Innehållsförteckning för October 2017 från Classic Boat

“We are pushing her harder and harder” The 1939 yacht Whooper has beaten one of the world’s most competitive fleets of modern yachts to win Lendy Cowes Week overall, becoming, arguably, the most successful classic racing yacht of the modern era. The result in August made a hattrick for the season that is unheard of in classic yacht racing. The 39ft (11.9m) Laurent Gilesdesigned bermudan sloop had already won the IRC Nationals in June (again, against a modern fleet) and Panerai British Classic Week in July. To these recent triumphs she can also add two Round the Island wins, with the Gold Roman Bowl in 2004 and 2015. The recent win at Cowes Week was a tremendous victory for the 78yearold yacht and her owner, Giovanni Belgrano. Whooper scored consistent…

The principality of Monaco is preparing for its biennial Monaco Classic Week, to be held this 13-17 September. The event began in 1994 and has been popular ever since, both with sailing yachts and, uniquely, classic motorboats: Rivas, Chris-Crafts and larger cabin motor yachts always make a really good showing here. This year’s attendees include Charles Nicholson’s two giants, firstly the 1927 three-masted schooner Creole which, at 190ft (58m) on deck is the largest wooden yacht in the world and belongs to fashion heiress Allegra Gucci. Nicholson’s second largest vessel will also be present – the 1925 ketch Sylvia, around 60ft (c18m) shorter. The 100-strong fleet will be split roughly 60/40 in favour of sail over power. Learn more at yacht-club-monaco.mc/en.…

Visitors to the living history village of Buckler’s Hard this 17 September will be able to step aboard Sir Francis Chichester’s famous ketch Gipsy Moth IV, in commemoration of half a century since he returned home from his groundbreaking voyage in May 1967. That voyage, which included one stop (Sydney, Australia) prompted the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race the year after, and engraved the bespectacled pensioner’s name in sailing history forever.…

It’s just a Victorian brass steam whistle, but to touch it is to connect with tragedy and heroism, writes Dave Selby. For this is the whistle of the SS Forfarshire, which foundered o. Northumberland in 1838. On the morning of 7 November, Grace Darling spotted the wreck and set o. in conditions that were too rough for the lifeboat in a 21ft rowing coble with her lighthouse keeper father William. They rescued four men and a woman on that first trip, before William and three of the rescued men returned to save four more. Grace Darling’s bravery led her to becoming the nation’s heroine and being awarded the RNLI’s Silver Medal. The whistle from the Forfarshire, recovered in 1978, is expected to fetch £1,500-£2,500 at Charles Miller Ltd’s next London…

ANTIGUA MAY 2, 2017 After taking part in the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, where Anne Marie revelled in being back in the world she was built for, racing alongside some of the great classic yachts of our time, it was time to think about the final stage of our 9,000-mile trip home. Having come so far, with so many experiences behind us, the goal of Falmouth, Cornwall, felt almost tangible from the Carribean, but we knew we had many sea miles still to cover. We had spotted Anne Marie by chance in Vancouver back in February 2015, left a note on board and when the owner finally decided to sell several months later, we embarked on a mission to bring her back to life. During various trips out to Canada…

Brothers Myron and Charles Gurney first set up in business together in Wareham MA in 1885, to build wagons and carriages, but it wasn’t long before they became concerned that the invention of the rubber tyre would put an end to it. Having built small skiffs for themselves, in 1899 they began to do so for other people, and the Cape Cod Power Dory Co came into being. Twenty years later they moved premises, forced to do so by the building of a new bridge, the Narrows Bridge, which would cut off access to Buzzards Bay and the open sea, and at the same time changed the name of the company to the Cape Cod Shipbuilding Corp. In 1935 GS Williams took over the company when Charles Gurney died. Four…

