miles – either way! So many dire warnings abound: oil industry construction traffic, small vessels unnoticed in summer haze and mist, also strobe lighting around vast wind farm towers being assembled off the English coast.

The clockwise route west offered many sheltered ports to head towards should things go wrong. Meanwhile at home, birth of a new grandchild was imminent! Due to Covid quarantine periods, a Dutch sailing friend could no longer crew, so I was on my own.

At 800-900rpm, the powerful Iveco engine drives Vega through smooth seas easily at six knots. Low- stressed, and very well serviced, this reliable commercial engine gave huge confidence. As Dover fell astern,

Top: Fuelling up in Dover

Above: Helm station transits off Navionics were dialled up on the autopilot. Getting past Land’s End would be some test for this 55- year-old wooden boat, if quiet midsummer weather were to end.

Owners had each equipped Vega well. A veteran electro/hydraulic autopilot – state-of-the-art in its day – still performed as if new. Wheelhouse displays included depth sounders, wind and water speed, GPS, VHF, even an obsolete Koden radar system. A sturdy electro-hydraulic windlass occupied the foredeck; lashings held two massive anchors and a properly serviced liferaft. Below decks I found a veritable treasure chest: fathoms of chain, spare lines, sails and fenders even an Avon dinghy. Lockers held neat boxes full of spares, also instruction books. This superb bosun’s store all belonged with Vega.

The gaff mainsail with double reefing points proved to be a gentle giant. Working jib, low-cut staysail, No 1 jib and larger genoa were neatly bagged up, and I knew the small mizzen would aid steerage. As we departed, the seller had remembered to fetch a multicolour topsail on its carbon fibre spar. There was so much to learn.

Favourable tides lifted us off towards Dungeness. As clusters of light and cliff silhouettes passed to starboard, north of shipping lanes, we cleared Beachy Head.

Driving any long-keeled, 10.5-tonne hull to windward under small sails has to be slow work. Yet, off the wind, or plugging along with motor to assist, Vega rode the seas as powerfully as ever, covering distance well. Some 24 hours later, well inshore of the Portland race, Vega was speeding downwind, through confused seas towards idle cruise ships off Weymouth, and nearby Portland Harbour.

Bouncing through Portland’s north entrance, spray thrown high, we escaped chaotic breaking seas. It was time to stop. Half the distance to Penzance lay astern, and Castle Cove anchorage offered sanctuary.

In hot sunshine next morning I relaxed, watching dinghies race nearby. Memories drifted back: 35 years before I had lived nearby. Dorset coasts and this huge naval harbour had been a frequent playground for a sea kayak.

Vivid days followed: dawn off Dartmouth, heading inshore over tumbling seas for a hearty breakfast at anchor in the rain; rounding Start point at hull speed, Vega untroubled, cresting high waves, shoved hard by wind and tide; later that afternoon – some 45 years too late for my abandoned OSTAR entry- sailing in to anchor off Plymouth; favourable tides across Mounts bay to reach Falmouth for diesel. Vega had covered 283 miles in 55 hours, (41 of them engine assisted).The anchor rattled down.

I dared not linger. Cornish places so familiar from a lifetime of sea stories became bypassed. Such tranquil days as these could not last.

From the Lizard light, we aimed well offshore, hoping to round Land’s End on the tide. It was a cracking sail. By late afternoon Longships rocks came abeam. Tides held us. Slowly the light NE wind veered west. Hours passed before the loom of Cornish lights finally slipped below the horizon.

Above: Portland Bill

Below: O shore wind approaching Falmouth, Cornwall

Facing page: Vega following her survey

Motor-sailing far from land, slightly heeled all night, it felt like Vega knew her own way: the dolphins surely did! Perhaps they detected dull noises as the old wooden vessel parted the seas far offshore? A ‘cheerfilled’ welcome frolicked all around, the enthusiasm opened that crystal, sun-filled day.

Midnight again: only the throbbing engine untiring as rain fell. Off the Llyn peninsular, Bardsey island divides powerful tides. After dark, the cross-current approach to Aberdaron Bay became confusing. Soon, with no hint of impending misrule, only the anchor chain was grumbling. Slight swells disturbed the sheltered bay. By 2am, cosy in the saloon, I slept.

