Classic Boat June 2014

Classic Boat JUNE 2014

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CHELSEA ARINE M MAGAZINES

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

CHELSEA ARINE M MAGAZINES

Winning

again 1930 yawl takes the Transpac

Blitz hero Fireboat that saved St Paul’s Coote’s club East Coast pilot 500 YEARS OF TRINITY HOUSE

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CRAFTSMANSHIP

Contents

CRAFTSMANSHIP

CLASSIC BOAT SURVEY

THE Y FULL STOR

JUNE 2014 Nº312

8

JACK COOTE’S BOAT

DORADE

Could she also win this year’s Newport-Bermuda race?

FEATURES COVER STORY

8 . TRANSPAC TRIUMPH Find out how the 1930 S&S yawl Dorade won again in 2013 17 . LOGBOOK Start the season in style at the OGA Easter Rally at Tollesbury

COVER AND RIGHT: SHARON GREEN

p30

24 40

COVER STORY

30 . FALLING IN LOVE The story of East Coast sailor Jack Coote’s passion for Blue Shoal

CAROL HILL

24 . FAB FIFE Hop on board Eilean and sail south to the Vele d’Epoca, Naples

C/O PANERAI

COVER STORY

REGULARS 18 . TELL TALES 37 . SALEROOM 38 . OBJECTS OF DESIRE 95 . LOOKING AHEAD 96 . LETTERS 98 . STERNPOST

COVER STORY

50 . BLITZ BRAVEHEART The epic life and times of the Thames fireboat Massey Shaw 60 . LIGHTING UP TIME Read our tribute to Trinity House, which is 500 years old this month 84 . DIY BOATYARD All the latest news from Iron Wharf Boatyard in Faversham

50 60

ONBOARD 69 . NEW CLASSICS 70 . LAZARETTE 71 . BOOKS 73 . CLASSNOTES 75 . GETTING AFLOAT CRAFTSMANSHIP 82 . YARD NEWS 84 . IRON WHARF BOATYARD 86 . BOATBUILDER’S NOTES 89 . ADRIAN MORGAN Between issues go to

PPL

40 . A CLASS APART The compelling history of the world-famous Concordia Yawls

NIC COMPTON

COVER STORY

classicboat.co.uk CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

3

Classically beautiful. Totally contemporary.

The new Tempus 90, ‘Tempus Fugit’, got off to a flying start with a fantastic first outing on the Superyacht Regatta Circuit. Building on success in last year’s Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, ‘Tempus Fugit’ achieved 2nd overall in the practice race, finishing the week 3rd in class.

Her varnished topsides and stunning classic looks stood out amongst a field of giant sailing yachts. Much admired and talked about, ‘Tempus Fugit’, created by Humphreys Yacht Design and built by Arkin Pruva, combines the latest design techniques and the very best in yacht building.

Proving more than a match for the best, ‘Tempus Fugit’ embodies the looks, quality and performance of the new Tempus Class.

‘Tempus Fugit’ in race mode. Photo: Jainie Cowham

www.tempusclass.com info@humphreysyachtsales.com +44 (0)1590 671 727

Swiss movement, English heart

Made in Switzerland / Modified ETA 2836-2 automatic movement with Big Day-Date complication by Johannes Jahnke / 38 hour power reserve / 43mm, Hand-polished, 316L stainless steel case / Anti-reflective sapphire crystal / Exhibition case-back / Italian leather strap with Bader deployment EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE AT

christopherward.co.uk

NIC COMPTON

FROM DAN HOUSTON, EDITOR

Big story from a simple boat

classicboat.co.uk Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London, SW3 3TQ EDITORIAL Editor Dan Houston +44 (0)207 349 3755 cb@classicboat.co.uk Deputy Editor Steffan Meyric Hughes +44 (0)207 349 3758 steffan.meyric-hughes@classicboat.co.uk Senior Art Editor Peter Smith +44 (0)207 349 3756 peter.smith@classicboat.co.uk Production Editor Andrew Gillingwater +44 (0)207 349 3757 andrew.gillingwater@classicboat.co.uk Contributing Editor Peter Willis peter.willis@classicboat.co.uk Technical Editor Theo Rye Publishing Consultant Martin Nott Proofing Vanessa Bird ADVERTISING Advertisement Manager Edward Mannering +44 (0)207 349 3747 edward.mannering@chelseamagazines.com Senior Sales Executive Patricia Hubbard +44 (0)207 349 3748 patricia.hubbard@chelseamagazines.com 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 Subscribe now: +44 (0)1795 419840 classicboat@servicehelpline.co.uk http://classicboat.subscribeonline.co.uk Subscriptions manager William Delmont +44 (0)207 349 3710 will.delmont@chelseamagazines.com Subscriptions Department 800 Guillat Avenue, Kent Science Park, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 8GU Managing Director Paul Dobson CHELSEA Deputy Managing Director Steve Ross ARINE M MAGAZINES Commercial Director Vicki Gavin Publisher Simon Temlett Digital Manager Oliver Morley-Norris Events Manager Holly Thacker The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London, SW3 3TQ +44 (0)207 349 3700 chelseamagazines.com Copyright The Chelsea Magazine Company 2013 all rights reserved

I was never too excited by the Massey Shaw (p50). A 1930s fireboat (or ‘fire float’ as they were known) with minimal superstructure seemed purely functional and her river environs too constrictive for any excitement over her story.

We ran a feature on her (CB145) two months before I became editor and even learning she had saved 600 lives in Dunkirk didn’t make me much of a fan. This changed when I went aboard at the London Boat Show this year, having followed her sympathetic restoration at Tommi Nielsen’s Gloucester yard; she’s the reason it’s CB’s Yard of the Year.

She embodies living history like nothing else. Being quite plain and simple, and with all her functions working (her water cannon can take down a wall), she can still tell her story, which involves saving much of London in the Blitz including, famously, our national landmark of St Paul’s – tomb of Nelson, Wellington and Christopher Wren, architect of it and much of London post the Great Fire of 1666.

The nationwide Blitz lasted from September 1940 to May 1941 and London was worst hit, sustaining 57 consecutive nights of bombing and about half the 43,000 deaths. Early on Churchill famously spotted that the Luftwaffe was aiming for St YACHTS Paul’s and ordered it saved at all costs. The worst of the CHELSEA E M A R I N“She can still tell 71 bombing raids on London was the night of 29 her story... saving December 1940; it was just after a new moon with spring tides and LW around 9pm. From 6pm to the St Paul’s” early hours the Germans unleashed a firestorm with the first waves of bombers dropping 24,000 high-explosive bombs and later waves YACHTS raining down 100,000 incendiaries. The HE bombs shattered all the Victorian cast CHELSEA MARINE iron and pottery water mains making the normal fire service redundant, and also shook the slate tiles off the rooves, exposing the timber frames underneath... which the incendiaries then ignited. It is known as the Second Great Fire of London.

With the only water supply in the rivers, the ‘fire floats’ were the only salvation, and land appliances could daisy-chain water two miles from the river from where a boat like Massey Shaw could pump 3,000 gallons a minute. Learning her story from her custodian volunteers was a valuable experience. Books and TV had never explained the Blitz so well as just being aboard her. She conveys a powerful story.

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JUNE 2014 sailingtoday.co.uk £4.20 JUNE 2014 – ISSUE Nº 206

1930 yawl takes the Transpac

MULTIHULL SHOW

Ocean cat

£4.30 Issue #1674 | June 2014 www.yachtsandyachting.co.uk 06

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Blitz hero Fireboat that saved St Paul’s Coote’s club East Coast pilot

9 770950 331141 29/04/2014 11:10

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Rod Heikell on the best islands in the Pacific

Taming the Bristol Channel in a dayboat

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ROUND THE ISLAND PREVIEW | OPTIMIST CLASS | SUNFAST 3600 TEST | SPRAY TOPS

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JUNE 2014 | ISSUE #1674

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Winning

SAILING TODAY

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Alex Thomson’s amazing IMOCA 60 mastwalk

RIDE THE WAVES Key dinghy and keelboat techniques for rough water

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Russell Coutts reveals what to expect at the next Cup

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CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

7

How

Dorade won the Transpac

Can the 1930 S&S yawl Dorade win the Bermuda race this June?

When her owner Matt Brooks announced his plans to race her in modern offshore races people laughed and brushed it off as madness. Then she won last year’s Transpac... So, how did she do it?

STORY CHRIS MUSELER PHOTOGRAPHS SHARON GREEN

DORADE

Above: with five sails flying, the biggest visual difference between Dorade racing in 2013, compared with 1936, was the introduction of a small mizzen sail

S

he is not exactly an easy boat to sail.

Certain wave angles will push her around dramatically, regardless of wind speed or direction. With up to five sails up, there’s a lot going on. Apparent wind speeds increase linearly with true wind speed, and so on.

Doing things right and proper is not so much “important”, but vital for her and her crew’s very survival. The ocean is unforgiving and there are damn good reasons for those traditions,” says Eric Chowanski, crewmember aboard Dorade, in a letter to the crew after winning the 2013 Transpac race.

Bowman and rigger Eric “Chewy” Chowanski is somewhat of a legend on the West Coast sailing scene. He’s seen everything the Pacific can throw at a boat and crew.

He is known to climb out onto the “spear”, or bowsprit, of the most modern of carbon-fibre ocean racers, in the middle of the night, while thrashing along at 20 knots, to rig up the spinnaker gear. In that light, his observations of Olin Stephens’ near-masterpiece yawl, which made history winning all the great ocean races of her day, are all the more shocking. What Chowanski and the rest of

the Dorade crew discovered after nearly 10,000 miles of sailing in 2013 was that her worst quality – death rolling from rail to rail when sailing deep off the wind – allowed her to once again slay the giants of the ocean-racing world, 77 years after her first Transpac victory.

With a visionary owner and a driven batch of professional sailors, Dorade closed the door on her competition while exiting the Molokai Channel last July and won the overall title and the King Kalakaua Trophy in the biannual Transpac. Why owner Matt Brooks of the San Francisco Yacht Club decided to start racing Dorade in the ocean again after all these decades has already been explained in the pages of this magazine (CB304). How Brooks and his team were able to unleash one of the world’s most significant racing yachts, and win again, is described here.

Matt Wachowicz, a former America’s Cup navigator and Dorade’s navigator for the 2013 and 2014 seasons, led the team’s performance analysis programme with the specific aim to prepare for, and attempt to win, the 2013 Transpac. He is a top specialist in analysing a boat’s strengths and weaknesses, and combining technical boat

“You have to win your day and hope your day wins the race”

10

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

preparation and weather routing to drive a boat to success on the ocean. When he was asked in late 2012 to join the boat, he was cynical, as many have been, to the idea of racing an ancient artifact across oceans.

“But it’s such a unique opportunity, it makes you pause,” says Wachowicz, who selected a fully professional crew that included global short-handed sailor Hannah Jenner, sailmaker Kevin Miller and top trimmer John Hayes. Even the captain, Welshman Ben Galloway, had led a team around the world in the BT Global Challenge.

Many people thought Wachowicz’s decision to sail a classic in the ocean was not only “stupid and impossible”, but that it would taint his professional career. “We had to be professional and we were. But more than anything else, wouldn’t you want to be a part of this special thing if it actually happens?”

Wachowicz says he selected his team because, though they were all well respected, they were just crazy enough to “believe” in Dorade. What followed last winter was a meticulous, no-stone-left-unturned approach from rating analysis, sail design and materials testing, and offshore training that included two West Coast ocean races.

To optimise the boat, a new way of thinking was needed. “The performance direction of Dorade is the

Above: Matt Brooks (third from left) with his well-drilled race crew, including bowman/rigger Eric “Chewy” Chowanski (fourth from left) and navigator Matt Wachowicz (second from right). Left: well-wishers wearing special sailplan T-shirts greet Dorade and her crew

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

11

ALL THREE PICS: HANNAH JENNA

DORADE

Clockwise from top: captain Brooks leads the team on Dorade; in keeping with the boat’s 1936 Transpac victory, navigation in the 2013 race was also done by sextant

12

opposite of what we do today,” says Wachowicz.

“We were going down roads we would never go down.”

Three-quarters of the Transpac is downwind, not reaching, but mainly dead downwind. The downwind performance curves for the modern 70-footers (21.3m) Dorade was competing against for overall victory call for higher angles and flatter, asymmetrical spinnakers. These “sleds”, including Roy Disney’s second-placed 70-footer Pyewacket, reach closer to the wind, heel over almost to their rails to optimise their waterline length, and generate tremendous speeds tapping into the 30-knot range.

Dorade’s best performance, according to Wachowicz, is “super deep”. The crew decided to sail Dorade as low, or close to dead downwind, as they dare. “We would just attempt to control the helm, though most of the time it was out of control,” says Wachowicz. “But we had incredible results. Our learning curve was learning how to steer. It was unorthodox to us but not 70 years ago.”

The “low mode” that Dorade had in her DNA let the team cut the corners of this traditional race course.

Wachowicz says that race veterans can dictate exactly how anyone should sail this course, which is dominated by consistent weather features between Los Angeles and Hawaii. This opened up a few interesting tactical plans.

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

158° West

USA Los Angeles

34° North Point Fermin

Diamond Head, Oahu HAWAI I

21° North

118° West

The Transpac runs from Point Fermin, San Pedro, to the Diamond Head Lighthouse, Honolulu, a distance of around 2,225nM. Dorade’s finishing time in the 2013 race was 12d 5h 28m 18s, knocking more than a day off her 1936 time

“The boat is so slow,” says Wachowicz, “but sailing 25 degrees lower than the fleet allowed us to reconsider a course to the finish that no one else could.”

Wachowicz’s data was put into Kevin Miller’s North Sails’ computers. The result was a selection of asymmetric and symmetric spinnakers, and staysails all of modern, laminate materials. Though Dorade’s downwind profile looked amazingly similar to images of her sailing past

Oahu’s Diamond Head in 1936, the striking difference was her new mizzen sail. The handkerchief-sized sail that went only two-thirds up the mizzen, allowed the boat to keep her yawl rating and ability to fly staysails, but the reduced area allowed clean wind to reach the staysails.

The boat was in constant development just as she was under the Stephens’ stewardship. “We’re looking at every piece of equipment,” says Brooks. “Can we make a wooden block that looks classic, but is as strong and safe as a composite block? It turns out, through much trial and error, that the answer is yes.” This process led to the fabrication of a more robust bronze gooseneck after the original one cracked on a delivery trip down the coast.

“You have to win your day and hope your day wins the race,” says Stan Honey, Jules Verne Trophy-winning navigator, offering advice to Dorade.

The format of the 2013 Transpac had the slower boats starting almost a week before the larger boats.

The positioning of a high-pressure system that week allowed Dorade and her fleet their first opening for the overall trophy, starting in more wind compared with the lighter wind the larger boats faced.

More than halfway through the race, Brooks’ dream of winning the 2013 Transpac started to materialise.

Above: Dorade passing the finishing line at Diamond Head, Honolulu, in the 2013 Transpac.

Left: Matt Brooks with partner Pam Rorke Levy celebrate winning the 2013 Transpac

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

13

C/O MATT BROOKS

DORADE

Above: Dorade sailing past Diamond Head in the 1936 Transpac.

Below: Full-page coverage in the New York Herald Tribune for Dorade’s win in the 1931 Fastnet

“We realised the winner of the race could come from our group,” said Wachowicz. “We had to be clever tactically.

We had to maintain our position in our class but had to race the 70-footers to the south. There’s always hope that something really special is going to happen, and that came three days from Hawaii.”

Dorade raced across the Pacific in a professional manner, the crew adjusting sails constantly and pushing her hard. Only the occasional glass of wine and the daily commitment to taking celestial navigation sights drew thoughts of her past.

The thought of an overall win was left to the gods for the first nine days of the race but when winning came into focus, sleep was not an option. In the last 36 hours, Dorade went for a shift, separating from her class. The team clung to a 15-minute lead in class and if the shift didn’t come, they would lose the top group.

“We saw a hint of the shift and decided to gybe,” says Wachowicz. As the sun rose that final morning and the position reports came up on the computer, Dorade had added seven miles to their lead and not only locked in their class win, but a miraculous overall victory. “I can’t describe to you that moment, at 9am,” says Wachowicz.

“We pulled off that gybe in perfect fashion. I still get emotional thinking about it.”

Key race dates in 2014 and 2015 49th Newport Bermuda Race, 20 June 2014 More than 150 boats compete in five classes, starting from the Castle Hill Lighthouse near Newport, Rhode Island, and racing down a 635nM stretch of the Atlantic to the finish in Bermuda.

36th Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, 27 September 2014 Team Dorade is planning to compete in the traditional end-of-season showdown in the glistening Mediterranean waters off the French Riviera. Expect some fireworks as more than 300 classic and modern boats compete for honours.

45th Rolex Fastnet 2015, 16 August 2015 Dorade scored back-to-back victories in this biannual race in 1931 and 1933, so Brooks’ team have something to live up to! Run over a 608nM course from Cowes to the Fastnet Rock, via the Scilly Isles, then back to Plymouth.

14

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

What now is labelled as “Matt’s Crazy Idea”, Brooks’ ambition to race Dorade in all the great ocean races of her day is much more than an idea – it’s a movement.

After one Bermuda Race and a Transpac, the boat is now on the US East Coast preparing for the 2014 Bermuda Race. The Rolex Middle Sea Race in Europe is next and, hopefully, the 2015 Fastnet and a transatlantic race.

Wachowicz says the team is not resting on their laurels and continues to develop sails and sailing techniques. “Historically the Bermuda Race is reaching, not our strength,” says Wachowicz. “One grand caveat is the Gulf Stream and that can compensate.”

The clear decision-making in the Transpac highlights the team’s strengths in navigation. Brooks has high hopes for his second race down to Bermuda’s Onion Patch.

“Rod and Olin did the Bermuda Race twice, in part because they weren’t satisfied with their performance the first time,” says Brooks, “and the same is true for us.

The last Bermuda Race was our first ocean race on Dorade after the refit, and while the boat and crew did extremely well, all of the modern electronics failed. We want a chance to show what the boat can do with everything in proper working order.”

Dorade’s legendary Transpac win last year not only led the New York Times sports page, but was the most viewed sports story on its website for two days. The same headline was inked 77 years before in papers across the country. Though the future for Dorade is bright, the passion for ocean racing aboard a boat with so much history is possibly the greatest take away from “Matt’s Crazy Idea”.

In Chewonski’s heartfelt letter of gratitude to Matt Brooks and Dorade’s crew, he sums up the value of such an experience: “Without crazy visionary projects, nothing in this world would amount to much. At some level, this is the most fundamental aspect or facet of Dorade and what she can teach us, which is that a crazy, visionary project combined with the hard work to see it through, and a little luck, can change history.”

For all the latest news, blogs, history, pictures and videos on Dorade, go to dorade.org

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Out and about

Above, left to right: Pete “the Knife” Elliston at work; sailing around Great Cob Island; Mike McCarthy with the Seamanship Trophy for work with his motorboat Tempus

Tollesbury Easter Race Season starter WORDS SUE LEWIS PHOTOGRAPHS STEVE AND BEVERLEY DALEY-YATES East Coast smack’s boats formed the core of a fleet of small gaffers that ventured into the Leavings at Tollesbury, Essex, on Easter Saturday, for a race round Great Cob Island organised by the East Coast area of the OGA. Thirteen boats set out to race, including eight smack’s boats, in breezy conditions. As the pictures show, the initial challenge was to get all the racers out into Woodrolfe Creek against a headwind. Various approaches were attempted using sail and oar and sculling sweep, but in the end motorised towing proved the best way to get everyone out in time for the 2.30pm start.

By the end, four retired but nine completed the course (including seven smack’s boats) and celebrations were held ashore, first at Tollesbury Sailing Club and later at a prize-giving and supper at the King’s Head pub.

RESULTS Smack’s boats: 1st: Nera; 2nd: Knot; 3rd: Papa Stour. Others: Fidget

Above: the launching process directed by Sarah Adie, who was also the undisputed winner of the oddest hat contest!

Left: the overall winner Neva sailed

by Ellie (helm) and Rory Howlett

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

17

Tell Tales

Classic Boat’s address: Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London, SW3 3TQ For phone numbers, please see page 7

SOLENT, UK

barometer from the original king’s yacht on display, as well as T-shirts and nautical antiques for sale, including an original table from the J-Class Velsheda.

See k1britannia.org for more. A 1925 film of Britannia racing is on our website now – classicboat.co.uk

PAUL ERLAM

KIEL, GERMANY

World’s oldest message in a bottle USA

Mississippi in a Thames Skiff John Pritchard will spend three months rowing 2,500 miles from the river’s source in Minnesota to New Orleans, reports Paul Erlam.

Starting this August, he will be joined by one expedition partner and a revolving crew of fundraising participants in two traditional 26ft (7.9m) Thames skiffs in build at Stanley & Thomas on the upper Thames. The voyage aims to raise $1m (£594,000) for the Right To Play charity. Each boat will have two rowers and a helm. Olympic silver medalist and former Cambridge Blue John is inviting crew to take part. See mississippimillion.com.

18

Above: the keel-less replica of Britannia awaits funds to go to Portsmouth

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

CORRECTION Charles Wroe is the skipper of Mariette, not Mariquita as we stated last month.

George Newman is the captain of Mariquita, recently taken over from Jim Thom, now skipper of Atlantic.

A 100-year-old message in a bottle found off the Kiel coast is the oldest by just two years, reports Guy Venables.

Hiking along Germany’s Baltic Coast in 1913, 20-year-old Richard Platz wrote a note on a postcard, put it in a brown beer bottle, corked it and tossed it into the sea. He included two stamps and asked for the recipient to send it to his flat in Berlin. A century later, local fisherman Konrad Fisher caught it in his net. A Berlin-based researcher then located his 62-year-old grand-daughter Angela Erdmann. She never met Platz, who died in 1946 aged 54. The bottle is now at the Internationales Maritimes Museum in Hamburg.

INTERNATIONALES MARITIMES MUSEUM OF HAMBURG

The Russian-built replica of King George V’s 122ft (37m) Britannia has a chance to move to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard alongside HMS Victory, Warrior and Mary Rose, reports Catherine Severson.

The American-owned Britannia Trust has gained permission to move her from her temporary home at Hythe, but needs funding for this.

Her interrupted restoration, at Cowes until last autumn, is being led by the same team who restored Lulworth (CB219). Work to date has included removal of 22 tons of stripped material, then laser-mapping the interior and exterior to make way for a full historically accurate refit. The majority of the keel has been removed because it was discovered the lead keel constructed in Russia was mixed with cement, unlike the original. Plans include a new solid-lead keel, as well as a 180ft (55m) mast, which will be reportedly the tallest wooden mast in the world.

The Britannia Trust’s aim is to reclaim the legacy of Britannia and make her a flagship for charity with charitable projects worldwide. The K1 Britannia museum shop in Cowes has a Britannia model and clock and

C/O BRITANNIA TRUST

Britannia: new berth in Portsmouth?

TELL TALES

ALL PHOTOS: JAN HEIN

ANTIGUA

Hull-spanking in the Caribbean The 27th running of Antigua’s Classic Yacht Regatta came to a reluctant close on 22 April after five days of racing in brawny winds and hull-spanking seas, reports Jan Hein.

