Classic Boat October 2022 by The Chelsea Magazine Company

www.classicboat.co.uk OCTOBER 2022 £4.95 US$10.99 T H E W O R L D’ S M O S T B E A U T I F U L B O A T S Robb1960sFRIENDFAMILYArthursloop PERFECTLY PRESERVED Wee Britannia JONATHAN GREENWOOD Med circuit returns TRADITIONAL TOOL Dean tape measureBUYER’S GUIDE Cabin HARBOURaroundyachts30ftLAUNCHNew,traditional,NEWARTISANSTheriseofwomeninboatbuildingCabinyachtsaround30ftHARBOURLAUNCHNew,traditional,wooden...andfastNew,traditional,wooden...andfast

46’ S IDNEY H ERRESHOFF P OWER C RUISER B UILTIN 1931 BY HMC O . | R ESTORED 2004 BY B ALLENTINE ’ S B OAT S HOP Offered For Sale Located in Massachusetts

Our cover boats are usually ‘wreck to glory’ tales of yachts found dying and resuscitated by a new owner, often for the purpose of racing. The Arthur Robb-designed Nerissa, built in 1965, is different to that, being a real family boat in the same ownership for 28 years, and never having needed substantial rebuild, despite years under a blistering Mediterranean sun. Today, she still has her original Blakes Victory heads, Monel fuel and water tanks and many of her winches. How do some survive like this while others fall to bits? Materials is part of it – Nerissa is teak planked. Maintenance is a must too. A big part of it though, is simply keeping rainwater off. You wouldn’t try to keep a piano in your back garden without a cover, and it’s no different for a boat, but it’s amazing how many you see left in the wild, even those that are not abandoned. Also in this issue (page 80) you will see that we have published a special one-shot called Classic Yachts, 132 pages of some of the high-water marks of the last few years in classic sailing and motor-boating. These don’t come often, so don’t miss out.

classicboat.co.uk Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, SW3London,3TQ EDITORIAL Editor Ste an Meyric Hughes +44 (0)203 943 9256 ste an@classicboat.co.uk Art Editor Gareth Lloyd Jones Sub Editor Sue Pelling Group Editor Rob Peake Publisher Simon Temlett Publishing Consultant Martin Nott ADVERTISING Andrew Mackenzie +44 (0)207 349 andrew.mackenzie@chelseamagazines.com3779 Advertisement Production Allpointsmedia +44 (0)1202 472781 allpointsmedia.co.uk Published monthly ISSN: 0950 3315 USA US$12.50 Canada C$11.95 Australia A$11.95 PUBLISHING Managing Director Paul Dobson Director of Media James Dobson Chief Financial O cer Vicki Gavin Group Sales Director Catherine Chapman Head of Sales Operations Jodie Green Publishing Consultant Martin Nott Follow the Classic Boat team on Twitter and Facebook Classic Boat is part of the Chelsea Marine Magazines family, along with our other monthly titles To subscribe, chelseamagazines.com/marine For cruising and racing sailors CONTENTS andSubscriptionbackissues Tel: +44 (0)1858 438 442 Annual subscription rates: UK £75 ROW £87 Email: classicboat@subscription.co.uk Online: www.subscription.co.uk/chelsea/help Post: Classic Boat, Subscriptions Department, Tower House, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough LE16 9EF Back Issues: chelseamagazines.com/shop/ ISSUE No 409 N E R I S S A4 36 46 TOP TEN AT 30FT PAGE 52 3CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

STEFFAN MEYRIC HUGHES, EDITOR IF IT AIN’T BROKE... 18 TELL TALES 32 SALEROOM 34 OBJECTS OF DESIRE 36 BOSUN’S BAG 38 CLOSE QUARTERS 64 TOM CUNLIFFE 78 LETTERS 82 STERNPOST 70 YARD NEWS 74 YARD VISIT 76 BOATBUILDER’SNOTES COVER STORY 4 . FAMILY FRIEND e 1960s Arthur Robb yawl that’s still unrestored and sailing 12 . ACTION IN BARCELONA All the action from this year’s Vela Puig regatta in Catalonia 22 . ELRHUNA She’s a century old and Alexander Richardson’s only built design 32 . ADRIAN MORGAN e dreamers who failed 34 . NEW CIRCUIT IN THE MED Meet Jonathan Greenwood, on a mission to make the Med circuit great again 36 . MORGAN GILES e business of writing a yacht designer biography COVER STORY 46 . WOMEN IN BOATBUILDING How a new breed of artisans are entering the male world of boatbuilding COVER STORY 52 . TOP TEN BOATS AT 30FT Our guide to the next size bracket up: the 30-32 footers COVER STORY 60 . PACE AND GRACE e surprisingly fast East Passage 24 motor launch 74 . ITALIAN JOB Cantiere Navale dell’Argentario with founder Federico Nardi CunliTom ScatteringeashesPAGE66 COMPANY The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London SW3 3TQ +44 (0)207 349 ©Copyrightchelseamagazines.com3700TheChelsea Magazine Company 2020 all rights reserved ISSN 0950-3315 REGULARS CRAFTSMANSHIP E L R H U N A M O R G A N G I L E S W O M E N B U I L D E R S E A S T P A S S A G E 2 4 COVER PHOTO: JAMES ROBINSON TAYLOR 22 60

4 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

Nerissa, a family boat for 28 years, and still producing respectable results WORDS NIGEL SHARP PHOTOS NICO MARTINEZ AND NIGEL SHARP FORTUNESFAMILY 5CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

In 1982 Nerissa was sold to Count Cinzano whose family still owned the Italian vermouth drinks company. Her boot top was then painted in the blue and red of the Cinzano company’s house colours, and a small separate cockpit – originally designed for the spinnaker guy and sheet trimmers, but which had also occasionally served as stowage for fenders and fuel cans – was removed and replaced by a lazarette locker. When the Count ordered another boat from a yard in Beaulieu sur Mer, he gave Nerissa as part payment, and she then remained at the yard for at least a year before she was purchased by an Englishman called Bob Ashworth. Ashworth had recently retired and had ambitious plans to sail Nerissa around the world, but these plans came to nothing after he got into ﬁnancial difﬁculties as a Lloyds Name. However, he had registered Nerissa as owned by a company (with no other assets) and so he was able to keep her, at least for a while before he realised that he would have to put her on the market.

It was in 1979 that Whitehouse-Vaux acquired Ballyhoo and renamed her Mistress Quickly, and at the same time the Robb/Beltrami boat became Nerissa. “We liked to name our boats after Shakespearean characters,” said Bill, “and we later had 6-Metres called Thisbe and Perdita.” (Mistress Quickly was an inn keeper who appeared in several Shakespearean plays, while Nerissa was Portia’s lady-in-waiting in the Merchant of Venice).

NERISSA 6 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

Above and below: Nerissa with her original yawl rig cockpitadditionalandaft Facing Nerissapage:heading o downwind in the light airs Inset: An original shot of Nerissa

William Whitehouse-Vaux’s son Bill, who was 18 when the boat was launched, recalls that the reason his family commissioned Beltrami was that they “wanted someone who really knew how to build wooden boats, and we had a couple of friends who had Beltrami boats and so we were able to see how well they were built.” After she was launched, she was kept at Porto Santo Stefano, Argentario and, by a happy coincidence, Bill was studying in Italy at the time. “I had this lovely boat virtually all to myself each summer,” he told me. He and his friends and family did a lot of local cruising and racing, and most years sailed to Vouliagmeni in Greece to take part in the Aegean rally, which consisted of three races to and from various different islands. Three signiﬁcant changes were made in the early years of Whitehouse-Vaux’s ownership. When she was launched, the topsides were dark blue but it was very quickly found that in the Mediterranean heat the cabin would be “like an oven” so she was painted white. In 1969 the mizzen mast was removed as “we realised that the only advantage of the yawl rig was to set a mizzen staysail which we hardly ever used,” said Bill, “whereas as a sloop we could use bigger genoas and get a lower rating.” Around the same time, the Penta 30hp diesel which “gave us constant problems” was replaced by a Perkins 47hp engine.

Many readers of this magazine will be familiar with the 1974-built 72ft (22m) aluminium maxi MistressQuickly, designed by Bob Miller, built in Sydney and originally named Ballyhoo. But this is the story of a previous Mistress Quickly – now called Nerissa. She was designed as a yawl by Arthur Robb and built at Vincenzo Beltrami’s yard near Genoa in 1965 for William Whitehouse-Vaux, a shipping lawyer whose work took him all over the world. It is said that Robb designed her to comply with, and be competitive under, three different rating rules: the RORC and CCA rules, which were in force at the time, and the International CR Rule (and as such she rated as a 10.5 Metre cruiser/racer). “Arthur Robb claims that nothing has been conceded to any of the three rules that could not be conceded willingly,” reported Yachting Monthly at the time. “In respect of both cruising comfort and potential performance, the boat incorporates all the features that the owner required and the designer intended.” She was built with teak planking (from timber which had been stored for 80 years, so it is thought) on acacia timbers and frames (mostly steamed timbers but with four sawn frames in the main mast area), and with additional framework and ﬂoors in Monel.

Bill also remembers that during races the brightwork suffered badly, particularly from the spinnaker being dropped through the forehatch and various bits of ﬂying metal such as the wire spinnaker sheets and guys. “We used to feel bad looking round at all the carnage and what we had done to Beltrami’s boat,” he said. “Postrace varnishing was quite a big job.”

Leonardo and Cecilia Garcia de Vincentiis lived in Rome at that time, and had a half tonner. They wanted to get a bigger boat, ideally around 40ft (12.2m) so they could sail her themselves without any additional crew. In

NERISSA DESIGNED: Arthur Robb BUILT: Vincenzo Beltrami, 1965 LOA: 53ft 9in (16.4m) LWL: 36ft 6in (11.1m) BEAM: 12ft 9in (3.9m) DRAUGHT: 7ft 9in (2.4m) SAIL AREA: 1,320 sqft (123m2)

All the time, the mood on board was easy going, with Leonardo calm and cheerful on the helm. As soon as we ﬁnished – amid cheers and high-ﬁves – he insisted that I steer the boat back to the harbour entrance, a role which I relished on this beautifully balanced boat. “She is always really manageable, even downwind with a spinnaker in a lot of wind,” said Leonardo. “In all our years of ownership I have never

“When you are living in a city you have the city life,” explained Cecilia. “Why try to replicate that when you are cruising? We want to be fully in touch with nature.” When their children were small, they once spent a total of 15 days living onboard without going into any harbour. At various times they have had engine problems –although perhaps not to the same extent as on their quarter tonner whose petrol engine was “always broken” – but they have never let that worry them as they would always prefer to sail, however slowly. In 2004 they fitted a new Solé Mini 60hp diesel, but that still only has about 1,200 hours on it. Since moving to Barcelona, Leonardo and Cecilia have raced Nerissa from time to time, although they much prefer the more relaxed classic boat regattas where there are fewer professional crews, as this reflects their own racing philosophy. Twice they have been involved in unfortunate starting line incidents when other boats have “made a bad manoeuvre” and collided with Nerissa: once in Palma in 2005 as a result of which two planks had to be replaced, and again in Barcelona in 2016 when the bulwark was severely damaged. After the 2005 incident, Cecilia refused to go racing for a while until Leonardo persuaded her to try again when he was short of crew, and she now embraces the racing experience. “We know how much Nerissa can give us as a cruiser, and we need to discover how much she can give as a racer,” she Althoughsaid.Nerissa missed the first Puig Vela Classica Barcelona in 2008, she has taken part in this annual regatta ever since. It was on the second day of the 15th event that I joined them for a race this July. The previous day, a mostly light wind had resulted in some late finishes, and things looked ominous again when there was a postponement of more than an hour and a half. But then a Force 3-4 came up and we had a wonderful sail around the five legs of the 12.5-mile course. We weren’t the most polished crew but when I learned afterwards that it was the first time on board for two other crew members apart from me, and only the second time for another, and that it was the first time that a spinnaker had been gybed on Nerissa for 10 years, I realised that actually we gelled pretty well.

Above: Leonardo at the helm with Cecilia just in front of him Below: Leonardo with the author, Cecilia and the Barcelona crew Facing page, clockwise from top left: Racing along Barcelonathe coast; Leonardo at the helm; The ﬁrst leg of the course; Leonardo again; The saloon and galley; The chart table; Dorade vent; The original mizzen sheet track still in place

8 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 NERISSA contacting various brokers, they made it clear that they wanted a wooden boat in good condition and ready to sail, and with various other speciﬁc stipulations, but time and again they were shown boats that didn’t meet their criteria at all. On one such occasion, Leonardo happened to notice that the broker had some details of Nerissa and, although she caught his eye, he could see that the price was way beyond their budget. So they continued their fruitless search for another year or so, before deciding, in 1994, to have a look at Nerissa, then moored in Villefranche-sur-Mer. “She was far bigger than the maximum we were planning but she was also very beautiful,” said Cecilia. “For me it was love at ﬁrst sight.” They made an offer which might well have been quickly rejected, but when they met Ashworth “he could see that we were in the same spirit,” said Cecilia, “and he said we must have the boat.” Leonardo and Cecilia still own Nerissa 28 years later. They have lived on board on and off for more than half that time, including the last four years. When they bought her they had a three-month-old son, and not long afterwards two daughters arrived. Initially the family was based in Rome (Cecilia is Italian), but in 2002 Leonardo (who is Spanish) was offered a job in Barcelona, so they took Nerissa there and have been based there ever since. They have cruised extensively along the Italian, French and Spanish coasts, as well as to Corsica and Sardinia, and they have always wanted to go to Greece “but each year something happened to prevent it,” said Leonardo. Their philosophy when cruising is to be as independent as possible, to avoid marinas and stay at anchor as much as possible.

Above: Nerissa showing o her beautiful lines

ARTHUR ROBB VINCENZO BELTRAMI

NERISSA lost control of her.” As far as results went, we later learned that on corrected time we had come a reasonably respectable fourth out of eight in our class. Apart from the few modiﬁcations already mentioned and the repairs following the two racing collisions, Nerissa has never had any major work done to her. Bill told me that they “never had any problems structurally”, while Leonardo and Cecilia have strived to keep her as original as possible. “If you are in love with your boat, you don’t want to change her too much,” said Cecilia.

What particularly upset Cecilia about the two racing collisions was that the resulting repairs “destroyed the originality of the boat.” However, they are sure that all the hull planking caulking is original and they have never had any leaks, apart from very brieﬂy when she has been relaunched after a long time ashore. “Mr Beltrami used to inspect every seam with a magnifying glass and insist that a seam was redone if he found any imperfections,” saidLeonardo’sLeonardo.involvement with classic boats extends far beyond Nerissa. Learning from his unsatisfactory experiences with some brokers at the time of Nerissa’s purchase, he set up his own brokerage company, Barcos Singulares, in 2004; he is the current president and a founder member of the Asociación Española de Barcos de Época y Clásicos (the Spanish Classic Boat Association); and he has recently been elected as a member of the Communication, History and Innovation commission of the Comité International de la Méditerranée (CIM). It is always a pleasure, when given the opportunity, to be able to reintroduce, as it were, previous owners to their old boats, and that is certainly the case with Nerissa. “We had so much fun with that boat back in the day,” Bill Whitehouse-Vaux told me. “I am so glad to hear that she is still going strong.”

For instance, the Blakes Victory loo, the Monel fuel and water tanks, the Baron primary winches, and the Lewmar captive reel winches for the wire main and headsail halyards, are all original.

Born in New Zealand in 1908, Arthur Robb came to work in Britain in 1936. He served in the RNVR during the Second World War when he also worked with U a Fox on the design of airborne lifeboats. He produced a “wide range of wholesome, moderately proportioned cruising sailboats” according to the Encyclopaedia of Yacht Designers, as well as powerboats, motor sailors and ocean racers. He was also the manager of Morris and Lorimer boat builders on the Clyde. Perhaps his best-known design was the Lion class, one of which, Siandra, won the Sydney Hobart race twice in succession.

Vincenzo Beltrami was an engineer who founded his own shipyard in Sturla, close to Genoa in 1917. By the time of his death 50 years later, he had established a superb reputation for building high quality yachts. “While the prices of the leading Italian yards are much higher than the average British yards, the workmanship and ﬁnish is of an order we used to associate with Fife of Fairlie,” reported Yachting World in 1954. “Beltrami was a lovely man, a real craftsman,” said Bill Whitehouse-Vaux. ”All his chaps were real craftsmen, their standard of workmanship was just astonishing.

When the headsail furling gear started causing problems in the late 1990s, it was removed and not replaced, and hanked headsails have been used ever since; and two of the sails we used during our race are more than 40 years old. For sentimental reasons, the redundant chainplates and sheet track for the mizzen are still in place. The swept teak deck – laid on to the deck beams with no subdeck – is also original and is showing remarkably little sign of wear. It was recaulked about 20 years ago and some minor leaks have recently been repaired to allow a programme of interior painting and varnishing to now begin.

10 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

PUIG VELA

BARCELONACLÀSSICAREGATTA3

WORDS NIGEL SHARP PHOTOS NICO MARTINEZ AND NIGEL SHARP

After covid forced the event to be cancelled in 2020, and to take place with severely restricted social interaction in 2021, the Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona regatta was back in full swing for its 15th edition in July. In the ﬁrst of three scheduled races, light winds resulted in late ﬁnishes for some boats while the following day, after a long postponement when there was no wind at all, a solid Force 3 gave delightful sailing conditions for everyone. Unfortunately, there was so little wind on the last day that the third race had to be cancelled. A total of 30 boats took part and there were class wins for the 1977 Admiral’s Cupper Emeraude, Gry Rhys-Jones’ 1948 S&S yawl Argyll, the 1926 Fife Bermudan cutter Hallowe’en, and the 1900 Grayling. With the America’s Cup due to be hosted by Barcelona in 2024, it was appropriate that New Zealander Grant Dalton was on hand to present the prizes at the end of the regatta. 2

12 LogbookCLASSICBOAT OCTOBER 2022

Light air a air

5 4 6 1

13CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 1 The start of the second race 2 Enric Agud, meteorologist from local station TV3, giving the daily forecast to competitors 3 Crew on Hallowe’en 4 Hallowe’en 5 Sunshine (near boat) and Kahurangi 6 Dione 7 Sunshine 8 Mary 9 Grayling 10 Stromer with Sunshine behind 11 Sea Fever 12 Dione on the way out to race 11 12 7 9 108

Tell Tales

WILCOXRICHARDPHOTO

Richard Gates, Falmouth Town Manager, said: “It’s a welcome return for the Tall Ships Races, after it was postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid restrictions. Our town’s history is intertwined with these magniﬁcent vessels so you could say they are coming home. We’re really excited to be the venue for the start of the races. As always, we look forward to the truly awe-inspiring spectacle of the tall ships as they sail into theVisitorsharbour.”to Falmouth will have the opportunity to board some of the historic tall ships as they will be sited within the A&P Falmouth Docks – one of the world’s largest natural deep-water harbours. Tickets to access these ships will go on sale nearer the time and will be priced at £5 for adults and £2.50 children.

The tall ships will race from Falmouth to A Coruna in Spain, then onward to Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, before ﬁnishing in Cadiz, Spain. Classic Boat readers can claim two reduced-price tickets for the Southampton International Boat Show, which runs from 16-25 September. By using the code CB22 when buying tickets on the show website, you can claim two tickets for £39.99.

Southampton

CORNWALL

Tall Ships will return to Falmouth

The race itself starts on Friday 18 August 2023 and will be preceded by a stunning Parade of Sail and several days of shoreside events.