LOSS OF STEERAGE

The rhythmic rumbling stopped. Something had changed. Lights in the distant village were gone. Gale force gusts were driving Vega out to sea.

A mass of derelict crab pots and weed-encrusted lines came up on the windlass. Getting this mess secured so the anchor might drop clear took time. Then I selected reverse. In that split-second, the wheel spun free. The upper helm also spun – nothing. Jammed hard to port, the transom-hung rudder was useless. With the huge tangle weighing her bows, Vega was adrift. Soundings increased: now 20, then 25 meters. I let the anchor drop far down, and waited. Thankfully, it held.

Vega’s steel tiller is moved by hydraulics. A vital weld to the rudder bracket had failed. Among the equipment below decks lay a jury tiller. Once rigged with lines through wheelhouse doors, I had control again. Sheets of spray lifted in Force 7 gusts as we powered back to shelter. The sorry tangle was jettisoned in the shallows. Nearby, the anchor held firm.

Holyhead was 25 miles to the north. I needed a workshop, but it was the weekend. Helpful staff authorised Vega’s approach to the congested visitors’ pontoon. Bits of spare metal usually litter boatyards, so I hunted about, quizzing owners working on their yachts. Pointing to some scrap, one boat owner

Main image: With a distinct stepped bulwark at the stem, Tide is a powerful machine upwind

Inset: Beau Van Metre, a spitting image of his father at the helm

volunteered the use of his arc welder. We were in business! Soon a new tiller clamp was fabricated. Next day, with off-duty marina staff helping, we secured this clamp to the rudder bracket. It worked again, strong and good.

Funding marinas instead of sailing is really not my thing: ‘beer tokens’ show gratitude with a universal appeal! Gentle west winds with the evening tide had promise to carry us on north, so on we went.

Mariners accept that King Neptune has a game: “The rule of three”. It can be played at any hour. After a period in lumpy seas, the new rudder clamp slowly loosened. For the coming night I chose to re-rig the jury tiller.

Suddenly, the engine stopped. Large diesel engines seldom stop so abruptly. Lifting insulated wheelhouse floor panels far out to sea was not easy. I peered down. Something odd caught my eye – a bare terminal on the injector pump gleamed in my head-torch. A rogue bit of shredded alternator belt was draped over fuel pipes. The ignition cable had been knocked off.

Working next to a hot engine in dark unfamiliar spaces, while Vega wallowed in moderate seas, I leave to your imagination. Suddenly the toolbox tipped over, its contents vanishing into the bilges. My misery was complete! Dawn light streaked the eastern sky before two new belts were tight. The great motor restarted. Through half-light, Vega powered on north. What else had Neptune in mind?

Lights on the Calve of Man glimmered in the distance. Against the steady throb of the engine, a piercing alarm sounded. The GPS screen went blank. Close astern, its lights now dim against dawn skies, a small cargo ship was ploughing directly towards Vega. Heaving tiller lines hard across, we turned due west. A minute later, 50m away, MS Magdelena slid past; I saw no sign of crew.

Some 18 miles from where Vega bashed northwards through heavy seas, there is a sheltered bay. Maybe with Neptune’s ‘proficiency tests’ over 600 miles from Dover, a rest day had been earned? Sun, summer breezes and smells of good food filled the cabins for our holiday.

All next day, cabin handholds were vital as Vega rolled north, close-hauled in strengthening winds. Crashing surf on the jagged lee shore of Galloway rebounded, uncomfortably close. Vega never faltered. Tranquil Loch Ryan offered respite.

Through mirror-calm mist, a vee-shaped wake arrowed towards Campbelltown. We needed diesel. In any case, until noon, severe tides by Sanda Island ran east. Tanks full, we idled south in light airs. Even after the tide turned, the slight breeze came round to head us. Eventually, tight below the sentinel lighthouse, completely dwarfed by majestic lonely Kintyre cliffs, we turned north. Vega never reached the beautiful Isle of Gigha – the tranquil MacCormaig Isles lay 5 hours further north. By midnight she was snugly anchored in the tiny inlet at Eilean Mòr.