A handful of skippers walked away with awards, yet every participant in this gentlemen’s event was a winner. An eclectic fleet of 57 ranged from Chronos, a 157ft (48m) staysail ketch to the 24ft (7.3m) Piper One-Design sloop Spring Tide. Nine Spirit yachts gracefully competed with their over-the-top varnish. Class

winners Juno and Eleda from the Gannon & Benjamin yard joined five Carriacou Sloops along with the 64ft (19.5m) Cornish lugger Grayhound, the most photographed vessel. Even the committee boat was a head turner – the 1951, 115ft (35m) ex-steam tug Flying Buzzard, in stunning red paint.

New boats mixed with old, including Coral of Cowes (1902) and Lily Maid, 110 years young and winner of Vintage Class C. The coveted Panerai trophy and timepiece for best corrected time went to

Clockwise from top left: Grayhound, the replica Cornish lugger; Carriacou sloop Genesis; and Adventuress, Kenny’s last command

the 105ft (32m) ketch Whitehawk, and the Mount Gay Trophy, for winner of the most competitive class, was awarded to the 76ft (23.1m) Nazgul of Fordell.

“Thank you, Kenny,” was the motto and mainstay of the regatta, both on and off the water and especially during each celebration, where hundreds of glasses were raised in honour of the late Kenny Coombs.

See our tribute to race-founder Kenny Coombs online at classicboat.co.uk

“Oh no dearie, I’m h ere about th e advert for ligh t h ousekeeping”

Tom Tit C/O NATIONAL HISTORIC SHIPS

1894

LONDON

CB ARCHIVES

Reader favourite It’s amazing to think we’ve never featured Tom Tit in this column voted, as she was, as CB readers’ second-favourite classic boat of all time (CB200). She’s a teak, 1894-built Itchen Ferry-type and just 25ft (7.6m) long. Her owner, Mike Phillips, trails her to regattas everywhere behind his vintage lorry. Full story in CB140.

National Historic Ships has awarded its Flagship of the Year 2014 award to the 61ft 6in (18.8m) Humber Keel Daybreak, built in 1936. She wins £1,000 for her packed event schedule this year.

See our feature on 500 years of Trinity House, p60 CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

GUY VENABLES

A flagship for 2014

19

Available for Charter

Marigold

Year 1892, completely restored to the original conditions, up to ten passengers.

See her 2014 racing program at www.marigold1892.co.uk

Addaya

Year 1964, completely restored to the original conditions, three separate cabins with en-suite. Available for charter in the West Mediterranean. www.addaya.es

Barcos Singulares S.L. Web: www.barcos-singulares.com • Email: info@barcos-singulares.com • Tel: +34 699 772 878

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CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

TELL TALES LONDON

Tall Ships on the Thames – countdown begins This year’s Tall Ships Festival in London is being billed by its organisers as the capital’s biggest event since the Olympics.

This September, up to 50 Tall Ships will sail upriver, having raced from Falmouth in Cornwall. Up to a million spectators are expected to witness the event, the first of its kind in 25 years. This April, the JR Tolkein (pictured) took journalists on a short river trip past historic Greenwich to start the countdown to the big event.

C/O THE ORGANISERS

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE ROYAL NAVY

The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) revealed a trio of new attractions on 3 April, including the submarine HMS Alliance mentioned in last month’s issue, writes Richard Johnstone-Bryden.

In Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, all eyes were on NMRN’s new £4.5m Babcock Galleries located within the Grade 1 Georgian Storehouse 10.

They are now home to the permanent exhibition “HMS – Hear My Story” and the temporary display devoted to the outbreak of the First World War, entitled “Racing to War: The Royal Navy and 1914”. HMS occupies the majority of this space and portrays

C/O NMRN

What’s new at NMRN

the past century of the Royal Navy’s history using 1,000 stories from its men and women, alongside a fascinating selection of artefacts.

As visitors move from the museum’s galleries, which present the Royal Navy’s pre-20th century history, they

YACHT CLUBS

A tie-in with Off Center Harbor, a video subscription website based in Maine, offers CB readers access to 150+ videos on everything from how to gybe a yacht and how to scull, to yard techniques like steam-bending frames and using epoxy. It’s all very classic and wood-based, and stars luminaries like Maynard Bray (maritime historian), Eric Blake (boatbuilder), Benjamin Mendlowitz (photographer), Bill Mayher (the old hand), and film-maker Steve Stone. A subscription to Off Center Harbor is now free to CB digital subscribers. Get the two for £28.95 ($47.95) at chelseamags.subscribeonline.co.uk

BENJAMIN MENDLOWITZ C/O OFF CENTER HARBOR

SPECIAL OFFER

Sailing videos

Above: the NMRN’s high-tech timeline table

are greeted by HMS Lance’s 4in (10cm) gun, which fired the first British shots of the war at sea in the First World War on 5 August 1914.

One of the highlights is the superb interactive timeline table (pictured left) packed with more than 850 images, film and animations. Clicking on the dots along the table’s edges flags up summaries of notable events from the Boxer Rebellion of 18981900 to the Strategic Defence Review of 2010, together with relevant archive images, film and documents.

Elsewhere, exhibits include a perfectly preserved midshipman’s sea chest from 1911 along with its contents, the Wireless Telegraphy office from HMS Resource, an enigma machine with its rotors, an impressive model of the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle and the damaged motorbike of a suicide bomber from Afghanistan.

RCYC and RORC to merge; RYS nears 200 The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Cowes and the Royal Ocean Racing Club in London have announced their intentions to merge, offering members a strong base in each location and greater sailing variety, with inshore racing (Corinthian) and offshore racing (RORC). Meanwhile, the world’s most famous yacht club, also in Cowes, is planning a huge bicentennial bash from 25-31 July 2015. Watch this space...

WORD OF THE MONTH

ROARER

A name sometimes given to a vessel that makes a loud roaring noise as she moves through the water. This is the case with some yachts, and is generally thought to be traced to some peculiarity of formation about the bows. A Ansted

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

21

TELL TALES

SaAbVoaEtn

C/O FAL OYSTER

C/O MIKE THOMAS

campaig

FALMOUTH SPECIAL

Keep Britain’s oldest oyster boat fishing Many CB readers bemoan the fate of the Cutty Sark and the loss of the City of Adelaide. We now have a chance to save one of Britain’s oldest surviving fishing vessels for a fraction of the price – and not as a museum either, but to continue fishing for oysters exactly the way she did when she was built in 1884.

Oyster fisherman Chris Ranger, the ‘young Turk’ of the Fal oyster fishery (CB307), which trawls all winter long in the Carrick Roads, the last such example of a working sail fleet in the developed world, has recently bought the 19th-century

Above: donate and help Chris Ranger save the 1884 Fal oyster boat, Shadow

oyster boat Shadow. He has started a “crowd-funding” campaign to raise the £30,000 he needs in order to apply for matched funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and his intentions are to return her to the same role she was built for and in the same place, as part of the Fal oyster fishery. “No one knew much about her – the man I bought her off had owned her for 60 years,” Chris said.

Chris started fishing in 2008 after restoring Alf Smythers (see below).

“That cost me £20,000 – and I made £1,600 back in my first season,” he told CB.

Thankfully, things are getting better, although it seems the only way to make the job pay the bills is to sell the catch retail rather than wholesale, to which end he has created a “pop-up” oyster bar from a used 20ft (6.1m) container.

In total, the project to return Shadow to fishing duty will cost between £75,000 and £90,000.

To support the Shadow project, make a pledge at crowdfunder.co.uk/Rebuildoldest-Fal-Oyster-Boat-Shadow1884. The deadline for pledges is 2 June 2014 and, if Chris has not raised the full sum by that point, he will unfortunately get nothing.

OYSTERS

Falmouth oysters given Origin status

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CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

Oyster boat star of music video

C/O FAL OYSTER

CB ARCHIVES

The same law that means champagne can only come from Champagne has been extended to oysters from Cornwall’s Fal Estuary, as it’s now the recipient of the EU’s Protected Designation or Origin status.

In Cornish cuisine, they join the Cornish pasty, Cornish clotted cream and Cornish sardines. Oysters from Whitstable, Kent, are also protected by the law, but it is only the Fal oyster that is still gathered under sail.

Another of Chris Ranger’s projects is to produce a book celebrating the oyster and the boats that have dredged for them for so many years. He is looking for pre-orders to help fund a print run of 2,000.

ALF SMYTHERS

The Falmouth oyster dredger Alf Smythers (left), meanwhile, has gone on to be the star of the music video for the song ‘Rip Tide’ for indie band Beirut. So far, more than a million-and-a-half viewers have watched Alf Smythers sail, apparently helmless, through a seascape of surreal, swirling skies.

The video is online at our website now.

SALES, CHARTER & MANAGEMENT

Yacht Brokerage

102ft “MOONBEAM OF FIFE III” 1903. The story of the Moonbeams began in 1858 with Moonbeam I &II. In 1902 Charles Plumtree Johnson, an eminent London lawyer, decided to go back to William Fife for the creation of his 3rd yacht taking into account his navigation projects as he wanted to race under the new RORC tonnage which included sailing ships with fitted-out interiors. Moonbeam III was launched in 1903, hull n° 491 to leave the Fife yard. The result was a magnificent yacht which has now become one of the most successful classic yachts in the world. Her streamlined shape and large sail surface area both make for an extremely elegant and unique yacht.

141ft New Classic “TEOREM”

82ft “ATAO”

1994/2005. M/Y TEOREM is a 141’ new classic motor yacht built by Universal Yachts in 1994, taking inspiration from the great classic motor yachts of the 1920’s. Her exterior has inherited the style that was so typical during this bygone era but beneath the surface she embodies all the modern technology that make her a superb ocean going vessel.

2006. Built by JFA Yachts, France. She is a beautiful modern classic centreboard sloop, with a stunning classic look and modern requirements.

Her finely crafted woodwork hides many powerful innovations and reveals astonishing sailing performances. The view from the deckhouse is unparalleled and uninterrupted; looking forward over the deck and into the cockpit and this is clearly the central point of this beautiful yacht.

Morgan 70 “MATHIGO”

33ft Classic Tender “LOCH LOMOND”

2007. Kevlar composite built from a Tom Fexas design, she is a true gentleman’s yacht with a special classic touch inspired from the lobster boats in Maine. She is fast,seaworthy, extremely comfortable and luxurious. She is in pristine condition having seen very little use and stored indoors when unused.

2007. The style of this vessel is sophisticated and classic : an ideal combination. Her 150Hp engine generates a top speed of 16 knots and technically she is in pristine condition. She can easily be transported on a trailer as she has the European standard beam for road transportation, and, she weighs only 2,25 tons when empty.

Montpellier l La Ciotat l Monaco l Paris l Palma, Majorca Moscow l Hong Kong l Grenada l Turkey l California

BERNARD GALLAY Yacht Brokerage

1 rue Barthez - 34000 Montpellier - France Tel. +33 467 66 39 93 - info@bernard-gallay.com www.bernard-gallay.com

Argentario to

Naples

Join the crew on board the fabulous Fife ketch Eilean for the short but eventful sail through the Tyrrhenian Sea to race in last year’s Vele d’Epoca a Napoli classic yacht regatta in Naples STORY ANDY CULLY

west side) to Naples for the Vele d’Epoca a Napoli regatta. So, in 2013, we embarked on the 180nM trip south-east through the Tyrrhenian Sea with the Fife cutter Hallowe’en for company.

On Eilean we were four on board, split into two watches of two: three hours on, three hours off between 20.00 and 08.00; four hours on and four hours off between 08.00 and 20.00. Once we had sailed around Monte Argentario, with Giglio and the still-listing

C/O PANERAI

L

ast year the luxury Italian watch brand Panerai expanded its classic yacht regatta sponsorship to Naples, home of Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia, the oldest yacht club in Italy, and known for its charismatic America’s Cup challenger Mascalzone Latino.

At the end of Argentario Sailing Week, many of the fleet have a week to sail down from Porto Santo Stefano (located three-quarters of the way up the boot on the

ARGENTARIO TO NAPLES Costa Concordia 9nM to the west, we headed out to open sea and settled down into our watch system.

After racing, entertaining and enjoying evenings at the regatta, a delivery is the perfect time to get some much-needed rest, and usually once the watch system is set and the last items are stowed for sea, the off-watch turn into their bunks, happy to be accompanied by the trickling sound of the water against the hull, and on this occasion, by the easy drone of the engines.

We set a course of 135°T, hoisted the staysail to help stabilise the yacht and to encourage more than a whisper of wind, and headed south on the rhumb line for the Pontine Islands, 140nM distant at an average of 7 knots. Taking this layline you are never closer than 7nM to the mainland, which gives you a relatively safe distance from the busy ferry port of Civitavecchia and the mouth of the Tiber river, which leads to Rome.

After 10nM we passed the island of Giannutri to the west, the only island you’ll see before the Pontine Islands, and although you can anchor and investigate, we decided to get the bulk of the trip done in one go.

As we progressed, dolphins came to play in the bow wave, a mesmerising display of fluidity and movement under the watchful gaze of our static Fife dragon.

Bubbles shimmer off their backs and move soundlessly aft caressing the hull in harmony. Meanwhile, we started to make notes, listing the jobs for the next days at anchor, repairing war wounds from the last regatta and preparing for the next. We look for varnish repairs,

line damage and paint touch-ups. We have a bit of rigging work to do, a tack line to be made up for one of the headsails, a few new whippings to be sewn to mark new halyard heights and we need to climb up both masts to carry out rig checks.

Night sets in, our chef Chefano is cooking up a classic tagliatelle ai funghi (mushroom tagliatelle), as the watch changes at 20.00. We can see the lights of Fiumicino and air traffic overhead, but only a couple of targets on AIS and on the radar that we are monitoring. The lazy swell makes little hindrance to our passage and, in the gentle roll, I catch some shut-eye before I’m rudely awoken by my alarm, in what feels like a few seconds later, for the 23.00 watch.

Up on deck there are little lights everywhere. A few minutes to get my night vision and they manifest into Rules of the Road flip-cards without the answers on the back! We are motoring through a fishing fleet and luckily, this time, they all seem to have the correct lights on and are moving in the corresponding direction. We have clear water ahead of us and continue to monitor their positions until the last one fades astern. One coffee and one tea, Chefano and I settle into our three-hour lookout routine. Always one on deck armed with binoculars, flashlight, hand-held compass and, ideally, a hot drink. From the helm you can also see the Simrad screen inside the doghouse, which gives you all your electronic data. This is operated by the other crew member on watch who relays the information as necessary, while making hourly plots on the paper chart.

“As we progressed, dolphins came to play in the bow wave”

CB ARCHIVES

C/O PANERAI

CB ARCHIVES

Clockwise from left: lighthouse on Capo Circeo; the wonderfully remote islands of Ponza; the bermudan ketch Eilean on a charge; route charts; keeping a safe distance from Mt Vesuvius

ANDY CULLY

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CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

ANDY CULLY

ARGENTARIO TO NAPLES

C/O PANERAI

The Pontine Islands are 20 miles south of Capo Circeo on the mainland and within a languid daysail ESE of Naples. They are made up of five main islands: Ponza, Zannone and Palmarola to the north-west and Ventotene and Santo Stefano to the south-east. We headed straight for Ponza, which is one of only two populated islands in the archipelago and an island three out of four of us had never been to before. It was a chance to explore and see a new place. After all, this is one of the passions that led us all here in the first place.

New lands, new insight, new adventures.

FROM FIRE TO FRUTTI DI MARE In the early hours we had the lights off Capo Negro, on the island of Zannone, in view and used them to guide us in towards Ponza. At 06.00 we cast anchor on the east side of the island in the slightly freakily named Cala Inferno. Maybe it’s named in connection with the countless people that have been exiled to these shores since Roman times, and with the towering volcanic cliffs and the relative isolation of these islands, you can see why. Now more akin to fishing and tourism, Ponza bustles during the summer months, especially for the Feast of San Silverio festival, which celebrates the summer solstice and comprises 10 days of celebrations.

We caught the tail end of this and with Hallowe’en arriving the same day, the crews set to work ticking those jobs off and slapping on more coats of varnish. During the evening we took the opportunity to explore the town

of Ponza and on the Saturday, we swam in beautifully clear water in a number of local grottos that litter the coastline. In a bay to the north we came to one of the island’s most beautiful beaches with the magnificent Arco Naturale (Natural Archway) to swim under/around.

Gaja, our stewardess on board, knows these shores well from childhood and after a few hours of snorkelling she came back with a bag full of sea urchins and painstakingly prepared the evening meal – spaghetti ai ricci di mare (sea urchin spaghetti, see below).

Although day trips can be made to Zannone and Palmarola (both are national parks), we were content at anchor. On Sunday morning, three days later, we weighed anchor and shot straight off on the 40nM hop to Naples. We brushed past the north of Ventotene and Santo Stefano, both with land and sea conservation zones and both penal colonies until recently. We then Spaghetti ai ricci di mare Spaghetti, sea urchin roe, salt, oil, garlic, parsley, pinch of chilli pepper. Cut sea urchins in half and remove the roe. Fry garlic and chilli, add roe and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add cooked spaghetti and serve with chopped parsley.

Above: working hard on the winch on board Eilean – viewed through one of her restored bronze portholes

EILEAN DESIGNER

William Fife III YEAR OF BUILD

1936 LOA

72ft 5in (22.1m) BEAM

15ft 3in (4.6m) DRAUGHT

10ft 6in (3.2m)

ANDY CULLY

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

27

ARGENTARIO TO NAPLES You certainly get this feeling if you arrive at a weekend to the Santa Lucia marina, where the regatta is held.

You will be greeted by countless rowing-boat groups that oddly tie up to moorings in the not-so-clean water outside the marina and sunbathe and frolic.

Although they seem to have no concept about the movements of yachts, they all seem to have a chirpy and joyful attitude as they get shunted out of the way by the marinaios under an approaching spoon bow.

C/O PANERAI

DECADENT DELICACIES

approached the northern arm of the Bay of Naples, which is flanked by two islands, Procida and Ischia. Both are used as holiday retreats for many from Naples and Rome, as is the island of Capri to the south. I thought they were surprisingly built up considering how they were labelled as volcanic retreats with thermal spas, hot springs and volcanic mud. Having said that, I imagine anywhere feels built up after the beautiful seclusion of Ponza. We passed to the north of these and then snuck through the Canale di Procida into the Bay of Naples.

I was taken aback by the amount of tourist water-traffic present. It reminded me of the Hamble on a sunny day, with a few more Benettis and skimpy bikinis and no Fawley Power Station to blot the view!

Naples is a city that boasts the largest historic centre of any city in Europe and is at the foothills of the active volcano Mount Vesuvius. It’s also reputed to be dangerous, at the mafia’s whim, a tangled ball of social inequalities, but many believe, if Rome is Italy’s heart, then Naples is the country’s soul.

Above: classic and modern yachts bask in the shadow of the yacht club and the Castel dell’Ovo. This year’s regatta is from the 2-6 July

The yachts all tie up to the Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia terrace and two steps off the passerelle you are in the bar/restaurant, behind which is the most expansive array of yachting trophies I have ever seen. My Italian crew all look forward to the local mozzarella (apparently the best in Italy) and it’s not long before orders have been made with the local waiter and he returns with the biggest portion of cheese I have ever seen. Stefano is all smiles and heads down below for some Tuscan olive oil.

I love Naples. From the gregarious people to the historically diverse architecture, it’s a place overflowing with character. You can feel, smell and hear the years of development and expansion as you walk around in the shadow of Vesuvius’s ever-threatening form.

The classic-yacht racing here is fantastic. Why? Simple: we achieved our best result here last year with two firsts and two seconds, and finished second in class to Manitou! There are a number of courses within the bay, including a long haul out towards Capri and the final coastal race that begins with a downwind start. It’s all very exciting and after a day’s racing there is nothing better than soaking up the yacht club hospitality by joining the rest of the crews on the terrace for some Italian cuisine as the sun sets behind the medieval Castel dell’Ovo. So, if you are looking for an adventure and a regatta that oozes spirit, sail south through the Tyrrhenian Sea. This year we hope to improve by just one position!

CRUISING INFORMATION: ARGENTARIO TO NAPLES BOOKS Italian Waters Pilot (Imray) by Rod Heikell, Pagine Azzurre 2013 – Il Portolano dei Mari d’Italia – in Italian, but provides better detailed charts for ports and anchorages (on sale in August).

Right and below: Eilean’s route south; the trusted pilot guide

Argentario ITALY

Isola del Giglio ROME

ADMIRALTY CHARTS: 1780 – Barcelona to Napoli 1999 – Livorno to Civitavecchia 1911 – Isola del Giglio to Isole d’Ischia 915 – Port of Napoli 916 – Ports and Harbours in Golfo di Napoli

WEATHER Meteomar – VHF 68 – broadcast continuously in Italian and then English, and updated every six hours.

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CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

Capo Circeo

TYRRHENIAN SEA

Naples

Ponza Ischia

DAUNTLESS

The enduring John Alden designed staysail schooner.

Finely crafted, meticulously maintained, classic performance.

FOR SALE BY OWNER T      J o h n A l d e n S        {Design No. 458}

On the market after 30 years of ownership, this meticulously

maintained schooner is currently available for sale by owner.

Located in San Diego, California, USA, Dauntless has been featured on several covers and issues of Sailing Magazine, Wooden Boat, Nautical Quarterly and Santana magazines.

Dauntless has a competitive record including races from

70’ LOA • 61’ LOD • SAIL AREA 2,200 SQ. FT FULL COMPLIMENT OF SAILS & EQUIPMENT

San Diego to Hawaii, biannual Master Mariners Regattas, and numerous races and cruises along the California coast.

H, S, G  C I

www.schoonerdauntless. com

Photos ~ Bob Grieser, Mark Albertazzi

BLUE SHOAL

Coote’s cruiser At one time or another we’ve all fallen for the charms of a particular boat, and for the legendary East Coast sailor and author Jack Coote, that was to be Blue Shoal. Here, his daughter Janet Harber relives the story…

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS JANET HARBER

BEKEN OF COWES

M

y father, Jack Coote, first set eyes on Blue Shoal through his camera viewfinder as she sailed up the River Orwell one day in 1956. We were at anchor near Pin Mill, during our summer holiday cruise aboard Iwunda, as she passed close by giving Jack the opportunity to admire and photograph what would turn out to be his next boat.

He did some research and discovered that the canoesterned sloop was an 8.8-tonne centreboarder, drawing 5ft 3in (1.6m), or 3ft 3in (1m) with the keel up, with a LOA of 30ft 9in (9.4m) and a beam of 9ft 10in (3m).

Blue Shoal’s designer, Arthur Bayzand, was working at that time on commercial vessels at J Samuel White’s East Cowes shipyard, but was soon to join the Laurent Giles design office where he became a partner in 1968, specialising in motor yachts and motor-sailers.

In 1950, while she was in build at Souter of Cowes, Yachts & Yachting magazine described her as: “A shoal draught sloop that really seems to fit any conditions and almost any purpose… a ship that could hardly be bettered… a very sound piece of wooden building according to the best practice…”

This glowing review was, I believe, written by Bill Smart, the editor and founder of the fortnightly magazine, first published in the previous year, 1949.