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The show takes place from 16-25 September, based waterside at Mayﬂower Park and stretching into the heart of Southampton. The Classic & Day Boat Zone will return to the show in 2022 after a successful debut last year. The Wooden Boat Builders Trade Association will be present, with craftsmen showing o dinghies, rowing boats, canoes and more – all boats they’ve built themselves in timber over the past year. Meanwhile walking around the show visitors will ﬁnd numerous newly built wooden boats and vintage craft. Among them will be the tall ship Morgenster, built 103 years ago in Holland and now a busy sail training ship. Get your tickets at southamptonboatshow.com show ticket deal for Classic Boat readers

Classic Boat’s address: Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London, SW3 cb@classicboat.co.uk3TQFollowtheClassicBoatteamonTwitterandFacebook

Falmouth in Cornwall will host the start of the Tall Ships Race from 15-18 August next year. It will be the ﬁrst time in nine years that the race has visited the harbour and the sixth time Falmouth has hosted it since 1966.

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The 48th annual Mersea Week saw a bumper entry of over 130 boats, including nine Smacks, 21 Classic Yachts and Ga ers and 22 Mersea Open Fisherman’s Boats (MFOBs), writes Julian Lord. Five days of racing took place on Essex’s River Blackwater estuary in a range of conditions, Monday’s ﬁrst day being the most extreme, with kedging needed early on and 35-knot gusts in driving rain later. Such an important part of the week, the Smacks looked spectacular, especially downwind with clouds of sail set, and the overall winner was CK395 Puritan, beating CK171 Peace into second place by a single point, with CK52 Kate in third. After enjoying a successful Cowes Classics Week, CK318 Alberta was next up in fourth.

ESSEX OGA

ESSEX

Big entry for Mersea Week

The largest ever Classic Yachts and Ga ers class was divided into two groups, with another Cowes Classics Week prize winner, the Tumlare Zest, winning the final race and with it the ‘A’ Division by a single point from Scorpio, the leading Stella. Third was Strider, the first Nordic Folkboat and fourth the beautiful International OD Mitzi, whose week was sadly cut short when some of the crew went down with Covid. Seven of the eleven boats in the Division had at least one top three finish. In the ‘B’ division, the Ga Cutter Nesta came out on top, with tie-break rules needed to separate the next three boats. The 19ft Ga er Fifi, complete with topsail, the Buchanan Patica and Kim Holman’s first ever design, Phialle, finishing second, third and fourthAfterrespectively.severalrace ending capsizes on the first day, and the cancellation of racing on the second day, the MFOBs enjoyed some close tussles during the final part of the week. The di erence in size, speed and crew numbers between the biggest and smallest boats is considerable, and the 22-strong entry start together but are divided for results. The Fast Division needed the third tie-break (the final race result) to decide that Spray took top spot from Mystery, with Prince ahead of Miss X in third and fourth. In the Slow Division, Grey Goose, Ally Lump, Jack and Wild Goose took the top four places.

Titch, 3rd and the Winch Trophy for an all female crew. The boatbuilder Gus Curtis’ family bawley, Gladys, received the Privateer trophy with daughter Poppy 1st under 21 helm (leaving Gus to do the work on deck windward!). East Coast Race

WESTGATECHRISSIEPHOTO 16 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 MILLERSANDYPHOTO

Few events light up the Blackwater like the OGA’s East Coast Race. With recovering numbers following Covid, the eclectic variety of shapes and colours ﬁlling the estuary was once again a highlight of the east coast’s racing calendar, writes Sandy MIller. The event is always well organised, with hosts Stone Sailing Club taxiing crews to and fro ex-working boats, ga ers and classic bermudans at all hours, be they smacks, ketches, Itchen ferries, little Memory 19s or powerful cruisers.

TELL TALES

A gentle south-westerly made for a quiet start downriver but as the boats passed Bradwell south-easterly gusts suddenly hit the ﬂeet, with chaotic seas and frenetic activity ensuing. The smacks ploughed on regardless but the 3 little Memory 19s were almost stopped in their tracks. It looked lively on board from the comfort of a smack. The smack Alberta, owned by Richard Haines, won her close battle with Peace for 1st on elapsed time to receive the Old Ga ers Trophy, with the latter ﬁnishing 2nd overall on handicap. Puritan, owned by Charlotte Cock, was 1st ga er overall on handicap, taking the winner’s pennant and James Dodds Trophy. Droleen II was the 1st Classic Bermudan, winning the Tom Felgate Cruiser Trophy. The 3 brave Memory 19s were Cadno, 1st Spirit of Tradition, Greensleeves 2nd and

Inspired by life on and off the water BEDDING - CUSHIONS - THROWS - INTERIORS - GIFTS & ACCESSORIES www.xvstripes.com xvstripes

The oldest boat was Anthony Wheaton’s 101-year-old ga -rigged International 14, Grebe of Hampton, which lost her mast on the Saturday. Among many other boats of note were Patricia Knight’s International 14, Daring, in which U a won his second Prince of Wales Cup, and Alastair Vine’s Firefly, Jacaranda, which was the GB entry in the singlehanded dinghy class in the 1948 London Olympics sailed at Torquay. Boats were on display along Cowes Parade, where owners and crews compared notes, while others tied up at Shepards Wharf Marina, with numerous Flying 15s and yachts including the Atalantas, who were out in force with some coming from the English east coast and Guernsey. The 1930s one-o yawl, Mary Lunn, built in India, was berthed on the Trinity Landing, alongside Clare of Beaulieu, a former Cowes Harbour Master’s launch. Racing took place on the Friday and Saturday, with 65 boats starting. Meanwhile over the weekend there was an U a Fox trail to follow around Cowes, tracing aspects of U a’s life, and a number of social events including at his last home, Commodore’s House, where Prince Philip’s Flying 15 Coweslip was displayed. The evening was sponsored by Dartmouth Gin. A number of clubs and organisations were part of the event including the Sir Max Aitken Museum, the Classic Boat Museum Shed, Cowes Heritage and Community Group, Cowes Library, East Cowes Heritage Centre and the Classic Boat Museum Gallery in East Cowes. On the racecourse, Jeremy Vines and his team sailing the National 18 Ace remained undefeated in the fast handicap class. The toughest fleet at the event was the slow handicap, where the battle for the top spot was between two Fireflies, with Ben Pym’s KEM just taking the honours from John Greenland in Falken The Flying 15s were the numerically strongest, and Patrick Harris sailing Seventh Heaven took victory by three points from Rob Goddard’s Over The Moon In the keelboat class, Rowan Horner’s Harrier 20 Meg won the only two races sailed, beating the beautiful yawl Mary Lunn skippered by Robin Whaite, which finished second in both races. Jeremy Vines’s strongest competition came from a pair of Albacores, Mathew Thompson sailing the best-named boat at the event, U a Fox Sake, and Mike Banner’s Fifty Shades. The first of the vintage International 14s in the fast handicap fleet was K545 Sunrise in the hands of Mark Harrison. This boat was originally built by Fairey Marine for “the boss” Charles Curry and he went on to win the coveted Prince of Wales Cup with her. There were thanks all round for the Royal London Yacht Club, which organised the event.

The 38ft oyster smack Peace was built in 1909 by Douglas Stone of Brightlingsea, writes Sandy Miller. Currently owned by Angus Milgate, Peace has a strong connection to both his family and home. She was built for Stanley French of Mersea Island and was skippered and raced by Angus’ great grandfather Zebedee Milgate (a fisherman famous for defending local fishing rights). In the 1960s, when owned by the Bentley family who had oyster layings in Mersea, the parents of Angus’ wife Lucy met for the first time on Peace. She stayed in Mersea until 1970 when his father boatbuilder John Milgate and godfather Hugh heard that she was being taken to Africa. They managed to intercept her at Ramsgate with an envelope of cash; a deal was done and she came home to Mersea. Originally built in pine on oak, John Milgate replaced the top-sides (in iroko), much of the planking, deck beams, both cabins and spars in the 1970s. Her garboards and keel are elm and while Angus says the elm looks over 100 years old, he is sceptical they could have lasted that long. Peace is a fast and elegant smack, and she is a regular sight and strong performer at east coast events.

The UF50 celebration of the life and work of U a Fox, in Cowes in August, attracted more than 80 Fox-designed boats, including the 22 square metre Vigilant, the Flying 15 Hobgoblin and the 1934 frostbite dinghy Fay with bamboo mast, which is now on display at the Classic Boat Museum, writes John Roberson. Also in the mix were National 18s, Albacores, plenty of International 14s, a Pegasus, National Redwings, a National 12, a Flying 10 and a small swarm of Fireﬂy dinghies.

18 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

COWES, ISLE OF WIGHT

Celebrating U a Fox, 50 years on

PEACE1909

TELL TALES MILLERSANDYPHOTO PHOTOGRAPHYSAILSOLENTPHOTOS

Peace, 1909

This vintage beauty designed by William Fife, ranks among the12mR Class yachts of the worldfamous 1930’s “Golden Age” with an impressive list of achievements. VANITY V has been restored meticulously and maintained by Robbe & Berking whilst preserving her original classic style and maintaining her majestic appearance over the years. Asking price €1.095.000 (V.A.T. Paid).

12mR Class, VANITY V

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Tall ship in London

The Blackwater Smack and Barge Match was first run in 1962 as part of a revivalist drive to boost the preservation of Thames Sailing Barges, writes Sandy Miller. The link with Maldon is much older, however, with the famous Cooks Yard building and repairing barges since SB Dawn in 1894, and the evening prizegiving is held on the Hythe Quay, overlooking barges that still live and work here year-round. This year’s event was challenging, with glorious sunshine but fluky winds bringing the fleet back together at the Osea Island finish. Edme just prevailed over Blue Mermaid in the bowsprit class. Jim Dines, owner of Heritage Marine in Maldon, had launched his 1898 iron barge the Wyvenhoe the day before the match

MILLERSANDYPHOTO

ESSEX Blackwater Match

20 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

TELL TALES

The Bridlington Sailing Coble Festival in east Yorkshire featured 11 cobles, the largest gathering of traditional sailing vessels at Bridlington, writes Paul L Arro. Among the ﬂeet was the recently restored pilot coble Venus, restored by John Clarkson and volunteers from the Bridlington Sailing Coble Preservation Society (BSCPS). Built in 1900 Venus is the oldest coble still aﬂoat. She was lowered into the water after being christened with a bottle of rum by Julie Coultas, secretary of the society, as the event got underway.

What is billed as ‘the world’s largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship’, the Götheborg of Sweden, berthed at South Dock Quay in Canary Wharf, London. The Swedish ship is a replica of an 18th century East Indiaman that sank outside of Gothenburg in 1745. The building of the new Götheborg took from 1995 to 2003. It is currently on a two year expedition following in the footsteps of the original ship, with the aim of promoting trade relations between Europe and Asia. The ship will stay in the Mediterranean during the winter and continue to Asia in March 2023, reaching Shanghai in September 2023. The ship last visited London in May 2007 on the way home from its ﬁrst Asia expedition. gotheborg.se

Sailing Coble Festival

Other participants included the 40ft Three Brothers, built locally by Baker and Percy Siddall in 1912, and visitors Providence from Whitby, built in 1949 at Amble, and the keelboat Granby, built by the Elton Boatbuilding Company of Kirkcudbright in 1983, both of which sailed to the event. Spider T, a 62ft iron-hulled Humber Sloop built in 1926 and one of only three of her kind on the National Register of Historic Vessels, was present from Grimsby. Other visiting cobles included Julie B, built 1988, from Scarborough and Grace, built 1990, from Staithes. The double-ended beach boat Crystal Sea, of 1954, had also arrived by road after making the journey down from Cockenzie, Scotland. The tide had made su ciently by mid morning for the sailing cobles to get alongside the quay and for crews to board. With visitors taking up the vantage point of the North Pier, the cobles made their way out of the harbour to the delight of those watching. The 11 cobles created a very impressive and nostalgic picture as the wind filled the tan-coloured sails and the fleet made its way across the bay towards the Flamborough Headland. One could imagine a similar scene from the late 1800s and early 1900s when the humble but ubiquitous coble was the mainstay of the inshore fishing industry.

after a four-year restoration and was both first over the start line and first home in the senior staysail class. The George Smeed was first in the staysail class. The smack race was a very tense a air too. The 1890, Aldous-built smack ADC, helmed by Eloisa Rule, led for much of the race but was held up by troughs in the light winds heading back up river. Of particular note was Lizzie Annie, the 1906 Maldon smack at just 34ft and helmed by Bob Fawkes, holding her own against the bigger smacks, finally finishing third. Another Maldon smack, Martha II, caught a gust just o Osea Island to snatch line honours but the winner’s pennant went to a deserving ADC after one of Martha’s sails was deemed non-compliant.

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The lines of the Richardson-designedAlexanderyachtElrhuna were based on those of Britannia WORDS NIC COMPTON PHOTOS NIC COMPTON AND MUNGO WATSON BRITANNIAWEE

“Elrhuna is Mungo’s non-work happy place,” says Stella. “She is his ﬁrst and one true love. She gets so muchCertainlyattention.”Mungo looks at home on the boat that has been associated with his family for more than 60 years and which he himself has sailed his entire life. The professional yacht skipper exudes a familiar ease, as he leans back into the aft cockpit coamings (perfectly rounded to the shape of his back), always on the leeward side (as all serious sailors seem to do), his hand tucked lightly under the tiller, palm up with just his thumb hooked over it, gently guiding the boat across the Carrick Roads. For Elrhuna is far too well-mannered to have weather helm and, after 36 years of sailing together, there is an almost telepathic link between the man and the boat. Mungo just has to nudge her in the right direction, and she will happily submit to his will with perfect grace and elegance.

With her spoon bow and moderate counter stern, Elrhuna is in many ways reminiscent of some of the one-design classes which proliferated in the ﬁrst part of the 20th century, such as the East Coast One Design (designed by GU Laws in 1913) and even the International One Design (designed by Bjarne Aas in 1936). But looks can be deceptive, and in truth she is from a different era to these boats, with a different hull shape and a very different pedigree.

It’s a common conundrum for professional sportsmen and women of all persuasions: what do you do for fun when your greatest pleasure is your work? You might assume that most professional yacht crews would run for the hills as soon as the season’s over, but that’s not necessarily the case. Take Mungo Watson and his partner Stella Marina, who have owned and run the 60ft (18m) Eda Frandsen since 2020 and before that worked on a string of classics, including Adix, Hallowe’en, Cambria and Partridge. They have back-to-back bookings taking guests on cruises around Cornwall and Scotland from April to October, yet when they get home from months at sea their favourite method of relaxation is a busman’s holiday: sailing and looking after Mungo’s family boat, the exquisite 28ft (8.5m) sloop Elrhuna, which now lives on the Fal estuary.

Built in 1904 by the Robertsons boatyard at Sandbank on the Clyde, Elrhuna is the oldest surviving design by the yard’s founder Alexander Robertson. Although the yard made a name for itself building yachts designed by the likes of William Fife, GL Watson and Alfred Mylne, from 1889 onwards Alexander designed a number of yachts himself, including Boat No 1, a 25ft cutter, and Boat No 35, a gaff sloop called Elrhuna. The origins of the yacht’s design are unknown, but there is speculation she was at least inspired by the royal yacht Britannia, designed by GL Watson (no relation to her current owner) and built on the Clyde some 11 years earlier. The link isn’t entirely fanciful as by 1901 Alexander had developed an unlikely connection with

CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 23

The boat’s history for the next few decades is unclear, though it seems she stayed in West Scotland and was owned by various members of the extended Graham family at various times. Robert Graham’s great-grandson Edward Mackay is quoted on Classic Yacht Info (classicyachtinfo.com) as saying that his father and uncle (both unrelated to Graham) owned the boat after the war, and that later still she was bought by his mother’s cousin (Graham’s nephew). But you’d need a family tree to work out all those connections.

Soon after, the pair were sailing on another boat, a 35ft Mylne-designed cutter, when they spotted this much smaller boat coming up from behind. “That’s when the wee black boat came steaming through our lee, going like she does,” remembers Hilary. “Charlie immediately said what’s that? The skipper said he believed she was owned by David Donald [the original

ELRHUNA 24 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

Below left: Hilary Watson looked after the boat for nearly 50 years Below Elrhunacentre: has a fine underwater body Below right: An old cotton Ratsey & Lapthorn sail from the 1940s the Prince of Wales (future King George V) and his cousin Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. When the Kaiser’s yacht Meteor III was damaged on her maiden voyage from America, she fetched up on the Clyde and was repaired by the Robertson boatyard, to the apparent delight of the Prince of Wales. The result was a steady stream of orders from the Admiralty, which would keep the yard in business for the next 65 years. After her remarkable early success, Britannia was the boat everyone was talking about, and it’s not unlikely that her first owner might have asked for a small yacht based on her design. There’s no doubt that Elrhuna’s spoon bow replicated Britannia’s most controversial feature (although the royal yacht’s success had by then made it generally fashionable), while the black paintwork made her look even more like a miniature version of the famous yacht. Whatever the truth of the story, there were enough similarities to earn the boat the moniker of the Wee Britannia. Elrhuna was built for Paisley lithographer Robert Graham, who cruised the yacht extensively on the west coast of Scotland. In an article for Yachting Monthly, Graham described a cruise he made on the boat in August 1905, together with his wife, always referred to as “chief mate”, and an “unpaid hand” he calls “good old Billy” while making clear he’s not really all that old, just very experienced. The three of them sailed to nearby Loch Goil only to be hit by gales that night and the following day, with waves rising to epic proportions and spindrift flying “high above the masthead”. The article includes a revealing description of the boat by the owner himself. “Strongly put together and finely finished, she is an admirable type of the modern fast cruiser. Her cabin is roomy, and there is fully 5ft headroom under the skylight.” Now Elrhuna might not look like particularly “modern” or “roomy” to our eyes, but compared to the ‘plank on edge’ designs that dominated racing until the mid-1880s, her 7ft 6in beam on a 19ft 6in waterline must have seemed positively cavernous. Even her tiny foc’s’le draws praise from her owner, who writes: “With a good-sized hatch, a window and ventilator, it is not to be despised as a state-room.”

What we do know is that Elrhuna’s rig was updated from gaff to bermudan after the war (according to Mackay, his father used his pay-off from military service to pay for the conversion). The conversion was supervised by Robertsons’ chief designer at the time, David Boyd, using the spars from an old 6-Metre – not any old 6-Metre, mind, but the 1934 Volga, designed by Alfred Mylne – shortened to ﬁt the smaller boat. At the same time, winches were added to the chocks on each side of the cockpit coamings, which originally held the rowlocks for the long sweeps used to propel her when there was no wind. The Watson’s connection with the boat started a few years later. Mungo’s father, Hilary Watson, worked as a draughtsman at Fairlie Slipway Company, the company set up by Archie McMillan after the death of William Fife in 1944. Archie soon realised that Hilary was also a competent sailor and invited him to crew on his boat Navara (a small version of Latifa). During the 1960 Clyde Week regatta, Archie found himself shorthanded and asked Hilary to go ashore to ﬁnd some more crew. By chance, Hilary stumbled across Charlie Giffard, who had sailed Dragons at Glasgow University and happened to be a draughtsman too, and a lifelong friendship was born.

“One evening my mum and dad were sitting enjoying a cuppa tea on board at Elrhuna, after going out for a sail with Charlie, when quite out of the blue Charlie said he was going to sell the boat,” says Mungo. “Without a second thought my mum said, ‘No, you must not sell her to anyone else. We want to buy her!’ This came as quite

Soon after he bought the boat, Charlie had new iroko floors fitted by Fairlie’s – in way of the mast step and aft of the cockpit – and had a small petrol engine with folding propeller installed. Then, in the late 1970s, Hilary replaced the pine laid deck with three layers of marine plywood, keeping the original teak king plank and covering boards. Although the plywood was only ever painted and not sealed with epoxy or glassfibre, that deck is still going strong nearly 50 years later.

Above: Stella and Mungo goosewing down the Carrick Roads, where the boat is now based owner Robert Graham’s nephew] and that she was for sale. And of course nothing would do until Charlie found the chap and made the deal.” Charlie bought Elrhuna that evening for £600 and would own her for the next 47 years.