WINDERMERE, LAKE DISTRICT Earliest racing motorboat re-launched Scolopendra, possibly the world’s oldest surviving racing motorboat, has reached the end of a three-year restoration in Maine, USA, by boatbuilder Richard Woodman. She was drawn in 1902 by John Thornycroft for the first rule in motorboating – the Marine Motoring Association’s 30ft (9.1m) class. She was launched in 1903 from the yard of Frank Maynard at Strand-on-the-Green, on the Thames in London. This was the infancy of speed under power, before the era of hydroplane hulls. Nevertheless, she achieved a measured 18mph with her single 20hp Thornycroft A4 petrol engine, the first engine they produced. Although she has a beaver stern, she also presages the first-ever slipper launch, Merk (of 1912). She was re-launched in July on Windermere and trialled by her…

8-10 SEPTEMBER Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival Massive event with 300 plus boats in attendance woodenboat.org 9 SEPTEMBER Great River Race Docklands to Ham, Thames, London 300-boat, 21-mile rowing race, the marathon on water greatriverrace.co.uk 13-17 SEPTEMBER Monaco Classic Week Biennial for classic sail and power yacht-club-monaco.mc 16-17 SEPTEMBER Hamble Classics Regatta Started last year with a bang – now it returns royal-southern.co.uk 23-30 SEPTEMBER Regates Royales Cannes, Favourite for many and part of Panerai series yachtclubdecannes.org 30 SEPT – 8 OCT Les Voiles de Saint- Tropez For classics and others, the daddy of all Med regattas lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr Other sailing magazines from the publishers of Classic Boat IN THE LATEST ISSUE • East coast sailing – a Thames estuary special • We test the Contest 67 luxury bluewater cruiser •…

When I was a boy, back in the early 50s, it was such a different world – plastic was an unusual and expensive material, Germany made the cheap toys and Japanese products were considered pure rubbish. We were all looking forward to the future with confidence in the post-war sunshine. Then, when I was 10, I found an old oak boat just lying around on the shore, not being used, and went with my gang to ask if we could take her out. I’d been sailing since I could toddle, so that bit was fine, but now I had to get her 4hp hot-bulb engine going, a huge learning curve for me, and one which was to influence my whole life. We had great fun out on the water that…

When Benjamin Franklin suggested that he who can have patience can have what he will, he was not talking about a 60ft Jack Laurence Giles sloop built in 1956 in Italy. Franklin’s quote applies so neatly to Pazienza [‘patience’ in Italian], however, that it’s hard not to make the connection. In an age when boats are almost exclusively built for one purpose, be it short-handed cruising, or offshore racing, it is refreshing to go back 60 years and find one whose abilities span multiple disciplines with style. Soon after she was built, her designer Jack Laurent Giles described her as “a good example of a comfortable short-handed cruising boat, with a first-class performance under power, yet able to take part successfully in ocean races”. In her six decades afloat, Pazienza…

The steel, Dutch threemasted topsail schooner Oosterschelde built in 1917, is the last of a large Dutch schooner fleet active in the early part of the 20th century, and as such, she’s not only a historical national monument in the Netherlands, but one of that country’s most loved vessels. She’s a substantial 132ft (40.1m) on deck and coasted under sail until the 1930s, at which point she was given an aft bridge and motorised to continue in the same role. These days, she’s a charter vessel operated by England’s Classic Sailing. She has been around the world twice, to both the poles, and around Cape Horn under sail, in 2013. At the time of writing, she was competing successfully in the 2017 Tall Ships Regatta in Canada. She can take…

Britain’s most visited boat show returns to Southampton’s Mayflower Park from 15-24 September. Southampton has become the go-to show over the last decade or so, particularly for those who enjoy a good range of small, traditional craft, as the Wooden Boatbuilders’ Trade Association lay on a great display every year. The seaside location also means the large, floating marina is a strong attraction, and this year, there will be free half-hourly ‘mini cruises’ on Southampton Water, the chance to explore this year’s tall ship, the Kaskelot (also free), and more attractions including paddleboarding and children’s canoeing. Be sure to use our promo code ‘ST12’ when booking tickets online (southamptonboatshow.com) for £8 o? the standard adult ticket price of £20. BUYING TICKETS Book your tickets either online (southamptonboatshow.com/Tickets) or by calling…