He described the construction as follows: “Construction drawings indicate very carefully thought-out and meticulously detailed design work. Construction is of 7/8in [22mm] African mahogany on 1½in x 11/8in [38mm x 29mm] English oak bent timbers spaced at 7in [18cm] centres. Five additional bent timbers, fastened inside the three bilge stringers where the major strains come, greatly increase the stiffness. The forward part of the centreboard case projects only a little above the top of the keel, and here

forged mild-steel straps, galvanised, tie the two halves of the floors together so that the slot shall not make for any weakness… The 2¾in (70mm) slot for the centreboard indicates that it is to be of the ballasted wooden type and the hoisting mechanism is shown in the layout plan.”

Here, on paper and on the water, was a dream boat for the author of the recently published Yachting Monthly pilot guide East Coast Rivers.

Blue Shoal sailed into Jack’s life at the moment he was beginning to think of replacing his elderly and not very seaworthy centreboarder Iwunda with a more modern shoal-draught cruiser. So, a few years later, when Blue Shoal came up for sale, Jack didn’t hesitate and in the spring of 1960 he brought her round from Itchenor, in West Sussex, to Paglesham on the River Roach in Essex, which would be her home for the best part of 20 years.

The original design plans used twin 4hp Stuart Turner petrol engines and a tabernacle-deck-stepped mast because the commissioning owner had intended to explore the inland waterways of Holland and Belgium and wanted reliability and manoeuvrability, so the mast needed to be easily lowered. By the time she was bought by Jack she had a single engine with a prop offset on the starboard side, which almost invariably led to tricky moments under power in tight situations.

In even the lightest of breezes, the boat became so tender you could see the prop shaft. So a decision was made quite early on that the mast would have to be shortened and the upper set of crosstrees and jumper struts, plus the running backstays with their cumbersome Highfield levers, removed. At around the same time Jack’s friend George Farmer was re-rigging his Nicholson-designed offshore racer (also built by Souter in 1952), so Blue Shoal inherited some of her sails to go with her new mast.

Other projects tackled by Jack over the years included replacing the CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

31

BLUE SHOAL

Jack Coote: the author behind the sailor Jack learned to sail on the Norfolk Broads and Regent’s Park Lake in London and, soon after the Second World War, bought an old Broads boat. She was soon followed by a 10-tonne centreboarder called Iwunda, in which the Coote family explored the rivers and creeks of the Thames Estuary.

Jack had some articles printed in Yachting Monthly magazine, edited at that time by Maurice Griffiths, which led in 1956 to the publication of the pilot guide East Coast Rivers – still in print today, 19 editions later. Blue Shoal was Jack’s last shoal-draught boat; after her he owned a Twister, then a dayboat and finally an old wooden Dragon.

Jack also wrote How to Photograph Boats, Down the Wind, Total Loss, and Classic One-Designs; his photography books include Ilford Monochrome Darkroom Practice and The Illustrated History of Colour Photography.

In the early 1970s, Jack was a founding member of the Roach Sailing Association, based at Paglesham and still going strong. Blue Shoal competed in the RSA handicap cruiser races and, after Jack died, the family donated a silver half model, known as the Blue Shoal trophy, in his and her memory.

Above: memorable front cover treatment showing Janet’s mum and sister fitting out Blue Shoal.

Left: Jack applying the boot-top at Paglesham in the 1960s

BLUE SHOAL LOA

30ft 9in (9.4m) LWL

25ft (7.6m) BEAM

9ft 10in (3m) DRAUGHT

5ft 3in/3ft 3in (1.6m/1m) DISPLACEMENT

19,401lb (8.8 tonnes) TOTAL SAIL AREA

385sqft (35.8m2) Above: Blue Shoal ’s lines and sail plan.

Previous page: out on the Solent soon after her launch in the early 1950s

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galvanised chainplates with stainless, renewing the keel bolts, installing a Volvo Penta diesel engine, and fitting teak-laid decks – with help from boatbuilder Bill Sutton at Wakering. In 1952, Bill had built Amaris for a local builder called Jack Silk, who kept her for many years on the Thames Estuary foreshore at nearby Westcliff-on-Sea. The centreboarder Amaris was also designed by Bayzand and was a near sistership to Blue Shoal, except that she had a transom stern. Like Blue Shoal, Amaris has been fortunate enough to have been rescued from obscurity in recent years. First by David Hughes who brought her back from Marseilles through the French canals and had work done on her by Birdham Shipyard.

Then, in 2006, Ian McKinnell found her in a sorry state in Emsworth, restored her and now enjoys sailing her out of Bembridge Harbour on the Isle of Wight.

During Jack’s ownership, photographs of Blue Shoal often appeared in Yachting Monthly and in numerous editions of East Coast Rivers. As Iwunda had done

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

before her, she soon became a familiar boat in the Thames Estuary area – someone on a passing yacht once called out: “That’s the boat you’ve got in your book.”

Her hull was always painted blue and, after her re-rigging, the original tan colour was retained for her new, smaller mainsail, which was made in the then modern Terylene – the original Ratsey sails were cotton.

As well as wending her way up and down every river and muddy creek between The Swale and Orfordness, Blue Shoal also cruised with friends and family regularly across the North Sea to Belgium and Holland; and, in the early years, down the Channel to Falmouth and the West Country.

In the early 1970s when our daughter Sarah was very young, she was on board for a family voyage up the Thames to see the Cutty Sark Tall Ships Clipper Regatta. On a mooring just below St Katharine Docks, where we stayed for a memorable few days, Blue Shoal seemed very small indeed surrounded by some of the

BLUE SHOAL

JACK COOTE

largest sail training ships in the world, with the vista of London's famous Tower Bridge as a backdrop.

A year or so after that, Jack took Blue Shoal across the North Sea for the Heineken Old Gaffers Rally in Amsterdam, after which we joined ship for a family cruise home to Paglesham by way of the Dutch inland waterways, Belgium, Ramsgate and the Thames Estuary.

Sarah and her grandmother were often to be found below decks, round the cabin table playing cards, noughts and crosses, boxes or hangman, drawing and colouring, while her mum, dad and granddad were on deck doing the sailing and navigating. The cabin, with its gimballed brass oil lamps, brass clock and barometer and teak bookshelf (made by Jack), was a good place to be, particularly if the lamps were lit and the stove was burning.

Blue Shoal’s accommodation was originally described as being “… laid out for three people, which is as many as can cruise comfortably in a ten-tonner…” So the living and sleeping arrangements on Blue Shoal were cosy,

to say the least, with four adults and a child on board.

My husband Alan and our small daughter Sarah had a bunk each in the fo’c’s’le, Mum and Dad slept in berths either side of the cabin and it was my lot to clamber up, by way of the cabin table, into the temporary pipe cot, which could be put in place across the cabin for a fifth person. Somehow we managed, but it was always nice to get home to a hot bath and one’s own bed after one of our family cruises.

Fitting out and maintaining a wooden cruiser took up almost as much time and energy as did sailing her.

My sister Judy and I, with help from our partners, and any other boaty acquaintances able to wield scrapers and brushes, were roped in every year for rubbing down, antifouling, painting and varnishing. Except for the year when she was in Bill Sutton’s shed at Wakering having the teak deck laid, Blue Shoal was always laid up either on the quay itself or in the field behind the sea wall at Paglesham. A more depressing place in the winter could

Clockwise from top: a family cruise to High Hill, near the Walton Backwaters in the early 1970s; sailing at Wrabness on the River Stour, 2011; Janet with her husband Alan and daughter Sarah moored up in Gouda, Holland

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BLUE SHOAL hardly be imagined, particularly with an easterly wind, but I think we must have been hardier folk in those days.

As time went by we had our own growing families, and also our own boats, so inevitably Jack found he was spending more and more time single-handedly maintaining Blue Shoal, and less and less time actually sailing her. By the late 1970s the decision was made, somewhat reluctantly, to change to a glassfibre boat so Blue Shoal was sold.

Her name was changed to Moonfleet and she sailed away to her new home on The Broads near Beccles in Suffolk; her place on the mooring at Paglesham was taken by Jack’s next boat, a glassfibre Twister. In the ensuing years Moonfleet, now painted grey, was seen here and there on the East Coast and we know some changes were made to the cockpit and the mainsheet horse was replaced by a more modern traveller system.

EILEEN WARD

Jack died in 1993 by which time we had lost track of Blue Shoal/Moonfleet. During the mid-1990s she was sighted once or twice on a mooring in the Walton Backwaters. Nothing more was known until 2009 when we heard that she was for sale at Frank Halls’s boatyard in Walton-on-the-Naze. By the time we had contacted them she had been sold, but the yard very kindly passed on our details to the new owner, Brian Ward, who, happily for this story, soon got in touch with us.

As a result, we met Brian and his wife Eileen and had a nostalgic reunion with the beautifully restored Blue Shoal in June 2010 at the Orwell YC in Ipswich, just before she was relaunched. The following summer we met up again at Wrabness on the Stour and, after mooring up together and enjoying a leisurely tea, we sailed back in company to the Orwell where we had first seen her all those years ago.

EILEEN WARD

EILEEN WARD

Restoration notes: 2009-2010, from a new owner I bought Blue Shoal on 23 July 2009. She had been laid up in Frank Halls & Son’s yard at Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, for 10 years – her covers were torn, she was exposed to the elements and was clearly in need of much restoration.

Caulked and reseamed As she had been out of the water for so long, the hull had dried out and needed caulking, and the seams filled and painted. We also had to get the hull painted and complete the antifouling before we could begin to think about moving her.

Complete engine service Her previous owner had a new 3cyl Beta engine fitted, but this had not been used. So it needed a complete service before we could contemplate the journey out of the Walton Backwaters, round into Harwich Harbour and up the River Orwell to Ipswich.

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Complete rewiring During the rewiring, we also added two new batteries, cabin lights and fuse boards. All loose gear was removed to enable a thorough clean, inside and out. The job of removing loose paint and varnish then began. All the deck seams were cleaned out and repayed with Sikaflex. I gave all painted and varnished areas above the waterline a total of four coats.

New wooden cleats It was felt necessary to now add wooden cleats amidships and an anchor winch in the bow, although throughout her 62-year life and many hundreds of miles of sailing, she had managed to do without them.

Spars replaced The wooden mast and boom were brought out of storage and put in place, then she was ready for her journey to Ipswich where my club, Orwell YC, gave me access to a jetty with access from the shore. The mast was placed fore and aft on the boat, which made it possible to place a cover over the whole hull, so we could continue working through the winter.

Redesigned interior Inside the boat I refitted the fo’c’s’le, replaced the old heads and rejigged the galley area, replacing the worn-out and rusty oven with modern gas rings and a grill cooker. New blue bunk cushions were made and the mainly teak interior was rejuvenated with many coats of varnish and paint.

In spring of 2010, the mast was scraped and sanded, and six coats of International Original varnish applied. Then, finally, in the summer of 2010 and after a year of hard graft, she was ready to be launched into the River Orwell.

Check for rot The 1in (25mm), tongue-and-groove sub-deck under the teak decking had some rot amidships, so I removed the decking in order to replace it. This was a major undertaking.

Time for a new name When I bought her she was named Moonfleet, but realising the well-known history of the boat, I decided to change her name back to Blue Shoal in 2012. Brian Ward

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

Above, left to right: Blue Shoal laid up in Halls’s yard at Waltonon-the-Naze; new wooden deck cleat; new owner Brian Ward on the foredeck after the boat was changed back to her original name in 2012

Latifa

William Fife III 70 ft Yawl 1936

€2.5M Lying Italy

Designed by William Fife III at the peak of his powers in 1936 - not only has LATIFA been widely regarded by yachting luminaries to the present day as the best of all his designs – but the great man himself considered her to be his finest.

Mere mention of her name imparts a legendary tone to any yachting conversation and as one of Fife’s last designs kept one foot in the past while putting the other firmly in the future. Second in the 1937 and ’39 Fastnet Races, she also had a class win in the first post war race in 1947.

Thoroughly, sensitively and immaculately restored, LATIFA is strong with up to date systems and equipment and sensible accommodation for long distant cruises in great comfort. In her current ownership LATIFA’s special capabilities are marked by achieving 12 single handed transatlantic crossings and a circumnavigation with her owner’s family as crew. It is a very special 70 ft yacht from any era that can be sailed by one man alone!

33 High Street, Poole BH15 1AB, England. Tel: + 44 (0)1202 330077 email: info@sandemanyachtcompany.co.uk www.sandemanyachtcompany.co.uk

INNOVATION INSPIRED BY TRADITION

Belfast, Maine, USA | +1.207.338.6636

STEPHENSWARING.COM

Organised by:

The Royal London Yacht Club

21-25 July 2014

www.charles-stanley.co.uk

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CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

www.cowesclassicsweek.org

Saleroom BONHAMS, LONDON

Hemy nets a return “Hemy stands for the waters of England.” So remarked the cataloguer for Charles Napier Hemy’s centenary exhibition in 1918, and looking at this fine image it’s easy to see why.

In Hauling in the Nets, painted in 1886, the viewer feels as if they’re alongside in another vessel; that’s because Newcastle-born Hemy (1841-1917) used a converted seine boat as a floating studio, giving a realism and verity that make him stand out as one of Britain’s most eminent Victorian marine artists.

This scene depicts Falmouth harbour in Cornwall, where Hemy settled in 1881 to produce many of his most memorable working scenes.

The 1918 cataloguer also noted: “As a draughtsman of wave form he stands alone”, and in this painting the boat’s trail is a prime example. These are some of the reasons that this fine work easily surpassed its £25,000-£35,000 estimate to sell for £47,500 at Bonhams’ latest London marine sale.

Top seller in the April auction, fetching £60,000, was a Montague Dawson (1895-1973) oil of the clipper Spindrift, a name that would

LEFT AND BELOW: C/0 BONHAMS

BY DAVE SELBY

Above: Hemy’s Hauling in the Nets painting.

Below: the model of the “estuary” pond yacht

have joined the pantheon of truly great clippers alongside Thermopylae and Cutty Sark had she not been wrecked off Dungeness in 1869 when barely two years old. The 291ft (88.7m) Spindrift was extremely fast on a reach and recorded the fastest 1868 homeward passage from Shanghai of 97 days.

PINT-SIZED PERFORMER Another vessel made for speed was this extreme Edwardian straight-line pond yacht which was actually built to cross an estuary. With a bowsprit the length of the hull and a deep lead-ballasted keel, this 105in (2.7m) LOA rudderless projectile was made at the turn of the last century by the coxswain of the Falmouth lifeboat, for wager races across Falmouth harbour to Flushing. The interesting specimen sold for £1,000.

MECUM, FLORIDA

Above: Spindrift in full sail

See Salermooorme online

classicbo a salero t.co.uk/ for extra om/ stories

C/O MECUM AUCTIONS

Fins and foam Some classic 1950s American “land yachts” certainly handle like boats – barges, in fact – but these pert wooden period pieces, spotted in a massive 2,000-plus classic car sale in Kissimmee, Florida, certainly look fit for purpose.

The 1954 Chris-Craft Riviera 18 (far left) with a 120hp 6cyl engine made $25,300 (£15,000), while the 12ft 6in (3.8m) 1958 Delta sportsboat with a 45hp Mercury outboard, which looks like a jukebox (left), was sold for just $8,250 (£4,900).

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Objects of desire Art Deco delights Each year, classic car collectors from all over the world travel to Paris for the supremely stylish Rétromobile show, but there are also always treasures to be found for those with maritime interests.

Browsing on the stand of Paris-based Estampe Moderne et Sportive, which sells only original posters, we spotted these Art Deco images from the golden age of ocean travel. Max Ponty’s late 1920s Navigation Paquet poster (74cm x 105cm), in fine condition and backed on linen, was priced at €1,250, while the rarer Paul Colin poster for the Transatlantique French Line (100cm x 63cm), also in fine condition and backed on linen, was priced at €1,450.

masterposters.com Tel +33 1 42 80 01 03

Leather for all weathers These leather cases from Lindh Yacht are fashioned in Finland of local, naturally waterproof leather from the hides of elk and reindeer and are built to last a lifetime or more. The item pictured far left is the binoculars pouch, or it could double up as a handy holdall for your favourite bottles of wine. The rest of the range comprises single and double winch-handle cases, a halyard stowage case (to accommodate excess halyard fall) and a leather chart table cover. The cases come with a removable clip mechanism so they can be mounted on bulkheads, masts and so on, and removed for cleaning or security.

Company founder Lars Lindh, a Finnish graduate of London’s Central Saint Martins, says: “You can’t put cheap, plastic pouches in a nice wooden yacht.” We agree! Binoculars case: £173 plus p&p lindhyacht.com Tel: +358 40 844 3697

Novels from the Napoleonic Wars A complete set of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin novels, totalling 20 volumes, all first editions (first impressions) with dust jackets and in largely good condition. This must be quite a rare find! £10,000 Peter Harrington Books peterharrington.co.uk, Tel: +44 (0)20 7591 0220 38

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

Altair

108 ft William Fife Topsail Schooner 1931

€6M Lying France

ALTAIR has become the standard bearer for authenticity from her landmark restoration in 1987. Commissioned for the southern seas, Fife could not help but create a blend of breathtaking beauty; fast, safe and totally capable. Always the darling of the classic regatta fleet and often winner, ALTAIR is the ultimate vintage yacht; her facilities discreetly carried also allow her to cruise anywhere. Above all she is blessed with that spirit engendered by her designer, the incomparable William Fife III.

Halcyon

80 ft Thornycroft Bermudan Ketch 1929

£1.4M VAT unpaid Lying UK

An extensive refit at T Nielsen & Co in 2006, giving full consideration to her origin and her usefulness, has kept HALCYON and her teak on oak structure in near perfect condition but with the systems and conveniences of a modern yacht without detriment to her character.

She can operate as a luxury charter yacht, accommodating up to 8 guests for overnight – or 11 for day sailing. She is also an exciting option as a dramatic and unique private yacht – easier to sail and less delicate than comparable classics of her size. There is a toughness about HALCYON that could earn her the label of classic explorer yacht.

email: info@sandemanyachtcompany.co.uk

33 High Street, Poole BH15 1AB, England. Tel: + 44 (0)1202 330077 www.sandemanyachtcompany.co.uk

Concordias a star is born What started out as a one-off design has turned into the fleet of Concordia Yawls – one of the most successful cruisers ever built. Here, we chart the genesis of the class from its pre-war German beginnings STORY KATHY MANSFIELD

BENJAMIN MENDLOWITZ

KATHY MANSFIELD

KATHY MANSFIELD

CONCORDIA

Clockwise from top left: recently refurbished coachroof with simple bronze portholes; lovely wooden blocks; even the bilge pump hatch and handle is in varnished wood!

Previous page: Starlight, No 23 built in 1954 as Scotch Mist – on Eggemoggin Reach, Brooklin, Maine

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T

KATHY MANSFIELD

he Concordia Yawls were never made to fit any racing rules. They were made to fit the ocean.” So said Waldo Holland, who contributed to the famous 1938 design by Ray Hunt.

The 39ft (11.9m) and 41ft (12.5m) Concordias, first built 76 years ago in 1938, have cruised and raced themselves into the imagination and emotions of their owners to remain the biggest one-design of large boats in the world, with all but one of the 103 boats still in existence. The curvaceous spoon bow, sweet sheer on a slim hull accentuated by a midships tumblehome, yawl rig and sexy counter stern have led many good sailors to succumb to the Concordia charm over the years. The 75th anniversary last year included celebrations at Concordia Company’s home in Massachusetts plus a well-attended symposium on them and regatta at Castine, Maine.

“There’s something in the soul of these yachts,” says Jon Wilson, founder of WoodenBoat magazine. He should know: for the last 31 years, Jon has owned Free Spirit, the Concordia 33 that was the first design in the process that led to the Concordia Yawl. Of the 103 yawls built, five have been in the same family since they were built and 24 have been owned for more than 25 years.

Fresh out of college and when wooden boats were just “old boats”, Elizabeth Meyer, later to revitalise the legendary J-Class with her restoration of Endeavour,

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

bought a Concordia with her friend Queene Foster.

Queene herself became a renowned sailor and owner of three Concordias, and Elizabeth went on to produce a book on the Concordias that stands as the defining tribute. Dan Strohmeier raced his Concordia Malay in 15 Bermuda and 18 Halifax races, winning each one once and raking in other medals as well. John Eide, a retired teacher, cruises Golondrina, averages 300 hours a year on maintenance, which he does himself, while accepting the adage that you pay the equivalent of the boat’s value in repairs and maintenance every three years Concordias have cruised the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Arctic and can be found in the USA on both coasts, plus the Great Lakes. They are also in Europe: Fleetwood is based in Kiel, Germany, and Hero has recently arrived nearby. Live Yankee is being restored in England by Peter Rolt, to be based in Dartmouth where Waldo Howland was stationed in World War Two. Concordias have won the Newport Bermuda Race twice (1954 and 1978), the Maryland-based Annapolis Race, Cowes Week (Harrier in 1955 was first in each race and overall), the Marblehead to Halifax Race (1955 and 1997) and many others, racing under CCA, IOR and IMC ratings. “They were half the size of the winning Cruising Club of America (CCA) boats and were looked upon as pesky nuisances that kept showing up too early at the finishing line,” said Elizabeth Meyer.

BENJAMIN MENDLOWITZ

DRAMATIC DESIGN Rewind to 1938 and Ray Hunt, a designer who went on to perfect the deep-V motorboat hull and design the Boston Whaler and put his ingenuity and practical knowledge to good use.

For a start, the Concordia’s spoon bow is blunt and buoyant and her stern is fine – the opposite of many boats today – but she was designed to cope with the shallow Buzzards Bay near Cape Cod and its short chop.

The fine stern does not throw the boat into the next wave, and the full forward sections allow the bow to lift easily. The easy motion means the energy drives the boat forward instead of crashing into the wave. The balanced helm also means it tracks steadily: a boat that yaws just 5˚ each side of a course loses miles over a long course.

Clockwise from top: knotty pine panelling, brass oil lamps and instruments, and cast-iron stove give the 1952 yawl Winnie of Bourne that classic Concordia feel; open-water sailing in the 39ft (11.9m) 1955 Mandala

KATHY MANSFIELD

It’s true that no one rule was followed in the Concordia design, though Ray Hunt looked at the rules he found useful. Good racing is just a by-product of good design, according to Waldo Howland. “Yes, they are fast, and fast in a lot of different conditions, but that’s because they are a wholesome, seaworthy design and just a good little boat. I claim it’s much like a good apple pie: you can’t improve on it.”

Yet if today’s designer looked at the Concordia’s displacement/length ratio or the low-aspect sailplan, the Concordia might be considered a dog.

KATHY MANSFIELD KATHY MANSFIELD

Above, top to bottom: a part-finished Concordia being readied for shipping from the Abeking & Rasmussen yard; the builder’s plate; below decks looking through to the galley

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Concordias were never meant to be a class. The New England Great Hurricane of 1938 killed more than 700 people and wrecked more than 57,000 houses – and also many boats, including Llewellyn Howland’s 1890 Colin Archer cutter Escape. Howland commissioned his son and Ray Hunt, now running the Concordia Company, to design a replacement boat to the following criteria: the new design should handle the choppy Buzzards Bay in a sou’wester in comfort. It should have pleasing accommodation for four adults, reach maximum efficiency in all conditions, and sail on her bottom, not on her ear. Ray Hunt designed her hull, Bill Harris drew her rig and Waldo designed the interior and many features. Much input came also from Llewellyn’s skipper, Capt Harold E Hardy of Little Deer Isle, Maine.

