Category: Racing yacht

Stirling and Son move into a new yard at Devonport, while Victorian racing yacht Integrity adds to its collection of awards

Alert & Integrity on the slip

On 1st March Stirling and Son Ltd acquired the lease for the No 1 covered slip at South Yard, Devonport, Plymouth.

Sited adjacent to the dockyard wall, Slip No 1 is the oldest remaining covered slipway in any royal dockyard in the world, and dates from around 1763 – 250 years ago this year. The roof was added in around 1814.

The slipway is 53m (173ft) long and the roof is supported by a double line of 23 trussed wooden pillars. At the north end, the roof is apsidal in shape in order to accommodate the bowsprits of larger craft.

By the water just outside the slip is the famous statue of King Billy – actually ship’s figurehead from the warship Royal William. King William IV reigned from 1830-7 – read about the statue here.

Although the slipway was re-laid in 1914 it has undergone few alterations and is still used as was originally intended – and is now a scheduled ancient monument, which means that it has the same protected status as Stonehenge.

As it turns out, Will Stirling has a family connection to Slip No 1: his great, great, great, great grandmother, Eliza Barlow, launched Nelson’s flagship, the Foudroyant (80 guns) on this slip in 1798. Admiral Sir Robert Barlow was an Admiral in Nelson’s navy and his and Eliza’s daughter, Hilaire, married Nelson’s brother William Nelson.

An unusual condition of the lease is that only traditional wooden boatbuilding and repair must be undertaken – which I gather seems a rather wonderful rule to the Stirling and Son folks.

There are lots of plans for upgrading the slip to provide a fantastic deep water boatyard facility including re-installing a winch and cradles, repairing the double slip rails and reinstating the dockside cranes.

Yacht repair work has already started: three yachts have arrive on the slip so far; Pierette an 1899 Fife, Alert Will’s first build of his own design, and Integrity which will remain at the top of the slip until she is sold through Sandeman Yacht Company of Poole.

Stirlings collect the Classic Boat Best New Build Award

On the 7th March Will and Sara drove to London for the Classic Boat Awards party in Mayfair, where Griff Rhys Jones presented them with their award for Best New Build Over 40ft for Integrity, voted for by readers

This is the 3rd award they have received for Integrity, and is in addition to one for Alert and one for Stirling and Son’s 14ft sailing dinghy.

Overall, the Stirlings’ display case now contains:

  • Integrity Voted Best New Build Over 40′ Classic Boat Awards 2013
  • Integrity Voted People’s Choice Plymouth Classics 2012
  • Integrity Awarded Best Traditionally Built Craft Plymouth Classics 2012
  • 14ft Sailing Dinghy Voted Best Dinghy Plymouth Classics 2012
  • Alert Awarded for Exceptional Research and Boatbuilding SWMHS 2009

Contact Stirling and Son via its website or follow the company’s Facebook page.

Integrity & Alert on the slip King Billy at the entrace to the slip No. 1 Covered Slipway, Devonport

Integrity sailing Integrity Pierette 1899 Fife

Sara & Will receiving award from Griff Rhys Jones

1936 photo of HMY Brittannia being towed to the spot where she was scuttled

Britannia's Last Voyage

This striking photo shows the Royal Yacht Britannia on her way to her final resting place to be sunk off the Isle of Wight on the 10th July 1936, in line with King George V’s wish following his death.

She was scuttled at night, and for this reason boat builder, columnist and general student of these things Adrian Morgan (see comments link below) believes this shot was actually taken the day before.

The Wikipedia has a good page on the original Britannia here (there is of course a magnificent new Britannia is currently being fitted out) and there are more posts on this weblog here.

Thanks to Daniel Simons for sending me this photograph. I should tell you that Daniel has published a new hardback book ‘Valkyrie Weather: Rowhedge and the America’s Cup’, which follow Lord Dunraven’s two America’s Cup challengers Valkyrie II (1893) and Valkyrie III (1895) from their construction through trial races, regattas, Atlantic crossings and Cup races in New York, to their final journeys to the nautical knacker’s yard using contemporary newspaper and yachting journal articles.

It’s likely to be of particular interest to those interested in Rowhedge family and local history.

Only 100 copies of ‘Valkyrie Weather’ are available, and the book is available only through eBay.

National Historic Ships Photo Competition 2013 opens on 1 April

National Historic Ships photo competition

National Historic Ships has fired the starting gun on its fourth photo competition aimed at photographers of all ages and dedicated to encouraging everyone to engage with historic vessels or maritime themes in their local area – but the organisers are particularly keen to interest the young.

There are prizes, including an overall prize of £1,000 to be awarded on a theme or activity involving a vessel from the National Register of Historic Vessels – good themes might include, restoration and repair, sailing, racing, coming into a mooring, or generally working around or enjoying the vessel.

Competition entries will be accepted online from 1 April to 31 August 2013.

For the first time, the competition this year includes a new category, ‘Faces of the sea’ in which the public will vote online.

Entrants also stand to win a small prize if their image is selected as one of a series of favourite images.

The competition’s ‘Young photographer’ category is supported by downloads aimed at younger children, including a whale-based wordsearch and a printable colouring page featuring classic sailing craft, both provided by the well known illustrator Claudia Myatt, who is also a competition sponsor. (See an earlier post about Claudia’s tips for drawing boats here.)

Schools and teachers are invited to get involved with the aim of inspiring children and families to find out more about maritime history. Posters for schools can be obtained from National Historic Ships via email at info@nationalhisotircships.org.uk or by phone 020 8312 8558.