The Gareloch One Designs are an unusual class in many ways – after 16 were designed and built by Ewing McGruer in 1924 at the well known McGruer boatyard on the Gareloch in Scotland, they were scattered to the winds during later decades – and gathered up again, from eastern Scotland, eastern and southern England. Each boat is now back at the Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club in Rhu, west of Glasgow. Only one, Dione, has been for some decades in a serious state of repair. Fortunately for the class, Bill MacLaren decided to spearhead a full restoration over three years, with the assistance of Tim Henderson, David Spy and others. She was formally re-launched by Gordon Mucklow, President of the Class Association, on 21 July before the annual…

The mythology of the Dunkirk Little Ships still looms large, 77 years after they played their decisive role in the events of World War II. Around 700 privately owned boats took part in the Dunkirk evacuation of 26 May – 4 June 1940 and helped save over 338,000 Allied (mostly British and French) troops from being killed or captured by German forces. The operation has gone down in history as a miraculous escape in the face of seemingly certain defeat – and it played a great part in sustaining British national morale. One of the men saved on the beaches of Dunkirk was a sergeant called Reg* who waded out up to his armpits and waited several days before he was finally picked up by the last wave of Little…

Only the buyers of this watercolour, and another by the same artist, know for sure if they’ve bagged an outrageous bargain. James Milton Sessions (1882-1962), a Chicago-based realist, is hardly a household name, but appreciated by discerning collectors as one of the foremost marine watercolourists of the 20th century. Homeward Bound (above) was estimated at $700-$1,000; Rounding the Horn carried a guide price of $1,000-$1,500. On the day, each sold for just $62.50. However, catalogue descriptions for both carried a cautionary footnote that may have stifled interest: “Not examined out of the frame.”. No doubt the buyers couldn’t wait to open the frames. Retail prices for Sessions range from $3,000-15,000.…

From Saint-Tropez the fleet races 680 miles, stopping in Sardinia and Sicily, to a finish in Malta’s Grand Harbour. Judging it by the destinations alone, it’s not hard to understand why even in a sea where spectacular regattas abound, the Trophée Bailli de Su.ren is known as the Med’s ‘most beautiful’ race. The winner claims the Sword of Honour of Admiral Satan. The trophy is named after Pierre André de Su.ren de Saint-Tropez, an 18th century French admiral known as Admiral Satan by his enemies. More popular at home, he was given the title of the ‘Bailli de Su.ren’ (baili.) by the Maltese Knights of St John. After the boats were blessed by Saint-Tropez’s parish priest Monsieur l’Abbé Jean-Paul Gouardin, the 2017 fleet set sail on 24 June and arrived…

Apart from the Marlin Heritage 23, Cape Cod still produces four of Nat Herreshoff’s other designs: the H12½ and the Bull’s Eye, which have the same hull but with different rigs and deck layouts (a total of about 1,500 of these have been built to date); the bermudan-rigged Mercury 15, which is available with a centreboard or a keel (about 1,400 built, in wood before 1952 and then in GRP); and the Goldeneye 18, which is essentially an enlarged Bull’s Eye with a small cabin. But the company’s current range also includes boats from the boards of other famous designers: Uffa Fox’s DaySailer 17 (shown above), first produced in 1995 and currently the company’s best seller; the Philip Rhodes 18, another boat available with either a centreboard or a keel;…

BREEDENDAM Fast Dutch metal This ‘MTB fourzero wheelhouse’ is the first fourzero boat from Dutch company Breedendam, and builds on its previous experience of manufacturing similar boats at 30ft (9.1m), the so-called threezeros. The fourzero (40ft/12.1m) is now the company’s flagship. The MTB name comes from the British motor torpedo boats of the Second World War, very fast, graceful, wooden-hulled motor boats of around 70ft that made quick torpedo raids on enemy shipping and disappeared at 50 knots before any possible retaliatory fire. The link is tenuous, but something of that speed and grace remain, with the boat’s two Volvo IPS600 engines (independently rotatable pod drives) propelling the aluminium hull at up to 35 knots. This boat was specified by the customer for diving, with associated equipment and a hydraulic…