The resulting Java was the Concordia Company’s design No 14. She was 39ft 10in (12.1m) long with a 10ft 3in (3.1m) beam, 5ft 8in (1.7m) draught, a 7/8ths fractional rig and a coveline with the iconic star on her bow and a crescent moon on her stern.

Below, her knotty pine cabinetry and green corduroy cushions recalled home comforts. She quickly attracted notice and another was built – there were two boats by the time the Second World War halted activity, and another two afterwards.

It’s worth considering the name Concordia and its history, for there’s a Quaker simplicity and honesty that is

CONCORDIA KATHY MANSFIELD

CONCORDIA YAWL LENGTH OVERALL

39ft (11.9m)

LENGTH WATERLINE

28ft 6in (8.7m) BEAM

9ft 11in (3m) DRAUGHT

5ft 8in (1.7m) SAIL AREA

657sqft (61m2) integral to the story of these boats. I spoke with Louie Howland, Waldo’s nephew. Waldo’s great-grandfather was Matthew Howland, one of the most successful of New England’s whaling merchants. Around 1865, he and his half-brother George decided to build the finest whaleship and name her Concordia to celebrate their harmonious relationship as brothers and businessmen.

“As good Quakers,” Louie explained, “they did not believe in lawyers or contracts, and they had no formal agreement.” These were their golden years, if only they had known it. In one year, they took $200,000 each in profits – worth about $2 million today – and owned nine whaleships. As insurance was 10 per cent of the cost of a vessel, they were effectively covering themselves by building a tenth boat.

The 128ft (39m) barque-rigged Concordia was the most expensive whaleboat ever built, costing $100,000.

She was launched in 1867 to be sent to the Arctic, by then the most profitable whaling region in the world. But in 1871 they were to lose seven of those 10 ships, including Concordia. In all, 32 ships and $3 million worth of assets were abandoned in order to save 1,200 men, women and children on the ships.

The company Llewellyn Howland set up in 1926 was named Concordia to mark his family heritage, and by the time Java was built, they had a reputation for good boat design, including a canoe-sterned yawl and a 63ft

(19.2m) schooner, Victoria. After the war, there was a move away from big yachts with paid crews to smaller boats that were more easily handled, and the newlydesigned yacht, also called Concordia, was big enough for comfort, small enough to be single-handed.

Above, left to right: built-in compass; tiller and “backrests”; bolted cleat on the foredeck

ABEKING & RASMUSSEN Enter Drayton Cochran. His family had become wealthy in the carpet business and summers were spent sailing his father’s Friendship Sloop in Maine. He commissioned a 105ft (32m) sardine carrier and, as an undergraduate at Yale, had taken it across the Atlantic and back, arriving home too late to start the autumn term.

He also bought one of the first Concordias. After the war he had a steel motor-cruiser designed to navigate the canals of Europe. This boat, Little Vigilant, was later sold to a businessman in England and spent 45 years in storage; it’s now restored and based in Massachusetts.

Drayton had investigated quotes for building Little Vigilant in Nova Scotia and at the well-known German yard Abeking & Rasmussen. The yard had built more than 4,000 craft since 1907, including 370 ships for the German Navy, but after the war they were building wheelbarrows and spade handles. They were hungry for business and their costs were much lower than across the Atlantic. They also had the skills and the quality – A&R apprentices had to have worked CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

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S olent S unb eam

Photo: Peter Mumford-Beken of Cowes

The classic racing keelboat

V27 “Jenny” 1923 wood • V25 “Query” 1924 wood/epoxy • V64 “Maisy” 2011 GRP • V46 “Spray” 2000 wood • V61 “Betty” 2010 GRP

Every picture tells a story From 1923 to today. Traditional, Wood /Epoxy or GRP. All racing equally together.

For the Best One Design Keelboat Racing, Sail and Race a Sunbeam at Itchenor.

Ask about boats for sale, join a syndicate or crewing. Come for a trial sail. Enjoy the Sunbeam experience www.solentsunbeam.co.uk Tel: 07836 768225 46

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

CAROL HILL

for three years before they were allowed to varnish – and they even had the wood (a rarity in post war Europe).

Though they had been required to donate all materials to the war effort, yard manager Horst Lehnert had buried their mahogany, oak and teak in the nearby salt mudflats, bringing it out at the end of the hostilities.

By the late 1920s they had built 100 of the 30ft (9.1m) Atlantic Class designed by Starling Burgess, using a production line-type process.

Waldo Howland gave Drayton the lines of the Concordia to get a quote when he returned to Germany to collect Little Vigilant, and an order for three boats at $7,500 (£4,690) each was placed in 1950. Drayton financed the first boats, keeping one for himself. Until 1966, when glassfibre was taking over, 99 Concordias were built at the Abeking & Rasmussen yard. None has been built since. During that time Hurricane Carol damaged 18 Concordias around Buzzards Bay. I lived there and have early memories of that storm, with whole houses being washed away. However, every Concordia was repaired and is still sailing.

KEEPING COSTS DOWN The financial arrangements for the boats mirrored the Quaker ideals of the Howland whaling ancesters. Again, there was no formal agreement or contract. All 99 boats were built on trust. Abeking & Rasmussen sent photographs of the boats they had built and part payment would be sent, the final instalment coming after the boats arrived in Boston, often not until a customer had paid for the boat. Waldo visited Abeking & Rasmussen once, but the relationship was based on a gentleman’s agreement and correspondence via mail –

KATHY MANSFIELD

Above: the 1964 41ft (12.5m) Whimbrel.

Below: slatted door lockers sit above “park bench” settees – which fold down as bunks

for each boat, an average of 200 detailed letters were sent. It worked. Of course, there was good commercial sense here, too: by shipping the boats unfinished, they stayed under import duty levels. Waldo also kept costs down by specifying a pine, not mahogany interior.

The boats were built upright and launched three at a time. They had 13/8in (35mm) African mahogany planks, often more than 16ft (4.9m) long, and those for the varnished brightwork were bookmatched – double sawn and matched. The topsides were tightly planked with almost no caulking: a tool would crush the grain, a cotton cord and white lead would be laid in, the plank forced down tight, and the rising grain would fill in any gap. Frames are 1¾in (44mm) white oak, steam bent or laminated, on 9in (229mm) centres with 2in x 4in (51mm x 102mm) Sitka spruce stringers. Most Concordias have mahogany decks covered with canvas – much of the canvas has now been replaced – some had teak decks.

Giffy Full, dean of wooden boat surveyors in New England, mentioned at the symposium that he’d surveyed 85 of the 103 Concordias, often several times. Giffy reminds us that these boats were built for perhaps 40 years, not 75. “Did you expect them to last without problems? And yet things improve over time. We learn to do things in better ways, and they last longer. Also, back then they had pretty good iron, for instance. Wrought iron. It was a better quality of iron and it was a better galvanising job. I wouldn’t use any modern galvanised stuff in a boat today,” he says.

The boats were loaded onto freighters in Bremen and shipped to Boston, then towed south through the Cape Cod Canal to South Dartmouth. Much of the work would be finished there, especially the interior with its curved, slatted saloon backrests, which pull down to provide comfortable berths and fold back with their contents to instantly tidy the saloon. Waldo liked simplicity – little to go wrong. He kept portholes and through-hull fittings to a minimum and encouraged buyers to stay with the basic layout, though there were different keel configurations on the 41ft (12.5m) version, a few different bowsprits – one boat was even cat-rigged for a time.

The yachts were not faultless, but Concordias have character, they are not soulless production boats. The boats soon became fastened with bronze instead of an inferior-quality brass. A problem with broken frames occurred because of the hard turn of the bilge and the CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

47

CONCORDIA Boatbuilding seemed the natural career, but he eventually realised that a business degree would help, and after a Harvard MBA and some corporate work, he settled in Padanaram, South Dartmouth, and bought the Concordia Company from Bill Pinney. He has just turned the company over to his son, Stuart. Brodie also spoke at the symposium, along with author Doug Adkins, owner of the Concordia Coriolis in Seattle. Queene Foster spoke of the uses of the mizzen, not least to introduce a new generation to a sail that they can handle at an early age.

A mizzen is great for strong winds, coming up to a buoy, setting an anchor – and, as photographer and Concordia owner Benjamin Mendlowitz chipped in, as a safe handhold when busy at the stern.

Above: the 1957 Concordia Yawl Kiva. Below: the beautifully finished pram for Eagle, Concordia No 92

tight planking. This led to extra frames and, after 1959, laminating frames for strength. The mast step has been lengthened and reinforced in many boats. This could be because the originals were not long enough or, as Elizabeth Meyer suggested, “because when people started using synthetic sails, big jibs and spinnakers, non-stretch halyards and sheets, etc, the loads went up and the extra length became necessary”.

The Concordia Company installed American hand pumps and engines, since local spares could be more easily sourced. Rigging was done there too, using stainless steel, wire splices and bronze hardware. Henry Sears, Commodore of the NYYC, suggested changes after winning races in 1952 which led to the 41ft (12.5m) version. It may be true that most Concordias were designed without a specific racing rule in mind, but the new 41ft version looked carefully at the CCA rules.

KEEPING TO TRADITION Each Concordia Yawl came with a traditionally built Bateka pram dinghy (pictured below right) that fitted neatly on the coachroof. They were apprentice projects at Abeking & Rasmussen and beautifully built. These boats were one strake higher than the originals made for the first US-built Concordias – they were a bit heavier, but more capable of carrying loads.

But costs were rising as Germany revived, craftsmen were retiring, and the surge of glassfibre hulls seemed inexorable, though Waldo wanted none of that.

In 1969 he sold the company to Bill Pinney who continued to run it as a full service yard, also building the classic Beetle Cat. Another Concordia character arrived: Scotsman Brodie MacGregor. Brodie had grown up north-west of Glasgow, playing in the McGruer boatyard and progressing from model boats to Metre boats.

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CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

The day before last year’s symposium John Eide took me sailing on the 1958 yawl Golondrina. Climbing aboard the spacious cockpit and its slatted backrests, I felt the steadiness of the low tiller, hauling the sheets easily with the purchases John had rigged, wanting to head out of the harbour and keep going…

Concordia owners and crew bring a special vitality to the class. The boats have been racing machines, tickets to adventure and nurseries. For these are family boats too, the children enjoying Concordias in the summers and then going on to own and manage the boats for their own children. They are big enough to spend weeks on board, but small enough to handle adroitly in a range of weathers, and family histories pile up on these boats.

The Concordian prints eloquent, imaginative letters from owners to their boats, from the boats to their owners, and memories of their crew including the family pets.

Mimi the ship’s cat on the 1964 41ft Concordia Whimbrel used to produce high-speed boom sprints when at anchor to dazzle the crew. “Technically, I find the Concordia boom to meet all my gymnastic specifications. I also like chasing flies.” The 1963 41ft Concordia Katrina fought for six hours to enter the Cape Cod Canal in 1985 during Hurricane Bob and was one of only two small boats able to make it.

After three Bermuda Races, two transatlantic crossings and cruises in Maine, Ireland, Scotland and Norway, the owner of the 1964 Madrigal quotes Joseph Conrad: “Haven’t we, together and upon the immortal sea, wrung out a meaning from our sinful lives?”

Perhaps we have, casually and in small cruising boats.

Let’s hope the legendary Concordia Yawls continue to pass through the generations, bringing new sailors along and finding new horizons.

KATHY MANSFIELD

CAROL HILL

NEW HORIZONS

NeilThompsonBoats

The Norfolk Smuggler Manor Farm, Glandford, Holt, Norfolk NR25 7JP • +44 (0) 1263 741172 info@neilthompsonboats.co.uk www.neilthompsonboats.co.uk

Norfolk Urchin

Norfolk Oyster

Norfolk Gypsy

Dimensions Length Beam Draft Total sail area Weight

Norfolk Smuggler

25’ ( 7.69m) 8’9” (2.69m) 2’9”/4’11” (0.85m/1.51m) 404 sq ft (38.3 sq m) 4.25 tonnes

Norfolk Trader

Herbert Mason’s famous Blitz photograph of St Paul’s standing intact on 29 December 1940

©LONDON FIRE BRIGADE / MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY

The boat that

saved St Paul’s

From the Blitz to the beaches of Dunkirk, the Massey Shaw’s role in Britain’s war effort can never be underestimated.

Here, we chart her extraordinary history and restoration STORY NIC COMPTON

©HERBERT MASON/DAILY MAIL

T

he 29 December 1940 was a cold, miserable day in London. The city had been under attack by German bombers for nearly four months, and much of it lay in ruin. Between 5pm and 6pm, the air raid sirens started their lament. While civilians rushed to their underground shelters, the London Fire Brigade went on full alert, mobilising some 2,000 appliances and 9,000 firemen.

They would need every one of them that night, as the Luftwaffe targeted the City of London in its most intense bombardment of the war. More than 24,000 explosive bombs and 100,000 incendiary bombs were dropped in what became known as the Second Great Fire of London.

By then, the German pilots’ tactics were finely tuned.

First, a wave of bombers dropped explosive bombs to knock out as much infrastructure as possible, shattering water mains pipes and making it difficult for fire engines to reach damaged areas. Then, a second wave followed with incendiary bombs, to ignite as many fires as possible.

The resulting firestorm consumed everything in its path.

This was where the fireboats came into play. Various types of craft had been used to tackle fires on the banks of the Thames since at least 1760, and by the early 1940s there were already nine stations along the Thames serviced by three purpose-built fireboats. With the outbreak of war, the vessels’ role became even more CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

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©LONDON FIRE BRIGADE / MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY

Above: the huge bronze monitor, or water cannon, on her deck.

Left: around 1936, the Massey Shaw gives a demonstration of her incredible pumping power on the Thames at Blackfriars

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important as they supplied water to areas that had been bombed and were without water. Soon, another 20 fireboats and four fire barges were built.

SAVING ST PAUL’S The Luftwaffe timed their attack on the City of London on 29 December with deliberate precision. There was an exceptional low tide that evening, making it much harder to pump water up to the fire engines. Soon, there were 1,500 fires blazing in London – all but 28 of them inside the symbolic Square Mile. As the fires raged in the narrow medieval streets, the Massey Shaw fireboat started pumping up 3,000 gallons of water per minute from her berth next to the Blackfriars Bridge, and would continue to do so throughout the night.

As the fires spread south, they seemed certain to engulf St Paul’s, a symbol of pride for Londoners, which had withstood myriad attacks since it was built in 1635.

Former London firefighter and historian Cyril Demarne OBE described the scene in an interview on Channel 4 in 2003: “Very soon all the local fire stations were empty of their appliances and the fires were spreading, particularly around St Paul’s. That’s why we relied so much on the fireboats. To get their hosepipes to the shore, the crew

ALL MASSEY SHAW IMAGES: NIC COMPTON

MASSEY SHAW

had to go over the side onto the bed of the Thames, [into] thick mud, drag their fire hose onto the banks and start pumping the water up to where it was required. [the Massey Shaw] could deliver 3,000 gallons of water a minute taken from the river, and that would make about 20 good firefighting jets, so it was absolutely vital.”

That night, 160 civilians and 14 firemen were killed, 19 churches were destroyed, and the whole publishing industry around Paternoster Row was wiped out, along with some five million books. St Paul’s Cathedral, however, survived, thanks to the hard work of the London Fire Brigade and fireboats such as the Massey Shaw. It was her crowning glory and, thereafter, her name would rarely be mentioned without the tag line “credited with supplying the water that saved St Paul’s”.

The Massey Shaw was commissioned by London County Council (LCC) with the brief that she should be able to navigate under all the bridges of the Thames and its tributaries at any state of the tide. Built by J Samuel White in Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, she was 78ft (23.8m) long with a draught of 3ft 9in (1.2m). Her twin 165hp Gleniffer diesel engines powered her along at up to 12 knots and, once at the scene of a fire, one or both engines could be switched over to run her two water

pumps. When she was launched in February 1935, at a cost of £18,000, she represented the cutting edge of firefighting technology and became the darling of the fleet.

A sign of her special status was that, whereas previous fireboats had been given generic names, such as Alpha and Beta, she was named after the man who created the London Fire Brigade (LFB) in 1865 and became its first superintendent, Sir Eyre Massey Shaw. It was the highest accolade the brigade could bestow on her.

The new boat soon proved her worth when, within a few months of being built, she had her first major ‘shout’, fighting a massive warehouse fire at Colonial Wharf in Wapping. Tons of water provided by Massey Shaw’s pumps were used to create a firebreak, which prevented the fire spreading, thereby saving more than £1m of stock in neighbouring warehouses.

But the Massey Shaw’s first real moment of glory came in June 1940, when she helped evacuate troops from the beaches at Dunkirk. It was her only trip at sea since being delivered from Cowes. A compass was hastily fitted and on 30 May she headed off across the Channel. Her crew consisted of 12 LFB river service men and a naval officer, Sub-Lieutenant Lucey, who was there to make sure they didn’t get lost. The sight that greeted them at Dunkirk

Clockwise from top left: the Massey Shaw showing off her pumping prowess in West India Quay; the on-board ship’s telegraph; fully restored to her former glory

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©LONDON FIRE BRIGADE / MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY

NIC COMPTON

MASSEY SHAW

Above, top to bottom: fire pump instruments; nameplate in memory of her heroic acts to save soldiers in Normandy; crowds line the Albert Embankment in London, 1940, to cheer home the Massey Shaw after her time in Dunkirk

must have made a lasting impression on even the most hardened firemen. For while they were used to fire and smoke, they hadn’t yet had to face the horrors of the Blitz, and had no experience of working under enemy attack. Interviewed in the Evening Standard on 12 August 1940, station officer Youngman described the scene: “Air battles were in progress, heavy bombs were dropping, and machine-gun fire was taking place all around us. I gave orders for the crew to take cover to the best advantage. The fireboat was then moored head-on to the beach with an anchor out at the stern, used for kedging, which proved effective.

“The ferrying of troops by the small boat was now in progress and going well. By midnight 60 troops were brought aboard. At 0400 hours on 1 June, the Massey Shaw headed for Ramsgate. The troops were made as comfortable as possible. The weakest were put in the engine room, cabin and hose room, while the remainder were placed on the deck and covered with tarpaulin, and we provided food to the best of our ability.”

SAFE AND SOUND By this time, the boat was “swimming in blood above and below decks”, according to the Evening Standard, 54

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

which went on to say: “They were scrubbed hard since, but they have not quite got all the stains out yet.”

After refuelling at Ramsgate and taking on some fresh Royal Navy crew, the Massey Shaw headed back to Dunkirk. This time, she ferried 500 men from the beach to a large paddlesteamer waiting offshore, before loading another 46 men and heading back to England. She returned empty-handed from a third trip across the Channel, but her mission wasn’t over yet. As she headed back to London, she passed the French steamer Emile Deschamps, also returning from Dunkirk laden with soldiers, just as she struck a mine off Margate, sinking her almost immediately. The Massey Shaw rushed over and plucked 40 men out of the sea, took them to Ramsgate, before finally heading home.

Word about the boat’s heroics had already got out, and as she headed up the Thames in the early hours of 5 June, firemen lined up to cheer her at each station along the river. But it wasn’t just the LFB that paid tribute to the fireboat and her crew. Soon after, sub-officer AJ May was awarded the Navy’s Distinguished Service Medal and two of the boat’s firemen, Henry Ray and Edmond Wright, were mentioned in dispatches. The Massey Shaw was also the only civilian vessel mentioned in dispatches

NIC COMPTON

by vice-admiral Ramsay, the commander in charge of the Dunkirk evacuation, in his report on the operation.

The Massey Shaw had had a “good war” and had saved hundreds of lives. But she still had another important contribution to make to British history. Two years after the end of the war, her crew were asked to take some VIPs on a trip down the Thames. “They were told it was top secret and to stay out of one cabin as an important conference was taking place between the two men and their aids,” says David Rogers, director of the Massey Shaw and Marine Vessels Preservation Society.

The two mysterious men turned out to be Aneurin Bevan, then Minister of Health, and Herbert Morrison, Deputy Prime Minister. What exactly they were discussing is unclear, but it’s unlikely to have been a friendly meeting. The two MPs were from opposing camps within the Labour Party, and while Bevan was the driving force behind the creation of the NHS, Morrison opposed it on the grounds that it took control away from local authorities.

By early 1947, plans for the NHS would have been practically irreversible – although there is a record of one final meeting between Bevan and the LCC on 28 February 1947. The Massey Shaw, moored at her other

FIREBOATS OF THE THAMES 1765 First ‘fyre float’ built for the Sun Fire Insurance Company 1837 The London Fire Engine Establishment builds a 54ft (16.5m) fire float with three manual pumps operated by 90 men. Powered by eight pairs of oars 1842 Admiralty orders seven fire floats for Royal Dockyard 1852 First steam-powered fire float built 1865 Metropolitan Fire Brigade formed under command of Sir Eyre Massey Shaw (pictured below) 1900 First steam-driven, self-propelled fireboat, Alpha, built 1906 Steam-driven fireboat Beta built 1910 Fireboat Gamma built Designed for steam, but fitted with diesel engines 1911 Fireboat Delta II is largest ever built, at 100ft (30.5m) long, 2ft 11in (0.9m) draught and 182,984lb (83 tonnes) 1935 Massey Shaw built by J Samuel White, Cowes

Above: the giant, twin 8cyl Gleniffer DH8 diesel engines, each producing 165hp

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55

MASSEY SHAW

Clockwise from top left: the restoration team inserted new steel plate, rather than replace entire sections; fire hose manifolds removed and rebuilt; new deck caulked with oakum and pitch; it must have been a riveting job for the person asked to secure 3,500 rivets!

Restoration project keeps faith with the original

BY DAVID ROBINS, commercial manager, T Nielsen & Co Although the hull was badly corroded on the waterline, the rest of the hull was in reasonable condition as all the main parts had been galvanised prior to riveting when she was built in 1935. Apart from a few localised repairs and some wasted rivets, the main steelwork was a 16in (41cm) strip around the waterline. Rather than replace whole plates, we decided to “cut back to good steel” and insert new sections, which were welded to the existing plates and then riveted to the frames, as per original. Once the riveting was complete, all the new laps and

joints had to be caulked – an even louder job than the riveting! In total we replaced 3,500 rivets and 258sqft (24m²) of shell plate.

The original teak deck was 2in (51mm) thick and had worn in places to less than half this thickness. This was removed and replaced with new teak, sticking to the original butt plan as there were butt plates riveted to the deck beams.

It was then caulked with oakum and pitch.

We used the old deck planks to make a new cabin sole down below and managed to source some reclaimed black and white floor tiles for the galley to match the original. An all-new electrical system was fitted, with the new wiring clipped with brass onto the original cable trays.

base near the LFB HQ next to Lambeth Bridge, would have been a convenient venue for a meeting between old political adversaries. Whatever was discussed, the NHS came into being just a few months later – and the Massey Shaw had another story to her credit.