Meandering slowly north the next day, through tidal-gate challenges, warm breezes filled Vega’s sails. The flood stream delivered us to deserted Ardencaple Bay.

For this Drascombe sailor – now turned classic yacht owner – reliance on radar and Navionics to pierce the murk towards Mull, was a novel experience. As mists cleared, spy holes through battlements of Duart Castle, high above, bore witness. Under full sail Vega stole away up the sound of Mull, and entered new home waters. Off Kilchoan the wind died.

Relentless tides would soon turn south once more. In bright sun, motor pushing gently, Ardnamurchan Lighthouse came abeam. Gentle zephyrs ruffled the sails. That Friday so near home, there was no rush.

The awesome wake left by Vega of Garth fell silent. Exactly 14 days out from Dover, the chain rattled down. Our new grandson had arrived first… four days quicker!

Above: Sound of Mull approaching Tobermory

Below: Radar helps foggy morning o Kerrara near Oban

JACK FRANCIS JONES

We trace the diverse career of the sometimes-forgotten post-war English yacht designer Jack Francis Jones

WORDS PETER POLAND

Jack Francis Jones made his name as a prolific designer of a wide variety of craft. These designs included dayboats, cruising yachts, motor-sailers, workboats and motor yachts designed between the years just before the war (he was called up to join the RNVR in 1941) and his death in 1990.

He grew up in Suffolk and fell in love with the river Deben at an early age. Whenever possible, he and his younger brother George Jones would cycle from their father’s farm to the banks of the Deben at Waldringfield where they learned to sail. After his father’s untimely death in 1933, Francis Jones went to Birmingham to work in engineering design and also fell under the spell of Yachting Monthly, whose editor Maurice Griffiths published his first two designs; a 15ft and 17ft dinghy. Francis Jones also wrote regularly for the ‘Canvas’ column before his call-up in 1941.

After an eventful war with the RNVR (during which he was seriously wounded on two occasions) Francis Jones bought a house in Waldringfield on the banks of the river that he had always loved. There he set up shop as an AINA (Associate of the Institution of Naval Architects), a title he preferred to ‘yacht designer’.

Later in his career Francis Jones moved his design studio from Waldringfield to the Ferry Dock in Woodbridge. His brother George Jones also ran his yacht brokerage business there and for many years wrote the East Coast section of Yachting Monthly’s regular feature ‘Around the Coast.’ At that time George had become owner of Arthur Ransome’s Giles-designed ketch Peter Duck. Keeping her in the family, George’s daughter Julia Jones – an accomplished author and co-owner with her husband Francis Wheen of publishers Golden Duck – later bought Peter Duck.

UNCLE JACK

Julia recently wrote in Yachting Monthly of her Uncle Jack: “I am beginning to regret that it’s taken me 60 years to show any real interest in his work. Jack drew 110 individual designs from which more than 1,000 boats were built. I’d loved him as a person – flamboyant, opinionated, touchy – but it wasn’t until I met the designer Alan Gurney that I began to realise what I’d been missing by taking so little notice of his work.”

Along with Kim Holman and Peter Brown, Alan Gurney honed his designing skills working for Francis Jones. All three of these ‘apprentices’ obviously learned a lot from their boss; and all three went on to become successful designers in their own right, Peter Brown eventually going into partnership with Francis Jones. Among many great yachts, Alan Gurney’s masterpieces included the 73ft (22.3m) Windward Passage (1967) and Chay Blyth’s Great Britain II. Meanwhile Kim Holman’s cruiser-racer designs dominated East Anglian and RORC races for many years.

Julia Jones often wonders whether her uncle Jack’s lack of involvement in offshore racing – unlike Holman – might have held back his career. Those were the days when many yacht designers made their names with race-winning cruiser-racers and later cashed in on the recurring royalties earned from GRP production models. With the exception of his later Kestrel 22 design, Francis Jones never had any truck with GRP.