There was another major refit in 1996, when the hull was completely stripped, recaulked and repainted. Several of the original iron floors had by then corroded, rotting the bottom of some of the frames, which Hilary repaired with laminated iroko sections and new galvanised steel floors fitted. By the 1990s, the Watson family were using the boat more than Charlie, who was 10 years older than Hilary.

25CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

Charlie was a competitive sailor, and Elrhuna was raced hard both on the Clyde and, later, in the West Highlands out of Glencoe Boat Club. Over the years, he accumulated quite a collection of silver, often sailing ‘the wee black boat’ through the lee of many bigger rivals. And, like the boat’s original owner, he wasn’t put off by a bit of a “Charlieblow.Giffard was always sailing in horrendous weather,” says Mungo. “I remember being taken out on the boat when I was 5 or 6 years old. The boat was going along with the cockpit winches under water, and water splashing into cockpit. My dad and Charlie were just enjoying it, but I was terriﬁed.” From the outset, Hilary was extensively involved with the boat, doing most of the repair and maintenance work, in return for free use of the boat. Charlie even lent him the boat when he was courting Mungo’s mother Sue, with mixed results. “After dad met my mum, he took her for a romantic cruise. She was an animal-lover and she insisted on bringing her two Collies and two cats, can you imagine? They went up around Mull, took the animals ashore for walk, lost one of the cats, then had to ﬁnd it. One night when they were anchored in Loch Spelby, the boat dragged her anchor, went onto the beach and lay right over on her side. It was a huge stony beach, but Elrhuna found the only small patch of sand to lie on. The cats and dogs thought it was marvellous and went for a walk, while mum and dad worried about what to do next.”

Archie McMillan did make half-models of the designs based on Smith’s preliminary lines. Lines were then lifted o this model using Wm Fife’s original machine. The lines so derived were faired up and checked and the necessary calculations worked out. Then of course the sail plan had to be worked out and proper juxtaposition of centres calculated, very often by rule of thumb with some help from the Fife Archive.

26 CLASSIC BOAT SEPTEMBER 2022 ELRHUNA a shock to my dad who had never considered that one day he might actually own Elrhuna.” And so, in 2007 after 47 years of sailing and looking after the boat, the Watson family became the proud owners of Elrhuna. Although Hilary was less of a dedicated racer than Charlie, he still took part in numerous regattas on the west coast of Scotland. Crucially, the boat remained in continuous use, as she has been throughout her life apart from the odd year or two, so that she was in good shape when she was eventually passed on from father to son. Even during his short tenure, Mungo has already had his share of excitement on the boat, including very nearly being blown onto the rocks, like his father before him.

Smith was a meticulous and accurate designer draughtsman. When it came to lofting a yacht’s lines from his one inch to the foot plans, very little fairing was needed.

HILARY WATSON: THE MASTER’S APPRENTICE OCTOBER 2022

I then enrolled at the local night school and eventually went on day release to Paisley Technical College where I took the HNC (Higher National Certiﬁcate) course in Naval Architecture.

Since the couple took over Eda Frandsen, and became a “two-boat family”, there has been less time for racing, but they still sail the boat on the Carrick Roads whenever they can. For the rest of the time, Elrhuna has her own specially-made tent, big enough for both the hull and the rig, where she is lovingly looked after in the care of Mylor Yacht Harbour. The boat has spent more than half her lifetime under the care (if not ownership) of the Watson family, and it’s hard to imagine another person leaning against the coamings with their thumb on the helm in such a relaxed manner. If this is a busman’s holiday, then let’s all drive buses!

Above left and right: 1950sFairlietrainedandhelmWatsonfatherMungo’sHilaryattheincloudsun.Hilaryattheyardinthe

By 2018, Mungo and Stella had moved to Falmouth and so, for the first time in her existence, the wee black boat was taken out of her native Scotland and transported south to Cornwall. There, she made an immediate impression racing at Flushing Sailing Club and winning her class in the Choaks Pasties Points Series (which that year comprised of just one race!). Another mini-refit followed, this time in Ashley Butler’s shed at nearby Penpol, although once again only the remaining iron floors showed any cause for concern.

“This boat has a way about it; it likes to tests you when you take over. It likes to break its mooring, drag its anchor, end up on beach, and somehow ﬁnd itself a calm, ﬂat sandy spot to sit down on. Every single person who has owned this boat, myself included, has had the experience of running aground on rock, drying out, falling over in between huge dastardly bits of rock and not touching any of it.”

The yard being engaged in Admiralty work, it was required to have a properly constituted Drawing O ce with an experienced qualiﬁed Chief Draughtsman. William Smith, although in his 70s and retired, was engaged by the yard to ﬁll the post.

The design process often depended on selecting a suitable plan from the Wm Fifes archive which, with not too much alteration, ﬁtted a customer’s requirements. Some of the yachts I have mentioned were developed from Fife designs. Navara I was pretty much a half-size Latifa even down to her canoe stern and yawl rig. William Smith was also the local YRA (now RYA) measurer so was well able to design yachts to the various rating rules. It must be said that although all the yachts built by the Fairlie Yacht Slip were o cially described as designed by Archibald McMillan, the real design work was done by William Smith (with a wee bit of help from myself and others).

I left the yard in 1958/9 as the commercial work dried up and the demand for hand-built wooden yachts was in steep decline. I will always be grateful for having worked with the men who worked for William Fife and for what I learned from them.

I started my apprenticeship at the Fairlie Yacht Slip Ltd (successors to William Fife & Sons) in 1952 when I was 17. At this time the yard was mainly building fishing boats and naval craft as there were grants available to replace those destroyed during the war. Although working boats were its main stay, the yard built quite a number of yachts during my time. These ranged from Class III RORC yachts to 8-Metre Cruiser/Racers. Some yachts that come to mind were Nyatonga, Nyachilwa, Navara I and II, Tinto, Impala, Charm of Rhu, Sumarel and Cumbrae Isle I worked at the tools for two years, mostly on inshore minesweepers. While doing the work, I was ‘boy’ to an old Fife craftsman called Neilley Currie. He was a kindly, wee ‘old owl’, and as I struggled to get the bevels and dimensions of one of these di cult pieces to fit in place, Neilley said to me, ‘Dina waste good wood laddie; away you go and make a mould of it in scrap.’ This way I was able to figure out the complications of the shape. This advice I have never forgotten. Even today at the age of 87 as I potter about making things in my workshop, I find old Neilley’s advice still very useful. As I worked in the yard, I began to realise that all the practical work depended on the drawing o ce and mould loft. I wanted to learn this side of the business so I asked the boss, Archie McMillan, if I could transfer to the drawing o ce and loft. He agreed to this mainly because he realised I could sail and he found me useful as crew on the yacht he had built for himself, Navara I, which he raced successfully on the Clyde.

Dickie of Bangor bermudan yawl built in 1956. Heavily constructed in larch on sawn oak frames, laid Oregon pine deck fitted in 1994. Lister Petter 40hp diesel. 6 berths including a double forward. 2018 survey available. A very attractive and well mannered yacht with a large inventory of equipment. Devon £32,000

35’ Sole Bay motor sailer ketch designed by Francis Jones and built by Porter and Haylett in 1968. 2021 refit by Harbour Marine Services. BMC Commodore 66hp diesel. 5 berths with 6’3” headroom and 2 heads with a shower. Comfortable saloon and very nice wheelhouse for sailing in wet weather. Ideal cruising boat for UK sailing. Suffolk £32,000

41’

25’ Itchen Ferry design built by Berthons as a yacht in 1926. Pitch pine hull with all bronze and copper fastenings. Major rebuild in 1990’s, very nicely maintained since. Vetus 16hp diesel installed 2009. Very smart boat with varnished teak interior and 2 single berths plus heads and galley. Hants £24,500

28’6” Laurent Giles Peter Duck ketch built in 1962. Thorough refit between 2017 and 2019 with detailed surveys before and after the work. Major structural repairs completed as well as all cosmetics. A very tidy yacht ready to go sailing. 4 berths in smart interior. Several sets of sails. Volvo Penta MD2040 diesel. Devon £18,500 25’ Laurent Giles Vertue built by Elkins of Christchurch in 1954. Teak and mahogany planking with lead keel and bronze keel bolts. Yacht laid teak deck and varnished teak coamings. Nanni 21hp diesel new in 2015. New rigging in 2014 with a full sail wardrobe. Very nice quality yacht with recent survey and detailed history. Devon £25,000 36’ Morecambe Bay Prawner built in the early 1900’s. Major rebuild in previous ownership and recent professional refit in 2020. Pitch pine on oak hull with laid deck glued over marine plywood. New standing rigging in 2017. 4 berths including a double V berth. Smart vessel with a detailed list of recent work done. W. Sussex £24,500

Falmouth Pilot Cutter PELLEW built by Luke Powell and his working Sail yard, launched in 2020. Designed and built as a commercial sailing vessel, she is on her second successful charter season. Capable of Category 0 Worldwide commercial sailing for 8 guests plus crew. A unique opportunity to purchase the largest wooden vessel built in the UK for many years. UK £695,000

Another fascinating selection of traditional and classic yachts only from Wooden Ships. Call for true descriptions, genuine honest values and a service from people who know their boats.

68’

2 Southford Road, Dartmouth, South Devon TQ6 9QS Tel/Fax: (01803) 833899 – info@woodenships.co.uk – www.woodenships.co.uk

31’ David Moss Gaff Cutter launched in 2017. Traditionally built with iroko on oak frames, all copper and bronze fastened with a solid teak deck. 4 berths with good headroom. Built to a very high standard and sailed extensively in her first few years so that she is a well proven and properly set up yacht. A beautiful boat in excellent condition. Hants £165,000

DOMINIC WINTER AUCTIONEERS

The cruise also rang the death knell of the ﬂedgling Inter-Oceanic Steam Yachting Company. At 93m long (306ft), the 100-passenger Ceylon was no larger than today’s smallest expedition cruise ships. In the event fewer than 60 guests signed up, with fewer still paying £500 wasn’ttoday)(£61,200forthewholevoyage.Thepioneeringcruisecompanywentintoliquidationshortlyafterthevoyage’sreturn,andituntil1923that

A 1930 illustrated copy of Moby Dick that sold for $2,500 made more than double the sum Herman Melville ever earned from the novel that confused and bemused readers and critics on its launch in 1851 and only sold a little over 3,000 copies up to his death in 1891. One contemporary review panned it as “poetry in blubber.”Today, of course, the existential fable/ allegory of Captain Ahab’s quest for the white whale – at least I think that’s what it’s about – is revered as a classic. Melville’s rehabilitation began in the 1920s and gathered momentum with the publication of the celebrated 1930 edition lavishly and fabulously illustrated by leading American illustrator and print maker Rockwell Kent. If only the original edition had had pics Melville might not have had to eke out his later years in much reduced circumstances as a customs inspector.

OCTOBER 2022

Flop of the ﬁrst world cruise

SOTHEBY’SRM ELDRED’SAUCTIONEERSWINTERDOMINIC 28 SaleroomCLASSICBOAT

PicsELDRED’Smade sense of Moby Dick RM RacierSOTHEBY’Sretro

runabout

AUCTIONEERSWINTERDOMINIC

Ceylon. Among the wonders Essery witnessed was one he hadn’t accounted for, recording in his journal: “The unhappy man had ﬂung himself wildly from the fore part of the ship and must in a few moments have been beyond all human help.”

The ﬁrst ever round-the-world leisure cruise, which set o from Southampton in 1881, was too far ahead of its time, and too much to bear for one disgruntled passenger who committed suicide. A recently discovered journal (below and top right) penned by Reverend WA Essery is believed to be the only full account by a passenger who signed on for the entire SSauxiliaryaboardmile299-day,pioneering37,500-voyagetheex-P&Osteamer

Cunard undertook another round-theworld cruise, which laid the foundations for modern ocean expedition tourism. Essery’s unique account of a unique voyage sold for £2,300.

After a round-the-world cruise in 1881, SS Ceylon found her true calling in the 1890s when she was acquired by the philanthropic Polytechnic Touring Association to provide wholesome and a ordable travel for students and “the lower classes.” She was sold for scrap in 1907.

By Dave Selby When Detroit-born bookkeeper John L Hacker (1877-1961) took a correspondence course in naval architecture it was truly a watershed moment. For while other earlier trailblazers of speed ploughed a furrow through water, Hacker rose above it to propel powered boating into a new era of planing V-hulls. Hacker went on to claim 20 and more water speed records and ﬁve Gold Cup wins, but is today best remembered for his high-speed gentleman’s pleasure craft that were regarded as “the Steinway of runabouts.” Though appearing period correct, this 16ft Hacker-Craft runabout (above) is a replica, built in 2014 of cold-moulded mahogany to Hacker’s 1923 plans; and with a 4.3-litre Mercruiser V6, it promises performance far exceeding the original. The Hacker, along with a collection of vintage outboards, are all being o ered – enticingly at “no reserve” – on 22-24 September in East Texas, from within a single-owner collection of 120-plus classic cars. The outboards, like the highly polished Waterwitch (above right), appear to be restored to museum quality; vintage outboard stands are also highly collectible.

Subscribe online www.chelseamagazines.com/CCBO1022 or call +44 (0) 1858 438 442 (quoting code CCBO1022) Prices and discounts based on the regular subscription price of £70. If for any reason you’re not happy with your subscription, you may cancel within 14 days of placing your order. Order your subscription today SPECIAL SAVINGS WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE T H E W O R L D’ S M O S T B E A U T I F U L B O A T S FEBRUARY 2022 £4.95 US$10.99 GALWAYDesignHOOKERSanalysis ALDEBURGH YACHT CLUB THELASTM C ScottishGRUERbuilder’sswansong 05/01/2022 15:26 Design analysis swansong T H E W O R L D’ S M O S T B E A U T I F U L B O A T S MARCH 2022 £4.95 US$10.99 THELASTWORDThebestcarvelbuildever? 01/02/2022 LIVING SuttonARCHAEOLOGYHooship YACHTING PHOTOGRAPHER Kos Evans MIRROR VarnishingFINISH tips www.classicboat.co.uk APRIL 2022 £4.95 US$10.99 UTILITY CHIC Do-it-all dinghy THE FROZEN SOUTH Painting in Antarctica THE PRESENT “More fun than diamonds” LEGENDARY S&S Running Tide returns T H E W O R L D’ S M O S T B E A U T I F U L B O A T S CB406 APRIL Cover final.indd 1 01/03/2022 11:19 SAVE OVER £25 OFF THE FULL PRICE boatsBeautiful coverageexpertphotographythroughyachts,showcasedtraditionalStunningbeautifulandeditorial adviceExpert examinationIn-depth at a practical level with deckadvicecredibleaboveandbelow featuresStunning Featuring classics of all types, from J-Class yachts to traditional work boats everythingand in between Low-draught motor launch build ever? T H E W O R L D’ S M O S T B E A U T I F U L B O A T S PLANING TraditionLUGGERat speed RESTORED IN VanderbiltISTANBULtender ALL ABOUT AUGER BITS Drilling down JANUARY 2022 £4.95 US$10.99 www.classicboat.co.uk X SPIRITWhyFACTORownersloveclassics30Worldexclusiveﬁrsttest BRITISH STEEL 50 years on... ALDEBURGH YACHT CLUB The 120-year photo album Classic CELEBRATESBoat35YEARSBORNTORACEFirstmaxitakes on the Fastnet again CB403JanuaryCoveroptions.indd 30/11/2021 15:06 1 YEAR (12 ISSUES) SUBSCRIPTION TO CLASSIC BOAT £44.95 (USUALLY £70) Europe €79.95 | USA $99.95 Australia $149.95 | Rest of World £74.95 SAVINGS+ FREEdeliveryBIG

31CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 CORNWALL’S REFIT EXPERTS Call for free advice and a quotation: N 01326 372 121 w www.mylor.com STRUCTURAL REPAIRS & MODIFICATIONS SYSTEMS OVERHAUL & UPGRADES INTERIOR JOINERY & REPAIR WORK DECKGEAR & RIG WORK PAINT & VARNISH MYH MarineTeam_1/2 page Classic Boat advert_202x129mm_June 2018_AW.indd 1 26/06/2018 10:50 01603 782212 www.landamores.co.uk boats@landamores.co.uk Classic launches - Electric propulsion - Electric conversions - Restorations Mayﬂy 21 Electric RCD cat C for inland and coastal cruising

The J Class Endeavour had a saviour in John Amos; as did Velsheda, a scrap merchant, as did the two rare Scottish ﬁshing boats now being restored on the West Coast. As did Sally and most of the yachts featured in these pages. Yet so many did not ﬁnd their saviours, for so many reasons. Some yachts are not ‘classic’ enough or had the ‘wrong’ designer. Some are not pretty enough. Mostly it’s luck. Flipping through the back issues of magazines from the 1950s, when so many pre-war wooden boats were beginning to need expensive work, you come across yacht after yacht from legendary designers, going for a song. Where are they now? Gone to wrack, or houseboats in mud berths. All praise to the owner who pays to have her restored, but raise a glass to the dreamers (and drug runners) who failed, but without whom she would have rusted away or become food for the shipworm.

The penniless saviours

Adrian Morgan 32 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 Raise a glass to the dreamers who failed “Some yachts are not enough”notenough...‘classic’orpretty WATTERSCHARLOTTE

Iwas going to write about the vital role played by stepladders this month, and one classic, wooden beauty in particular – ‘borrowed’ from the GPO depot in Taine, if you must know – but it can wait. Rather more important in the scheme of things is the role played by those who restore classic boats, and not the ones who get all the glory. Let’s begin with 85-year-old Sally, which I’ve owned for more years than I can recall. People assume that I alone am responsible for the way she has survived, and it is true that I have looked after her as best I could. The true hero, however, is a man called Brian Cooper, who some readers might remember. I doubt, but hope he is still knocking around the Hamble, as the last time we met was to hand over a cheque for all my worldly wealth in exchange for a strikingly good looking yacht I saw on a mooring with a For Sale sign in her rigging. Brian was a joiner, carpenter – I’m never sure of the distinction – and a shipwright, the proof being the sensitive restoration work he wrought on Sally. Where or how he found her, who knows, and I should have asked. All I do know is that after umpteen owners, he granted her a fresh lease of life. New top strakes, glassed/epoxy deck to replace the old canvas, stripped bare inside with minor changes from original and some much needed lockerage. Her story is so similar to many that appear in these pages. We read of a yacht that in her heyday turned heads and won prizes. We read further and discover she was retired from racing, her rig cut down, and cruised for many years in the tropics. The scent grows a little colder. A stranding on a reef and patched repairs. Young dreamers paint her in rainbow colours and set sail for adventure, with a little drug smuggling on the side, and run out of money, foul of the Mafia, and finally into a fishing boat off Malaga. Drugs are found. The adventure ends in a long jail term. The port authority slaps a writ on her mast, and there she sits, declining by the month, mildewed sails still clinging to peeling spars. She sinks, and is raised only because it’s hard to set fire to a sunken boat. Then, at the 11th hour, for the price of her marina dues, she finds a new owner with a shed and just enough money to start restoring her, but not nearly enough. That man, a footnote in her history, will never finish the job; in fact it may lead to bankruptcy, divorce or early death. But he, or she, is that yacht’s true saviour. They are the ones who, at the crucial moment, like the kindly word to the drunk in the street, reverse the process of decrepitude.Then,with luck, a marine historian will get a tip off. Underneath the cheap paint he discovers a nameplate, not that he hadn’t recognised her the moment he walked through the door. A wealthy owner is found, a full restoration begins. The planks that were considered sound enough are condemned. The keel is replaced and, to cut a long story short, a small fortune later she is turning heads on the Med circuit, her owner the deserved recipient of accolades and plaudits and prizes.

33CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 classically inspired & traditionally built EAST PASSAGE 24 EAST PASSAGE BOATWRIGHTS | Bristol, Rhode Island EPBWS.COM Fifer ketch 39 feet, built by the Miller yard, which had been launching boats since Bonnie Prince Charlie’s time. Built with the expertise of the 9th generation of the Miller family and designed for the rigors of the North Sea as a capable fishing vessel. Launched in 1971. Powered by a Cummins 155HP turbo diesel engine. Takes you where you want to go effortlessly. Full details available: www.mcyachts.co.uk Call: 07988763254 •Powerful 155HP Cummins Marine •TurboLofrans Tigres 1200 windlass •Raymarine C120 display, 2kw radar, 0.6kw fishfinder •Sea Fire auto fire extinguisher •3 electric bilge pumps. Manual Whale Gusher 30 •New Victron battery charger, 4 new house batteries •Yaesu SSB transceiver •Icom DSC VHF ••AutopilotSleeps5, 3 singles 1 double •Webasto heater •Pressurised Hot water ••ShowerCoolmatic fridge •Force 10 cooker ••MicrowaveWindscreen wipers Rebecca For Sale - £65,000

The dust man

TAYLOR

JONATHAN GREENWOOD

He’s been behind more Panerai series victories than anyone else. Now, yacht skipper Jonathan Greenwood has formed a new club and a new circuit for the Med. Meet the president and co-founder of the Vintage and Classic Yacht Club ROBINSON

34 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

gold

WORDS STEFFAN MEYRIC HUGHES PHOTOS JAMES

35CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 wanted an exclusive owners’ club, while others didn’t have that sort of money to put into it. The funny thing was that there was no comeback from that meeting. In December that year, Sandra and I decided to do it anyway.” A European association was quickly set up and formalised online and before the first lockdown in March 2020, 11 members had joined, among them the P boats, Hallowe’en, Comet and some of the S&S yawls. “Then covid hit! We attended Antibes and Cannes in September and ended that year with 15 members.” Covid blighted the 2021 season as well but undeterred, the new club ran its first three-race series, titled The Mediterranean Champions Cup. Imperia, Antibes and Cannes. Some 21 boats took part, in four classes. The winners were: Sagittarius (Classic), Comet (Vintage Marconi), Viola (Vintage Gaff) and Hallowe’en (Big Boats). “We used members’ fees to get solid sterling silver trophies, got them engraved and mounted on solid mahogany plinths, and gave them out at Cannes, on the deck of a schooner. It was a brilliant moment.” Jonathan happily relates that membership has now reached 25 yachts, but a quick check shows that in the month between our interview and the time of writing – a mere five weeks – that number has risen to 40. This year, the Mediterranean Champions Cup series takes place again in Antibes, Imperia andWhileCannes.we are speaking, sponsor Boyd, in the shape of boss Chris Savage and his wife Kos Evans (the marine photographer) are on a nightmare car journey around half of Britain, then down through France, carrying the ‘battle flags’ for members of the club to fly from their rigging while dockside. Chris and Kos have been struggling to find flags that aren’t Union Jacks, such is the heat surrounding the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. By chance, I bump into the couple that evening, sat outside in one of the old squares in Antibes eating schnitzel and drinking rose. They wave me over, tear off a bit of schnitzel for me and proceed to water me with rose. All this, with good cheer and smiles, after a car journey of about 20 hours. With sponsors like this, VCYC is in good hands. After those first discussions in 2019, Jonathan and Sandra settled on the inclusive route for the VCYC. It’s a not-for-profit organisation run by a board of directors who are elected annually. Membership for a yacht of 10-15m in length (33-50ft) is a very reasonable ¤150 a year. For that, you get the right to race in the circuit, the right to vote on club matters, technical help, and representation when approaching race committees, organisers and rating authorities. With the amount of experience in the club, that has to be worth the membership fee at least a few times over. There is also an option for associate or ‘sympathetic’ non-yacht-owning members, at ¤75 per year. See more at vintageclassicyachtclub.com.

J onathan Greenwood and his partner Sandra Ugolini have been, over the years, among the most central characters in classic yacht racing in the Mediterranean. As skipper of the bermudan New York 40 Rowdy, then the gaff-rigged sistership Chinook, Jonathan probably has more Panerai series wins under his belt than anyone. The Panerai years, which ended (coincidentally) the season before the pandemic, were heady times. The Italian watchmaker took over from fellow Italian fashion sponsor Prada in 2005, and had, as anyone would agree, an amazing run of sponsorship for 14 years. In that time, they sponsored around 10 regattas annually; a circuit in the USA and one in the Med, as well as outliers in the shape of Antigua Classics and the British Classic Yacht Club’s annual regatta in Cowes. During their reign, they brought a huge sprinkle of glamour and excitement to everything they touched. The company even rebuilt and campaigned its own yacht, the 73ft (22.2m) 1937 Fife III-designed ketch Eilean. Times changed. There was a new CEO, then a pandemic.AtAntibes this year, there was a sense of rebirth, of freshness and of conviviality, as old friends gathered once more in the warm, young air of early summer. Standing on the dock chatting with an old mate was Jonathan, every inch the pro yacht skipper, all tan, muscles and sunglasses, and instantly recognisable in his grey Chinook crew tee-shirt. I hadn’t seen him since we spent a day racing aboard Chinook at Voiles d’Antibes, so it was a measure of his warmth that he shook my hand like a long-lost friend and invited me aboard the boat to drink red wine with him, Sandra and the crew, and talk through his big plan – the new Vintage and Classic Yacht Club (VCYC), now sponsored by the interactive branding company Boyd. “We lost a lot when Panerai left” Jonathan said. “They turned a mediocre scene into a very special one, as you had a season-long series with really nice prizes. It got to the stage where many boats are still afloat, just because they were saved to win the trophy. We’re sitting on one [Chinook] that won it twice. Rowdy [moored next to us] won it three times. It produced big fleets and competition. Antibes used to have 80 boats. Now it’s 55, and some of those are Tofinous [the Tofinou 9.5, a 31ft/9.5m day-sailer races at Antibes]. When there’s a bit of prestige… wine and food, a marquee and so on… it makes it worth the entry fee. If you just have beer in plastic mugs on the quay, that’s fun too, but it’s not going to bring people in the same way.” It was time to do something. At the end of 2019, the first year largely without Panerai, regattas, particularly the smaller ones like Imperia and Mahon, were “decimated”. After “talking about it all year,” Jonathan set up a meeting with 20 active yacht owners. “They fell into two camps. One “VCYC is not just me. Sandra is just as big a part of this as I am” Jonathan Greenwood

Among the treasures unearthed by Cousin Michelle was a small and unassuming black notebook. It was ace dinghy sailor Ivy Morgan Giles’s journal, written before World War One.

George Martin brought the Jolie Brise from France to Teignmouth in 1923 where he and his skipper Sid Briggs converted her for his cruising purposes. Sid Briggs’s son was later to be the Morgan Giles Shipyard Foreman in the 1950s. Jane’s Uncle Morgan told me everyone thought George had been in love with Frank’s wife Ivy – but always honourably of course. Soon Jane’s research lines started to mesh with mine.

Meanwhile she was busily involved with publishing Ivy’s wonderful journal with its ﬁery tales of knocking spots off all the male dinghy racers, including, on occasion, Frank, who she went on to marry. Jane and I wrote one of the chapters together, which laid the foundations of our collaboration with the subsequent mammoth task of producing Frank’s ofﬁcial biography – 27 chapters and rising. Ivy’s

36 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 FRANK MORGAN GILES

What do you do if a member of your family was a world-beater several generations ago, and you feel a sense of responsibility to preserve that heritage? Sporting heroes, wild adventurers, war veterans, innovators and inventors; all had parents, and some had spouses and children; the net result is dusty boxes in the darkest attic corners and the backs of cupboards, containing old photo albums, bundles of letters, diaries, yellowing newspaper cuttings – the paraphernalia of a famous life. With sailors this list can extend to coils of rope, salt-stained log books, blackened silver trophies, unpolished for decades, and sometimes even the actual boat. What can you do to safeguard that treasure trove, and make sense of it? This is the task that has preoccupied Jane Shaddick and Richard Palmer for the past decade. Frank Morgan Giles was their grandfather: they lived with him at the end of his life. They knew a mention of his name in dinghy-racing circles produced excitement and respect. Yet the Morgan Giles Heritage Project, which they have built from nothing, was not what they intended from the start. It just grew, and has now become a central feature of their lives. Their mother, Frank’s daughter Hebe, brought them up to respect the historic roots of everything around. She was involved in cataloguing working water mills in the early 1950s, at a time when Jane remembers cart horses in the ﬁelds, cows milked by hand, and running water in their house pumped painstakingly from the well, with each child’s 100 pumps a day part of their regular chores. Hebe took them ﬁeld walking for arrow heads, and fossil hunting on the beach near Lyme Regis. And she told them stories of her father’s racing adventures: his infamous contests with Uffa Fox, his involvement in the 1948 Olympic games, and above all of the superb standards of craftsmanship in wooden boatbuilding for which his Teignmouth Shipyard was rightly famous on the international stage.

Below: JournalIvy’s , which details all the thrills and spills of dinghy racing with WarbeforeMorganFrankGilesWorldOne

All of this led to Jane producing her photographic history of the Teignmouth Shipyard in 1995 with much help from local historian Viv Wilson MBE, and funding from her very famous uncle, Rear Admiral Morgan Giles MP. She says the 200 copies of her booklet of photographs were impossible to market at the time. One that recently appeared on eBay was snapped up for upwards of £50. As part of the research for the project, all those family attics and cupboards were scoured for Morgan Giles material.

What do you do to prevent the legacy of a great man slipping quietly into the footnotes of history? Why, write a biography of course...

RESEARCHINGMCCOMB A LEGEND

WORDS CLARE

Jane soon encountered the South West Maritime History Society where she met Charlie Tolcher, an expert in the development of the local dinghy tradition, and coincidentally the last apprentice ever to learn wooden boatbuilding skills on the Morgan Giles Shipyard site, under the careful eye of craftsmen trained by Frank himself.

Around this time I too had become very involved with maritime history concerning my great uncle EG Martin, and was introduced to Jane through Charlie.

Clockwise from top left: Frank Morgan Giles and family on board Jolie Brise at Teignmouth, Devon, in 1923 (c/o Morgan Giles Heritate Project/MGHP); Frank’s daughter Hebe and family around 1952; English Rose now renamed Dana with her winning ﬂags for the 1928 season (c/o The Yachtsman Monaco motor yachts for export (c/o Teign Heritage); 6-Metre yacht

37CLASSIC BOAT AUGUST 2022

magazine);Preparing

By now there were many people involved with the Morgan Giles research including MG owners, local historians, yachting historians, class historians, shipyard employees who had worked under Frank, fellow archivists, museums, distant Morgan Giles family members, magazine editors and social media contacts from around the world. The project had begun to have an identity of its own. Mark McNeill from the Cowes Classic Boat Museum came to Gosport to discuss ways to collaborate now and in the future. His professional advice and backing was very welcome. There was a visit to Brian May of Berthon Boats, whose relative Harry May had been Frank’s business partner before their big bust up before World War I. It was eerie to see familiar images in the May family archive, duplicates or different versions of those in Ivy’s own albums. When the dreadful EISCA (Eyemouth International Sailing Craft Association) auction news broke in 2017, the family had made huge efforts to secure four historically important dinghies including Imp , the earliest West of England Conference Dinghy extant. There was Catherine , in which Frank and eldest son Morgan won the 1931 Prince of Wales Cup, which was his finest hour in dinghy racing. Somehow there was also a bag of sails for Clover , designed and built by MG Ltd for International 14 racing icon Stuart Morris for his 21st birthday. Sails but no boat. Sometime later, Clover was offered to Richard, purchased and reunited with her sails once more. She is being restored by Nick Gates and will be sailing as soon as posible.

Jane’s tireless researches included a Facebook appeal to find the 6-Metre yacht Dana which, as English Rose, crossed the Atlantic in 1927 with Frank and Ivy, to fly the flag in the international competitions being held at Long Island Sound. One of Tim Street’s early newsletters had revealed she was now in Poland, and suddenly her skipper, Ryszard Grabowski, made contact. Richard flew out to Gdansk as soon as he could, arriving at the spa town of Sopot as evening fell. Unable to wait for dawn, he crept under cover of darkness along the longest pier in Europe to find Dana moored at a pontoon in the marina, almost hidden in the water with her dark blue paint. To him she seemed a thing of extraordinary beauty. He will never forget that moment.

Journal was privately published, and just like Jane’s earlier shipyard booklet, there are now only a handful of copies left of the first edition. By this stage Jane had embarked on a huge research drive, ferreting out information on everything relating to Morgan Giles. Richard, her brother, invested in a compete run of Yachting Monthly volumes up to 1940, and she read every page, noting down the references. Her lines of files grew and grew. She was on a huge rollercoaster of learning curves. Although an expert photographer, who at one time even had her own dark room, she hardly knew how to turn on a computer when she started, never mind send an email. Having lived her early childhood by the light of oil lamps, these skills did not come naturally, but she was soon involved with websites and social media, making connections and contacting owners of Morgan Giles vessels across the Horrifiedworld. when an existing Morgan Giles website went down, with its creator about to return to Canada, and not having the skills to run it herself, she negotiated its transfer to Teign Heritage Museum, after generous funding by brother Richard. Museum archivist Bob Kethro has taken the project from strength to strength. Meanwhile Richard had started to acquire boats. He had learned to sail while a youngster at Shaldon, had even crewed for grandfather Frank in Phantom, one of the Morgan Giles Dragons, and had taken up sailing many years later after a gap of decades. His first ownership of an MG dinghy was little 10ft 6in (3.2m) sailing punt Lissa II, which was gifted by his uncle Robin, Frank’s youngest son, around the turn of the Thecentury.next acquisition was Albatross, a beautiful 1948 clinker-built 16ft 6in (5m) Teign and Dart OD, first seen on a mooring on the Shaldon side of Teignmouth Bridge, after a kind tip off from Charlie Tolcher. Richard thought she looked “really pretty”. When she was advertised in Classic Boat, Jane suggested he buy her, which he did, in a flash, and towed her back to Nick Gates’ yard in Emsworth , where apprentices hand-scraped away every speck of white where she had been painted inside. She now looks exactly as she should, with a new mast, new sails in the correct configuration and a specially designed trailer on which she was towed to the 2018 Rum Regatta in Flensburg, Germany. Richard, his son Rob and sailing partner Terry Caister had a fine time competing against the Pomeranian and other smaller European craft, only to come a cropper in the final race, when a bottlescrew on the port-hand mast stay gave, and they just managed to nurse Albatross through foul weather into the safely of a nearby marina. Richard returned home bearing the famous Rum Regatta ‘suitcase’, awarded to the boat which has travelled furthest; this meant in 2019 that he was forced, quite willingly, to return with Albatross, to deliver it back. After that covid shut things down.

The next day he was invited to screw a brass plaque listing her provenance on the bulkhead below the mast, and bubbly ﬂowed. Exhilarating sails followed over that weekend and on his other visits, in every variation of weather from ﬂat calm to howling gales until the inevitable happened: he bought her. She is currently being restored by a 6-Metre specialist in eastern Poland, and due back in England next year, all being well. It will be some homecoming. He says he has always felt an overwhelming sense of history crewing this vessel, the brainchild of his grandfather, who designed her so carefully, and oversaw every inch of her build.

38 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 FRANK MORGAN GILES

39CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 classically inspired & traditionally built EAST PASSAGE 24 EAST PASSAGE BOATWRIGHTS | Bristol, Rhode Island EPBWS.COM Fifer ketch 39 feet, built by the Miller yard, which had been launching boats since Bonnie Prince Charlie’s time. Built with the expertise of the 9th generation of the Miller family and designed for the rigors of the North Sea as a capable fishing vessel. Launched in 1971. Powered by a Cummins 155HP turbo diesel engine. Takes you where you want to go effortlessly. Full details available: www.mcyachts.co.uk Call: 07988763254 •Powerful 155HP Cummins Marine •TurboLofrans Tigres 1200 windlass •Raymarine C120 display, 2kw radar, 0.6kw fishfinder •Sea Fire auto fire extinguisher •3 electric bilge pumps. Manual Whale Gusher 30 •New Victron battery charger, 4 new house batteries •Yaesu SSB transceiver •Icom DSC VHF ••AutopilotSleeps5, 3 singles 1 double •Webasto heater •Pressurised Hot water ••ShowerCoolmatic fridge •Force 10 cooker ••MicrowaveWindscreen wipers Rebecca For Sale - £65,000

Dart OD

Clockwise from top left: Jane Shaddick with build plates (c/o Viv Wilson MBE); and Albatross at

Rum Regatta Flensburg in 2019 (c/o InternationalGrabowski);PalmerGrabowski);RyszardRichard(c/oRyszardThe193014 Clover MGHP);restoration(c/ounderJustsome of the MGHP Archives at Jane Shaddick’s home; The 1927-built 6-Metre Dana (c/o MGHP) FRANK MORGAN GILES

The 1948 Teign

41CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 So, you have your dream boat, nowyouneedtofititout! www.onwardmarine.com Get free shippingon your onlineorder by usingthe code ‘OMCLASSIC22’ at checkout!* *Code is valid until 31st October, UK mainland orders only.

MGHPC/O

Louly Below: Jane’s ﬁrst publication about the Morgan Giles Shipyard; Old postcard Teignmouthof and Shaldon individuals, and have a much better sense of who you are, as well as the deep satisfaction of having made sure that at least your piece of maritime

42 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 MCCLARONDERRICKC/O FRANK MORGAN GILES

As well as gathering and restoring all these important dinghies, there were other magical moments afloat. One was the day Frank’s grandchildren, great grandson and great great grandson went for a sail in the magnificent Admiralty training yachts that David Foster was restoring at that time. Jane took the helm. She had never even sailed on a yacht before, but felt the absolute power and perfection of Gryphis’s graceful speed. It was one of the experiences of her life. Another was the moment she came into Teignmouth during a Shaldon Regatta in the magnificent Monaco, Louly. When she was a teenager, and the Monacos were the Rolls Royce of motorcruisers being turned out by the yard, she had always longed to be allowed to go out in one, but was never taken. Now her dream was coming true. Suddenly the regatta announcer said “I see Louly, and likely members of the Morgan Giles family aboard”. A cheer went up from crowds on both sides of the river. Jane has never felt so proud, before or since. With the hundreds of enthusiastic contacts from across the globe, the bookcases full of hard copy files and Dropboxes crammed with references and photographs, along with the gathering together of artefacts out of all those dusty boxes in attics and dark cupboards, it was clear something was needed to make sense of it all. Hence the upcoming biography, which has been over five years in the making. Richard says he feels a great sense of responsibility for what has been assembled as the Morgan Giles Heritage Project. His grandfather’s influence underpinned developments at the smaller, more human end of yacht and dinghy racing from Edwardian times onwards, and his beautifully designed and exquisitely made craft are his legacy to us all. Sometimes, driving over the top before you dip down towards the Teign, the panorama of Shaldon, the Ness and Teignmouth town is laid out before you; this moves both Richard and Jane every time. The hopes, fears, aspirations, celebrations, and achievements of Frank Morgan Giles were part of that town and the community which supported the shipyard. It is clear that firm arrangements must now be made for safe custody of the archives and the nine (so far) very special boats that Richard and Nick Gates are putting into tip-top racing, sailing or display order, depending on their relative strength or fragility. The upcoming biography will tell Frank’s story, and hopefully upcoming generations will now help to preserve the Morgan Giles heritage.

For anyone else contemplating a similar project, Richard and Jane have these words of advice. Research thoroughly, don’t be afraid to learn new skills or to make mistakes, keep your address book bang up-to-date, especially people willing to crew when you take the boats out for racing or parade. All sorts of help will be forthcoming. Expect to expend huge amounts of time and much money, but the rewards are great. By the time you have achieved your aims, alongside the very hard work you will have had a lot of fun, met some marvellous individuals, and have a much better sense of who you are, as well as the deep satisfaction of having made sure that at least your piece of maritime heritage will not be lost.