But despite this unexpected foray into politics, the Massey Shaw’s primary role was as a firefighter, a job she continued to fulfil every day until her retirement in 1971.

Some major “shouts” in the post-war years included a massive fire at the Tate & Lyle works at Silvertown and a blaze aboard the steamship Jumna while she was moored at the Royal Albert Dock. In 1965, she was one of 43 boats to visit Dunkirk to mark the 25th anniversary of the evacuation. The British fireboat was

C/O NIELSEN

The port engine was taken out and sent to Gardner Marine Diesels in Canterbury, where the starboard engine was being rebuilt. Both engines were then run on the test bed to check their performance. Meanwhile, all the pumping pipework and the Merryweather fire pumps were dismantled and serviced. The deck manifolds for the fire hoses, the monitor and the suction manifold all had to be overhauled and rebuilt using new leather lip seals, as per 1935.

We tried to use as much of the original boat as possible, even down to the old battered doors in the accommodation. So she is essentially the same vessel that was launched in 1935, with a few mod cons to bring her up to date.

warmly received by Dunkirk’s sapeur-pompiers (fire brigade) and has been hosted by them on all her subsequent visits.

So far, so glorious. No other boat can boast playing a key role in the London Blitz, Dunkirk and (possibly) the formation of the NHS, and you might assume that her position as one of London’s most historic ships was assured. But the 1970s were not an auspicious time for maritime culture, and no one seemed to know what to do with her after she was retired – least of all her owners, the Greater London Council (ex-LCC). One proposal was to turn her into a decorative feature on a lake on a new housing estate in Thamesmead, but that was thankfully abandoned. Instead, she ended up being used as a CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

57

MASSEY SHAW

MASSEY SHAW BUILT

J Samuel White, Cowes, Isle of Wight LAUNCHED ©LONDON FIRE BRIGADE / MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY

1935 LOA

78ft (23.8m) BEAM

13ft 6in (4.1m) DRAUGHT

3ft 9in (1.2m) DISPLACEMENT

113,318lb (51.4 tonnes)

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walkway in St Katharine Docks – an ignoble end for the saviour of St Paul’s and 600 Dunkirk soldiers.

FUTURE PERFECT Until, that is, she was spotted by former fireman Philip Wray. He immediately recognised the boat and was so disgusted with the state she was in that he set about trying to save her. The Massey Shaw and Marine Vessels Preservation Society was formed in 1982, with former crew Dick Helyer as its president, and, after a long negotiation with the GLC, it was eventually given a 50-year lease on the boat.

But the Massey Shaw’s troubles weren’t over yet.

Through the determined work of a group of volunteers, she was brought back to running condition and attended the opening of the Thames Barrier in 1984 and the Dunkirk Little Ships reunions of 1985 and 1990. But maintaining such an old boat was an expensive business, not least because she developed a habit of sinking – the first time in 1987, when a valve on one of her pumps was accidentally left open, and the second time in 2000, when vandals broke into her and opened her seacocks.

A short, but crucial reprieve came when the boat was featured on the Channel 4 programme Salvage Squad in 2003. Former Madness singer Suggs fronted the long-running series, in which a team of experts had to restore a piece of vintage machinery in a limited time.

Although the team failed to get the starboard engine working on their first attempt, the Massey Shaw came first in a viewer’s poll, and the Salvage team returned a year later to finish the job. The programme boosted public awareness of the boat, including a prominent place at that year’s London Boat Show.

The Massey Shaw’s future was finally secured when an application for Heritage Lottery Funding was approved in 2008. After some initial work at South Dock Marina in Rotherhithe, it became clear that a full restoration was needed, and the grant was eventually extended to £1.2m.

The work was put out to tender, and Tommy Nielsen’s yard in Gloucester won the shipwrighting work, while the engines were sent to Gardner Marine Diesels in

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

Canterbury. After being relaunched in December 2013, the boat attended the London Boat Show at ExCeL, where she performed her usual duties – only this time purely for entertainment. Meanwhile, Tommy Nielsen’s yard was named Boatyard of the Year at the CB Awards, in recognition of its excellent work on the old fireboat.

Thanks to the hard work of a devoted band of volunteers, the Massey Shaw can celebrate her 80th birthday next year in better condition than ever.

Maintaining the boat is, of course, an ongoing challenge, but one that she is better equipped to cope with than most old boats, thanks to her peculiar history.

“The Massey Shaw appeals to people interested in the fire service, boating, Dunkirk and London in general,” says David. “We often get paid to put on water displays at events, and once people are there we talk about her history, and they become enthralled.”

Eighty years after she was launched, the Massey Shaw’s engines, pumps and 3in (7.6cm) monitor still define her. Whereas most working boats have to abandon their original trade and have to be converted to charter to survive, the Massey Shaw is still pumping water, and lots of it. The main difference being that, whereas it was once used to save others, it is now used to save the boat itself.

As long as she can keep pumping, it seems, she will survive life’s vicissitudes and continue to ply the Thames as one of London’s most historic vessels. masseyshaw.org

NIC COMPTON

Left and above: it’s 1935 and the Massey Shaw slides down the railway slip at J Samuel White’s yard in Cowes.

Below: the Massey Shaw navigating the Thames today

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Shining LIGHT Trinity House, the guardians of safe navigation through English and Welsh waters, celebrates its 500th anniversary this month. Here, we chart its history and applaud its enduring legacy STORY BARRY PICKTHALL PHOTOGRAPHS TRINITY HOUSE/PPL MEDIA

R

emarkable. I never knew that Trinity House has been around since Henry VIII’s day. I thought this serial wife basher had been far too preoccupied with his love life to worry about the wellbeing of our seamen as well.

I was put right about this and many other navigable matters during a fascinating tour of Trinity House at Tower Hill, where the Elder Brethren, as this governing body of men are called, have been presiding over the navigation of English and Welsh waters for five centuries.

Well, not in this building exactly, which has quite a chequered history, but certainly nearby. The Corporation is not responsible for Scottish or Irish waters because of course, these countries were not part of the Union in King Henry VIII’s day. Indeed, the threat that the Scots “might learn the secrets of the King’s streams” was one reason that led to the founding of the Corporation.

In those days, far too many loadsmen, as pilots were known on the Thames, were either incompetent, rogue or almost certainly unqualified. This led to groundings or berthing at the wrong docks for cargoes to be spirited away before their rightful recipients knew anything about it. These latter-day rogue traders led Henry VIII to charge the Master Wardens and Assistants of the Guild Fraternity, or Brotherhood of the Most Glorious and Undivided Trinity and of Saint Clement in the Parish of Deptford Strond in the County of Kent (the Corporation’s full name to this day) with bringing some order to our navigation black spots.

Today, the extensive powers and jurisdiction of the Master (currently the Princess Royal) are deferred to the Deputy Master, a 40-strong panel of Elder Brethren, and a panel of Younger Brethren, which include Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and the powerboat racer Shelley Jory Leigh. The Corporation has three

TRINITY HOUSE AT 500

Clockwise from top left: Trinity House HQ on Tower Hill; South Scroby buoy being serviced; Trinity House yacht The Brethren on the Humber; the fleet of Trinity House pilot boats, 1965.

Previous page: lighthouse on Portland Bill, near Weymouth

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distinct functions: as a lighthouse service, a self-funded charity and as a deep sea pilotage authority.

A tour of Trinity House’s period headquarters is a must for marine and lighthouse buffs. The Samuel Wyatt-designed building houses a remarkable collection of ships’ models, historic paintings and a rare collection of books, including one filled with illustrations of lighthouse construction hand-drawn for King George III in 1791 by John Smeaton, whose enduring Eddystone Lighthouse brought about a radical change to the design and construction of these sentinel towers.

There would have been lots more objects had a German phosphorus bomb not gutted the building during the Second World War, just when the Corporation’s artefacts had been brought out of safe storage in the Tower of London and housed overnight before being moved out of London. By the time the removal men arrived the following morning, all that remained were the four walls and a pile of ash inside.

The building was restored in 1953, complete with painted ceilings copied painstakingly from photographs and an impressive display of period paintings, including a number of Gainsborough canvases of the Corporation’s royal patrons and Brethren, which were donated to redress the priceless wartime losses. Today, the many artefacts on display trace the history not only of lighthouses and lightships, but England’s rich sea heritage.

Once established in 1514, the Corporation’s power and influence grew steadily, and by the start of the 17th

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century, the duties of Trinity House included marine surveying, naval stores inspections, examining and licensing pilots, placing and maintaining beacons and buoys, and administering the Ballast Office on the Thames, as well as its charitable works in caring for retired seamen. Ballast was big business in those days and constantly in demand for ships leaving the Thames in an unloaded state. Between 1594 and 1834, Thames lightermen moved 400 million tons of the stuff, but it all came to an end in 1893 following the introduction of water ballast aboard ships.

THE FIRST LIGHTHOUSES Coal was a vital commodity to Londoners, and the large number of ships being lost on the treacherous shoals between Newcastle and London led shipowners to petition for seamarks to be laid. This in turn led to Trinity House building the first lighthouses in 1609; a pair of wooden light towers to mark the entrance to the port of Lowestoft. The Privy Council allowed for a levy of four pence on ships passing the light, to cover the cost of maintenance and fuel. That compares with the 40 pence per net-registered ton charged to commercial shipping using UK waters today.

Prominent landowners, keen to ensure the safety of ships entering their own ports, followed this example, and lighthouses began to spring up all around the UK, but they were privately run and not all providing reliable leading lights. This led to perhaps the first

Government compulsory purchase order, when all lights came under the control of Trinity House.

This did not solve all the problems, especially in the Western Approaches where East Indiamen loaded with tea and spices, vessels returning from the West Indies carrying rum and sugar, and Men-of-War returning from the Mediterranean, too often found themselves cast on the granite rocks of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The dangers were brought into focus in 1707 when Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, himself an Elder Brethren in Trinity House, led His Majesty’s entire Mediterranean Squadron into the waiting jaws of the Isles of Scillies.

Shovell and the entire ship’s company on HMS Association were lost within minutes, together with those on the Phoenix and most on Firebrand, all within sight of the lighthouse at St Agnes. Others in the fleet escaped, but only after spotting the light at the last moment.

This and other naval disasters like that of Admiral Sir John Balchen’s flagship HMS Victory, which was lost off the Casquets in 1744 with the loss of almost 1,000 lives when close to three light towers, made it clear to the Elder Brethren that lighthouses can only be an aid to navigation and something more had to be done.

Above: the third Eddystone Lighthouse under construction in 1882 – John Smeaton’s original stone tower stands nearby.

Left: the ornate courtroom at Trinity House, complete with giant portraits

by Gainsborough

COMPULSORY PILOTAGE It was another four decades, however, before it became mandatory for ships to pick up a pilot, and even then this was only compulsory for vessels approaching and leaving the Thames, Medway, and the channels between CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

63

An Introduction to our Tenders Choosing the right tender can make a big difference to your life a loat. It must be a practical workhorse, capable of carrying stores and crew from mothership to shore. It must be easy to stow and deploy. And, whilst most people these days carry an outboard, if it rows well you can discover (or re-discover) the joys of this quiet, healthy means of propulsion.

A sailing rig might not be on everyone’s must-have list, but it’s a great way to provide entertainment in harbour... if you can keep the kids happy, they’ll want to come again.

There are many solutions to the storage problem, and this is what we live and breathe.

Besides our own (Nestaway) UK-made range of sectional nesting dinghies, we are also UK importers for Nautiraid skin-on-frame folding Coracles from France, and DinghyGo sailing in latables from Holland. _________________________________________________________________________

NESTAWAY

The Nestaway Pram Dinghy has a two-piece nesting hull - 8ft long assembled, stored length 4ft 8” - that joins together with hooks and oversize chrome-plated bolts. Assembly takes about two minutes. The bulkhead joints are well above the waterline, so water never reaches the top (same principle as a keel case). Each section will float, so “it’s like two small boats joined together, to make one useful one”, as we explain at shows. The lugsail rig was chosen for its relatively low centre of effort, and she scoots along under oars. We also make a 9ft two-piece clinker dinghy, and a three-piece 14 footer. Prices from £1950. _________________________________________________________________________

Above: Nestaway Pram dinghy. Inset (top) shows Pram dismantled and nested together, upside down on deck Left: Nautiraid Coracle 300, sailing version.

Far left: Coracle 250. Inset to text: Coracle 250 folded

NAUTIRAID Nautiraid has been around for nearly 80 years: their folding Coracle Dinghies utilise a fan-like joint that was patented in the 1940s. Whilst the frame and joint have changed little since, fabric technology has, so the skins are now Hypalon (rather than oiled canvas), with subtly integrated tubes around the gunwhales for buoyancy and heeled stability.

Besides folding up, their most notable feature is weight, or lack of it. The 250 (8ft) model weighs just 26kg (57-lb).

The smallest 190 (6ft) variant is lighter still and when folded up will it down a spare bunk. All three row well and will plane under power when lightly loaded. Sailing rigs available for the 250 and 300 (10ft) models. Prices from £1550. _________________________________________________________________________

DINGHYGO

DinghyGo make highly-developed sailing in latables. Not a new idea, but a lot of testing has gone into these boats and we are very impressed by the quality. Extra large tubes make the hull notably stiff, so they have been able to use a freestanding mast (for quick assembly). Those tubes also give exceptional stability - handy when loading stores, reassuring when sailing. The in latable V-shape loor means they will plane under power, with motors from 3.5-8 hp. Prices from £2300 (including sailing rig).

MORE INFO

www.nestawayboats.com Tel: 0800 999 2535

See us at All Wales Boat Show & Beale Park

Below: DinghyGo 275 sailing inflatable.

Inset: also makes a practical motoring tender

TRINITY HOUSE AT 500

Clockwise from above: bizarrely, the Southwold Lighthouse is situated within the town; the famous striped lighthouse off Beachy Head, first lit in October 1902; standing proud at La Corbière in Jersey

Orfordness and London Bridge as far westward as the Isle of Wight. All pilots were licensed by Trinity House, except for the Cinque Ports, and vessels in the Western Approaches had to wait a few years for pilot stations to be established in the Isles of Scilly and Falmouth.

LIGHTHOUSE DEVELOPMENT Lighthouse towers give the impression of being able to withstand all weathers, but not all have withstood nature’s cruellest blows. One who believed he had designed an indestructible lighthouse was Henry Winstanley, who died being proved wrong in one of the greatest storms ever to hit the UK. His Eddystone Lighthouse off Plymouth, built in 1699 and mainly from wood, was totally destroyed with him inside it in a fateful storm in 1703. This tragedy led to a complete rethink on the construction process and had a direct bearing on the building of lighthouses around the world.

A second tower, largely built of oak with the lower part filled with stone, was completed by John Rudyard in 1709 and that survived for the next 46 years until destroyed by fire in 1755. It was followed by John Smeaton’s famous and revolutionary stone lighthouse in 1759. An engineer by trade, Smeaton got the idea of pre-cutting the masonry blocks at the quarry, so that they would dovetail together, from the interlocking stone pavements on London streets. This gave the tower great integral strength, but his design also relied on its own mass to withstand the power of the sea. His final touch

of brilliance was to lay the stonework in a curved vertical taper to encourage the waves to sweep up the wall and dissipate their energy over a wider area.

Smeaton’s innovative design survives to this day, though in a different location. In 1882, 123 years after it was built, movement in the rock itself led to the tower being dismantled and a new, taller lighthouse built adjacent to it. The top section of Smeaton’s tower was then rebuilt as a memorial to his craftsmanship on Plymouth Hoe. The stump also remains clearly visible on the Eddystone Rock, and his design was followed for other sea-swept towers at The Smalls in Wales, Bell Rock in Scotland and South Rock in Ireland.

The difficulties of building lighthouses on barren outcrops were invariably exacerbated by the weather conditions. The first Bishop Rock (1847-50), elevated on metal piles, was carried away during a storm before the lantern could even be fitted. Construction of the black conical beacon on the Wolf Rock Lighthouse, near Land’s End, took eight years to complete (1836-44) because landings could be made on only 33 days each year.

SCREW-PILE LIGHTHOUSES The first screw-pile lighthouse, constructed as a test on Maplin Sands in 1838, was the brainchild of Alexander Mitchell, a brilliant but blind Irish marine engineer.

He came up with the idea of drilling piles deep into the seabed on which to erect a permanent structure. He moved on to build another at Fleetwood, Lancashire, CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

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TRINITY HOUSE AT 500

CB ARCHIVES

Above, left to right: Trinity House’s flagship vessel Patricia, which is also available for charter (see p75); the NORE light vessel was the first of its kind in the world and was moored at the treacherous Nore sandbank at the mouth of the Thames Estuary

using an iron auger rotated by a team of men working on a barge with a hole through the centre. A prefabricated, octagonal skeletal tower was then constructed on top.

Completed in 1840, the tower survived gales and even ships colliding into the structure. One vessel, the Elizabeth Jane, drifted into the lighthouse with such force that the keeper’s house was lifted off the platform and landed on the ship’s foredeck. Mitchell’s patented design became the accepted way of setting up lights on moving sandbanks. One example of their durability is the one on Gunfleet Sands off the Naze, Essex, which was abandoned in 1920 for fear of it being undercut by the movement of surrounding sands, yet which remains defiantly upright to this day as a monument to the engineering skills of Mitchell’s design.

FIRST LIGHT VESSELS Lightships, used to mark dangerous areas where it was impossible to build a permanent tower or where the shifting sands dictated the need for a movable light, were first used in 1732. The NORE light vessel was a converted single-masted sailing ship equipped with two candle-powered lanterns and stationed in the Thames Estuary to mark the Nore Sands.

The first iron light vessel was brought into service in 1861, though the robust wooden light vessels would survive for many decades to come, with some now making comfortable houseboats and, in the case of Blyth YC on the north-east coast, a wonderful clubhouse.

For the crew of each lightship, usually 15 to 20 men, the experience was largely one of boredom, interspersed with periods of peril due to storms or dense fog. When the weather was bad, the lightships were liable to drag their anchors, or worse the chains would break, with the result that the vessel, which was usually without means of propulsion, was at the mercy of the very dangers it had been positioned to guard against. One of these was Trinity House light vessel No 90, which capsized on the Goodwin Sands on the night of 26 November 1954, losing all crewmen during one of the worst channel storms in two centuries. Lightships have now been replaced largely by automated light buoys.

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CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

illumination systems, and culminated with the North Foreland Lighthouse going automatic in 1998, bringing to an end a four-century-old lifestyle.

All lights are now monitored remotely at Trinity House’s depot at Harwich and are serviced either by helicopter or ship once every six months.

THE FUTURE With 90 per cent of imports entering the UK via English ports, Trinity House has a vital role to play marking our sea lanes. The good news for yachtsmen is that because of the savings that automation of lights now provide, there are no plans to extend light fees to the leisure market. That decision, announced by Shipping Minister Stephen Hammond in March, follows a freeze on light fees since 2010, and a reduction by a penny to 40p per net-registered tonne for vessels over 20 gross tonnes this year.

Working with their counterparts in Ireland and Scotland, Trinity House is introducing a state-of-the-art enhanced long-range navigation service (eLoran) later this year to counter the threat of jamming and spoofing of global positioning signals. The circuit boards, which can be integrated to work seamlessly with existing GPS sets, currently cost around £1,200, but prices are expected to fall once demand grows within the leisure market.

The first eLoran transmitter is situated at Anthorn Radio Station in Cumbria and the UK government has granted approval for a further seven eLoran ship-positioning technology stations to be built along the south and east coasts, which will become operational this summer.

Celebration book To mark this 500th anniversary, Trinity House has published Light Upon the Waters – the history of Trinity House 1514-2014, priced £29.95. Saturday 17 May has also been declared an open-house day, giving the public free access to tour the Tower Hill headquarters.

Go to trinityhouse.co.uk

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Discover more at www.tnielsen.co.uk +44 (0)1452 301117 Finishing rigging blocks at our Gloucester workshops. www.tnielsen.co.uk 68

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

Onboard

VOYAGES . SEAMANSHIP . EQUIPMENT

New Classics C/O BROOKLIN BOAT YARD

EGGEMOGGIN 47

The SoT that’s a technical tour de force blue water specialist, offers more than the day and weekend sailing her looks suggest. It has been a popular recipe, too – the Brooklin Boat Yard in Maine has built three in just over a year. This photo shows Lark, but another – Iris, launched last year – plans to tear up the classic Maine regattas this summer. With her aggressive underwater profile, big sail area and extreme light weight (just 10,800lb/4.9 tonnes, about a third of a vintage wooden yacht), she should do well on uncorrected time. Prices start at £390,000. brooklinboatyard.com Tel: +1 207 359 2236

C/O CHESAPEAKE LIGHT CRAFT

The Eggemoggin 47 is high tech, even by the standards of Spirit-of-Tradition boats these days. She’s wooden… well, sort of (cedar strip with a layer of carbon inside and out), and with a lithe form drawn by Bob Stephens, in which everything from cabin trunk to freeboard is a statement of low-profile intent. There is plenty of varnished wood in the cabin trunk and cockpit and a teak-laid deck. But the E47 is a street sleeper, with fin and bulb keel, balanced carbon-fibre rudder, big sail plan (846sqft/78.6m2), a doublespreader, fractional carbon mast with synthetic (PBO) standing rigging and an in-boom mainsail furler. The interior has four berths so the E47, while no

CHESAPEAKE LIGHT CRAFT

Rocket outrigger Modern wood construction, speed and good looks meet again here, but at a much lower price point. The Outrigger Junior is 15ft (4.6m) long, 12ft (3.7m) wide, and 2ft 8in (0.8m) deep (board down), and weighs just 140lb (64kg).

It started life a decade ago as a design for youths to build and race… “a boat that would look right with shark’s teeth painted on the bow”, as designer John C Harris of

Chesapeake Light Craft puts it. John drew an outrigger with one big hull and a smaller one, and, unlike the proa, it tacks conventionally.

The idea – an easy-to-build, fast and car-toppable multihull – was shelved, but continued to simmer. John returned to the design in 2013, with a “vast” lateen sail on a short mast, a pivoting centreboard (for “beachability”) and enough freeboard and buoyancy for two adults. All components are lashed in place. “Metal fasteners concentrate stress, and whatever they are fastened to has to be beefed up. Multiple wraps of sturdy

twine are far stronger, minimise pointloading, and have a natural shock-absorbing quality,” says John. The boat’s name is a vestige of its origins but, he adds: “Adults will have just as much fun.” The price is likely to be around £2,000, well fulfilling its low-cost brief. With its curvy mass, we think it’s about the prettiest way to go really fast on a multihull. We’re sure the late Hobie Alter would approve.

Available worldwide from clcboats.com, or in Britain from fyneboatkits.co.uk from May/June.

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ONBOARD

Lazarette

VISIT Sailing Equipmen t cla

Trad porthole This superbly-built and finely finished gunmetal porthole is now available from Traditional Boat Supplies, and has been fitted with safety glass, a backing plate and two lugs for a much tighter fit. It has a 7in (18cm) opening (6in/15cm across the glass), ¼in (6mm) spigot depth and an overall diameter of 10in (25cm). Sadly, this may be the last item we’ll review from John Greenaway, as he tells us he’s retiring after years in the business.