The shipwright's essential kit of saws, planes, drills and chisels has stayed remarkably constant for centuries, with instances of a new hand tool outliving its initial fanfare proving rare. The spiral ratchet screwdriver is one exception, and the Surform is another. This abrading and cutting tool has been around the boatyard since the 1950s, having lived up to Stanley's early claim for a 'SURface FORMing tool of 1001 uses'. The novel feature of a Surform is the hardened steel blade pierced by hundreds of D-shaped holes set in corrugated rows at 35 degrees to the tool's long axis. The straight edge of each D is sharpened like a chisel. Although it may look like a file with handles (the Surform blade has appeared in several shapes and sizes) it is…

The Connecticut sunshine was fairly bouncing off the varnish at the WoodenBoat Show in Mystic Seaport, with the list of craft on display as varied and mouth-watering as ever. Attracting visitors was the Viking longship Draken Harald Hårfagre, which sailed to the US from Norway. Launched in 2012, she is a clinker-built reconstruction of a ‘Great Ship’, her design based on historic documents and archaeological findings, capable of 14 knots under one sail. A new restoration out of Gannon & Benjamin was also winning admiring glances. Mah Jong was built in 1957 by Cheoy Lee and is now racing and cruising in New England. We’ll be featuring her in Classic Boat before long. The highly regarded independent film about boat building on Carriacou, Vanishing Sail, was showing during the event,…

Glandore Classic Regatta celebrated 25 years in July, with a fleet of 80. One-design classes like the Dragons and Squibs rubbed shoulders with yachts and, of course, the Galway Hookers, Ireland’s most distinctive workboat. Returning to the regatta was the fleet of Water Wags, brought from Dublin by regatta veteran and yachting historian Hal Sisk (Peggy Bawn). The Water Wag is the oldest OD dinghy in existence, formalised as a class in 1887 and the fleet thrilled the crowd with a synchronised sailing performance. Attending was actor and local celebrity Jeremy Irons helming Willing Lass, and Caribbean pilot Don Street sailing his 1933 wooden Dragon, Gypsy. Don was celebrating his 87th birthday, his usual Heineken in hand.…

What inspired you to enter the Golden Globe Race 2018? It is there to be done, it’s just a must do for me! How do you feel about doing a race that took such a heavy toll on its previous participants? The spirit of the race will always be the same, and the sole aim, but it is a very different race to what it was in 1968. It will be three years in the making by the time I get to the start line. Even though it’s without technology, we still have the best modern safety equipment including trackers. Thus far, has the journey turned out to be what you expected? There have been hiccups but everything is coming together as planned. You’ve done a double solo transat as…

Cans of lager stored in your bilges might stay cool, but may not improve with age. However, French vintners have discovered that wine stored at the bottom of the sea does. In 2010 divers salvaged a cargo of champagne lying 48 metres below the surface in a ship that was wrecked in the 1840s in the Åland archipelago between Sweden and Finland. Of 162 bottles recovered, 79 were intact, still fizzy and drinkable, said experts, who appraised each bottle and recorded tasting notes before resealing the precious bubbly. The constant pressure of 5 bar and temperature of 4-6°C, along with the darkness, resulted in “exceptional aromatic and gustatory qualities”. In 2012, French auction house Artcurial sold eight of the bottles for £77,200 (€96,500), including a Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin for £14,400…

HERRESHOFF CANNON RBG Cannons has been in operation since 1953 and bills itself as ‘ye olde cannon maker’, but to be fair it does make proportioned replicas of ships’ cannons dating from 1750. This one is the Herresho. Saluting Cannon, the manufacture of which was authorised by its designer L Francis Herresho. in 1967. Price $2,299 plus tax. rbgcannons.com GRANDAD LOBSTER Not a surfboard, but a sturdy 7ft piece of oak bearing the glistening image of ‘grandad lobster’, created by Salcombe artist John Aspden. If you’re visiting the town this summer, you can find them both (grandad and John) in Gallery 5 in Island Street. Price £1,450. gallery5salcombe.co.uk SLOCUM’S STORY A new biography of Slocum, claiming to shed light on his childhood and giving a sailor’s perspective on his navigation…

