Category: Sailing cruisers

Sailing yachts used for cruising, or as cruiser-racers.

Yacht – a collection of Michael Frith’s watercolours of the classic fleet of yachts

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Michael Frith yacht paintings

Michael Frith yacht paintings Yacht - a collection of Michael Frith’s watercolours of the classic fleet of yachts Yacht - a collection of Michael Frith’s watercolours of the classic fleet of yachts

Yacht - a collection of Michael Frith’s watercolours of the classic fleet of yachts Yacht - a collection of Michael Frith’s watercolours of the classic fleet of yachts Yacht - a collection of Michael Frith’s watercolours of the classic fleet of yachts

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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More photos from Jeff C provide an opportunity for detective work

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Jeff Cole’s barge yacht photo

 

Jeff Cole’s ferries photo Jeff Cole’s steam ship photo Jeff Cole’s gaff-rigged yacht and lighthouse photo

 

Jeff Cole’s second torpedo boat photo Jeff Cole’s first torpedo boat photo

Some more of Jeff’s photos present some further opportunities for interesting detective work, and include a large barge yacht, two ferries, a converted wooden wall ship with cut-down masts, a large gaff-rigged yacht passing a lighthouse, and a couple of motor torpedo boats.

They make an interesting challenge for a dull Wednesday morning. Can anyone shed any light on them? Jeff suggests that the torpedo boat enthusiasts might like to reference the torpedo boat section of the www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk website, and that another section of the same site might reveal the identity of the wooden wall, which could well have been a training ship.

Thanks once again Jeff! To see some more photos from Jeff’s collection click here.

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Equatoria teak – is it an acceptable alternative to Burma teak?

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Equatoria teak launched by C Leary & Co

Is this story as good as it sounds? Here’s a press release we received this week:

Wednesday 26th March 2008

The Equatoria Teak Company and C Leary & Co Ltd have today launched Equatoria teak, the first genuine alternative to Burma teak for use in marine decking.

C Leary & Co managing director Simon Kloos said, ‘The marine industry is experiencing an unprecedented level of uncertainty caused by EU sanctions banning the direct import of Burma teak, with boat builders increasingly concerned about the security of supply and the public acceptability of Burma teak.’

Equatoria teak’s slow growth rate and growing conditions are unique. The timber is dense, tight and close grained, straight and oily – all characteristics found in Burma teak, but lacking in virtually all plantation teaks. Mr Kloos added, ‘The superior quality of Equatoria teak guarantees it can meet the exacting technical and performance demands of yacht decking, giving boat builders confidence in maintaining teak as the deck of first choice. The fact that it will be certified, with Verified Progress (VP) certification leading quickly to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, will also answer any environmental concerns.’

Wattsons Decking, the UK’s largest marine decking producers, have sampled and run some test decking using Equatoria teak. Co-founder Alan Watts said, ‘We have tried many alternatives to Burma teak and have found them wanting. Equatoria teak has surprised us, easily matching, if not surpassing, Burma teak. With the present pressures on Burma teak, we and our clients have been searching for a viable alternative of at least the same quality and with an acceptable environmental provenance. In these respects, Equatoria teak exceeded our expectations and promises to be the solution the marine industry has been looking for.’

With the UK and Finnish Government development funds as the major investors in the sourcing and production of Equatoria Teak, economic stability and continuity of supply are guaranteed both to the venture and to the source.

Under production from May-June 2008, Equatoria teak will be marketed exclusively by C Leary & Co, a company with more than 130 years’ experience in supplying teak to the marine industry worldwide. Simon Kloos, who has 30 years’ experience in teak said, ‘We can now provide a solution to the problem yacht manufacturers in Europe are facing. Equatoria teak offers continuity, stability and world-leading environmental credentials without compromising on the quality, suitability and sustainability of the teak for marine decking.’

Answers on a postcard please – though don’t bother to mention the un-needed hyperbole, as I can see that already!

I suppose the best clue is the pending FSC certificate. If these trees grow so slowly, this must be a long-standing project indeed, and the plantations involved must be many decades old.

In the meantime, what do you think of this – one of Francois Vivier’s lovely small boats – but built entirely in teak. That’s showing off a bit, isn’t it, unless you happen to find a big pile at the back of your garage? It makes a very handsome little boat though…