Our thanks and good luck to him. £210 plus p&p tradboats.com Tel: +44 (0)1502 712311

Musto deck shoe The Orson Drift is a fruit of the recent and ongoing collaboration between Musto and Clarks.

It’s based on the traditional top-sider, or deck shoe, designed by US sailor Sperry in 1935, but has three pairs of eyelets and lacks the traditional all-round lace.

So far, they seem to be comfortable and performing well. A particular feature is the AquaDx – a means of draining water out through holes in the sole – just like a self-draining cockpit! £100 plus p&p

ssicboat

.c

o.uk For many product re more views

Cool bag Introduced to us on the relaxing stretches of the Thames at Henley, here’s a perfect plug-in flexible cooler fridge that’ll work to 15°C below ambient for any boat that has a 12v cigarette lighter plug. The other advantage of the Dometic Waeco CoolFun fridge is that when you’re driving to your boat, you can cool your cider and sandwiches en route. It has a capacity of 25 litres and it’ll tuck out of the way in a locker as it squashes down to the size of a couple of pizza boxes.

Not expensive either. £48.76 inc p&p coolhen.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1862 735008

musto.com Tel: +44 (0)1268 495824

Lanoguard

Lanoguard is turning out to be one of those rarest of things: an all-purpose anti-corrosive lubricant and waterproofing solution that works extremely well on almost everything, including metals, leather, plastics and glassfibre.

Its principal ingredient is lanolin, which resists jet washing up to 200 bar, is non-conductive, non-toxic, eco-friendly and is three times more protective than type II zinc coating. It inhibits verdigris, marine growth, battery corrosion and moisture intrusion, as well as being an excellent lubricant. Don’t be without it! In liquid and grease form. Grease tub (250ml): £15.82 and spray (500ml): £22.61 plus p&p marinestore.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1621 854280

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Woodgas stove We love this compact and ingenious little number for camper-sailing or use on the riverbank. It’s lightweight, stainless and packs into itself beautifully, but the really impressive feature is the design of the air inlets. When you burn wood, air rushes through convection chambers to aerate the top flames, making them shoot out like a gas hob. It’ll hold most sizes of pans, runs on twigs and is designed to pack away into this 775ml MSR Alpine Stowaway billy pot; both weigh just 23oz (645g).

Stove: £49.95 inc p&p; billy pot: £17 plus p&p Stove: wildstoves.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1308 426499; Pot: gooutdoors.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)844 387 6800

ONBOARD

Books Captain Bungle’s Odyssey

By Paddy Macklin We get so inundated by awful “my logbook, published” books here at CB that we are thinking of burning them to keep warm if gas prices go up again this winter. This one’s different though, chiefly in the quality of its observations, very original and copious photography, and artwork... and it’s about a voyage actually worth reporting: round-the-world solo in a 27ft (8.2m) wooden Buchanan yacht (a Clyde Cruising Club 6½-Tonner) in an effort to beat Robin Knox-Johnston’s record of 312 days set in 1968-69 aboard the 32ft (9.8m) Suhaili. That sounds refreshingly unambitious on the face of it, but even today, 45 years on from Suhaili’s record, sailing around the world non-stop, solo and south of the three great capes, is no joke. In fact, in a boat of similar size and vintage, it’s almost unheard of, and Paddy came within a whisker of losing his life.

In the Southern Ocean, Paddy suffered a prolonged episode so awful as to be, by his own admission, indescribable. With a gale that averaged 45 to 50 knots for 48 hours, he was chased by what appeared as “100ft cliffs approaching”. Paddy suffered at least six knockdowns within the space of a few hours, with two of them “probably”, and then “certainly”, 360° rolls. It says something for the mayhem of being tossed like a cork in white water that he cannot be certain. The second 360° was sufficiently severe to occasion a stop in to New Zealand for repairs. Two more complete rolls follow, then “the next 22 days were the same”. He reached NZ safely to complete his voyage, so no record for Paddy and his yacht Tessa, but no less of a ripping sea yarn for it. SMH RRP £15.99, 287pp, published by Podkin Press, 2014

CLASSIC BOOKSHELF

The Voyage of Anahita

by Captain Louis Bernicot, first published 1953 In 1936 Captain Louis Bernicot set off on a voyage around the world in the 41ft (12.5m) cutter Anahita. Leaving his native France he sailed directly for Rio de Janeiro, before heading down the South American coast and through the Strait of Magellan into the Pacific. He then continued through Polynesia, the Torres Strait and the Indian Ocean. After rounding the Cape of Good Hope, he re-entered the Atlantic, where he visited Pointe-Noire, on the West Coast of Africa and the Azores, before returning to France. His arrival in May 1938 made him only the fifth man to sail single-handed around the world.

Bernicot relates the story of his voyage with the straightforward manner of a competent seaman. Despite seeming rather reserved when it comes to describing his emotions, the reader still gets an insight into the character of a man who spent so much time alone simply because “nobody cared to join him”.

This book takes us back to a time when sailors had to rely on their own resources; sails are made on board, repairs carried out with what is to hand and obstacles overcome as they arise. It can perhaps remind us that an enormous budget is not required to go sailing, and encourage us to consider what equipment is really necessary. Richard Toyne

SUNDOWNERS WITH GUY VENABLES

The king of self-oiling It is at this time of the year when the rates of people being taken to hospital with horrific burns rise to blistering levels, due to the barbecues coming out of hibernation. On a boat, a barbecue can be a blessing, an inconvenience or the end of your boat. To lessen the dangers we try to affix ours on the leeward side overhanging the water. We still get sparks crackling and flying onto the decks, but no more than my Nicaraguan cigars (which often cause people downwind of us to nervously check their engines).

If you are in the areas where you can pick mussels, these are excellent barbecue fair because a) they can go straight on, meaning you don’t have to waste wine or cider cooking them and b) it totally transforms the texture to that of a well-cooked steak, especially if you can cover them up. A wok lid will do or, failing that, a satellite dish stolen from a nearby stinkpot. The Moroccans do them with mango curry sauce, which is well worth playing with. In the Caribbean some grilled favourites include Swordfish with tomato and raisin sauce; in South America they grill wonderful scallops ceviche and the Portuguese do things with sardines, lemon, garlic and smoked Spanish paprika (pimentón de la vera) that will cause fat men in Speedos to swim through dangerous tides to bob hopefully next to your hull.

But for me the best thing to have on the barbecue (and the most likely thing we’re going to catch) is that king of self-oiling, the humble mackerel.

Now you can just fillet them and grill them, but if you really want to impress the girl on the foredeck/the Lloyd’s surveyor/customs, then keep a jar of balti paste on board. It will last a long time, especially if your fishing is like mine. Fillet the mackerel, slather the cut sides in curry sauce and stick the them back together. If you’ve got one of those fish-shaped clamps, all the better. Grill them on a hot barbecue for about eight to 10 minutes. The oil will mix with the pungent paste and you will find yourself making a fish curry there and then.

Mash it and have it with rice for dinner or, even better, in the middle of a buttered French baguette. Wine: cold and white.

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FEATURES OF THE BOAT AND OUTDOOR SHOW

• The SAS Auctions in Association with Henley Sales Charter Ltd are holding a Special Sale of Classic & Modern Boats, Memorabilia and Model boats • Amateur Boat Building Awards • Cordless Canoe Challenges • BBQ on the Beach • Extended Boat Section • Outdoor Section • Classic Car Exhibition • Steam Boat Association Steam Engine Build Competition • Huge array of Food and Drink • Extended Childrens Area • New Fishin’ Kitchen and Demo Theatre incl. Cooking at Sea and Storage on Board • Shopping Areas incl. Crafts, Food Courts, Gifts and Lifestyle Pavilions • Free Access to Wildlife Park from the Boat Show

Beale Park

Lower Basildon, Berkshire RG8 9NW

6/7/8 June 2014

VISITORS: Go online to “BOX OFFICE” for Discounted Admissions EXHIBITORS: Go online to “HOW TO EXHIBIT”

Friday/Saturday/Sunday

www.bealeparkboatandoutdoorshow.co.uk T: 01235 538 134

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E: info@statelysolutions.co.uk

2/18/14 9:12 AM

ONBOARD

Classnotes Thistle class

BY VANESSA BIRD

T

he Thistle was launched in 1945, when Gordon K ‘Sandy’ Douglass entered a prototype design in the Put-in-Bay competition at the Inter-Lake Yachting Association Regatta on Lake Erie. Crewed by his wife, Mary, and a friend who had never sailed before, Douglass took to the North American waters with doubt ringing in his ears after the initial reaction to his 17ft (5.2m) bermudan-rigged dinghy proved negative. General consensus was that the open, lightly framed dinghy was completely unsuitable for Lake Erie, particularly as it was blowing a Force 7 and it was a 15-mile race. Unique and without any near competition, Douglass’s prototype was placed in the Universal class, a class that also included a 22-Square Metre and a large schooner. Determined to prove the naysayers wrong, Douglass stormed round the course, overhauling the other competitors, to finish first over the ground.

Reactions to the design were subsequently unanimous in their praise – Douglass was onto a winner, and Ohio sailors wanted to join in.

Later that year, he formed a boatbuilding company with Ray McLeod, and production of the dinghy commenced, with the first six boats sailing as a class in July 1946.

“What was needed [at the time] was a family daysailer with excellent handling and performance characteristics,” Douglass wrote in The Rudder in the mid-1950s. “She had to be big enough to carry a large party in reasonable comfort, small enough to fit into the average garage, light enough for two men to be able to load her onto a trailer, and fast enough to give a good account of herself under all conditions… she must plane well and handle like a thoroughbred…”

JOHN DUCKWORTH

Built of moulded ply, the Thistle had a plumb stem and transom, fine entry and deeply veed forebody, which led to a long, flat run aft.

Surprisingly, she had no deck at all, but the flare in her bows meant that she was relatively dry, and her generous 191sqft (17.7m²) rig gave her enough power to slip past her rivals in barely a breath of wind.

Following the formation of the Thistle Class Association in autumn 1945, racing took off and fleets were quickly established across America.

By 1948, 218 boats had been built, and by 1950, 29 fleets across 10 states had been established.

Glassfibre entered the class in 1960, when boats built by WD Schock were approved for production. Improved rigging followed, and in 1961, at the same time as the 101st fleet of Thistles was established, aluminium masts were approved.

Since then, the Thistle has proved very successful. There are now over 4,000 in existence, with 68 fleets across the USA. Lake Erie remains home to the largest concentration, with 10 fleets based around its shores, and at last year’s National Championships, 109 boats took part.

Unlike many designs of its era, the Thistle has changed little, but it has continued to perform and has definitely earned its position as one of the USA’s greatest one-designs.

“The Thistle is one of the USA’s best one-designs”

Above: The 17ft (5.2m) Thistle class will celebrate its 70th anniversary next year, and is currently sailed in 68 fleets across the USA

CHAMPION OLDIES The beauty of one-designs is that all the boats are identical, and therefore on a level playing field. This was proved in 1990 when Paukie, Thistle No 1, which Douglass built for himself, won the National Championships!

CRUISING THISTLES Thistles have been used for cruising, too. One notable boat was Follow Me (No 320), which owner Chuck Angle fitted out for cruising with fore and aft decks, bunks and lockers in 1950. He cruised her in Buzzards Bay, off the coast of Maine, on Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes in Upstate New York, before converting her back to racing condition and winning the 1951 Central New York Regatta.

SPECIFICATIONS

LOA

17ft (5.2m) BEAM

6ft (1.8m) DRAUGHT

4ft 6in (1.4m) SAIL AREA

191sqft (17.7m²)

HULL WEIGHT

515lb (234kg) DESIGNER

Gordon K Douglass

SAIL INSIGNIA The class’s sail insignia is a Scotch thistle and the names of three of Douglass’s best-known designs – Thistle, Flying Scot and Highlander – all have names that reflect his Scottish roots.

FAMOUS SAILORS One leading light during the 1940s and 1950s, was Briggs Cunningham, who in 1958 skippered the winning 12-Metre yacht Columbia in the America’s Cup, as well as inventing the cunningham downhaul.

Vanessa’s book, Classic Classes, is a must-buy.

Please bear in mind that this book provides only a snapshot of the myriad classes in existence.

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

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1925

C.G. Pettersson

‘Virgo’ is a classic wooden launch designed by the renowned C.G. Pettersson of Sweden in 1925 and now fully restored to her former glory by the craftsmen at Clare Lallow’s boatyard at Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

For Sale £70,000

For more information please visit our website

w w w.v i rgop ettersson.com

International Boatbuilding Training College

STEWART MARINE Classic Boats for sale 1932 Andrews Slipper

Original Baby Greyhound Fully restored 2005 Original Austin engine Very rare original craft In excellent condition

£25,500

Ford Watermota engine Lovely interior New Winter cover Re-furbished by Freebody In A1 condition

£35,950

Based in Kingston Upon Thames this boat is ideal for special events for up to 12 people with skipper.

Catering available on request.

www.hartsboats.com 74

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

1974 Fairey Spearfish

Based in the Solent this boat is ideal for film and TV due to its stability and speed.

Available for Cowes and other Solent regattas

0208 399 0297

Richard Johnstone-Bryden

Wanted all types of classic launches Classic Boats for Charter 1897 Day Launch “EM”

www.ibtc.co.uk

1950s Andrews Day Boat

Snowgoose Classic Boat award winner 2014 info@ibtc.co.uk 01502 569663

ONBOARD

Getting afloat SHEILA

As the first real ‘yacht’ by Albert Strange, Sheila is of unimpeachable importance (CB111). She was drawn for fellow artist Robert Groves (Strange was a painter as well as a yacht designer), who sailed her off Scotland’s west coast and the Hebrides when such voyages were considered improbable in such small craft (Sheila is 25ft/7.6m). According to her owner, she’s “perfect” and much the same as when she was built more than a century ago in 1905 by Robert Cain on the Isle of Man. Her history includes storm damage in 1914 and being hit by a bomb in 1939. The yacht has an extensive archive, including the original line

C/O WOODEN SHIPS

First Albert Strange yacht

drawings, not to mention 30 OGA trophies! She has been in the same ownership for 36 years and had a major refit in 1994-95, which included a new swept deck in Alaskan cedar. Sails are said to be in “excellent” condition and her authenticity extends to not having winches, engine or even electrics.

Above: Sheila resplendent in her swept teak deck

Other vintage features include a Taylors paraffin two-burner stove, eight-day clock and an ornate saloon table with inlaid marquetry work detailing her history.

Lying Suffolk, asking £22,000, woodenships.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1803 833899

THV PATRICIA

An illuminating experience

C/O PHIL CODGELL

We’re not even going to pretend that the 262ft (79.9m) THV Patricia, flagship of Trinity House (see p60), is a classic boat!

The 1982-built lighthouse tender is tasked with maintaining navigational aids (lighthouses, buoys, marks, etc) and the location and marking of wrecks. But it must make a unique cruise, which is exactly what she offers, in six double, en-suite cabins (see below) with satellite TV. Passengers have little idea where they will go or even how they will join the ship – she’s based in Harwich, Essex, but boarding may be by transfer from a workboat. A seven-night cruise costs from £2,300, meals included. www.strandtravelltd.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 20 7953 7607

ANNABEL J

C/O TRINITY HOUSE

Steel pilot cutter Annabel J is the only steel-hulled example of the Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter yachts that we know of. At 55ft (16.8m) she’s bigger than most of them, too. She was built by Duchy Boatyard Services in 1995 to conform to MCA Cat 0, and owner Phil Codgell has run her as a charter business from Hamble Point for 10 years. She’s currently rated as Cat 2 (up to 60 miles from a safe haven), and busies herself with regattas, cruises and RYA training in the Channel. Phil describes her as a successful business with a number of bookings for this summer. She has berths for nine guests and two crew. Available as a boat with or without charter business attached.

Lying Hamble, asking £360,000, annabel-j.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)800 799 9180 CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

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BOATS FOR SALE

Boats for sale Looking to sell your boat?

Reach over 50,000 readers each month

To advertise call Edward Mannering +44 (0) 20 7349 3747 Edward.Mannering@chelseamagazines.com Copy Deadline for next issue is 27/05/2014

ALEXANDER ROBERTSON, CLYDE 1904

Elrhuna- 28ft unique vintage yacht, 12HP dolphin engine, professionally maintained and near original build. A joy to sail, great fun, well balanced. She is a beautiful sailing yacht in excellent condition. £27,500 mungo_watson@hotmail.com +447970294652

DOUBLE-ENDED GAFF CUTTER 1987 This beautiful double-ended gaff cutter designed by Peter Bruun, (known for Grinde-Kaskelot design) and inspiration from Colin Archer Pilot cutter. The boat is build larch on oak and the deck is made of solid teak. Only owned by one person and always cared for in a shipyard, and it is stored indoor during the winter. Practically new spray hood 2013 and the boat appear in a very good condition. When the sail is up it is 68 square meter and it sail as fast and well as many new modern boats. €69,000.

Contact 0045 25154171 or email syd@yachtbroker.dk.

RIVA BERTRAM 25FT SPORTS FISHERMAN

This classic beautiful 1970’s boat has had a major re-fit in 2010 with all new electrics, cabin linings, bunks,cooker, fridge, oven, cushions, loo, teak swim board, shower, windless and many more new extras. Engines 2 yanmar 200 hp only 500 hr. Top speed 28 knots. £55,000. Contact guytrench@aol.com 07710 021010 Lying Burnham Marina Essex.

STUNNING 1913 EAST COAST ONE DESIGN

25’ TEAK LAUNCH IN NEED OF RESTORATION Once restored, would make ideal boat for Thames or Norfolk Broads. Boat lying Suffolk. £3000.

Contact 0744 3119740 or info@teoltd.co.uk

GU Laws design for the Royal Corinthian, Redshank is no’ 5 of only 10 (CB June 2013). Comes with extensive equipment, brand new sails, full TackTick (race, wind, depth etc. and remote repeater), Road Trailer, Cradle and Outboard. Extensive restoration complete, photos available. £14,000 Contact: 0781 5752061 Email: me@paulbrightmore.com

HERRESHOFF HAVEN 12.5

Built in wood to high professional standard in 2011 and never launched. CE certified and stored under cover. 16’ long x 6’, lift keel, gaff rig, a proper little yacht; see CB issue number 135.

Ready to sail, incl. new road trailer. Reduced price £17k. Contact 07930152933 / 01646601024 or email dick.boele@yahoo.com

TIDEWAY TYPE WITH ENCLOSED FOREDECK

Believed hand built by Lowestoft Boat College.

Launched 2008/9. One owner. Professionally finished with Gaff Rigged Tan Sails. Varnished to an inch of her life. Looks stunning – turns heads.

Complete with bespoke tan canvass storage/ towing cover, reefing points, buoyancy bags, new piggy-back galvanised launch/road trailer, bow spit, bronze furler and all bronze fittings. Like new. £4995 ovno – 07748 443344 – Reading Area

1970 TOLCRAFT SHARK

1970 Tolcraft Shark, originally built for racing, this boat has been carefully restored and had a cabin added. A new Mercruiser 4.3 MPI engine and outdrive was fitted in February 2008. This is a classic motor boat in very good condition for the year. £14,950.

Contact 07973537014 or email doug.macleod45@btconnect.com

ROMILLY 23

Friendship

An eye turning gaff rigged classic dayboat built by Salterns in 2013 uniquely finished in Russian pine and chromed fittings She is offered ready to sail with trailer. Little used though the year and dry sailed. A joy to sail!

Further details tel: 07909 537423 email: alastairfriend@me.com

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CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

BEAUTIFUL BLACK HULLED NORFOLK SMUGGLER

Very well equipped with separate folding chart table and mast lowering ‘A’ frame permanently rigged, (doubles as pulpit) £52000 Ashore South Coast Oliverphilip@btinternet.com

Almost brand new and top spec. Romilly built by CoCoBe in Holland www.romilly.nl delivered in May 2013 and very lightly used. Fitted with all the extras, cream sails, wood trim, fresh water tanks, press.

Water, deck shower, automatic bilge pump/manual bilge pump, 12V/220 sockets, shore power, battery charger, nav. Lights and most importantly a Mastervolt 4KW electric engine with 4X100AH lithium batteries giving a cruising range at 4.5 knots of about 27NM (6 hours). R52 is Rosalyn Bris fitted with electric engine, batteries and generator http://vimeo.com/12072429. Back-up get-home 2KW Honda generator and very quick charging (3 hours from flat) of batteries also an important feature. Centre plate/board (0.5 - 1.5 m) for shallow draft mooring or anchoring and superb and easy-tohandle sailing characteristics as well as performance to embarrass much bigger yachts. Summer & winter covers as well as road trailer included. Price substantially below replacement co st. £47,500. Contact eric@wigart.com orcall 01243 530 874.

BROKERAGE CAMPER AND NICHOLSONS 44 - 1961

Built by Camper and Nicholsons, Gosport, this 44 ft Bermudan Yawl is constructed of teak and mahogany on grown oak frames and built to meet Lloyds 100AI. Only 4 owners in the past 50 years! I still have the original specification with hand-made notes along with 13 line drawings from the Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Hull and topsides repainted in May 2012. Full set of new Ratsey sails. Decent Perkins 4108. Loads of spares.

Lying South Spain. Priced reduced to £39,000 For full history see www.classicyachtcharter.eu Email. peter@acumenadagency.com

© Emily Harris

ROMILLY 23

FALCON 1972 – BILL TRIPP DESIGNED

Designed 1958 by Bill Tripp – highly regarded U.S. designer (Adlard Coles’ Heavy Weather Sailing). Participant in Cowes Classics Regatta.

Elegant classic shape. Counter stern. Wide side decks. Spacious, wood-trimmed cockpit. Aft deck. Wood-panelled saloon. Sleeps 4.

Long keel converted to skeg-mounted rudder. Well-balanced, dry boat. Renovated 2009, inc. new engine and rigging. Length: 30ft.

Price £25,000. Contact: tomhart92@gmail.com

FLYING FIFTEEN NO. 182 OTTER

Otter is a 20ft keelboat designed by Uffa Fox and built by the Tormentor Yacht Station in 1956, A celebrated boat in her time she won a series of national championships in the 1950s and throughout her life has remained a fast boat in the right hands.

Completely overhauled in 2000 she comes with sails, buoyancy bags, over and under hull covers and a galvanised road trailer / launcher.

OIRO £2,750. Further details from robertmorgan@fastmail.co.uk

ROYAL MERSEY MYLNE FOR SALE

Mermus No. 21 GRP launched 1991 fitted out in hardwood to a high standard. Collars mast, standing rigging replaced 2013, new sails used for one season. Transom outboard bracket, Seagull Century longshaft . Lots of equipment. £11,000 please contact: 0151 3277907 or email barrington.williams@sky.com.

Boatshed Dartmouth are delighted to offer for sale a Romilly 23. Designed by Nigel Irens the Romilly was a smaller derivative of the larger Roxanne. As a day boat with occasional overnight stops the Romilly provides superb performance in a design that can be launched and recovered from a trailer. Romilly has a high ballast ratio, the GRP version uses the same cast iron centre board as Roxanne. She has a very fine hull form and a relatively large sail area making for a fast vessel. The original version has a loose footed main on a carbon fibre mast. This Romilly is well presented with recent new covers, road trailer and is ready for the season ahead. Appointments to view can be booked in advance 6-days a week directly with Paul Singer your Boatshed Dartmouth broker. £18,250. paul@boatsheddartmouth.com.