Julia summed up her uncle’s designs well, saying “Balance, seaworthiness and sailing ability are features of Jack’s cruising yachts and owners have taken them all over the world. As Brian Hammett, owner of Jack’s 1965 gaff cutter Avola and former vice president of the Cruising Association said “You sit in his boats, not on them. He designed his boats to look after their owners.”

Some have said that an unusual side to Francis Jones’s designs is that he did not have a ‘house style’. No immediately obvious style could ever have covered the broad spectrum of his work, which included designs like Fleur de Lys motor yachts, Sole Bay motor sailers, Otter 40 motor yachts and sleek offshore cruising yachts, as well as the occasional beautiful gaffer like Corista, Avola and Celandine or the popular Kestrel 22 weekend cruiser.

Facing page: Sole Bay 35 Vega of Garth, believed to be one of the last ga -rigged examples

Above: Jack Francis Jones (left) and Mr & Mrs Whisstock

Below: The Kestrel 22 was a top-selling Francis Jones design, made in wood and later in GRP

SEAKINDLY AND COMFORTABLE

Many Francis Jones craft now pass through the hands of Peter and Richard Gregson of Wooden Ships yacht brokers in Dartmouth. Richard Gregson kindly passed on Wooden Ships’ valuable first-hand knowledge based on 30 years’ experience, telling me that Francis Jones

C/O JULIA JONES

C/O WOODEN SHIPS C/O WOODEN SHIPS

designs are always very purposeful and practical yachts and designed to be seakindly. He explained how the Fleur de Lys motor yacht range was a huge success, encompassing the post-war design evolution that encompassed greater beam and stiffer bilges, creating more spacious and comfortable motor yachts. The elegant Fleur de Lys 52 was the most popular model for good reason: it offered lots of deck space, threeor four sleeping cabins and a spacious deck saloon in a motor yacht of a size that amateur yachtsmencould handle.

The Otter 40 and 36 were also successful, attractive twin-screw motor yachts with a central wheelhouse and raised sheer aft to accommodate the stern cabin. These were built by famous yards like Landamores and Priors. Several had a mizzen mast to take a steadying sail.

Above left: Almerie, a 58ft Fleur de Lys Above right: Octavia ll, a Francis Jones designed 38ft motor sailer

Bottom: The Otter 40 was one of Francis Jones’s most successful motor yachts

SOLE BAY MOTOR-SAILERS

Francis Jones’s Sole Bay motor-sailers are excellent, underrated designs, with a sheltered amidships wheelhouse to extend the UK sailing season.A sensible ketch rig is not too big to handle while a large engine makes these boats easy for a couple to cruise. Sole Bays offer a lot of space for their length.The larger 40ft (12.2m) version has two good-sized sleeping cabins and a saloon, while the more numerous 35ft (10.7) version has a comfortable aft cabin and berths in the saloon. Both make great family cruising boats.

Wooden Ships put me in touch with Jim Noble who has owned his Sole Bay 40 Simandy for 27 years, proof that these yachts give owners great satisfaction. She was built in 1964 by Gordon Armstrong Marine and now lives in Granton. “I was familiar with the Sole Bay 35 class which I had sailed and liked very much,” says Jim. “When Simandy came on the market I was impressed by her specifications and felt she was an improvement on the 35s. Having owned her for 27 years my views have not changed. She sails very well, as you would expect from looking at her underwater profile. In the past my wife and I have frequently sailed her on our own; at other times often with only two or three. She does require a fair breeze under sail; under power she has a very efficient and economical engine that gives her exceptional manoeuvrability.” Her engine is a sixcylinder, 115hp Perkins (not original). “The Perkins is a superb engine and spares are readily available.”

As an ex-builder of GRP cruising and racing yachts, I asked if maintenance on an old, wooden 40-footer was ever a problem. Jim replied “Being built in copper-sheathed iroko and lifted out every winter, all that’s required is annual painting and varnishing and the usual care. I have never had a major problem with machinery or hull. Her last survey was excellent, with only minor points reported. Simandy is a much loved member of our family and very much admired wherever she goes. Properly maintained, she should survive for many more years.”