Above: Morgan Giles Monacocruising;family1959

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DEEP WATER EMMA BAMFORD Emma spent many years working as deputy editor on our sister title Sailing Today, during which time she published two sailing travel memoirs. She moved into ﬁction and the result is Deep Water, a book in the pot boiler mode that draws on her experiences sailing in southeast Asia in order to construct a story of mystery and menace in a paradise gone wrong. Alex Garland mined this seam deeply in The Beach and although there are mild echoes of this, they are more circumstantial. The plot line is taut and there is a good feel of menace and mystery from the o . All in all, this feels like a belting summer read while you are enjoying a hopefully less fraught summer cruise. Pub simonandchuster.co.uk, £7.37

Pub Century Hutchinson, amazon.co.uk, from £6.38

GoodAustralia,tomadeNevertheless,mission.heitfromVictoriatheUKviatheCapeofHopeandBrazil.

THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF THE MARY CELESTE GRAHAM FAIELLA

CAPTAIN JC VOSS

On 4 December 1872, the brigantine Dei Gratia was sailing near the Azores when it happed upon the impossible spectacle of another brigantine, the Mary Celeste, abandoned under sail and in seemingly perfect condition. This new book examines the facts, the rumours and the mythology this famous vessel has created, 150 years after the event. Ste an Meyric Hughes Pub The History Press, £16.99

A Tale of Two Yachts BARBARA WHITE

BARBARA WHITE Self-published books narrating long ocean passages are pretty much two-a-penny these days, but Barbara White avoids falling into too much of a rut by mirroring her cruise, undertaken on retirement with her husband, with that of famous Norwegian sailor Erling Tambs. In 1928 Tambs himself set out with his wife from Ulvøysund, Norway, aboard their engineless, retired pilot cutter Teddy, on a similarly westwards route, to begin their cruise to the Pacific Islands. The book therefore looks at two very di erent voyages and compares and contrasts. Combining extracts from her blog and passages from Erling’s book The Cruise of the Teddy and an enthusiastic curiosity to learn more about the world, Barbara embarks on a magnificent journey across oceans, between cultures and through time. From the highs of being welcomed to new lands with open arms and experiencing indigenous customs and traditions first-hand, to the lows of devastating earthquakes and near-fatal misfortune, A Tale of Two Yachts o ers an insight to lands and lives afar, all the while reflecting on what it means – and takes – to commit oneself to such a challenging expedition afloat. Pub selfpublishinghouse.co.uk, £12.99

In 1901 John Voss, a sometime sailor and carpenter, set out on a round-the-world trip in a 38ft (11.6m) wooden dugout canoe named the Tilikum. It would be understandable if you viewed this not so much as a cruise as a suicide

A truly extraordinary performance. Voss recounts the journey along with a couple of other random adventures in worryingly unseaworthy craft. The book is obviously absorbing reading but perhaps what gives it real edge is Voss’ reputation for being a bit of a queer fish and having a famously poor relationship with certain crew members. Rumours persisted after the voyage that a crew member lost overboard en route to Australia had actually been deliberately killed by Voss. Certainly, his first crew member, Norman Luxton, was not complimentary about him. Luxton’s daughter, Eleanor, later published her father’s journals and they are worth reading alongside Voss’ account. She described him as “a hardened seaman, mature, egotistical... with black moods”. Anyway, his account is thankfully not an endless tirade against various crew members, and he remains entirely neutral, yet it is this intrigue – plus his magnificent achievement – that drive the book along.

CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 202244 The latest releases in the world of nautical publishing are as eclectic as ever, from the memoirs of a marine engineer to art, travel, history – even some sailing! REVIEWS BY SAM BOOKSJEFFERSONAround-up0fthelatestTHEVENTURESOMEVOYAGESOFCAPTAINVOSS

A TALE OF TWO YACHTS

45CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 Boy CompletelyLyingMevagisseyMarkTosher1936ontheBeaulieuRiverrestoredin1994and again in 2021 (by Nick Harvey) Length: 5.7 m Beam: 2.2 m Beta£14,500engine Contact: Simon slimbell@dircon.co.ukBell for further information, pictures and viewing AreysPondBoatYard.com/xfc22 Learn more about our newest design on our website The XFC 22 Catboat

Above left: Women have always been part of the team at Spirit Yachts

WOMEN BOATBUILDINGIN

WORDS CATHERINE LARNER

Every day Belinda Joslin was sanding, painting and varnishing boats – her time off working as a finisher at Spirit Yachts was dedicated to stripping down her father’s 23ft (7.1m) Ajax after the racing season and fixing her children’s boats for family sailing. She’d owned and looked after boats all her life, but she didn’t know any other women who were as obsessed as she was in fixing them.

“People have a perception that physically boatbuilding is prohibitive, but that’s not the case,” says Gail McGarva who has been running her own boatbuilding business since 2009. “You just ﬁnd your way around issues. It’s about thinking on your feet, problem solving. It’s about your commitment, your motivation and your determination.”

Above right: Lyme applicantswomennumberseeingAcademyBoatbuildingRegisisagrowingof

Calling the account Women in Boatbuilding, Belinda has collected mini proﬁles of women from around the country in all aspects of the industry, highlighting the signiﬁcant contribution women are making in what has always been considered a niche and male preserve.

46 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

“There are deﬁnitely more young women coming into the industry than there were even ﬁve years ago,” says Karen Underwood, managing director of Spirit Yachts.

“Female boatbuilders have been a part of the Spirit team since the very beginning. We have always been keen to have women in the yard and, over the last few years, there are noticeably more women who are trained and have an active interest in woodwork.”

More and more women are nding the con dence to enter the very male world of boatbuilding

“You live in your own little bubble and you don’t know who’s out there, doing their thing,” Belinda says. “So I set up an Instagram account. My driving force was making contact with other women and ﬁnding out about their stories, then I really enjoyed sharing them. I’ve also discovered some incredible, inspiring women.”

Courses and apprenticeship schemes are seeing more interest from female candidates. Even though at Lyme Regis Boatbuilding Academy that means only about 10 per cent of its intake are women, their skills and application are of a high standard, says tutor Matthew Law. They are going on to become painters, ﬁnishers and boatbuilders in small and large yards, running their own businesses or working as contractors or in management.

STEERJENNYKINGSLEY,GEORGEBOWDEN,MIKEPHOTOS:

A self-employed bosun/boatbuilder, Belinda (Cree) is currently working in Southampton on a major refit of La Fenice for the Liming Co. “At the moment, I’m de-rusting, dealing with the rough spots in the bulwarks,” she says. “It involves needle gunning and grinding out any patches of filler or rust. There’s about 60 metres (200ft) of steel bulwarks to do.” She found the job through Crew Seekers in October 2021 and, when the contract comes to an end, plans to get back to sea before embarking on another boatbuilding project. After studying filmmaking and screenwriting at university, she was a freelance event manager and videographer while also working in theatre, but the prospect of working at sea led her to take on a traditional seafarer traineeship three years ago with National Historic Ships. On this course, she trained in boat maintenance at Lowestoft International Boatbuilding Training College and then moved on to the Pioneer Sailing Trust. “There were some awesome boatbuilding projects going on in the yard there. The beauty of what they were creating and the skill involved was fantastic. I felt driven to learn as much as I could.”

CULTURAL CHANGE

BELINDA CREE Above right: Skills AcademyBoatbuildingLymeofapplicationandworkatRegisisof a high standard

While educational and charitable organisations are working hard to make themselves welcoming, safe and inclusive, not all women are reporting positive experiences when they enter the workplace. “A cultural change doesn’t happen overnight,” says Felicity Lees, operations director at Pioneer Sailing Trust. “It takes time.” When Felicity joined Pioneer in 2010, she was the ﬁrst and only female member of the staff. Now there is an equal mix of men and women on the management team and she believes it’s because it is such a comfortable place to work. It’s been achieved through consulting with people who have gone through the sailing activities or in the boatyard, and asking them what barriers they met. She established that hygiene, privacy, appropriate language, brieﬁngs and lifting equipment were all issues which could be improved to ensure everyone felt equal and a respected member of the team. Whether women have embarked on boatbuilding as students or apprentices, at the start of their working lives or as a career change, there are financial considerations. The cost of courses can be prohibitive and the hourly wage when qualified is not necessarily reflective of the skills involved, so the decision to pursue boatbuilding may be a lifestyle choice rather than a lucrative career. Heike Lowenstein trained at Lyme Regis Boatbuilding Academy and worked as a boatbuilder at Spirit Yachts for three years. She has just moved to Pioneer Sailing Trust as lead boatbuilder and training manager, and believes that the rate of pay is another issue the industry needs to tackle.

BEA COLECHIN

More opportunities for encouraging people to enter the industry are being explored. Pioneer Sailing Trust is offering different pathways to boatbuilding in a nationwide scheme, with block release training; and a new apprenticeship scheme starts in September for ‘Heritage Engineering Marine Technicians’. And Spirit Yachts is in the initial stages of setting up its own Academy, says Karen Underwood, where students will gain a degree-level qualiﬁcation in yacht construction. “The academy will be a fantastic resource to help attract and nurture female boatbuilding talent.”

“And the people here are very encouraging. Everyone’s always asking each other for their opinion on a job so I was able to ask questions. My conﬁdence has improved massively.”

Although there was no intention at the outset that the Women in Boatbuilding Instagram account would be anything more than a means of celebrating each other’s achievements, in the past 18 months it’s become

MILLSPHOTOGRAPHY,ANDYCOLLISMEDIA,REBECCAPHOTOS:WATERLINE

Bea applied to Lowestoft International Boatbuilding Training College and qualified for a bursary and, at 19, moved to Su olk for the year-long course. “I had a fun time. You build up your skills really quickly.” She secured her first job at the family-owned boatyard, Eastwood Whelpton in Norfolk, before she passed her final exams. “I’ve ended up with a really good job because I get to do a bit of everything,” she says. “There’s nothing we can’t do as women, we just have to think a bit di erently sometimes. I’m by far the smallest person in my boatyard, so any jobs in hard-toreach places are my jobs because I can get in there better than anybody else.

Certainly, an increased visibility of women working in the industry with more role models at all levels is crucial for supporting and expanding a diverse workforce, says Obi Oji, who trained at Lyme Regis Boatbuilding Academy. “You see similar people to you and it starts your thought process that it might be possible to have a go.”

Funding for training courses in the form of grants, bursaries and sponsorship would also act as “a proactive afﬁrmation”, according to Gail McGarva. “But one of the vital things you need is somebody believing in you and saying yes, you can do it.”

Walking her dog along the river in Nottingham one day, 18-year-old swimming instructor Bea Colechin spotted a dilapidated 23ft (7.1m) canal boat for sale. She loved working with wood and had taken up a part-time furniture making course, so she pulled together all her savings and bought the boat. “Two years down the line I was spending every waking hour on that boat and my dad pointed out that I could do it as a job rather than a hobby.”

WOMEN IN BOATBUILDING 48 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

Above: Spirit’s level ‘playing ﬁeld’ women,employingofsets a good industrywithinexamplethe “I am working with Belinda in trying to expand Women in Boatbuilding,” says Heike. “At the moment we’re hoping to offer mentoring to women, but perhaps we will be able to expand to provide more resources.”

GAIL MCGARVA Awarded the British Empire Medal for her services to clinker boatbuilding and heritage crafts, Gail McGarva devotes herself to building boats that are in danger of extinction, creating replicas, or ‘daughter boats’.

CLASSIC BOAT CTOBER 2022

Gail had lived on boats for many years and decided to look into the course at Lyme Regis Boatbuilding Academy after careers working as a sign language interpreter and an actor/teacher. “I walked in the door and I knew immediately, that’s what I wanted to do. It was one of those life-changing events.”

“I was very fortunate in that when I ﬁnished my training in 2005, there was an explosion of interest in Cornish Pilot Gigs and clubs were commissioning new boats,” she says. Since then, though, she has also sought out funding for a wide range of heritage projects, encouraging communities to participate in the building of boats, teaching traditional boatbuilding skills and sharing the narratives behind the vessels. “I have a very strong philosophy that if you involve people in the building process, they will have a connection with the boat and then they will ultimately become custodians of it,” she says.

She may not have picked up a chisel until she was in her late 40s, but Jo Wood is a key member of the team building a reconstruction of a 90ft (27.5m) Anglo-Saxon boat in what is a unique venture of experimental archaeology in Woodbridge, Su olk. A trained accountant, Jo had been working for charitable organisations overseas for many years, but in 2016 decided she wanted a change. She took time out to pursue a boatbuilding course in Lowestoft.

BOWDENMIKEPHOTO:

PHOTOS: MILLSANDY 50 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 WOMEN IN BOATBUILDING clear that it could become a support network and lobbyingIndustryforce.bodies like the RYA and Maritime UK are working for change by introducing departments and programmes dedicated to equality and diversity, but these initiatives need to be seen implemented in the boatyards themselves. “As an industry we are a long way off gender parity, and a lot more could be done towards it,” says Belinda. Women have been privately sharing their stories of everyday sexism, discrimination and alienation while getting on with the job and often having to prove themselves over and above their male“Peoplecounterparts.talktoyou as if you’re some sort of trailblazer,” says self-employed bosun/boatbuilder Belinda Cree. “You don’t feel there’s space for you not to be the best in the yard. Are you going to allow me to be new, to be learning, or will you think I’m no good because I’m a woman?”

“I had discovered sailing in my early 30s and was looking at how I could build my knowledge around it. I wanted to be creative and do something practical, something completely di erent from my day job.”

“We’ve got a groundswell of change with the way that people are treated and the types of comments that are made,” says Felicity Lees at Pioneer. “It can seem quite archaic and we need to call it out when it happens.”“I’dliketo see the perception of who can work in this industry change,” says self-employed bosun/ boatbuilder Belinda [Cree]. “It needs to change if the industry is to stay strong and grow. In the heritage industry in particular, volunteers are older men and that’s not sustainable in the long term.”

Above Boatbuilding is not all accuracysolvingaboutstrength,aboutit’sproblemand

“Each man and woman brings something different to the workplace,” says Emily Stokes who trained at Lyme Regis BBA and has just joined Spirit Yachts, which is based Ipswich, Suffolk. “It doesn’t matter if you are male or female if you are competent, able and have a passion for the work, and you will be achieving something complicated and wonderful!”

From inappropriate language to ill-ﬁtting workwear and PPE, there are many areas which can be remedied but involve a cultural change in a sector that is still considered by some to be ‘old school’.

She achieved a City and Guilds boatbuilding qualiﬁcation and volunteered with the Ship’s Company in Woodbridge, contributing shifts between her work commitments. “We are using the materials and techniques of the Anglo-Saxons, but it’s about using the tools rather than engaging brute force. And it’s important to rotate the tasks, almost like circuit training. You can’t do axe work all day so I will be making sca olding and handrails with power tools at other times. It’s a great journey that I feel I’m on, along with the ship.”

JO WOOD

51CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 Anne T. Converse PHOTOGRAPHYMARINE•TRAVEL•EQUINEPEOPLEP.O.Box209Marion,MA02738|USA5087286210anne@annetconverse.comwww.annetconverse.com Untitled-147 1 01/03/2019 14:53ANNE T CONVERSE IBC CB Aug19.indd 1 26/06/2019 17:34 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 95 years of experience in traditional yacht refit & restoration Fox’s Marina & Boatyard, Ipswich, Su olk, IP2 8SA +44 (0) 1473 689111 foxs@foxsmarina.com foxsmarina.com Fox's Classic Boat ad - Oct22.indd 1 18/08/2022 13:40

ZINNIA The ultimate gaffer LOA 30ft (9.15m) DRAUGHT 5ft 6in (1.7m) DISP 7.9 tonnes RIG Gaff cutter BUILD Strip plank PRICE £300-400,000 DESIGNER Ed Nigel(edburnettyachts.co.uk)Burnett&Irens(nigelirens.com) BUILDER Elephant Boatyard (elephantboatyard. Aco.uk)nely-tuned gaffer from two top Designers SMALL BOAT GUIDE 52 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

At the traditional end of the spectrum is the 30ft Zinnia, designed by the late Ed Burnett in collaboration with Nigel Irens. Built in 1998, this is the boat that launched Ed’s career, and the principles she embodies were repeated in several bigger sizes. There are shades of Harrison Butler and Laurent Giles in her design – or you could just say she’s the ultimate development of a traditional (ie long-keel) gaff cutter built in modern materials. With her relatively high-aspect rig and well-balanced hull, she’s deceptively fast – as you might expect with that design pedigree – and will sail rings around most old gaffers. Several boats have been built to the design around the world, and any prospective owner will have no trouble ﬁnding a yard more than happy to build a Zinnia for them – not least Elephant Boatyard in Hampshire and MB Yachts in Dorset.

A look at some of the new classics in the popular 30ft size range

ALVA The comfortable gaffer LOA 30ft (9.15m) DRAUGHT 5ft 9in (1.8m) DISP c8 tonnes RIG Gaff cutter CONSTRUCTION Larch on pitch pine and oak PRICE £300,000 DESIGNER Paul (gartsideboats.com)Gartside BUILDER Ben A(benharrisboats.co.uk)Harrissurprisinglyfastgaffer for family sailingOLSENCAREYBLACK;BILLYCOMPTON;NICPHOTOS: 53CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

AROUNDBOATS30FT

TOP 10

Another designer to try his hand at the classic gaff cutter conﬁguration with considerable success is Paul Gartside – a former West Country boy who emigrated to British Columbia then Nova Scotia then, in 2016, New York State. Paul was behind the Oysterman 16 and 22 and countless other working boat-inspired designs. When up-and-coming boatbuilder Ben Harris came to build his ﬁrst boat in 2011, he chose a Gartside design based on the Falmouth Quay Punt. The 30ft Alva is traditionally built of larch on pitch pine and oak frames and not only looks the part but is also surprisingly fast, consistently winning her class at the Falmouth Classics. Ben has just built another 34ft gaff cutter, his third boat,

WORDS NIC COMPTON

Afriend once told me that everyone has their ideal size of boat – his happened to be 45ft (13.7m) pilot cutters while mine were slightly smaller sailing yachts around the 30ft (9.1m) mark. Most of the boats I’ve owned have been in that range – partly because that’s all I could afford but also because it’s simply the perfect size: big enough to sail pretty much anywhere in the world but small enough not to break the bank doing so. Just look at the mast of a 30-footer compared to a 40-footer and you get an idea of the difference in scale – and therefore the maintenance bills. And, it turns out, there are plenty of new classic 30-footers to choose from.

SMALL BOAT GUIDE

CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 designed by Jack Gifford and is clearly the man to talk to if you want a traditional, working boat-inspired yacht of that size. Staying in the West Country, one of the most popular gaffers in this size range is the Heard 28. It’s based on a wooden boat designed by the legendary Percy Dalton for local boatbuilder Terry Heard in 1968. Moulds were taken off that boat and used to build working boats to dredge the oyster beds on the Carrick Road. She was eventually fitted out with a cruising interior and marketed as the Heard 28. Dozens of boats were built in this way from the 1980s onwards, first by Terry and then his son Martin at their Gaffers & Luggers yard in Tregatreath. Although heavily built, they set a goodly amount of sail (630sqft) and are reputedly quite fast. No boats have been built recently, but Martin’s son Sam assures us he is ready to dust off the moulds and start work on a new order. A slightly more yachty take on the gaff cutter concept is the Pilot Cutter 30 built by Cornish Crabbers. She’s a development of the yawl-rigged Cornish Trader, designed by Roger Dongray in the 1980s, reconfigured as a gaff cutter. Despite its name, the boat isn’t based on any actual boat type, never mind a pilot cutter. Instead, it’s a shallow-draught (3ft 6in with the centreboard up), traditionally-styled glassfibre cruising yacht, with good performance and a lightweight, modern gaff rig. With four sails, including a jackyard topsail, giving you 600sqft of sail area, there’s plenty of string to keep the crew busy. Shrimpers may come and Shrimpers may go,

PILOT CUTTER 30 The easy gaffer LOA 30ft (9.14m) DRAUGHT 3ft 6in/5ft 3in (1.1-1.6m) DISP 6.4 tonnes RIG Gaff cutter CONSTRUCTION Glass bre PRICE £184,950 DESIGNER Roger Dongray BUILDER Cornish A(cornishcrabbers.co.uk)Crabbersmanageablefamilycruiser HEARD 28 The bullet-proof gaffer LOA 28ft (8.5m) DRAUGHT 5ft (1.5m) DISP 8.2 tonnes RIG Gaff cutter CONSTRUCTION Glass bre PRICE £160,000 DESIGNER Percy Dalton BUILDER Gaffers & Luggers (gaffer Ansandluggers.com)oldworkhorse with a proven record 54

but the Pilot Cutter 30 is still the ﬂagship of the Cornish Crabber ﬂeet.