Tel: 01803 611493.

29 FT. GAFF CUTTER

NORFOLK GYPSY ‘TILLY’

Beam 9 ft.6 Inches, draft 6 ft.

Designed by Richard Dongray and built by Heards–Mylor in 1982/83. GRP hull, hardwood traditionally fitted 6 berth cabin & cockpit, wood spars.

40 HP Perkins diesel, GPS, VHF, full navigational equipment, solar panel, spray hood, legs-tender. Full survey in 2011, laying at Fowey. Originally commissioned from new by current owner. Reluctant sale owing to reduced mobility £18,500 Tel: 01208-880-765 E-mail: reb37@btinternet.com

Boat no. 63.

1st launched 1995.

One family owner.

Yanmar 1GM. Road/launch trailer.

V.good inventory.

Lying ashore, South Devon. £20,950. email: shh.simonhunter@ gmail.com Tel: 0117 9298583

Looking to sell your boat?

Reach over 50,000 readers each month There are two styles of Boats for Sales ad to choose from and with our special offer, if you buy two months, your third month will be free. Pick the style which suits your requirements and email: Edward.Mannering@chelseamagazines.com with your text and image or call +44 (0) 20 7349 3747. The deadline for the next issue is 27/05/2014

SAMPLE STYLE A

STYLE B. 5cm x 1 colums. Either 55 words or 30 words plus colour photograph. £155 inc VAT and Internet

SAMPLE STYLE B GOLANT GAFFER

No. 8. Excellent 2 berth coastal cruiser, built 1999. Length 18’ 9” Beam 7’ Draft 2’ 9” long keel, designed by Roger Dongray. Yanmar GM 10 regularly serviced. Very attractive boat lovingly maintained, Lying Fowey. £12,000 ono.

Email: name@classicboat.co.uk 0000 11111111

CUTTER

Built 1991, mahogany & epoxy hull similar to GRP, 1930’s spars & fittings, beautifully maintained. Visit www.idclark.force9.co.uk for photos and specification. £25,750 Contact 00000 111111

STYLE A. 5cm x 2 columns. Either 160 words or 80 words plus colour photograph. £275 inc VAT and Internet CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

77

BROKERAGE

Brokerage

To advertise Call Patricia Hubbard +44 (0) 207 349 3748 Patricia.hubbard@chelseamagazines.com Copy Deadline for next issue is 27/05/2014

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

56’ Trawler yacht. Quite simply the best of her kind we have ever seen.

Built by Forbes, Scotland 1938. Fitted out for present owner 1995-99.

Typical massive Scottish construction. Dedicated engine room with Gardner 6L3 114hp @ 900rpm. 2000 hrs since pro rebuild. 1 + 3 phase generator. 5 double cabins incl owner’s suite aft. Go absolutely anywhere, anytime, any weather in safety and comfort.

Devon £175,000

25’ historic Albert Strange canoe yawl. Built 1905. Rebuilt in current 38 year ownership. Classic Strange canoe stern representing the epitome of the canoe yawl type so popular at the time. Full length pitch-pine planking. New 1995 cedar deck. Gaff yawl rig sets 330sq’ . 2 fixed berths. No engine, never needed, handles like a dinghy. Full history. English yachting culture at it’s very best. £22,000 Suffolk

55’ Gaff Cutter built on the lines of one of the famous Bristol Channel Pilot Cutters. Professionally built in steel by A&P Appledore Ltd in 1995. Superb interior fit out in panelled mahogany 9 berths in two separate cabins. Current Code of Practice Cat 2 Certificate for commercial operation, operated as a very successful charter vessel in present ownership. Offered as a thriving business. Very well maintained, ready to sail this season. Hants £360,000

24’ Fife One Design conceived for the Royal Angelsea Yacht Club, this is the only one of the class to have been built by Fife. The most elegant day boat you will ever see with a breath taking sheer line. In the same ownership for over 50 years, this little gem now needs a new and caring owner.

Devon £28,750

43’ All teak Bermudian cutter. Built in France 1936. In superb condition after UK refit now with new mast, rig, sails, floors, engine, deck, systems and much more. Yanmar diesel. 6 berths in original panelled interior. Radar, plotter, auto-pilot etc. An absolute show-stopper. £98,000 UK

58’ Lutine of Helford one of the most famous English yachts, Laurent Giles design, built by C&N in 1952 for the Lloyds YC. Teak hull and decks, completely rebuilt in present ownership. Yanmar 100hp. 7 berths. Recent complete cosmetic refit, ready for the classic yacht circuit.

Executor Sale. £330,000

28’ Hillyard gaff cutter. 1930. Pitch-pine hull. 2-cyl Lister diesel. One of the unusual transom stern Hillyards with raised topsides to give enormous volume in the cabin. 3 large single berths. Major rebuild in present ownership so all the hard work has been done but requires someone to finish the remaining job list.

Hants £7500

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.

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CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

BROKERAGE

33 High Street, Poole BH15 1AB, England. Tel: + 44 (0)1202 330077

63 ft Samuel White Gentleman’s Motor Yacht 1963 CARAMBA’s supreme good looks are not accidental – the sheer line, beautifully balanced proportions and purposeful profile are all in immaculate good taste.

We first met her as a family yacht in Corfu, professionally skippered and run by two people. Her current owner by contrast looks after the boat - and often cruises her alone. Her versatility is therefore impressive. With her wide and protected bulwarks, expansive aft deck, her little ship ambience with charming saloon and intimate cabin layout, she is living testament to her old school designer Fred Parker’s skill. Why don’t they make them like this anymore? £850,000 Lying UK

68 ft Charles E Nicholson Cutter 1937 As FIREBIRD X This yacht was a design inspired by the 12M R class but liveable enough for offshore races and fast cruising. John Leather observed “OISEAU DE FEU is, among middle size yachts, the most convenient and elegant boat a sailor could dream of”. She won many inshore and offshore races in her early post war life. In 1989 a two year full restoration was to bring her back to her original splendour. Since then, she has taken part in the Mediterranean classic races with great results – OISEAU DE FEU rarely finishes out of the top three in the prestigious vintage class. €575,000 Lying France

60 ft Jack Laurent Giles Bermudan Cutter 1956 PAZIENZA designed by Jack Laurent Giles was built by Cantiere Navale V. Beltrami in Genoa in 1956. Laurent Giles seemed to achieve a seamless transition between traditional and modern styling - it is not surprising that PAZIENZA, with her handsome sheers and understated English good looks has been down to the last two nominees for the most beautiful boat in France in recent years. This is an excellent indication of her current impressive condition.

42 ft Nicholas Potter California 32 1937 A formidable racer and a comfortable cruiser - drawn by Nicholas S. Potter, AKA the “Herreshoff of the West” eight of these sloops were built between the mid 1930s and the mid 60s. Often a cover girl in the US West Coast yachting press; AMORITA has been sympathetically restored and successfully raced on the classic Med circuit. So far ahead of her time this is a design that can be easily sailed by a family crew – hard to believe this is a vintage yacht designed before World War II when you study her detail and gorgeous simplicity along with her purity of line – or the fact she is fast and furious to sail! €460,000 Lying Spain

52 ft Sparkman & Stephens Yawl 1953 Even by S&S standards BACCARAT stands out with her almost effortless beauty; her immaculate sheer and complete balance viewed from any angle. Currently designers copy boats like this and they are labelled “modern classic” but it is very difficult to copy a masterpiece and BACCARAT has a magic that lifts her way beyond the pretenders. She has cruised Northern Europe and the Med in her current ownership - enjoyed as a family yacht but often sailed by her owner alone; BACCARAT is iconic S&S - need we say more? €460,000 Lying Greece

46 ft John Alden Ketch 1939 Attributed to John Alden DELFINO was built by an Italian yard on the eve of WW II - this yacht exhibits many of the characteristics of John Alden’s designs, well known for their beauty as well as their ability offshore. There is a shortage of well restored yachts of this size that can be cruised extensively as well as exhibited and raced in classic regattas. The current ownership are lucky enough to own a fleet of classic vessels so with their knowledge and passion DELFINO has been optimised for Med cruising, with generator, air conditioning as well as new Hood sails. Thus wonderfully set up she is ready. €450,000 Lying Spain

61 ft J M Soper Gaff Schooner 1932 VERA MARY’s lines enhanced by her unobtrusive low profile superstructure are more than a match for the American schooners of her size and vintage.

Joseph Soper her designer was known for his racing yachts and rugged cruising boats tending to rather greater beam than was usual at that time. VERA MARY’s interior reflects that extra volume with good spacious accommodation and a saloon worthy of a much larger vintage yacht ! VERA MARY was famously purchased by King George V and given in appreciation to his sailing teacher and friend Sir Philip Hunloke. €440,000 Lying Germany

45 ft John Bain Silver TSDY 1937 John Bain is considered the father of family owned and operated power yachts and the Silver Leaf Class (1932-1951) ranging from 42 to 52 feet in length, of which CAIRNGORM is a fine example, demonstrates exactly why – elegant and timeless in appearance, good sea keeping ability, high quality materials and precise construction. This boat has benefited from a very comprehensive maintenance regime and an owner, one of only four since she was launched in 1937, who fully appreciates the vessel’s character – beautifully unspoilt yet well equipped and versatile even in this modern era. £220,000 Lying UK

40 ft Aldous Gaff Cutter 1922 Built by Aldous to Lloyds A1 in 1922 to a design by A Boyes, AYESHA has inspired her owners to enjoy her very much as originally intended. In 2001 she won her class in the Prada classic series in the Med – having sailed across Biscay to compete! There is something refreshing about her honest fit out and no mistaking her beauty – a capable vintage sailing boat and worthy regatta contender. She is easily handled, even with a crew of two

email: info@sandemanyachtcompany.co.uk

POA

£45,000

Lying UK

Lying UK

www.sandemanyachtcompany.co.uk CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

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BROKERAGE

Anglia Yacht Brokerage New 12’ Dinghy available with either larch or Mahogany planking. Class celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2013.

Prices from £8,500 Inc VAT

New 18’ Deben Lugger day/ camping dayboat.

Prices from £13,500 Inc VAT

New 10’ GRP clinker lug sail dinghy.

Prices from £2,950 Inc VAT

Come and see us and the above boats at the Beale Park Boat and Outdoor Show 6th -8th June 2014.

David Moss Sea Otter 15’ in beautiful condition.

Standing lug yawl complete with Break-back road trailer, covers and electric outboard. £7,950

2009 Cormorant 12’ GRP Balance-Lug rigged sailing dinghy. Complete with combination road trailer. £4,450

1980 Drascombe Lugger Mk2 recently refurbished with good sails, T-frame trailer, Mariner 4HP outboard. £3,750

See full listings at www.anglia-yacht.co.uk Tel. +44 (0)1359 27 17 47 www.anglia-yacht.co.uk Email. sales@anglia-yacht.co.uk

M.J.LEWIS & SON (Boat Sales) LTD DOWNS ROAD BOATYARD, MALDON, ESSEX. CM9 5HG

E-Mail: info@mjlewisboatsales.com • Tel: 01621 859373 • Mob: 07736 553487 Specialists in the brokerage of Classic Vessels, Traditional Yachts and Working Boats

13.2m Nicholson 43 No29, 1971 GRP long fin. Osmosis treated, teak decks. Bereavement sale.

N.Essex £49,950

33ft Sailing Smack CK32, 1860 Totally rebuilt. Nanni 36hp. Rig & Sails 2006.

Limited accom. In commission 2014.

Kent £60,000

Heard 28, 1982 GRP Gaff Cutter. 6ft 6 h’drm.

Perkins 4cyl. Comprehensive inventory.

Cornwall £39,500

Nelson 34, 1978 Robust GRP, 2 Perkins diesels Aft cabin.

Enclosed helm. Full history, Ex RN. Essex £26,950

34ft Storebro Royal Cruiser, 1972 Twin Turbo Fours, 165hp, rebuilt ‘08. Aft cabin.

Comprehensive inventory. Tek Dek. Tidy clean example. Essex £36,000

31ft Paul Gartside Junk Rig, 1982 Lightweight, single handed. Epoxy ply fin keel.

Sail drive. To be Sold complete.

Cornwall £9,750

Stirling 28, 1968 Holman Sloop. Alloy spars. Lovely example of type. Re-commissioned for 2014.

Kent £26,000

35ft Gaff Schooner, 1967 Tancook Whaler design, Nova Scotia. Shetland built Engineless. Stunning condition, a Traditionalists Dream. Scotland/Essex £19,950

22ft Harbour Launch, 1950’s Restored, Pitch pine hull. Recon’d Bukh eng. Forward cuddy.

Sussex £13,950 ONO

32ft TSDY, 1937 Brooke Marine Lowestoft. Twin BMC Commodore 2.2’s. Accom 2 + “. H’drm 6ft 3ins. Refitted ‘14 Essex £28,000

16ft ex Thames Launch, 1970’s D/D/epoxy externally. Open cockpit.

BMC Vadette. Teak decks, bronze fittings.

Ashore Suffolk £7,950 ONO

17ft Gaff Sloop,1920’s Burn’s of Bosham built. Restored.

Road trailer. Outboard.

Essex £5,950

29ft Fred Parker Sloop, 1961 Long keel. Set up for single handed.

28hp Beta ’06. H’drm 6ft. Refitted ’14.

Kent £16,950

24ft Sanders & Roe Launch, 1930’s Totally rebuilt. Road Trailer.

Accom for 2, 5ft 6ins h’drm. Beta 21hp.

Essex £24,450

24ft Finesse 24, 1976 Varnished, clinker centreboard.

Yanmar 2GM. Excellent example. 4 berths.

Essex £12,000 ONO

www.heritage-marine.com 80

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

BROKERAGE

www.TallShipsforSale.co.uk www.ClassicYachtsforSale.com

38m (124ft) Steel Brigantine Sail Training Ship

28m (92ft) Twin Screw Schooner, built Pitch Pine on Oak 1907, completely rebuilt in 2004.

Air conditioned accommodation for up to 36 in 17 cabins plus 12 crew berths in six cabins; Bar and lounge. Well-equipped, comfortable. €1,900,000 - Location Valencia, Spain

Luxury accommodation for five in three cabins (+ 4 crew). Twin Gardner diesels. Drop dead gorgeous! €2,200,000 - Location Western Med.

14m (46ft) Modern Classic Sloop built Astilleros Mediterraneo, Spain 2003.

10m (33ft) Fairey Marine Swordsman, fast cruiser.

Construction is cold moulded, double diagonal over strip plank Cedar, all epoxy / glass sheathed.

BACKGROUNDa.pdf 3/30/11 6 berths. Yanmar 40hp diesel. A real stunner! €139,000 - Location Costa del Sol, Spain

Up to six berths, two heads, excellent galley, Twin Volvo Penta TAMPD41P-A 200bhp diesels installed 2:06:50 PMmaintained. One Owner from new.

2000.

Superbly 2010 Survey. £39,000 Offers invited - Location River Colne, Essex

25m (82ft) Steel Twin Screw Gentleman’s Schooner part-finished restoration project.

15m (49ft) on deck, Brigantine rigged Motor sailer.

Hull and decks restored, Twin Gardner diesels. Drop Dead Gorgeous! 2010 Survey available, please ask! £195,000 Offers invited - Location Dorset UK

Built Oak on Oak 1970. 6 berths, Perkins Sabre M115T 114hp diesel. A real eye catcher! €165,000 - Location Netherlands

12m (40ft) Cornu Class Ketch, built Iroko and Mahogany, Van der Notte, Nantes, in 1966.

10.7m (36ft) Maldon Fishing Smack, Built Howards, 1889, Larch on Oak.

Recent sails and Engine (Vetus 42hp) up to 9 berths. €50,000 - Location Brittany, France

Professionally sheathed in 1991, re-decked in 1995. 4 Berths, BMC diesel. Great fun! 2007 Survey available, please ask! £15,000 - Location River Colne, Essex

www.EasternYachts.com See Website for Photos, Specifications & Surveys 19 Colne Road, Brightlingsea, Essex, CO7 0DL • Tel: +44 (0) 1206 305996. Planning to sell: Please call Adrian Espin for details.

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Harrier : A stylish 31ft motor launch built in 2001 with a 4 cylinder 37 hp N anni diesel. This is the perfect launch for entertaining or as a classy yacht tender. Suitable for Solent or inland waterways. Based East Anglia

Lady Helen : A Henwood and Dean bespoke electric launch to a Wolstenholme design.

With sleek lines and bench seating, moveable low tables and apparent frames and timber planking this is a 20th century classic. View ashore in Henley

Naiad Errant : A well known Dunkirker which features on the cover of the ADLS bible and a regular returnee to Dunkirk. Sleeps four, lovely interior. Based Thames afloat.

MB 278 : See her and bid for her at the Classic Boat Auction at Beale Park on June 7th. Catalogues available shortly from HSC or Special Auction Services in Newbury.

Amoreena : A 45 ft Bates Starcraft which has been in the same ownership for over 20 years and immaculately maintained with a stunning interior and large galley. Viewing near Chichester afloat

Ferry Nymph : One of five Dunkirk Little Ships currently for sale with HSC. Ferry Nymph has a recent survey, a huge central well, sleeping for two and bags of character. Based East Coast afloat.

Asterisk * : A 45 ft Bates Starcraft with a rare aft cockpit. Sleeping for two couples with two heads at either end of the boat, modern galley, big saloon with leather seating and wood floors. Viewing near Reading afloat

Shahjehan : 40ft of early twentieth century boating history with plenty of sleeping, good galley, 6 cylinder single Lister engine, full inventory, tender. Afloat Reading.

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For more information about any of these boats call 014 91 57 887 0 mobile 07 813 917 7 30 email sales@ hscboats.co.uk www.hscboats.co.uk

For model boats, dockside clothing and boaty curios visit www.boatiq ue.co.uk

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

81

Craftsmanship Yard News

Edited by Steffan Meyric Hughes: +44 (0)207 349 3758 Email: steffan@classicboat.co.uk

LINCOLNSHIRE

Hat-trick for serial restorer

PEMBROKESHIRE, WALES

It was thanks to CB that reader Robert Douglas came forward to save Alcyone, Stella No 17, as a retirement project. The 53-year-old yacht was in terrible shape with a rotten beamshelf, sheerstrake and some planks, plus a keelson split three-quarters of its length and many broken floors. “Isn’t epoxy wonderful?” enthused Robert. “It wasn’t in use in my day, otherwise I think I would have bathed in the stuff.” He has been using it to glue scarphs and laminate a new beamshelf in Douglas fir. The damaged keel has necessitated a complete strip out, but the hull is now completely rebuilt. Robert is now busy with the deck and still has complete cockpit and interior rebuilds to go, as well as engine and systems. He is hoping to relaunch in 2015.

C/O THE OWNER

Deep restoration Stella

C/O THE OWNER

C/O THE OWNER

Peter Harrold has started work on his third yacht – the 1954-built 23ft (7m) Herbert Woods yacht Fair Breeze, a derivative of the Gay Lady class of Broads cruisers. “For many CB readers, the beginning of spring is marked by the sound of masking tape being ripped from its roll and the smell of antifoul,” he said.

“And, in my case, there's the Jackson Pollock impression under my boat made from gallons of antifoul and splashes of Witham oil and paint. Fair Breeze has been anointed with seven litres of primer, having been stripped back to bare wood. Three planks and a handful of frames were replaced. “They all could have been, but the cost (£20k) would have been beyond budget, so each plank has been ‘restored’ using epoxy filler. Yes, I know what the purists will say, but we’ve used Sikaflex and we will be on the water this year for under £1,000.

TWO

LAURENT GILES Retired and ready to go! RESTORATIONS PORTSMOUTH, UK

C/O THE BOATYARD

John Richardson, newly retired and with time to burn, has bought the classic boat he has always wanted.

She’s called Farida (Persian for ‘unique’ or ‘precious’) and she’s a 35ft (10.7m) Laurent Giles-designed bermudan cutter (Design No 27). John started sailing at school in a Morecambe Bay Prawner and has sailed ever since. Farida is a lot to bite off, but John Shaw of JWS Marine in Southsea has been itching for a woodie to bring back, and it’s all hands on deck. She’s been stripped and dismantled and a survey suggests she needs structural work, including partial replanking, a new keelson, deck and coachroof, plus all the usual work associated with a tired classic. Work is expected to take six to nine months.

PORNIC, BRITTANY

C/O JWS MARINE

Normandy takes shape in Brittany

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CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

Anelor, a 28ft (8.5m) Normandy Class yacht designed by Laurent Giles, is undergoing renovation in Pornic in southern Brittany by Coques en Bois (meaning ‘wooden hulls’), a non-profit traditional boat organisation. This sloop, No 15 launched in 1961, is one of the few Normandy Class yachts built in France by Sibiril boatyards in northern Brittany.

She was built of mahogany planking on acacia timbers. She came to Coques en Bois in 2010 and sailed for three seasons, but a complete refurbishment started in November 2013 and she is now in dry dock. The job list includes a new deck and chainplates, bulwarks and rubbing strakes, cabinsides, engine overhaul, interior redesign and painting. For the last six months, members of Coques en Bois have been working hard in order to sail Anelor to several summer events, starting in Pornic on 14 June.

CRAFTSMANSHIP

ALAN STALEY BOATYARD

Faversham Creek CB visited Alan Staley’s yard at the eastern end of Standard Quay in Faversham in April, where several projects were on the go. Occupying one corner of the main shed was the X One-Design Vanity – number 47 and a Solent competitor. She was getting the full treatment, with new deck, half a new transom, new timbers, quarter frames, covering board and was being totally refastened with some 600 copper nails. “We’ve tried to save 50 kilos,” Alan tells me. “So we have taken out anything not necessary, including remains of an old iron mainsheet horse, and gone for lighter construction where we can.” Vanity should be back sailing on the South Coast soon.

Next to Vanity, the guys are finishing a Selway Fisher trailer-sailer for an owner who started her; next to her is Waterwitch, a 1935 Hillyard 4-Tonner. “She’s having the works: new planking, decks, rubbing strake, cockpit, keelbolts… we’ve been doing her up as and when the owner can afford it and she’s close to being ready now,” Alan says.

The motor-sailer in the photo is the 31ft (9.4m) Rhoda Maud II, designed by John Teale and built in 1961 by Harry Feltham in Portsmouth, which has a new keel band and her masts have been rebuilt. The launch in the foreground is Iras, built around 1900 by Sam Saunders after he moved to Cowes. She has a unique three skin, strip plank-style construction with the inner strips having a convex surface, for strength. “We estimate she has around 30,000 nails in her,” Alan surmises, “and they are 14s… tiny little things!” Work is currently “in progress”. DH

YARD VISIT

DAN HOUSTON

BRIGHTLINGSEA, ESSEX, UK

TIM BEES

TIM BEES

Busy BODs

The Brightlingsea One-Design is in full swing, it would seem, with the latest GRP launched over Easter, three more glass boats lined up for build, and two original woodies in restoration.