The Swallow class Gwaihir won Charles Stanley Direct Cowes Classics Week, beating a 12strong fleet of highly competitive Swallows and the regatta fleet overall, which now, in the event’s 10th year, numbers 170. The Swallow was designed for the 1948 Olympics in Torbay. Mike Wigmore put his success down to racing in the Itchenor Swallow fleet, which keeps him on his toes year round. He said: “It’s great coming to the Classics. We love the combination of windwardleeward sailing and round the cans courses. We’ve never had a better regatta.” Gwaihir won with the lowest points score across the 15 classes. Winds of up to 30 knots scuppered the event’s two final days and meanwhile the Solent dished up all manner of conditions, from ghost airs to drenching windovertide lumpiness.…

A baby cries as she rubs sand into her eye while nearby two boys are digging a moat around their castle. Prone on a sunlounger, mum glances from behind the pages of a magazine as a handful of seemingly identical wooden sailing boats glide past on the afternoon breeze, yards off the beach. Salcombe on a hot Sunday afternoon is as classic an English seaside scene as there is – and the town’s native yawls, weaving their way through the family-boat melée on the first day of their annual regatta – add a glorious twist. The yawls can trace their history back to the early 1800s, when they were lobster or long-line fishing boats, the straight stem bolstering progress out through the estuary tide, before the man and boy on…

It was in 1914 that the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co built the first Buzzards Bay 12 ½. It was, of course, designed by Nat Herreshoff who initially called the class the Buzzards Bay Boys Boat, but which subsequently acquired other names such as Doughdish, Bullseye and the Herreshoff 12 but generally became known as the H12½. It is a reflection of the extraordinary versatility of both Herreshoff the designer and his boatbuilding company that the prototype, Robyn, was built more-or-less alongside the 162ft rivetted steel schooner Katoura, the biggest boat Herreshoff ever produced, and the gaff cutter Resolute (bronze plating on steel frames) which would successfully defend the America’s Cup in 1920. Robyn was 15ft 8½in long (the class name referred to the waterline length) and had a long keel with…

At the end of May and beginning of June 1940, 338,226 Allied troops – mostly British and French – were rescued from Dunkirk, having been forced to retreat there by rapidly advancing German forces. The initial expectation was that just 45,000 might be saved, but the assembly of a huge armada of disparate vessels facilitated the evacuation of far greater numbers. Due to the very nature of the operation, nobody really knows how many boats took part, but it is generally thought to be in the region of 900, of which about 700 were privately owned. On 21 July this year, Christopher Nolan’s new film Dunkirk, which tells the story of the evacuation – officially known as Operation Dynamo – from the three different perspectives of land, sea and air,…

WAYWARD Victorian gentleman’s yawl Lying Bristol, UK Asking £395,000 Tel: +44 (0)1905 356482 classicyachtbrokerage.co.uk If you are after the drawn-out elegance of a VIctorian yacht, there aren’t many options out there, as boats of this size are rare. They usually don’t come fully restored and ready for the 21st century either, so Wayward should be on a very short list. She was built in 1898 by Summers and Payne of Southampton to an Arthur Payne design, and has undergone a thorough restoration by the experienced shipwright John Raymond- Barker at Bristol’s Underfall Yard. The yacht was called Samphire for much of her life, and, like so many boats her age, has been re-rigged a number of times. These days, she sports her original ga. yawl rig and has been given…

The top of the Orwell, under the huge road bridge 140ft overhead, and in the shadows of powerlines that moan in the wind, is not a place that ever featured in the works of Maurice Gri?ths; but if you were a yachtsman with a problem to fix, Fox’s Marina and Boatyard would look like an oasis, for this is a true one-stop-shop haven for a sailor. The yard is celebrating its 90th birthday this year and in that time, a lot has changed. It’s a huge, sprawling site that encompasses a well-stocked chandlers, a marina, as the name implies, and a repairs and restoration boatyard in which almost everything can be done in-house. That, and the range of work that can be undertaken here, is the appeal of the yard,…