The last gaffer in this selection is arguably not a gaffer at all. When James Wharram and Hanneke Boon designed the Tiki 21 in the 1980s, they came up with what they called a ‘soft wing sail’, with a luff that wrapped around the mast to reduce turbulence and a short ‘Dutch’ gaff at its head. This principle was applied to the Tiki range, including the Tiki 30, originally designed as a ﬂeet of charter yachts for Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe. Either way, the result is a low-aspect, low-tech rig ideally suited to the minimalist style of all their boats. Andy Smith builds the Tiki 30 in the Philippines, so there will no doubt be interesting conversations about transport to be had – or you can buy the plans and build her yourself.

The next boat is the oldest in this selection, yet the most mainstream so far: it has a modern bermudan rig set on a traditional, long-keel hull and it set the standard for survival during the 1979 Fastnet Race. I am of course talking about the Contessa 32, designed by Jeremy Rogers and David Sadler in 1971 and, apart from a brief lull in the 1980s and 90s, has been in continuous production ever since. A more seaworthy yet speedy traditional cruising yacht it would be hard to ﬁnd, and the class has a devoted following. Accommodation is tight compared to most modern boats – or even some of the other boats on this list – and you don’t get full standing headroom if you’re 6ft (1.82m) tall, as I am, but on every other point, this boat is hard to beat.

55CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 CONTESSA 32 Fastnet survivor LOA 32ft (9.8m) DRAUGHT 5ft 6in (1.7m) DISP 4.3 tonnes RIG Bermudan sloop CONSTRUCTION Glass bre PRICE £275,000 DESIGNER Jeremy Rogers & David Sadler BUILDER Jeremy Rogers (jeremyrogers.co.uk) The ultimate capable cruiser for all weathers TIKI 30 The innovator LOA 30ft (9.2m) DRAUGHT 2ft 1in (0.7m) DISP 1 tonne RIG Soft wing sail CONSTRUCTION Plywood PRICE $78,800 DESIGNER James Wharram & Hanneke Boon (wharram.com) BUILDER Andy Smith (andyqqsmithboat works@yahoo.com)

RUSTLER 33 Spirit of the 50s LOA 34ft (10.4m) DRAUGHT 5ft 6in (1. 7m) Weight 2.9 tonnes RIG Bermudan sloop BUILD Resin infused glass bre PRICE £198,250

DESIGNER Stephen Jones BUILDER Rustler

The wizard of Bristol on steroids

ALERION Spirit of Herreshoff LOA 30ft 1in (9.2m) DRAUGHT 5ft (1.5m) DISP 2.9 tonnes RIG Bermudan sloop CONSTRUCTION Glass bre PRICE $289,760 DESIGNER Langan Design BUILDER Alerion Yachts (alerionyachts.com)

Of course, not everyone wants a boat capable of sailing around the world, and there’s an increasing number of very elegant, fast dayboats and ‘weekenders’ on the market. One of the longest standing in this field is Alerion Yachts in the US, which started in 1988 with a replica of a daysailer designed by Nat Herreshoff for himself in 1912. Needless to say, the design has been modernised and reinvented for the modern era, while keeping the above water profile drawn by Herreshoff. The Alerion 30 is the latest version, with composite hull, carbonfibre spars and modest but comfortable accommodation. Upgrade to the 33, and you even get an enclosed head. This is a boat for easy, unpretentious sailing. No fuss, no glitz, just good, steady performance. A similar approach was taken by Rustler Yachts in the UK with its Rustler 33. It too combines a modern underwater body with traditional above water lines – though the aesthetic is more 1950s than 1910s, with the retroussé counter stern and flat sheer. The boat has a pared-down, simple look, which makes it stand out from most boats in the Spirit of Tradition class. At just under three tonnes, it’s at the moderate-to-light end of the spectrum and is said to sail well above hull speed. Below decks, the accommodation is surprisingly spacious, though without standing headroom. That truncated stern doesn’t do it for me, but CB’s editor loves it and suggests the Rustler 33 is “one of the prettiest of all boats – a rare, different masterstroke”. Who am I to argue?

CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

An(rustleryachts.com)Yachtsoriginaltakeonaclassic theme

SMALL BOAT GUIDE

57CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 Calljeremyrogers.co.ukus:+44(0)1590646780 Email us: production@jeremyrogers.co.uk We are a fully equipped, family-run boat yard specialising in all aspects of wooden and grp yacht refurbishment and repair, as well as building new Contessa 32s. Our highly skilled team of shipwrights have the vision and experience to make your project a pleasure, be it a complete rebuild or a simple repair. Come and talk to our friendly and expert team about your next project Paul Spooner Design Ltd HampshireRomsey 01794 328 paulspoonerdesign.comenquiries@psdesign.uk.com174 Yacht Designers & Naval Architects with an Eye for Detail. Specializing in Classic and Spirit of Tradition Yachts 280422_PSDesign_Advert.indd 2 28/04/2022 17:59 Delivery www.angliastainless.co.ukWorldwide

DISP 1.7 tonnes RIG Bermudan sloop BUILD Strip plank wood PRICE £250,000 DESIGNER Sean McMillan BUILDER Spirit Yachts (spirityachts.com) Classic elegance uncompromisingwithperformance TOFINOU 9.7 Wolf in sheep’s clothing LOA 31ft 10in (9.7m) DRAUGHT 4ft / 6ft 6in (1.2/2m) DISP 2.3 tonnes RIG Bermudan sloop BUILD Composite PRICE €169,000 DESIGNER Peugeot Design BUILDER Latitude 46 (to nou.com) A classic of the future SMALL BOAT GUIDE

The most modern by far in this selection is the Tofinou 9.7, the latest incarnation of the Tofinou range. Built on the Ile de Ré on the west coast of France, Tofinou started in 1987 as a traditional dayboat built in glassfibre, which soon built up a cult following. More modern designs followed, including the dashing 9.5, which I sailed just after it came out in 2004. The 9.7 takes the concept a bit further, with an unashamedly modern hull shape – wide stern and skimming dish hull – tastefully adorned with wood and varnish to give it a classic ‘feel’.This is, in effect, a modern design with a traditional aesthetic, but it promises to be a lot of fun, with speeds of up to 10.5 knots. Quite a range of boats, then, within the ‘around 30ft’ range. Next up? Pilot cutters (and others) ‘around 45ft’, of course! 6in (1.4m)

SPIRIT 30 Lightweight speedster LOA 30ft (9.2m) DRAUGHT 4ft

58 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 Spirit Yachts, the company that has an enviable reputation for building top-end wooden cruising yachts up to 111ft (33.8m) long, has recently got in on the act with its Spirit 30, their ﬁrst open boat. Like her bigger sisters, the new boat combines a modern underwater shape with classic lines above, including a moderate counter stern and long spoon bow. Spirit Yachts has never been afraid of a bit of bling, and the Spirit 30 is no exception, with exquisite joinery varnished to maximum effect and all the necessary hardware of a modern yacht. But perhaps most remarkable is the boat’s weight: just 1.7 tonnes, more than half of which is in the ballast keel. This is a high-performance ﬂyer, which will out-perform most ‘modern’ yachts.

59CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 Sillette THE BEST YOUR BOAT CAN GET Sillette.co.uk +44(0)1202 621631 £510 £166 £180 £522 £568 “You are welcome to use my name, my experience, and any photos of the boat in your testimonials. I am a true believer in your CPES product. I have been using it since 1991 on every piece of wood I put into a boat.” www.makewoodgood.co.uk Support and advice on: +44 (0)1732 824 700 Makes varnish or paint last Glues the top coat to the wood Glues wood bres back together Waterproof but breathable Made largely of wood resins Penetrates deeply Stops tannin bleed Christian Carleton used Epifanes varnish over CPES on Taurus (pictured right) in 1991. He writes: CLEAR PENETRATING EPOXY SEALER THE WORLD’S FINEST WOOD PRIMER You

The new Down East-style launch from East Passage Boatwrights sits at the crossroads of traditional craftsmanship and modern demands WORDS ANDREA E MCHUGH PHOTOS TYLER FIELDS NEXT GENERATION CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 202260

There seems nowhere more apropos to test a new, traditionally built wooden boat than steps from the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) in Newport, Rhode Island. The coastal enclave’s maritime legacy is unparalleled in this part of the US, and its decades spent hosting the America’s Cup empowers Newport to bill itself the ‘Sailing Capital of the World,’ though other ports, both foreign and domestic, might dispute such a declaration [Cowes?! – ed]

CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 61

Regardless of self-appointed accolades, Restoration Hall, the heartbeat of IYRS’s three-acre harbour front campus, is buzzing literally and ﬁguratively, as students sand rough wooden planks, one of the countless steps toward completing a vessel by the school’s annual launch day. In its shadow, Beetle Cats, dinghies, skiffs and sloops bob alongside the school docks, as well as a new power boat built by East Passage Boatwrights led by IYRS alum Carter Richardson, patiently awaiting a good day on Narragansett Bay. “I think there’s an intricate beauty with something being simple,” says Richardson as he walks briskly down the dock. “It’s not easy making something simple. To pull it off, you have to do it

elegantly, and I think we did,” he says about his first East Passage 24, a timeless down east-style launch inspired by the iconic fishing and pleasure boats of New England’s waters. Richardson graduated from the Boatbuilding & Restoration programme at IYRS in 2004, an unlikely path for someone born and raised in landlocked Arizona. But annual summertime visits to see his grandparents on the coast of Maine planted the seed for a love of the sea, leading him to the US Naval Academy and serving the Navy immediately after. IYRS was his first foray into earnest woodworking, and he soon was seduced by the thrill of mastering centuries-old skills like lofting lines, steam-bending oak frames and learning the art of complex joinery. When he opened East Passage Boatwrights in 2006, the full-service marine yard was dedicated exclusively to comprehensive wooden boat restoration and maintenance. Projects were long and lucrative, and their meticulous work didn’t go unnoticed. They were tasked with restoring two lauded, historic S&S yachts: Sonny, winner of regattas around the world, and the 1937 Skylark, built in 1937. But it was the restoration of a 1935

“One of the reasons we picked a power boat over a sailing boat was because sailors are very particular about their boats, and if they are racing, they want to be in a class. You’re in a Shield, or an Ensign, and you’re racing other Shields and Ensigns, or a J-boat,” explains Richardson. “I thought I had a better opportunity to ﬁnd something that was marketable if I did a powerboat.

Ansel said he was influenced by a 23ft Fred Bates Pogo he built with a fishing partner in the early 80s, where he racked up considerable sea time, and a Weston Farmer utility skiff lapstrake round bottom. “So I had pretty firm ideas about what constitutes a good, seakindly hull. Of course, working with Carter on this particular boat, looks was an important thing; a high premium on the aesthetic look of the boat.”

“We were out sailing at the Opera House Cup in Nantucket in 2017, and Woody said, ‘What are you doing? Why are you wasting your time? Do it. You got the talented crew. It’s time to make the move.’” Woody Metzger has found success building wooden boats with a partner at First Light Boatworks in Chatham, Mass, a sleepy seaside town at the southeastern tip of Cape Cod.

East Passage Boatwrights dived into making the first boat a reality just as the world began to hold its collective breath as the pandemic bore down. It was a good distraction, as they took a cue from fellow Bristolean, the legendary naval architect Nathanael Herreshoff (1848 – 1938), who dominated American yacht design for more than 75 years. The prowess of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company was unmatched and ‘Captain Nat’ was considered a genius in building hulls and fittings. “We build it the same way Herreshoff built,” says Richardson. “They had a mould for every frame and it led to a better product down the road, easier to fair, easier to build on, easier to replicate. That’s the idea here: to build hull 200, 250 at some point.” They sourced native white oak, just as Herreshoff used, from New England Naval Timbers in nearby Connecticut. “We go through and look at every piece of wood and say, ‘That’s perfect for frame stock, perfect for floor stock, this is a keel right here,” he says, and they got to work building out the backbone and framework on CNC-cut moulds. The hull is double-planked with an inside layer of Atlantic white cedar, chosen for its strength, durability and rot resistance, and an outer topside layer of solid mahogany planking. The unfinished teak trim is emblematic of the boat’s simplicity, and will create fewer maintenance demands.

“I noticed there were no classic or traditional boats whatsoever. I said, ‘Someone out here wants classic boats.’ You have all these people putting money into restoring classic sailing yachts and they’re on the harbour; you see it, but you don’t see anything new. It’s all old and restored.”Therewere two clear buyer demographics this new boat would cater to: folk who want to leisurely cruise the harbour and/or, as Richardson puts it, those with a desire to “get out on the water, throw an anchor, have lunch, go swimming and then come home.” And there are the boaters with a larger vessel unable to move quickly. “Someone who owns a 120ft sailing yacht can’t motor around the harbour in that,” says Richardson. “They’re unable to get out on the water on a whim. At that point we put our chips in and develop a production boat… something people will want to replicate over and over again,” explains Richardson. Richardson turned to Walt Ansel, a former IYRS instructor, senior shipwright at Mystic Seaport Museum and long-time ﬁxture at WoodenBoat School. The son of a boatbuilder, there’s hardly been a time when Ansel hasn’t been on or near the water, including working as a commercial ﬁsherman for a time and even helping to restore the Charles W Morgan – the only surviving wooden whaling ship in the US. Connecting with Richardson was serendipitous, as Ansel was completing the Yacht Design and Naval Architecture course atWestlawn Institute of Marine

Says Richardson: “He nailed it first time. What I saw then is almost exactly what we’re seeing now. There are very few modifications from that first model.”

EAST PASSAGE 24 62 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 Technology and was keen to put his skills to use. Ansel’s daughter Evelyn was the instigator – she’s the curator of the Herreshoff Marine Museum, also in Bristol. As happens in small New England towns, she caught wind Richardson was looking for a design for a classic launch.

Ansel was a regular visitor to East Passage’s humming workplace, where he’d check in on the shipwrights’

S&S yawl formerly owned by Humphrey Bogart, Santana, that took them two calendar years to complete, earning them the 2017 Restored Sailing Yacht over 40ft award from this magazine. Projects like this, though rewarding, were inconsistent and Richardson, a family man with a shop full of employees eager for steady work, came to a crossroads.

Everyone enjoys a powerboat. It’s a pleasure boat... a boat to go out and have fun in.” Walking the docks in the fall of 2018 at the Newport International Boat Show solidiﬁed East Passage’s pivot.

ANSEL DELIVERS THE DESIGN

“We had a 22-footer I ﬁrst drew with very classic lines, nice sheer and tumblehome; a real New England launch you’d see from maybe the 1930s, and Carter really liked the look of it,” explains Ansel with equal arts humility and pride. “He wanted something a little bit longer, so I expanded the 22ft cartoon as we call it, by two feet, and then I developed a 3D model in CAD, using Rhino, then I went back to Carter with the 24-footer.”

“I said to Walt, ‘I need something classic; something that will perform well and be functional.’ I gave him a pretty wide berth in terms of what to design as I did not have a clear idea in my head of the 24; I just had a general parameter of the kind of boat I was looking for.”

Richardson rethought the future of East Passage Boatwrights and what they needed to do to stay busy, stay aﬂoat. Sailing boats are a dime a dozen in these parts, with no shortage of sailors loyal to their favourites, while power boats? Well, there he saw an opportunity.

Clockwise from top left: The hull double-carvel,is with a mahogany outer layer and an inner layer of Atlantic white cedar; Every frame has its own mould for accuracy and ShipwrightsbuildtheU-shapedoncentreDetailrepeatability;fromtheconsole;OutNarragansettBay;seatinginbows;EP24inatEastPassage

64 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 EAST PASSAGE 24 progress. “We had to tinker on some things as it went together because it’s one thing to do a design, but the then components you buy to fit into it – the engine, exhaust system; it always takes a little bit of tweaking to make things fit, particularly with a boat that size and a wooden hull. You don’t have a tonne of room to spare, so you have to put a fair amount of thought into making everything fit… but he stayed very close to the plans I developed.”Comfort was also critical to Ansel’s design. “On the underwater lines, I put a little bit more of a modern lobster boat shape into it for performance, and I figured those boats that guys spend 10 hours a day on – on their feet – are very good models for coming up with boats that are easy in seaway and perform well,” explains Ansel, who knows a thing or two about days spent on working on deck. “It’s not super wide as some of the motorboats are today. The beam is a third of the length. That was an old classic rule of thumb.” Richardson says it took around 6,000 hours to complete number one, and the result is a classic, traditional, ultra-functional launch with elegant lines that turns heads even in waters accustomed to impressive vessels, and performance that has exceeded expectations. Hull number two is already underway, taking less time, and has a buyer making customisations, just as Richardson envisioned.

UNDER WAY Back at IYRS, we toss the lines and motor out of Newport Harbor, making way to the east passage of Narragansett Bay at a steady clip. There’s ample room to roam about the plywood deck, protected by fiberglass cloth and clear resin so impeccable it speaks to the boat’s newness. I take a seat on the nearly full-width bench in the aft cockpit as Richardson navigates from the teak-trimmed centre console. Rounding the corner at historic Fort Adams, the largest and most complete 19th-century coastal fortification in the US, I move to the console seat as we accelerate to 15 knots, powered by a Yanmar 150hp turbo diesel, effortlessly cutting through medium-sized swells. With a hunger for adventure and eagerness to see the EP24 at full throttle as we head south toward the mouth of the Atlantic, I welcome the slighter larger swells in the near distance, reposition to the bow, and relish the rare good fortune of salt spray hitting my face. The EP24’s speed capacity has come as a surprise to more than just Richardson. “It’s a tough boat to make go quickly and ride very nicely. Those down east-style hulls were really made to be displacement boats, and they’ve been pushed to plane with higher horsepowers over the years,” explains Scott Gifford, a lifelong waterman from Westport, Massachusetts, who has built boats in wood and glassfibre for more than 25 years, among them the Trip Anglers, built with the same hull shape of the EP 24. “Walt’s done a great job designing that, and Carter did a really good job building that, to make it perform above and beyond any boat of that hull shape that I’ve ever been on.” Shocked, is how he describes the ride. “The boat maintains its stability through all RPM ranges, through all speed. It corners very well. It doesn’t pound when it gets up on a plane, something that we had trouble with in the Trip Anglers, which were a direct splash, we call it, from a wooden hull... The boat performs so well. It was a joy to be in.” Being able to go 24 knots so comfortably was a delightful discovery, says Richardson, who was aiming for the boat to cruise at 20 knots. “This boat was never about speed. This boat was about looking good, it really was. It was meant to be classic, like an old Porsche; she doesn’t need to go 90 miles per hour; she goes 65 and looks really good doing that.” This past summer, the East Passage team tested that speed en route to Mystic for the annual WoodenBoat Magazine Boat Show, hugging the coast as they cruised 35 nautical miles south, her graceful lines cutting through the sea at top speed. It was worth the trip as the EP24 snatched Best in Show for Professionally New Built Powerboat, but the true prize for Richardson was seeing his vision come to life. Scott Gifford perhaps summed it up “Youbest. get in the water and get it all together and the weights that you planned come out to what you planned them to be, and then you hit the throttle; it’s a feeling not many people get to have, and I saw the look on Walt’s face, I know he was having that feeling, and Carter too. You could tell. They were all smiles, ear to ear.”