The latest, Storm Petrel (C54), is for seasoned BOD sailor Alan Hicks, who sold his last (wooden) BOD to another Brightlingsea sailor. In warm sunshine and a good breeze, she went down the town hard accompanied by two other GRP BODs: Grethe, the first of the new breed, and White Spirit. Storm Petrel is the fifth GRP boat and was moulded by White Formula of Brightlingsea; Simon Hipkin of nearby Thorpe-le-Soaken was responsible for the wooden joinery. She is one of a batch of four GRP boats, which means three more are coming soon – the first will be C55 for James Anderson, due for launching this summer.

The restoration scene for old, wooden hulls is healthy too: Cormorant (C4) is being restored for (and by) local boatbuilder and sailor Malcolm Goodwin, with help from Rob Malone, a young boatbuilder who is slowly taking over from him. When Cormorant is restored, Janice (C44) will go in for restoration.

The BOD is an 18ft (5.5m) clinker-built, three-man, centreboard dayboat designed in 1927. A fleet has been active in Brightlingsea since then. brightlingseaonedesign.com

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Craftsmanship CRAFTSMANSHIP

IRON WHARF, FAVERSHAM

A very busy yard

1

YARD VISIT

IRON WHARF, FAVERSHAM, KENT

Boatyard of timeless appeal 2

Iron Wharf is an out-of-the-way wonderland for dozens and dozens of boats, in all states of repair. Plus, it’s home to a few Thames Sailing Barges, creating a timeless feel, writes Dan Houston. This is where I found my first boat, Salote, in 1989 and where I am keeping my restoration project, Nereis, after we developed a fairly serious leak a couple of years ago 1 Currently known as Disdain but shortly due to go back to her pre-war Kriegsmarine name of Seetaube, this 50-Square Metre is another great example of Abeking and Rasmussen’s work (see p40). She belongs to David Holley, who has been putting strength into the boat to see her into her next decades. I’ve asked for a feature on her.

ALL PHOTGRAPHY DAN HOUSTON

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2 The 50ft (15.2m) LOS Cygnet of London is from the drawing board of G Chalmers and built by Alfred Burgoyne at Kingston on Thames in 1906.

She looks in fabulous condition and is just getting a spruce over; she’s made for these waters, drawing just 4ft 6in (1.4m), with her centreboard up.

4 Having basically ignored Nereis for a couple of years, it’s great to be getting back into the swing of things with some help, firstly from Simon Grillet and now John Hall and Johnny Campbell – all time-served sailing barge shipwrights who probably regard the 1936 teak bermudan cutter as a bath toy. This is John raking caulking; more on that soon!

5 Iron Wharf’s owner Peter Dodds says he bought the place to have somewhere to keep the engineless TSB Mirosa. Here she is under her patent rain cover, shortly due to come off.

6 If you like barges here’s a project: the Oak, just a little TLC needed to bring her back to seaworthiness (some material is missing).

4

3 Seeing the new deck on Alan Reeves’ Salote (CB301) is fantastic, as part-owning the John Ley 1953 30ft (9.1m) mahogany-on-oak sloop for 12 years, I knew she needed it. And she has a superb laid teak-over-ply deck now by Kyle Abingdon. She'll be afloat again soon no doubt!

7 Ironsides is a 78-ton 1900 steel barge, which has received a lot of restoration work and plans to be afloat again in 2014.

5

6

7

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

e e n ad id ai M pr rit th t B wi rea G in

Pilot Cutter “OLGA”

JAMES LAWRENCE SAILMAKERS LTD BESPOKE SAILMAKERS

22-28 Tower Street, Brightlingsea, Essex CO7 0AL Tel: 01206 302863 • Fax: 01206 305858 Email: mark@gaffguru.com or lawrencesails@btconnect.com

NeilThompsonBoats

The Norfolk Gypsy Manor Farm, Glandford, Holt, Norfolk NR25 7JP • +44 (0) 1263 741172 info@neilthompsonboats.co.uk www.neilthompsonboats.co.uk

Dimensions Length 19’10”(6.10m) Beam 7’6” (2.31m) Draft 1’8”/3’11” (0.51m/ 1.21m) Sail 212sq ft (19.7m2) Weight 1.3 Ton

It’s about details lindhyacht.com marine leather specialist

Norfolk Urchin

Norfolk Oyster

Norfolk Gypsy

Norfolk Smuggler

Norfolk Trader

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

85

CRAFTSMANSHIP

Boatbuilder’s Notes

DIY ADVICE

Flip it and draw!

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS ROBIN GATES The flexible self-retracting tape measure is one of the most useful tools in the boat shed: compact, quick and simple to use when measuring a space or the timber to fill it. Yet the flexibility that makes it so handy for measuring is also its downfall when it comes to marking out. To make it rigid when extended, the tape has a concave profile, but this makes it slip about on the

surface. If careful, you can draw an accurate mark despite the edge standing proud of the surface, but the problem arises when you try to join a line of marks by running the pencil along that raised edge – the pencil wobbles laterally and the tape is almost impossible to hold in place. The solution is simple: invert the tape, scale side down, so the straight edge has good contact with the timber. Plus, snap the inverted case against the edge of the timber and that will also help keep the tape straight.

HOW TO… FREE SEIZED KEEL BOLT NUTS

KNOW-HOW

ROBIN GATES

EXPERT ADVICE

Boiled linseed explained

Boatbuilding advice from naval architect John Perryman

86

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

Many old hands swear by the efficacy of boiled linseed oil (BLO) in restoring the durability and sheen of weathered wood, including wooden tools, and as a lubricant for the soles of planes that may otherwise stagger and squeak across resinous timber.

It was traditional practice to soak rags in BLO and stuff them in a tin, leaving an oily pad standing proud to wipe a plane’s sole across.

Take this with a pinch of salt and a fire extinguisher, as BLO-soaked rags are prone to spontaneous combustion; there are numerous instances of workshops burning to the ground by fires thus caused.

BLO-soaked rags should be washed out in warm soapy water and disposed of outside. A wipe of three-in-one oil or a candle stub is equally effective and far safer. By the time you make your last pass of the plane, the lubricant will have been worn and planed away, so there will be no effect on a subsequent finish. Robin Gates

CRAFTSMANSHIP

Traditional Tool ROBIN GATES

Close cut: gentleman’s saw Corkscrew, cigar cutter – what else might be needed for the tool kit of your gentleman’s yacht? Might I suggest the aptly-named gentleman’s saw – just the thing for a little light joinery while waiting for the tide.

Some know this dinkiest of backsaws (saws with a solid spine to stiffen the thin saw plate) as a dovetail saw with a straight handle, since it is often used to cut this elegant joint and its turned handle is a distinguishing feature.

For the delicate task of sawing narrow stock to length, the gent’s saw is ideal because its fine teeth make a tidy job of end grain. As a general rule, the thinner the workpiece the finer the saw teeth should be or they will grab and splinter the wood. This 10in (25cm) ‘Pax’ saw has 20 tpi (teeth per inch) and although old, it’s still cutting well. Unusually among hand tools sold in the UK today, this saw continues to be made in Sheffield, the home of good saw steel, albeit with a more gentlemanly rosewood

handle than the original native beech, and is priced around £21.

Just as the merits of various boat constructions can trigger heated debate, so yacht joiners are divided when manufacturers meddle with the construction of their tools, and the gent’s saw is a case in point. Argument centres on how the brass or steel spine is made and how it is fitted to the saw plate. Some would dispense with steel straight off, saying that a steel back is to brass what plywood planking is to solid teak. Certainly, the heavier brass

Clockwise from above: Pax gent’s saw made by Thomas Flinn & Co in Sheffield, cutting half-round beading; folded brass backs of (l-r) gents, dovetail and tenon saws; turned handle of a gent’s saw contrasts with the dovetail saw

enables the saw to do its work with less applied force. But the real issue is whether the brass is folded over the saw plate – the method of the last 250 years – or machined with a slot into which the saw plate is glued with epoxy resin. Traditionalists claim that a folded back tensions the saw plate while protecting it from damage.

Modernists retort that an epoxied saw would not have bowed in the first place, and besides, they would rather be sawing than fiddling with their saw plates!

ROBIN GATES

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS ROBIN GATES

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

87

CRAFTSMANSHIP

CHARLOTTE WATTERS

Adrian Morgan

Got a screw loose?

larch wins hands down against a panel of plywood of the same quality (if you can equate the two).

I don’t, however, propose to go into my customary rant about “real” wood vs “ply” wood, as any visitor to my shed would see in build a Caledonia Yawl by Iain Oughtred and an Ilur from the board of François Vivier, both in 3/8in (9mm) Elite plywood.

In my defence I have never said that plywood did not make good boats, just that solid timber made better and longer-lasting ones.

Having scarphed and glued together the best part of 50 planks, cut by computer at Alec Jordan’s establishment in Fife, I am certainly grateful for one thing: that I did not have to cut those planks out myself, and a computer-controlled router had the dusty, noisy and dangerous task instead, for the less you need to work plywood, in my opinion, the better. The bevelling of the lands is unavoidable, and quite enjoyable – the laminates providing an unerring clue to how much you need to take off. And the gains have to be cut, but it’s hardly cabinetmaking.

And one proof of the method is the speed with which you can throw up a hull: in the case of the Caledonia Yawl, that’s 14 days from receipt of kit to primed, painted and ready to turn.

But hold on a minute. The Arctic Tern we built a year or so ago in solid timber took less than three weeks to get planked up and framed!

It is so easy to kid yourself that even building from a plywood kit saves time. Sure as hell it doesn’t save money: material costs are about a third more for a plywood version in kit form. And nor is it quicker, so far as I can tell. Building upside down, as I was obliged to agree made more sense, leaves you with all the work to do inside, whereas building the right way up means you can make a start on the interior as you plank up: cleaning off lands, fitting floors and frames, etc.

The Caledonia Yawl that awaits inversion in my shed, once turned, will need to be cleaned of glue runs before work can begin on the structure. Building the hull may have been a psychologically important stage, but the bulk of the work is yet to come.

Building in plywood has, at least, given me an insight into what most people call “wooden boatbuilding”.

Don’t knock it, I tell myself. There’s a stack of lovely larch that will have had the benefit of three months more seasoning. Plywood has its uses.

Adrian is building in ply, even though it’s bad for the planet

W

hat is it about bronze screws? Little jewels of twisted metal; noble, strong, rust-free, everlasting. Brass? Weak, poor, brittle, the slots damage and you throw them away. Not bronze; you keep the good ones for reuse and harvest the drop outs, the ones that slip through your fingers. What joy to find a pristine 1½in No 8 among the wood shavings and put it back in its box.

There you are then: a paeon of praise to bronze csk slotted woodscrews and a small example of how the wooden boatbuilder does his bit for the environment.

It should be the same with copper nails, the price of which seems to be rising by the day – something to do with the Chinese, apparently. It pains me to have to draw a bent nail and consign it to the bin. At the yard where I learnt the little I know about building wooden boats, we used to keep the cripples for recycling, although I cannot remember that actually happening. But it was a salutary sight, that pile of expensive verdigrised metal.

Where is it now? Landfill, most likely, along with the rusty tin cans and babies’ nappies.

A colleague of mine is currently putting together the case for sustainable wooden boatbuilding. We have already agreed (he did the calculations; I looked at my timber bills) and came to the same conclusion regarding solid timber vs plywood. No contest: a board of lovely

“A board of larch beats a panel of ply hands down”

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

89

MARINE DIRECTORY

Marine Directory

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A range of simple small craft plans for very easy home building in plywood

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MARINE DIRECTORY

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Looking ahead Things to do in the next few weeks

NEXT MONTH

IYRS launch day talk

C/O IYRS

31 MAY 2014 Bristol, Rhode Island, USA iyrs.edu Tel +1 401 848 5777 Launch day at IYRS (pronounced ‘iris’) is always fun, when graduating students roll out their restored boats. This year, Dr Robert McNeil will give a talk. He owns the schooner Coronet, which is undergoing a restoration so authentic that she will be trenail-fastened, oil-lit and engineless.

McNeil was also behind the restoration of the steam yacht Cangarda, and Coronet could set the benchmark for authentic big yacht restorations when she is eventually launched.

UK AND IRELAND 23-25 MAY

Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival County Cork baltimorewoodenboatfestival.com Boats, ceilidhs and more

BEELEIGH AT BCYC CB is sponsoring the inshore race at the BCYC Regatta in Cowes in July and last year we competed on board Beeleigh. So, what are the tactics?

OVERSEAS

6-8 JUNE

Campbeltown Classics

29 MAY – 1 JUNE

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Beale Park Boat and Outdoor Show

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Three Rivers Race The Ant, Bure and Thurne threeriversrace.org.uk Tel: +44 (0)1692 630507 Popular Broads day/night race

Pangbourne, nr Reading David Read Tel: +44 (0)1235 538134 Another change of name, a new organiser, but good old Beale

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COLD-MOULDING CURLEW It’s 30 years since this legendary Quay Punt was given a new skin of kauri veneers. This is her story

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Taming the Bristol Channel in a dayboat TWO MEN IN A BOAT

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 Riding high – techniques for rough water

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RIDE THE WAVES Key dinghy and keelboat techniques for rough water

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CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

TOP TO BOTTOM: EMILY HARRIS, C/O CURLEW, PETER WILLIS

PETER WILLIS

7-14 June Seafair Haven 2014 Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales seafairhaven.org.uk Tel: +44 (0)1348 840420 The biggest and best yet, promise the organisers of this terrific event. It’s something of a cross between a raid and a regatta, and Britain’s alternating biennial reply to the Golfe du Morbihan regatta in France. Everything from dinghies to Tall Ships will attend.

95

Letters LETTER OF THE MONTH SUPPORTED BY OLD PULTENEY WHISKY

I have just read for the second time Mario Pirri’s article on Latifa (CB311), and the story of his 37-year ownership. As a classic boat owner, I find it comforting to read of owners with the same illogical compulsion to look after a beautiful wooden yacht. It was a delight to be shown a glimpse of Mario Pirri’s understated passion for his beautiful Fife, and I found his solo adventures inspiring and frankly somewhat gobsmacking.

So, it dawned on me: if Mario can solo sail a 77ft (23.5m) yacht across oceans, then surely I could venture out solo in the Solent

C/O THOMAS BOARD

Time for a solo season

Above: the 44ft (13.4m) Frenesi, a McGruer yawl

occasionally? And since our yawl Frenesi finally has a new autopilot and chartplotter, and a radar and AIS will be next, what am I waiting for?

Truth be told, I’m nervous about

sailing solo, despite the fact that I effectively solo much of the time, as we sail with small children. So reading Mario’s account of his first time going solo in his larger 52ft (15.9m) yacht made me realise that I could, if I wanted to.

After reading the article this morning at breakfast, my plan today was to go and take off Frenesi’s winter tent. I’m glad to report that I went one step further.

Usually when I move her, I have a crew member aboard to help.

Today, the conditions were great, and so I did it solo. I was quite pleased with myself for overcoming my anxiety, and taking this small step. Next I plan to go for a solo sail when the mood takes me (and after I’ve checked and sorted out the insurance cover!).

Thomas Board, Portsmouth

C/O ELSPETH MACFARLANE

So, what is a classic boat?

Let’s go back to Enkhuizen I was sad to hear what Chris Potter described in his letter (CB311). I went to Klassieke Schepen in 2010 with a group from Hunter’s Yard and we had a great time, despite the cold weather. There were many interesting boats, everyone was so friendly and there were some great sailing opportunities. We also enjoyed the town and museum. I hope it returns to Enkhuizen, but perhaps in spring next time. Elspeth Macfarlane, by email

Successful stunner RICHARD JOHNSTONE-BRYDEN

It should come as no surprise that Snowgoose attracted so many votes in your recent poll. Like the Broads charter boat that was nominated in 2013 (Betsie Jane), both have solicited votes on the Norfolk Broads forum. With 9,000 members they have a bit of a head start.

C Barton, Norfolk

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CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

Remarkably, the editors of Classic Boat are asking themselves (CB 300) “what is a classic boat?” As if you ask a carpenter: “what is wood?” We, the readers, are left with a wide range of answers, but no clue of an acceptable view.

The answers given are to be divided into two classes: those with a very personal view and those who try to draw a clear line between two faces in time. The first group defines a classic boat in terms of beauty, attractiveness or the like. But “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. And the other group draws their timeline ranging from the 1930s to the 1960s – without much argument.

What’s also remarkable is the missing term “old-timer”, which is very commonly used for old and used cars. I think most “classic boats” are not classic at all, but just old-timers. But what is the problem with that classification? Besides, how classic is a boat built in, say, 1890 and now flying modern canvas, equipped with modern electronics and painted with ultra-strong marine paints, etc? As if you plant a hybrid engine in a metallic-painted T-Ford.

The Germans (the Freundeskreis Klassischer Yachten) are also wondering what makes a classic boat (a “Klassiker”) . They run a programme called “save the classics” and have to answer questions such as “is this hull worth restoring?”, “what is the difference between a restoration and a reparation?” or “to what extent is it wise to modernise an old lady?”

The Germans are probably very willing to discuss these questions thoroughly. I think the editorial board of Classic Boat is now obliged to go much further than presenting a queue of personal views of distinguished people on this very, very interesting topic.

Arie Kuijvenhoven, the Netherlands

LETTERS Send your letters (and also any replies please) to: Classic Boat, Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London SW3 3TQ email: cb@classicboat.co.uk Between issues go to

classicboat.co.uk

This year the Bird Class will celebrate its 90th year in San Francisco Bay. These 30-footers (9.1m) were designed by John Alden in 1922.

The Bird is the oldest one-design on the US West Coast and of the 24 that were built, 21 are still afloat. This to me is impressive because I believe the last boat was completed in 1946.

At our 2010 season finale seven boats participated and the competition is still first rate.

Although the boats were built by different yards, they are surprisingly close in boat speed.

Many have been restored to a high standard and two are in the process of being completed. One of these boats, Meadowlark, is the most perfect wooden boat I have ever seen.

The Birds have quite beautiful lines and they are still quite fast, particularly upwind in a typical San Francisco Bay blow. In the 1970s,

It was a great surprise to find my name and pictures in a recent issue (CB305, p82).

Being recognised and awarded is also a huge honour (Commended, Boatyard of the Year, CB Awards 2014).

I must say how proud I am to have been able to maintain the high level of work, which I learnt from my father and have passed on to my team.

The yard is more than my life – it is a spirit crossing time and a place for excellence. Many thanks for all that.

Please accept my very best regards.

Gilbert Pasqui, France

Yachting magazine had their Heavy Weather One-of-a-Kind Regatta on the bay and the Birds won their division, sending many designers back to their drawing boards.

I realise that you are a British publication and emphasise boats in the UK. However, I noticed you have an “American Issue”, although it seems as though it mainly concerned

Above: the Bird Class one-design daysailer, which is a common sight in and around San Francisco Bay

What no Oyster!

yachts on our East Coast.

You should travel west because we have a number of classic wooden boats of interest to your readers. This, of course, includes the Birds. I am a member of the San Francisco Yacht Club and in our harbour we have many fine older boats that would also warrant an article in your publication.

In our fleet we have a journalist that could write an article for your magazine, if given the opportunity.

I am sure that we could also find some great photos of our fleet, both historical and current.

Thank you for your consideration of these comments and I look forward to hearing what you think about the possibility of featuring these wonderful boats in one of your issues.

Julian Barnett, USA West Coast

Time for a real Turner?

Last month (CB310) you published an article by Vanessa Bird on the Norfolk Oyster, followed by the usual promotion of her Classic Classes book, there being a strong inference that the book included the Norfolk Oyster in its pages. It does not! Which is most annoying for this owner of an original timber Oyster to find out only after being given a copy of the book. This smacks of mis-selling. This is not the first time that I have found items ‘promoted’ in your magazine to be either no longer manufactured or to include inaccurate web addresses, etc. In future, if Vanessa Bird is writing articles in CB that are unrelated to her book, perhaps you could make this clear.

John Menzies, West Kirby, Wirral

Ed – Dear John, we apologise about this. We cover a new class every month and the book was published in 2012.

We will endeavour to make this clear in the future.

VANESSA BIRD

Thanks for the recognition – Pasqui

C/O JULIAN BARNETT

Bird Class is flying high

I would be less than human if I did not take huge pleasure in reading reports in your magazine (CB310) and the press on the age of craft in that supposedly authentic Constable painting featured in the BBC programme “Fake or Fortune”.

This was because for over 25 years I have been battling against the quite incredible incompetence and arrogance of a cabal of Constable “specialists” – and the exposure of these people’s fallibility gave me so much pleasure. Why they had not sought your, and other real experts’ opinions, on these craft BEFORE they made their pronouncements is beyond me.

Apart from congratulating you, I am writing to enclose a photograph of a small painting that I think could be a Turner. It is unusually small for this artist, but nevertheless it is very fine and I feel it could date to c1820-30. Would the craft shown connect the work to these dates? I would certainly appreciate your advice.

Name and address withheld Ed – Constable restorers tell us the yachts in the programme painting were painted in later. Your rigs are right though.

CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

97

ILLUSTRATION: GUY VENABLES

Sternpost

Cutting the mustered Rodney Pell puts the record straight about an old maritime phrase

P

erhaps it’s a sign of the times, a general slackness, cultural ignorance or whatever, but you can’t get away from it. Somewhere, every day, it seems that some thoughtless fool alludes to “cutting the mustard”.

There I was relaxing, snug in my bunk, early morning mug o’ tea steaming at my side, listening to Today on Radio 4. I always enjoy John Humphrys and Edward Stourton lashing out their admirable brand of intellectual come-uppance on the likes of lesser species, such as pompous politicians and various dumb celebrities… and then it happened.

Someone talked about “failing to cut the mustard…” and, worse, it was left unchallenged. I choked on my tea, at once cross and in touch with my angry old-man self.

I found myself fumbling for my pen and paper ready to fire off a broadside from “Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells”.

It was only last week that in despair I had thrown down Jeremy Clarkson’s Born to be Riled after reading how some four-wheeled gas-guzzling monster had “failed to cut the mustard…” Well, I suppose he does ask for it.

I recalled an earlier affront to my sensibilities when Richard Hare (Boatman’s Notes, CB213), had written “… alas, it too failed to cut the mustard.” Then my

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CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2014

“I choked on my tea, at once cross and in touch with my angry oldman self”

knee-jerked letter of protest was ignored – CB editors being too busy to reply not doubt...

Now as any self-respecting classical mariner knows, the term muster devolves from the latin monstere, meaning to demonstrate, and is reflected in the French word moustere and the Old English word mustren.

Kings and generals for centuries have called their troops to muster, to show themselves and to be counted.

A strict duty on the ship’s captain was to regularly call all hands to muster, which was also a way of checking that no one was drawing double rations or pay by using a fictitious name. The only persons allowed to cut the muster, were the ship’s surgeon, the chaplain and officers when engaged in duty, the ship’s cook and those who were too ill or wounded to attend muster.

So, in the good old days of Nelson you had to be special or ill if you were to cut the muster and get away with it. Mind you, while queuing for some fish and chips just the other day, I overheard one man complain to his friend that someone called A Blair Esq had totally lost the plot and could no longer cut the mustard. Strangely, this time my blood did not boil, so perhaps I could, after all, warm to the use of such a term!

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