I spoke to a sailor who recently bought a Sole Bay 35, after spending around 25 years cruising a Drascombe Coaster around Scotland’s West Coast and

C/O WOODEN SHIPS C/O WOODEN SHIPS

abroad. Tom Colville bought the Sole Bay 35, saying that the design “always struck me as a no-nonsense practical solution for a small family or a couple with guests who wish to cruise the northern part of Britain comfortably in all weathers.”

Tom reckons that around 35 examples of the Sole Bay 35 and the later 36 were built. His 1961 Sole Bay 35 Vega of Garth was – like the 40ft (12.2m) Simandy – built by Gordon Alexander in Scarborough and is believed to be one of the last gaff-rigged examples.

Back in the 1960s, a lot of yards had been building wooden fishing boats over many generations. Tom said that some, like theGordon Armstrong yard, decided to apply their shipwrights’ skills to building yachts and dinghies.He added that “it is now clear, almost 60 years on, that the best preserved Sole Bay examples were indeed constructed using time-honoured light fishing craft techniques by shipwrights who had generations of experience of meeting the requirements of fishermen.”

When I asked Tom why he was so attracted to a Sole Bay 35, he said “I am a hands-on person and enjoypassing on the experience, knowledge and skills I have learned down the decades. Not for me the cloned GRP yachts that now clog up marinas. I wished to show my grandchildren, wider family and friends how cruising a yacht used to be.

“Where I sail [on the west Scotland coast] we estimate that through a normal summer, three or four days out of every seven are likely to offer pleasant sailing weather. Long days at anchor while unseasonable weather systems blow past are commonplace. The Sole Bay is ideal. With her powerful motor installed to workboat standards, she can proceed in almost any sea conditions... as my recent 850-mile delivery trip from Dover up to the west coast of Scotland [often singlehanded] with adverse winds up the Irish sea ably demonstrated to me.”

A second feature that appealed to Tom was Vega’s ability to take the ground. Built on the Yorkshire east coast, her hull is designed to use ‘legs’ on a drying mooring. With shallow draught, a long iron keel, keelson and a sternpost carefully profiled to offer protection to the skeg and rudder, these hulls were designed to be very robust when put ashore. So Tom says the shallow draught“permits access to the most sheltered corner of ourinner loch [to dry out] on a slope used for centuries by local craft ... until this generation at least!”

Above left and right: The Sole Bay 40 Simandy has the luxury of a spacious wheel house

Below: Sole Bay 35 Vega of Garth before Tom Colville sailed her to her new home in Scotland

C/O TOM COLVILLE

INCHCAPE MOTOR-SAILERS

The Inchcape range of motor-sailers is another example of Francis Jones’s ability to come up with practical and seakindly hull shapes. The Inchcape designs resulted from the collaboration between Francis Jones and James Evans of the Eyemouth Boatbuilding Company, who built the range in his yard in Berwickshire.

Richard Gregson of yacht brokers Wooden Ships told me that the canoe-sterned Inchcape hulls were inspired by Scottish fishing boats. These were built to be strong, powerful and seaworthy vessels capable of working in the North Sea and north Atlantic all year round. Evans wanted to replicate these virtues in a cruising yacht, giving owners a high degree of comfort combined with the strength and peace of mind of a fishing boat.Evans achieved this blend and came up

C/O WOODEN SHIPS C/O WOODEN SHIPS

with a variety of sizes, the Inchcape 45 being one of the most popular of the range.Several were built over the years, the last example going down the slip in Eyemouth in 1990.

The Inchcape 45 weighs in at a substantial 29 tonnes, has a beam of 15ft 9in (4.8m) and draws 5ft 9in (1.8m). Sleeping accommodation for six is situated in the fore and aft cabins and there’s a pilot berth outboard in the voluminous saloon. The space below is amazing for a 45ft (13.7m) motor-sailer, largely thanks to Francis Jones’s hull lines. The crowning glory is a splendid wheelhouse amidships giving loads of space and ample protection for the helmsman and crew. A well equipped and maintained example can be found on the broker’s website today (woodenships.co.uk).

