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Paintings and sketches from the pages of Michael Frith’s book Yacht

Yacht is a hand-bound limited-edition book of prints of well known classic yachts painted by the renowned watercolourist Michael Frith, and inspired by the America’s Cup Jubilee event at Cowes in July 2001.

A sailor since childhood, Frith attended the event as crew on the last wooden Nicholson yacht, Quiver V (1969), which gave him the opportunity to view many of the 150 yachts present in close-up action. The sight moved him to begin recording the boats in paintings, a project that has since taken him to the Mediterranean and the Carribbean.

As readers will see, his vividly coloured paintings and sketches capture the characters of the boats, and very often something of the thrill of sailing them.

The book includes a foreword by Harry Spencer of Spencer Rigging and an essay by Dan Houston, editor of Classic Boat, and includes a pictorial index of the names and specifications of the yachts that appear in the paintings. It runs to 160 A3 landscape pages, and each of the 1000 copies is signed and numbered by the artist.

About the artist: Michael Frith has worked for many national newspapers including Newsweek, TIME, The Times and The Sunday Times. He has held 25 solo exhibitions, and his paintings form part of many private and public collections, including the National Portrait Gallery and the Bank of England.

The book is priced at £400.00 plus postage and packing, and orders can be placed through the publisher’s website http://www.spotred.co.uk.

Have you any artworks you would like to share with intheboatshed.net readers? Email us now at gmatkin@gmail.com.

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Hardy glows in the evening sun of the 2007 Albert
Strange Association annual rally

Sue and Michael Feather are old friends from my university days, and Mike and I are both enthusiastic traditional-style English fiddle players - so although we don’t run into each other too often, it’s fair to say we still have quite a lot in common.

So I’m very pleased to point to this page of their photos of the 2007 Albert Strange Association annual rally. Mike tells me that Sue takes most of the photos, by the way.

Among the boats in the photos is Sheila, which I originally took to be Adrian Hayter’s Sheila of Sheila in the Wind fame. In fact Hayter’s boat was Sheila II, and was last heard of ashore in New Zealand, as Dick Wynne points out in his comment (see below). He also says that one of the Charms shown in Sue and Mike’s photos is actually a sister ship of Sheila II.

Mike F has some remarks to make about these boats:

‘You have a link to the Albert Strange Association on your intheoatshed.net weblog, which has an article by a very good friend of ours, Jamie Clay, about the yacht Venture.

‘Jamie talks about the superb handling characteristics of these yawls under jib and mizzen in heavy weather. I have witnessed some very impressive seamanship of this type - for example the yawl Sheila entering Shotley Marina Lock in a force 5/6 under sail alone.’

Scary-but-impressive is what I’d call it!

And also from Sue and Michael’s site, check this page of photos showing a peregrine falcon scaring the hell out of a flock of godwits. Notice the characteristic pink colour of the grand old East Anglian house…

Don’t forget to call in at the Albert Strange Association’s excellent website.

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Scenes from earlier Beale Park Thames Boat Shows. Could that be Adrian Morgan
and the editor of Classic Boat in the pretty double-ender?

Spring is almost upon us in Southern England, and together with the first blossoms and soft new leaves on the hawthorn comes a press release announcing the Beale Park Boat Show for 2008.

This year it runs from the 6th to the 8th of June.

Set around a scenic seven-acre lake by the River Thames in Berkshire, the show’s best feature is that visitors can take to the water in a variety of boats, including dinghies, canoes and coracles.

Children and partners not entirely in thrall to a well-placed boat nail can enjoy a range of entertainments including live music, a demonstration by Newfoundland dogs, a climbing wall, Mr Toad and various children’s activities. There will also be boating displays on the lake, stalls selling specialist foods and, of course, a beer tent.

Tickets can be bought in advance online via the Beale Park website, or by phone on 0118 976 7498.

I hope to get to the show myself on one of the days - you’ll recognise me in a moment, as I’ll be the guy rushing around photographing everything that looks remotely interesting!

Beale is the most important wooden boat show I know of in in England and Wales. Take a look at our extensive coverage of last year’s event.

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