Above and below: The EP24 was not built for speed, so the 24-knot top end was a surpriselovely

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65CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 ANDFORBOATBUILDERSTRAININGFIVEDECADESSTILLGOINGSTRONG www.ibtc.co.uk courses@ibtc.co.uk01502 569 663• • UPCOMING OPEN DAYS 1ST OCTOBER & 26TH NOVEMBER 2022 COME SEE US AT SOUTHAMPTON INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW STAND H018 16TH-25TH SEPTEMBER 2022 IBTC_Quarter_Size_CB_v1_Sept.indd 1 24/08/2022 11:31 BUILDERS OF THE CAPE CUTTER 19 This well established trailer sailer combines sleek classic lines with surprising speed & performance. Visit us in Swanage to see our selection of new and brokerage classics. email: tim@honnormarine.co.uk or call 07968 176496 www.honnormarine.co.uk suit your individual needs — for a day or for a lifetime. For more information contact HENLEY SALESAND CHARTER LTD +44 (0) 1491 578870 | www.hscboats.co.uksales@hscboats.co.uk With 30 years of experience specialising in traditional and electric boats we will do our best to nd the ideal craft to suit your individual needs — for a day or for a lifetime. For more information contact HENLEY SALESAND CHARTER LTD Available For Charter Albatros www.albatros-amsterdam.eu

With 30 years of experience specialising in traditional and With 30 years of experience specialising in traditional and electric boats we will do our best to nd the ideal craft to suit your individual needs — for a day or for a lifetime.

It’s almost 50 years since my wife Roz and I moved aboard our first serious cruising boat. While paying off our overdraft, we lived in a mud berth on a rickety pier attached to what was then Moody’s yard at the top of the Hamble River. It was universally known as ‘Debtors’ Jetty’. Walking off the pier, the first notable feature was a row of diminutive crook-backed buildings a story-and-a-half high called Victory Cottages. Beyond them, still only thirty yards from the foreshore, stood the Ship Inn. The buildings are still there today. The inmates, inevitably, have changed. The pub being handy for the boat, we used to take refreshment in the snug bar with a pal of ours called Norman. Norman had been around longer than us, a vet and one of life’s enthusiasts. He raced an Elizabethan 31 called Snowbird and, like me, was grappling with the fundamentals of astro navigation in evening classes at the Warsash Nautical College. Here, we were initiated into the imponderable world of haversines anspherical trigonometry, none of which I subsequently found were needed at all. A far more accessible method had been developed by the RAF, but that was too easy for what was then the Yachtmaster’s Certificate. After a couple of hours of this torment, we were ready for a drink, so we’d slide into the Ship where Mavis, a bartender whose mature charms no sailor could reasonably be expected to ignore, served a beautifully kept pint. With luck, one or two of the Victory Cottage incumbents would be with us at the bar, and here we discovered a living history now long gone. One chap of immense antiquity used to turn out in full professional yachting ‘Number Ones’. White-topped cap, ducks and, lest anyone should imagine he was masquerading as an owner or a gent, brass buttons to his blazer. I don’t recall his name, but I’ll never forget his yarns of the pre-World War I yachting scene in which, as a young fisherman/paid hand, he had taken a full-blooded part. Tales of sprees when a generous owner shared his prize money with the hands after a successful regatta were always a scream, but the best for me was when he and his shipmates crossed tack for tack with the Kaiser sailing the schooner Meteor, then sat on his wind all the way to the finish. Another drinker at that fabulous bar was Eddie, probably the last of the old-school professionals who also lived in Victory Cottages. Along with assisting the gentlemen of the Royal Yacht Squadron in their dayboats, hoisting their spinnakers and advising on tactics, he ran a big, varnished sloop on the river called Springtide. The decades have rolled by and Eddie is long gone, but Springtide is still very much with us and, with luck, by the time this column is published, I will finally have sailed on her. And so the wheel turns. Once, when the pub was empty at ‘early doors’, I was sitting on a bar stool wondering how Roz and I could manage to raise a decent medical kit for our impending blue-water voyage after the doctor had sent me packing. Mavis offered a penny for my thoughts. “Don’t bother with the doctors,” she said. “Why not ask your pal Norman the vet for a kit. After all, horses, dogs, bulls, they’re all the same as us really. They just have four legs.” So I did, and dear Norman came up with a highly creative box-full of goodies, FOC. Among much more, we found Udder Cream for sunburn – highly effective; antibiotic wound powder normally reserved for what was left after reducing a lively young bull to bullock status; and some sort of laxative which, we were assured, would move a horse – “only to be taken sparingly”. The list went on and it did us proud. The powder kept our coral cuts

Going to sea to scatter the ashes of the dead is not as simple as you might imagine ILLUSTRATION CLAUDIA MYATT THE ASHES TOM CUNLIFFE

66 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

free of sepsis and we never suffered from constipation for more than a day, but the best item in the instruction sheet came at the end. It read: “Be sure to equip the ship with a two-yard red ensign to cover your failures before committing them to the deep.” This talk of veterinary failures brings me to the crux of this column, which is concerned with burials at sea. As you might expect, this isn’t as easy as it used to be. First, you must apply for a licence. Next, the government code insists that your shipmate isn’t embalmed, is lightly dressed in biodegradable material and has a durable identification tag with the details of the funeral director. If you think the old boy or girl wouldn’t object to going to Davy Jones carrying the undertaker’s business card you must then construct a coffin full of holes and featuring 200kg of iron or concrete fastened with 10mm mild steel bar. It all gets a bit much, you might conclude, and opt for scattering the ashes instead. Even this apparently simple procedure doesn’t always go according to plan, however. Harold, a boat builder of skill and considerable charisma, hated all things plastic. I wasn’t there when his ashes were committed to the English Channel, so if the details aren’t strictly in order I hope I’ll be forgiven. Harold had decreed that his ashes were to be scattered at sea off the Manacles rocks, south of Falmouth, with a pal of mine running the event who’d known him well. Nothing plastic was to be involved, so a wooden casket had been ordered from the undertakers and an open wooden boat with nothing much in the way of shelter was commandeered for the expedition. On the day, it was blowing hard from the south and a south-going stream was kicking up a nasty sea, but the mourners, all properly dressed for the occasion, had gathered from far and wide. A seamanlike postponement was not on the cards, so away they went into the rising wind. They weren’t halfway there when the spray was driving back over the company so solidly that all hands were soaked to the skin and most of those unused to the normal hardships of seafaring were falling about with seasickness. On they ploughed, until the game little craft shoved her nose into a particularly nasty hole in the ocean and a cry of despair rang out from the tightly packed support group. My pal looked at the skipper of the boat. No words were needed. They nodded at each other and throttled back. “Harold would understand,” said the skipper. Someone, not a sailor, opened the casket and heaved the ashes dead to windward with predictable results, but the worst of it was, the funeral people who’d produced the lovely casket had sealed the actual ashes in a plastic bag. Nobody seemed to notice except for the two seamen in charge. Both had been great friends of Harold. Thank God, they agreed, that no matter what went wrong in or out of the workshop, he’d always seen the joke. By contrast, one sailor whose ashes went off in style was my old friend Twig, another Ship Inn local. Twig lived on a tiny boat down the river by the Crableck Yard and used to row up to the pub in his dinghy on a flood tide to join us at Mavis’s bar, but only on nights when there’d be a good ebb to carry him back. He was a man who understood tides. Twigg slipped his cable 10 or 15 years ago. His cremation passed without fuss, but the scattering of his ashes was an event. He’d had it in mind that he’d like to go down on the tide, so a little boat was created by his friends out of his old sou’wester which was still waterproof. It was lightly ballasted and rigged with a miniscule mast and a sail, then loaded up with flowers and Twigg’s ashes. We waited for an easterly breeze and a spring tide and we took Twigg out to West Bramble buoy two hours into the ebb when it was running at three knots and a bit. We launched him with love into the Solent, gave him the ancient farewell of “Fair winds, mate,” then maintained station as the stream he knew so well swept him away to the west, to the infinite sea and his last long voyage.

67CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

NORFOLK SMUGGLER Cuckoo is for sale after 22yrs. 25ft + 5ft Sprit, lifting feel, well serviced Yanmar engine. All new sea cocks, boat safety certiﬁcate, comfortable, spritely, safe in a seaway. Extras include recent Webasco, cockpit Tent. Lying Norfolk Broads. So pretty, my heart breaks a little every time I leave her. Price £45,000 (a snip). Contact Harry: 01692 678644\ 07856 801652.

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GRIMA. 1972 EX SCOTTISH CAR FERRY. Built to Lloyds A1 spec. High quality steel displacement hull with retro ﬁtted bilge keels. Completely overhauled. Excellent condition. 12 Berth. 2 x English Electric Kelvin TA6 engines driving twin Ulstein gearboxes with VPP. £170,000.00 as seen. NO TAXES. River Severn, Gloucester. Email: Ken.Lovegrove@outlook.com

CANDIDE Unique & beautiful 27ft 100yr old beavertail launch, built by renowned Thames boatbuilders Taylor & Bates during the 1920’s. Powered by 1 x Meadows Sheerwater 1500cc petrol engine. Seats up to 10 in comfort on leather upholstered horseshoe style seating with canopy over and removeable side screens for all weather cruising. A practical, reliable, sociable, and much loved family launch. Price: £60,000 Email: o ce@peterfreebody.com Tel: 01628 824382

SIBYL OF CUMAE For sale Sibyl of Cumae, a 51 ft. William Fife from 1902. She is a very beautiful and fast boat. She sleeps 5. Sibyl has always been maintained to a high standard. Recently all the electricity and navigation instruments have been renewed and updated. She is double planked mahogany and ceder under the waterline, oak frames and a lead balast keel. She will be ready to sail in the Fife Regatta in Scotland in the Spring of 2022. Laying in S.W. England. Asking price £235.000. For more information, please contact Cornelius van Rijckevorsel on 0044 (0)7816932312 or email at: corneliusvanrijckevorsel@googlemail.com

LE TEMPS PERDU French ga cutter, LOA 12,60m, length on deck 9,60m, Beam 3,30m, Draft 1,80m, engine Volvo Penta. Built in Granville, Normandy 1964. Hull iroko on oak frames, coachroof mahagony, teak deck. Successes in several Classic Boat regattas. Well maintained with boatsmancare and in ﬁrst class condition. Owner selling now for reasons of age. LocationMajorca.Andratx, GBP £49.900. Contact: canvey@hagengrote.de Phone: 0034 606379226

Robert Clark design, Berthon built in 1962. 10’1” beam. Beautiful lines and fast. Teak topsides, pitch pine below waterline, swept teak decks. Major, keel up re-ﬁt in 2015 so in excellent condition. Rebuilt engine with modern injection system. Immaculate internally with new cooker and modern electrics/hot water. Runner up in 2015 Classic Boats ‘Restoration of the Year’ awards. Lying: Beaulieu river. Price £87,500 Contact: stephen_bisset@yahoo.co.uk Tel: 07725 983300

SINOE /ARSINOE A 3 berth, cold moulded 21ft Masthead Sloop to a PAUL GARTSIDE design calling for “a strong, tight, easily handled, no-nonsense boat.” Built new 2003, now with a new BETA 16hp engine and GARMIN electronics ﬁtted in a major 2014 upgrade. Her unique history ﬁle has Paul’s plans, a full build record, magazine articles, receipts, manuals + photos from her launch to present. Excellent condition ready to go. Yard bogey inc.. O ers over £24,000. Enquiries to: rb@blackhornet.co.uk RAFAELLE, 43’ MASTHEAD SLOOP

BOATS FOR SALE 68 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 Boats for sale Looking to sell your boat? Reach over 50,000 readers each month For more boats to buy go to classicboat.co.uk/buy-a-classic-boat PLUS To advertise call Andrew Mackenzie +44 (0)207 349 3718 or email andrew.mackenzie@chelseamagazines.com Reach over 50,000 readers each month plus 30k web visitors There are two styles of Boats for Sales adverts to choose from and with our special o er, if you buy two months, your third month will be FREE. Pick the style which suits your requirements and email: andrew.mackenzie@chelseamagazines.com with your text and image or call +44 (0)207 349 3718

TRADE WIND was commissioned 1937 by a prominent Great Lakes yachtsman wanting a comfortable cruising boat for two, able to go anywhere - a yacht he could use as a tender to the 8 Metre he campaigned as well as to accompany the race ﬂeet to Bermuda. Eighty years later and following a three year restoration by Rockport Marine she still has her classic good looks and style but with concessions to modern convenience. The best of both worlds; power under sail for peaceful cruising and powerful diesel engines to get you where you want be when you need to be there. Superb functionality in traditional good taste.

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CLASSIC AND VINTAGE YACHTS

KELPIE is a race and regatta winner: one of the most beautiful and fastest classic yachts of her size. Late in the intense 2018 Mediterranean classic regatta season she notched up 1st overall in the Vintage Gaff Class at both Cannes Régates Royales and Les Voiles de St-Tropez - only typical of the way this superb Golden Age survivor has been cared for and campaigned under present ownership, including restorations 2009-2012 at Fairlie Restorations - the rebuilders of TUIGA, THE LADY ANNE, KENTRA and MARIQUITA. KELPIE is ready to continue sailing, racing and thrilling. Her recent success has been achieved crewed mainly by family and friends – are you ready?! €295,000 Lying UK

We hope that you enjoy our selection of vintage and classic sailing yachts. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further information on any of the yachts featured here. For further information please contact: +44 (0)1202 info@sandemanyachtcompany.co.uk330077

NEDDA is a magnificent reminder that Cowes designer-builder Charles Sibbick produced a line of elegant and fast cruiser racers alongside his famous fin and bulb keel race-winners like BONA FIDE, 1900 Olympic Gold Medal winner and recent scourge of Mediterranean classic regattas. Along with her alive-and-well cousins SAUNTERER and THALASSA, NEDDA was stoutly built from the finest of materials. Restored and maintained (most recently at La Rochelle by Bruno Barbara) over the past 30 years by two loving owners, NEDDA is a truly authentic, easy to sail Victorian family cruiser-racer with spacious decks, authentic and comfortable accommodation, nicely simple systems - and superb provenance. €310,000 Lying France

46ft Charles Sibbick Bermudan Cutter 1901

57ft Alfred Mylne Gaff Cutter 1903/2012

Our classic and vintage yachts & motor yachts are available to view at: – www.sandemanyachtcompany.co.uk –22 Market Street, Poole, Dorset BH15 1NF, UK MEM BER OF ABYA

€480,000 Lying France

$2.6m VAT not paid Lying USA 58ft Alfred Mylne Bermudan Cutter 1931/2003

26ft Alfred Westmacott /Woodnutt Gaff Cutter 1932 Laurent Giles identiﬁed PAZIENZA as a ‘good example of a comfortable shorthanded cruising boat with a ﬁrst class performance under power yet able to take part successfully in ocean races.’ “Yachting World” in 1957 described her as ‘a large cutter into which a great deal of thought has been given to comfort and convenience.’ Giles achieved a seamless transition between traditional and modern styling creating his own unique blend - PAZIENZA is blessed with these understated English good looks and handsome sheers. The current owner and family have successfully cruised and raced in Europe and the Caribbean and PAZIENZA is just one of those boats that once viewed – she will always stay with you! £575,000 Lying UK 60ft Laurent Giles/ Beltrami Bermudan Cutter 1956

Unhindered by the mathematics of any rating rule when tasked by her ﬁrst owner to design a fast, spacious and of course very beautiful family yacht, Alfred Mylne’s answer was this gorgeous ‘fast cruiser’ with no vices. EILIDH has charmed only four owners in ninety years, in Scottish and northern European waters, and for the past almost twenty years in the Mediterranean where she has become something of a star. EILIDH owes this extended longevity to two passionate French owners and a necessary 2002-2003 restoration at the skilled hands of Gilbert Pasqui’s Villefranche yard, followed by ongoing upgrades and maintenance – and the fact that Alfred Mylne designed such an attractive cruising boat that she simply deserves - and gives - love.

62 ft Alden Motor Sailer 1938

Built to the order of one the Isle of Wight resort of Bembridge’s socialite summer visitors, the delightful pocket gaffer WINDFLOWER has almost always been moored within the sheltered but often boisterous tidal Solent waters known intimately by her designer, Alfred Westmacott. His one-design classes such as the X-OD and Solent Sunbeam have for over a century proven very well suited to the Solent chop, so WINDFLOWER’s ability can thus be taken for granted. A major 2005 reﬁt ensured continuing happy life, and her efﬁcient rig has helped gain many overall regatta wins. Under present ownership since 2008, WINDFLOWER has been kept ashore undercover by winter, with her sail inventory, standing and running rigging continually upgraded. WINDFLOWER is a sweetheart ready to sail away with you. £29,500 Lying UK

Edited by Ste an Meyric Hughes: +44 (0)207 349 3758

When American author John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts chartered a 76ft (23.2m) purse seiner in 1940 for a research expedition in the Sea of Cortez, little did they know it would inadvertently ensure that Western Flyer would live on in infamy. In 2013, after an illustrious career and several sinkings, she was raised and towed to Port Townsend, Washington, where her second life began. Two years later, in the hands of the Port Townsend Shipwright’s Co-op, a miraculous transformation ensued, ending in her relaunch and re-christening on 29 June. The seiner was towed to Snow Boatbuilding in Seattle for engine and systems install. Following that, she will return to the Co-op for ﬁnal touches before history repeats itself. Western Flyer will head to a former home port in Monterey, California, before returning to the Sea of Cortez as a state-of-the-art research vessel. Stay tuned… Jan Hein

PORT TOWNSEND, WASHINGTON Steinbeck boat re-launched BURSLEDON, HAMPSHIRE Gipsy Moth IV in restoration to circle the globe

Email:ste an@classicboat.co.ukYard News

Craftsmanship 70 SECTION HEAD SUB SECTION CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

The most famous of Sir Francis Chichester’s Gipsy Moths is cocooned at Elephant Boatyard, undergoing a major restoration for a new owner. The 53ft (16m) ketch, designed by Illingworth and Primrose and built in cold-moulded mahogany by Camper and Nicholsons in 1966, was last rebuilt for her much-publicised world circumnavigation in 2005-6 through the Panama and Suez canals. The current work will see her returned to closer to her original state, and strong enough for a proposed third global circumnavigation in 2025 – only this time, the voyage will be south of the three great capes, following the route taken by the clipper ships and, of course, Sir Francis in his ground-breaking 1966-7 voyage. It’s anticipated that Gipsy Moth IV will be ready quite a bit before that though – in time to be present at the start of the Golden Globe Race 2022 on 4 September.

Apparently, some have been wondering if Leo Goolden is almost at the end of his amazing rebuild of the Albert Strange-designed yacht Tally Ho. In his latest YouTube video, which has already been seen by over 400,000 people, he says that he’s still a year or two away, proving the boatbuilder’s adage that much of the job is the interior. He’s been given a lesson in project management from a German consultant over Zoom, and the result is some horrifying-looking software that shows the various things he still has to do. Leo can’t zoom out wide enough to even see the mountain of jobs he still has to tackle, but he says it’s less stressful than carrying it all around in his head. The jobs still to go are categorised under headings such as interior/systems/deck/hull/rig/coding. Rather him than us! Here’s a snapshot of the software…

PORT TOWNSEND, WASHINGTON Tally Ho – a planning conundrum!

71CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 Bristol Classic Boat Company Tel: 01173305950 • Email: www.roltsboatyard.comroltsboatyard@gmail.com©JohnnyRolt Bristol 18 Electric www.staryachts.co.uk+44(0)7866-705181 18 22 18 2218 2218 2216 18 18 2222 27 32 First outing, tested by her builders 6.0 Classic style, built today info@benharrisboats.co.ukwww.benharrisboats.co.uktel:07570780864 BEN HARRIS & CO Wooden boat building in Cornwall Newbuild, Restoration, Repair

MARINE DIRECTORY 72 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 Marine Directory BOATBUILDERS The Marine Directory is the place to advertise To advertise call Andrew Mackenzie +44 (0)207 349 3718 or email andrew.mackenzie@chelseamagazines.com To advertise in the Marine Directory call Andrew Mackenzie +44 (0)207 349 3718 The Directory listings page for all your classic boat needs, this is a chance to be able to reach an audience that you can take control of really promoting who you are. You can update this as many times as you like throughout the year to stay up to date with what you’re doing and any promotions you have. For more information contact: Andrew Mackenzie +44 (0)207 349 3718 or email andrew.mackenzie@chelseamagazines.com BOATBUILDERS DESIGN High quality restoration, service, and repair of Wooden and GRP vessels Combustion Engine Conversion to Electric Propulsion ebishop@coxsboatyard.co.uk01692536206 ALAN S.R. STALEY • Shipwright • Boat Building • Spar Maker • Repair & Restoration of wooden boats • Surveys of wooden ships Tel: 01795 www.alanstaleyboatbuilders.co.uk530668 Visit our web site designs,towww.selway-fisher.comatseeourfullrangeof440yachtandboatplusboatbuildingmanualsandDVD’s. Paul Fisher BSc. MRINA 24 Lancaster Drive, Lydney, GL15 5SL Tel. 07887 Forenquires@selway495847fisher.comthelatestphotosofSFDesignboats go to our Fb page and the Blog page on our web site SELWAY FISHER DESIGN Yacht Restorers www.harbourmarine.co.uk Harbour Marine www.davey.co.uk TRADITIONAL BOATBUILDING FITTINGS, TOOLS & MATERIALS DAVEY & Co LONDON LIMITED ˚ Est.1885 TRADE MARK TRADE MARK Rowing Boats, Sailing Dinghies, Motor Launches Mayﬂower Dinghies, New Builds, Repairs, Restorations Fowey, Cornwall Tel: 07973 420568 • www.woodenboatbuilder.co.uk Marcus Lewis Wooden Boatbuilder Skippool Creek, Wyre Road, Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancs FY5 5LF Telephone: 01253 893830 Email: davidmossboatbuilders@gmail.com DAVIDwww.davidmossboatbuilders.co.ukMOSSBOATBUILDERS Quality boatbuilding in wood 8’-50’, clinker, carvel or strip-plank, spar-making, painting , welding, lay-up facilities Repairs - Restorations 15ft Sea Otter 31ft gaff cutter Polly Photo: Peter Chesworth Photo: Keith Allso www.luckybeanz.comPhoto: Explore Seahopperwww.seahopperfoldingboats.comatBeautiful, iconic folding wooden boats. Sold and loved the world over.

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On the way to lunch on the quay with Federico’s young wife, his son and his two tiny daughters, we stopped by his o ce, which is a seaman’s delight. Plans, detailed drawings and all manner of memorabilia adorn the walls, while in full view are boxes and boxes of the sort of junk that’s not for sale and which a restorer delights in having about his person.

Below: Federico (left) and Tom –two old hands shoot the

WORDS TOM CUNLIFFE PHOTOGRAPHY ROS CUNLIFFE

“You never know when you’ll need one of these,” he muses, as he fondles the remains of an ancient winch gear.

74 CRAFTSMANSHIP CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022 Federico Nardi reveals Italy’s hidden gem of a boatyard THE ITALIAN WAY CANTIERE NAVALE DELL’ ARGENTARIO

Back in 1970 I was serving as a very young skipper aboard a tidy wooden ketch with a home port on the French Riviera. On one occasion, my wife and I sailed the boat to Porto Santo Stefano on the Italian mainland to meet guests. After arriving early, we took a stroll in the evening, looking for some dinner. We passed the Cantiere Navale dell’ Argentario and, being more interested in love and gastronomy than the restoration of old boats, we paid little attention. Fifty-two years later, I discovered that this was a mistake. While on a general fact-finding journey to Italy in the spring of 2022, I called the yard and asked if I might stop by to see what they were doing at the moment. A charming lady asked me to hold the line, then returned to say that Federico Nardi – the man himself – would be happy to show me around. I arrived after breakfast and what followed was a trip through sailors’ fairyland. Twenty-eight years ago, the yard was re-established under five majority shareholders with Federico as the man on the spot. Today, they carry on a full service operation for all comers, but their hearts are in the restoration of fine yachts. We wandered through the sheds and tents, yarning about characters and yachts that we both had known or that Federico could tell me about.

Names like Olin Stephens, Dennis Conner and German Frers tripped o the tongue as we climbed up and up onto the decks of the ex-Errol Flynn schooner Zaca. Among numerous other jobs clearly in progress, half her capping rails seemed to be o . This was a change from the total rebuild one so often sees, and I asked Federico about it. He replied that, wherever possible, he liked to save what he could of the original. There is much to be said, he pointed out, for keeping a yacht that needs work in commission, then bringing her to the yard each winter, upgrading as one goes. This is a philosophy propounded by the late Martin Heard of Mylor in Cornwall, a man who understood more about old boats than most of us. It pleased me to hear it from this world-renowned yard owner who had started out as a yacht Strollingskipper.fromone facility to the next, we found ourselves under the towering keel of Scud, a Nat Herresho Bar Harbor 30. Thirteen of these yachts left Herresho ’s Rhode Island yard in the spring of 1903 after a hard winter’s e ort. Their 31ft waterline length just cleared the minimum that the larger American clubs demanded before a boat could be registered. Federico found Scud in a parlous state in Maine, but no owner came forward to restore her. Nevertheless, one or two abortive attempts were made to bring her back to condition and she ended up in Belgium, not much better than she had been in Maine. A suitable owner took up the challenge and the restoration began at Porto Santo Stefano. What struck me was the painstaking research Federico had initiated to make sure that he got her exactly as she should be, right down to the ﬁttings. These were fabricated using what remained of the originals augmented by studying bits and pieces from the Herresho museum, and always in accordance with the HerreshoFedericodrawings.andhis25 highly skilled employees seem to have a special relationship with the United States. Among their restorations are the S&S masterpieces Dorade and Stormy Weather. While reminiscing about a visit I had paid to Stormy a few years back, I suddenly found myself in the cabin of Nyala, one of Olin Stephens’ pre-war 12-Metre yachts. Although restored once by the Cantiere and now in the yard pending further serious work, the boat remains spookily original. Even the old cabin sole is still there.

Above: SantoroadoverhangClassicstheinPortoStefano

breeze Facing topclockwisepage,fromleft: A Hallberg Rassy on the onAnchorslip;protection Zaca’s bow; A wide selection of boats; Zaca’s mighty aboardYoungHarborHerreshomasts;Bar30Scud;crew Zaca

Holt’s handy pre-packs Holt andcopperMarinenailsroves

Sharpen Stanley blades with the blade ﬁtted supreme pencil

1 Sharpening

2 The

1 1

Wood lost to sawdust

sharpener

1 Resawing a small reclaimed oak board 2 Wood lost to a heap of sawdust 2 2

Stanley Tools’ commercial strategy of selling inexpensive utility knives (six shillings in 1964) with cheap replaceable blades (five for two-andsixpence) was hugely successful, but how many millions of assumedly ‘disposable’ blades have been needlessly thrown away? Carpet fitters alone, buying blades in contractors’ packs of 400, have wasted enough metal to build a steelworks. Nowhere did Stanley’s advertising suggest that instead of buying a new blade, you could sharpen the old one on a whetstone or more simply using abrasive paper. The standard trapezoidal 1992 blade is awkward to handle on its own. The secret is to use the knife itself as the honing handle, drawing the blade along the edge of a sheet of fine abrasive (1,000-grit in this case) at the shallow bevel angle of around 100 On each side, only draw the blade back from its cutting edge, to avoid cutting into the paper. Monitor progress by observing the worked metal shining more brightly, and sharpening a pencil. Honing at a steeper angle makes a stronger longer-lasting edge.

Boatbuilder’s Notes

When you have only an idea of a small component, ﬁtting, fastening or tool that you need, there’s a good chance you’ll recognise it among Holt Marine’s display of little ‘pre-packs’ dangling helpfully from a carousel at your local chandlery. Here for example, the remnants of a dozen of Holt’s No 13 copper boat nails and roves – very handy for small repairs – which cost around £4.

CRAFTSMANSHIP CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

By Robin Gates Would a new boat built entirely from wood ordered in the round have su cient volume to accommodate the waste? It could well be a close-run thing, because losses can be staggering. A good proportion goes simply in converting a log to workable boards, throwing aside the live-edged sapwood, unfavourable grain, pockets of resin, rot and useless oddments. Then, having laid in stick for seasoning, what looked good a year ago is further whittled down to reject boards now showing splits and shakes, meanwhile rough-planing others to get rid of twist, cupping and bowing. What remains seems a mere shadow of the tree it once was, albeit of the clear timber dreamily speciﬁed in the plans. But there’s more heartbreak to come when spiling those oh-so-curvy planks onto sti y rectangular boards consigns yet more hard-won timber to the ﬁre. Even timber bought seasoned, squared up and free of defects may require resawing to a required thickness, with losses to sawdust mounting up like desert dunes. Using a coarse 6- or 7-point, sharp and well-set ripsaw that makes the sawing bearable, I’d suggest John Leather’s suggestion of allowing "at least 1/8in (3mm)" for the "loss in thickness taken by the saw" to be a conservative estimate, because you have also to allow for planing away the saw marks and possibly correcting deviations from the line if you’re prone to distraction. Resawing a board by hand will often provide both required examples of what’s meant by ‘full’ (slightly oversize) and ‘bare’ (slightly undersize).

Leather-bound with brass fittings gleaming, the wind-up measuring tape is as tactile and inviting of investigation as a vintage writing case. Your fingertips seem willed to explore the hand stitching as they would a cricket ball before delivery, feeling the urge to take measurements, and big ones; back in the day a 200ft (61m) tape topped the standard range, su cient to measure a J-Class and then a 12-Metre yacht with what’s left over. So perhaps it’s not surprising that such a tape routinely featured among the tools of the old-school yacht surveyor, along with the more rudimentary chipping hammer for investigating rust and pointy thing for probing rot. Sailmakers, too, have long favoured the wind-up tape for measuring the lu of a new mainsail while the vessel is afloat with mast stepped. Conveniently the first inch of the tape is occupied by a swivelling brass loop, seemingly purpose-made for connection to the main halyard shackle for hoisting aloft. Given calm conditions (and not forgetting a safety line tied in parallel with the tape in case of a snag) the measurement to the top of the boom may be noted.

DEAN TAPE MEASURE

77CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

The best-known makers of early 20th century wind-up tapes (not to mention rules, straight edges and spirit levels) were John Rabone of Birmingham and James Chesterman of She eld, subsequently merged under the Rabone Chesterman brand. Small uncased tapes by Dean of London are more familiar to the tailoring trade (there should be one in every domestic sewing box), while the main business of Dean’s parent company, Howard Wall, was manufacturing parts for corsets and bodices, but the company also carried Dean’s wind up leather-cased tapes which found their way into the maritime sector and – of topical interest here – maritime archaeology. This 50ft example is exactly as used during excavation of the treasureladen Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo in 1939. Last year the much-lauded movie The Dig reimagined events surrounding the excavation for the cinema, and it carries ongoing relevance for boatbuilders in the construction of a replica by The Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company (see CB404). Contemporary photographs show the Dean tape being used for mapping grave goods as they were uncovered, and archaeologist Basil Brown’s original is on display at Tranmer House, formerly home to Edith Pretty who owned the site, now managed by the National Trust. Gates

NEXT MONTH: ECE planes By Robin

1 Dean of London 50ft (15.1m) linen tape measure 2 Brass rollers guide the tape 3 connectionEasy to a halyard shackle GATESROBIN32 1

I am just re-reading my June edition and in particular Adrian Morgan’s piece where he mentions Sally. I wonder if he recalls being approached by a pilot/patrol boat o Calshot when he was aboard Sally? I was the skipper. The story is that my coxswain and I were both wooden boat owners and we spotted Sally sailing out of the Hamble. Intrigued by this beguiling beauty we closed in. Using our evidencegathering Polaroid camera we grabbed a picture. Then using our PPP (Patented Pamphlet Pusher, an old boathook handle with a large paper grip on the end), we closed in on a very startled and alarmed Adrian. Coxswain, using the PPP, passed across the photo while I shouted across “You don’t often get a shot of yourself sailing, nice boat, what is she?” Satisfied, we then shot o leaving a bemused Adrian sat in the cockpit clutching a fresh picture of Sally. A month or so later my boss said with a twinkle in his eye: “Nice to see you boys check the camera now and then!” I wandered away perplexed, then returned home to find my copy of Classic Boat on the mat. Be sure your sins will find you out!

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Clive Cripps, Colnbrook, Berkshire

A Polaroid delivered by boathook

Ann Gash, Folkboat sailor Looking in the Mirror

John Simpson

John Hardwick I’ve enjoyed all the recent articles on Folkboats; there have been many epic voyages with these yachts. No more so than an Australian lady, Ann Gash. Her voyage round the world in the 1970s with her wooden FB Ilimo was (12.2m)deliveringinIgrandmotheruntildidn’tconsideringremarkable,quiteshestartsailingshewasaat45.metherinDurban1975whilea40ftferro-cement ketch, after crossing the Indian Ocean from Thailand. With another friend in Durban, we managed to get her Stuart-Turner engine going. How long her engine ran after that I don’t know. They were quite ﬁ ckle beasts. Ann wrote a book called A Star to Steer Her by , quite di cult to obtain these days, having been published in 1980. Now I’m achievementsappreciatemyselfgrandfatheraIhermuchmore…

LETTER OF THE MONTH SUPPORTED BY OLD PULTENEY WHISKY 78 LettersCLASSICBOAT OCTOBER 2022

My August copy of Classic Boat arrived this morning, and my attention was drawn to the excellent article on page 52 (Mirror Man). I thoroughly enjoyed the article. My late father and I built one of these wonderful little boats in the garage over a winter some time in the late 1960s. The build was quite straightforward and rewarding as well. We sailed the boat, named Wyndana (Maori for ‘which way’!) at the IPCYC just outside Iver for some years. It was also taken to The Witterings (West Sussex) for days out on the beach, and holidays in Lulworth Cove and around. It was stable and a joy to sail and I have some very fond memories of the time we spent either racing or just pottering about on a balmy afternoon o the south coast. I remember on one occasion going to Jack Holt’s chandlery in Putney and, as a schoolboy, being mesmerised by the vast array of ﬁttings in stock. The concept of these lovely little boats has, as with all simple ideas, stood the test of time.

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In the popular 2-4hp category, the latest electric outboards – with their integral and rechargeable lithium batteries – have transformed the market, rendering petrol motors all-but obsolete. Advantages include:

› Ease of Use Switch on, twist the tiller handles, go. Almost anybody can do it; no experience, strength or mechanical knowledge is needed.

Of course, it’s not all perfect. The range may still not be enough for some users. And they’re undeniably More Expensive than petrol outboards, mostly because lithium batteries are expensive. But that extra upfront cost is largely offset by their Lower Lifetime Running Costs, including (almost) No Servicing

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› Ease of Handling The batteries are removable, and the “pass up and down” weight (the shaft/motor assembly) is then 10kg or less.

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› Range There are many variables, but most users achieve at least 9 to 10 nautical miles per charge, at 4 to 5 knots (2.5m inflatable dinghy). Much more if you slow down a little.

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› Reliability Many outboard motors don’t get used very often, and small petrol motors hate this. Electric outboards have fewer parts in general, and in particular there’s no carburettor to “gum up”.

It’s the taking part that counts

It’s at times like this that a man has to step up to the plate, and with the prizes far outnumbering the recipients, and some of them quite muddy, I seized my opportunity when the regatta chairperson asked if anyone would receive a prize on someone else’s behalf. So I did, and even got a round of applause, which only encouraged me, so next time I made an acceptance speech, humbly mentioning that it was “a team effort” and that “I couldn’t take all the credit,” for which the applause was slightly less enthusiastic. For the fourth one the MC hissed: “Dave, you’ve already thanked your mum.” I declined the morris dancing prize for reasons of self-respect. On the next one I proper welled up… when the MC snatched the microphone off me and told me to shut up. The applause for that was rapturous.

Daniel Craig. There’s even a prize for the most entertaining morris dancing troupe, but it’s never been awarded. As for activities on the water, it confirmed the old adage that to finish first, first you have to finish, and not many did. As ever, testing light-air conditions proved the ultimate measure of skill, as the canniest skippers scythed through the fleet like pensioners on mobility scooters careering at break-hip speed for breakfast at Wetherspoons. This they did by skilfully anchoring with anchors, while less serious racers who’d left their anchors ashore to lighten their boats drifted backwards towards Holland with very pretty limp spinnakers and no passports. It was quite literally a drag race. Protests about not displaying an anchor ball while racing may yet result in murder – some parish councillors hope. Meanwhile the lack of activity on the water developed into a fascinating game of nautical chicken as skippers listened intently on the VHF and punched the air and hollered “We’ve got this in the bag, chaps” each time a rival announced their retirement. Some less enthusiastic crew mutinously muttered “Does he realise the pub’s open?” And with a fast receding tide and little hope of reaching Maldon, some keener drinkers swam for it, but more loyal crew stuck by their skippers until they could walk ashore without getting their wallets wet.

Last year, with participation not yet back to normal, I took advantage of a “perfect storm,” which ironically involved no wind whatsoever, and even less water. Even more ironically, these are conditions in which my centreplate Sailfish 18 excels and is 27 per cent less likely to capsize and makes barely any leeway, so if I had taken part I could have won nine. However, the unseasonably light airs, which can be wholly attributed to climate change, or possibly a lack of wind, had little effect on the murderous intensity of the shore-based contests with prizes down to fifth place (as well as “highly commended” for the really worst entry) in flower arranging, cake decoration, crabbing, face-painting, dogs that look most like their owners and vegetables that look most like Jesus or Elvis. As veterans of village fete committees well know, that’s a hot potato if ever there was one, and this year did not disappoint because the winner was a real turn-up… actually it was a swede that looked like

Sternpost

T he prizegiving of the Maldon Town Regatta is a bit like an episode of Midsomer Murders without the murders, the disappointing lack of which was raised in a recent very acrimonious parish council Zoom meeting, which had it been in person would have gone some way to redressing the woefully low body count that is a stain on Maldon’s reputation, not to say an Forembarrassment.someinourmystic marshy realm on the east coast margins of land and sea and plough and sail, it’s a matter of civic pride, while others blame the local undertaker for not sponsoring a trophy for a category that would not only boost his business but would also surely be as hotly contested as the under-12s section of the crabbing competition. Over the years this has provided the kind of publicity you can’t buy for sponsor farmer John, whose bacon smoke-house provides the bait. Headlines included “Boy unwell after eating raw bacon” and “Re-count demand: ‘pushy’ parents deny crab con.” You see, the local regatta prizegiving in our mecca of mud, where the deepest water lies in potholes on the A12, is a pageant of English village life, and in a recovering post-pandemic world something of a step towards normality, and as with all local regattas, ours has more trophies than your average Olympics, including some for actual sailing. Of course, they say it’s not about the winning but taking part, but that’s just loser talk, because I bagged eight trophies without even taking part.

I’ve an inkling the body count round in Midsomer Maldon is about to go up. Spoiler alert: in a strange case of life imitating art the suspects are… everybody! the annual Maldon Regatta, even Dave Selby can win a prize... but not for sailing

82 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2022

“As with all regattas, ours has actualtrophiesmorethanyouraverageOlympics,includingsomeforsailing”

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Classic Boat October 2022

Articles inside

WOMEN IN BOATBUILDING

FAMILY FRIEND

ITALIAN JOB

ACTION IN BARCELONA

TOP TEN BOATS AT 30FT

NEW CIRCUIT IN THE MED