SEPHINE

By way of a total contrast, I was much taken by Francis Jones’s design of the yacht Sephine; a graceful 50-footer (15.1m) with elegant overhangs, a 36ft (11m) waterline length, beam of 14ft 1in (14.3m) and draught of 6ft 9in (2.1m). It’s hard to grasp that this sleek yacht came from the same hand that drew the Sole Bay motor-sailers and Fleur de Lys motor yachts. It illustrates the eclectic versatility of Francis Jones and the extraordinary variety of the boats that he designed.

Beautifully built by Staniland in 1966, Sephine has ample space for a large crew, yet can be easily handled by just two. David Stembridge bought her in 1995 from her original owner and told me that “apart from her stunning appearance, we were impressed by the large cockpit, wide side decks and her stability in a big sea. The easy companionway, enormous headroom below decks and the shower room were great assets.

“Sephine took care of us on many rough trips and with a reefed main and staysail she was very comfortable in a Force 8 at eight knots. Our cruising took us across Biscay to Spain several times. We also cruised round Brittany, the Scillies and Eire. Our last cruising ground was the West Coast and islands of Scotland before returning to the Yealm from where our son Philip acquired her to base her in Largs.” David’s son Philip Stembridge duly took up the baton saying “While I had a share in Sephine from the outset, there was a choice in around 2008 whether to take her on. I had in mind a Swan 43 and was conscious of the amount of work with a wooden yacht. However, having had the family grow up on Sephine, I knew there would be howls of dismay if we ended up with a smaller yacht... particularly the cockpit.”

As is often the case, classic yachts can become members of the family and be passed down the generations. Philip covered many miles in her, saying “There were plenty of memorable voyages; crossing Biscay (Dublin – Bayona) in 2013 with two of my sons and a friend from Scotland then re-crossing Biscay from La Coruna to Newton Ferrers in 2017 with two sons. Another was sailing non-stop with my wife from Valencia along the South Coast of Spain, past Gibraltar and then up to Portimao, Algarve.”

Giving a third generation’s opinion of this great Francis Jones design, Philip’s son Andrew told me “She was a brilliant boat to have learned to sail on from a very young age. I shall never forget any of the trips on her; especially the mission to the Med and crossing the Bay of Biscay.” And now Sephine has moved on to new owners. With luck, they’ll have the same fun and keep her for around a quarter of a century like her previous family owners.

Above left: Halcyon of Eyemouth, a 45ft Inchcape class, shows o her elegant sheer and canoe stern and (above right) her splendidly spacious saloon

Below: Sephine, an elegant Francis Jones-designed 50-footer

BEKEN

CORISTA AND CELANDINE

Francis Jones also produced some fascinating designs that were built by Whisstocks in Woodbridge on the river Deben in Suffolk. Perhaps the most famous of these was Corista, built by Whisstocks in 1952 for Philip Allen. After the end of the war, the Allens wanted a bigger boat to replace their William Maxwell Blake-designed Mirelle, in which they had cruised thousands of miles in the 1930s. Philip Allen presented his design requirements to Francis Jones who then drew the beautiful 27-tonne 46ft (134m) gaff cutter that was duly named Corista (an anagram of Allen’s company Aristoc).

Allen wanted a yacht for extended cruising when just he and his wife would often be handling her alone. So he prescribed the gaff rig to split the sail plan aft of the mast into convenient areas. He also set out the accommodation plan he wanted. Some said Corista resembled the famous Dyarchy designed by Giles; but she drew less and was 1ft (30cm) wider in the beam. During the Allen’s ownership, she cropped up in several Royal Cruising Club journals. But according to a sad entry in the WoodenBoat Forum “she was sailed to Canada by her second owner then – alas – she had a fire on board and was burned.” Sue Whisstock’s book The History of Whisstock’s Boatyard covers some Francis Jones designs.

Celandine was another Francis Jones design of outstanding beauty. She was built in 1967 for Stewart Platt by Ian Brown’s yard in Rowhedge. Yachting Monthly’s editor Maurice Griffiths had employed Francis Jones as a regular writer for the magazine and often published the lines and plans of his designs. Griffiths described this 37ft (11.3m) gaff-rigged ketch as perhaps the ‘prettiest’ to date, praise indeed from a much respected editor and yacht designer.

All Francis Jones-designed boats – apart from later, GRP, versions of the Kestrel 22 – have wooden hulls, decks and interiors. So considerable maintenance could well be involved from time to time. But there are plenty around who will be happy to accept this in return for the pleasure and satisfaction of owning a Francis Jones-designed classic.

C/O JULIA JONES Above: The fabulous Corista, built by Whisstocks in Woodbridge

Below left: Celandine on a mooring in Pyefleet. Maurice Gri ths described her as Jones’s prettiest design

Below right: Cappelle, 34ft Francis Jones design listed for sale with Classic Yacht Brokerage See page 48 for Tom Colville’s account of his voyage aboard the Francis Jones-designed motor-sailer Vega of Garth. And look out for our article on the yachtsman volunteers of the RNVR in World War Two, among whom served Francis Jones. Coming soon

C/O CLASSIC YACHT BROKERAGE

ATKINS KETCH A YEAR FROM COMPLETION

Progress on the Acorn to Arabella project in Granby, Massachusetts

The Acorn to Arabella boatbuilding project has announced that they will launch Arabella in 2023, with an exact date and location coming soon. The last open house will be 7-8 May 2022, and installation of the whiskey plank will be live-streamed via YouTube on 28 May this year.

The builder, Steve Denette, is the fifth generation of his family to live at Pinetum Farm in Granby, Massachusetts, where he is building Arabella and where he harvested, dried, and milled a lion’s share of the wood used in her construction. He climbed the maple that now makes his galley counter backsplash, and his great-grandfather planted the spruce that has now become the lumber for her main mast. The popular YouTube channel, Acorn to Arabella, releases weekly videos documenting the project.

Recent work has focused on accommodation and systems. Arabella’s permanently-installed 7ft (2.1m) workbench, which will double as a berth, has been instrumental for e ciency, and most recently, a threeburner Dickinson Mediterranean propane cook stove was put into place, completing the main galley arrangements. Reclaimed Honduras mahongany from Victoria, which was a 1926 William Atkin-designed donor boat, has been integrated into the interior furniture—lighting and other fixtures from her will also find a new home in Arabella.

The approach to the interior has been driven by the need for self-reliance and simplicity of maintenance. For example, a watermaker will be the boat’s sole source of water, but they’ve opted for foot pumps over pressurised. A composting (desiccating) AirHead loo has been installed, eliminating the need for a blackwater holding tank. Denette is an avid hunter and fisherman, so he built a good-sized custom refrigerator that will have a remotely mounted condenser unit with quick-disconnect hoses to make for easy engine access.

For the electrics, romex-style marine-grade Ancor wiring has been run through conduit to bus bars, which will make maintenance and future additions to the system easier. The plan is to install LED lighting and plenty of charging ports for devices throughout the saloon.

In 2016, the project began with felling trees from the farm, milling the wood, and lofting from plans for the ‘Ingrid’ design, a 38ft (11.6m) William Atkin-designed double-ended ketch. The channel is perhaps best known for pouring a 9,500lb (4.3-tonne) keel of lead collected from unserviceable boats. A new full-time crew member, Kaylyn ‘KP’ Palella, who started in March and has extensive experience in restoration, building, rigging, and skippering, has begun work on the preparations to plank the deck. Fairing the deck beams and centerline blocking is up next.

After launch, Denette’s plan is to continue making videos while learning seamanship with friends as they cruise on up to Maine and beyond. The boat is ultimately a vehicle to bring him and his partner, Robin Agricola, to remote rock- climbing destinations and other adventures, mostly in the high latitudes.

Facing page, clockwise from top left: Arabella in build; Wash basin in the heads; The forepeak and main cabin; Composting head; General view of the saloon; The galley with diesel oven and Shipmate wood stove

Below left: The workbench

Below right: The team. Builder Steve is on the far left

For more information or to support the documentation of this project, visit acorntoarabella.com. New videos are released every Friday