Category: Restoration and repair

Tiernan Roe photographs Cork Harbour One Designs at Glandore 2011

Cork Harbour One Design yachts Elsie and Querida photographed by boat builder Tiernan Roe Cork Harbour One Design yachts Elsie and Querida photographed by boat builder Tiernan Roe Cork Harbour One Design yachts Elsie photographed by boat builder Tiernan Roe

Cork Harbour One Design Elsie, with CHOD Querida (yellow) behind photographed by Tiernan Roe (click on the thumbnails for bigger images)

County Cork boat builder Tiernan Roe sent in these photos of Fife-designed yachts including Cork Harbour One Designs at Glandore Classic Regatta last week.

(Regular readers may remember that last year Tiernan won a lot of praise for a John Atkin-designed Ninigret. )

Here’s what he says:

‘Glandore is one of the most picturesque and sheltered harbours on the West Cork coast, and every two years the Glandore Yacht Club hosts one of the best classic boat events in Ireland. In the intervening years they hold a classic boat summer school which is also very interesting.

‘This year the few days sailing started in glorious sunshine and almost summer like conditions but alas it degenerated into a typical Irish summer of gales and rains. Well apparently 40 per cent of our rain falls in the summer months. The Romans were right when they called the place Hibernia, meaning ‘wintry’.

‘The blue boat is Elsie a Fife-designed Cork Harbour One Design built in 1896, while the yellow boat is Querida another CHOD of same year. They are they only two currently left racing in Cork and they are beauties to look at and to sail.

‘I’m currently researching the possibility of building one if I can find a client. I’ve already secured the co-operation of Fairlie Restorations, the holders of the Fife archive.

‘As the CHOD is just over 30ft long she’ll fit in a 40ft shipping container, which allows for easy and secure transport to regattas far and wide. However, if the boat is to be effectively dry sailed in this way, it also raises the issue of whether a modern construction technique would suit better – hence the need for research.

‘The white boat Sian (below) is a Fife One Design from Wales designed in 1926. The Fife One Designs are like a smaller Dragon (Dragons were also sailing at the regatta) but much much prettier if that’s possible. They’re the standard club boat of the Royal Anglesea Yacht Club.

‘As I was supposed to be crewing (acting as ballast!) in one of the boats this year I had hoped to get some photos of the boats sailing but I ended up helming for them, so I didn’t get a chance – so I took these shots later from a small ply punt.

‘Regards, Tiernan’

It’s particularly interesting that Tiernan is working on the idea of building one or more CHODs. If the idea appeals to you, contact him via his website.

Fife One Design yacht Elsie photographed by Tiernan Roe Fife One Design yacht Elsie photographed by Tiernan Roe

Fifie Ocean Pearl has won the Round the Island Race gaffer class

Ocean Pearl raced in the Round the Island Race gaffer class – and won

Emsworth-based boatbuilder and Intheboatshed.net reader Nick Gates has written into report that his fifie Ocean Pearl has won the gaffer division 1 class in the Round the Island Race this year. (I call Ocean Peal a fifie, but her upright stem and somewhat raked stern Nick has other names for her, including half-zulu. It’s a topic that has been aired here at intheboatshed in the past – click here and here.)

Anyway, here’s the story for this grand old lady’s tremendous victory:

‘Hi Gavin – I’m not really one to blow my own trumpet but the old tub Ocean Pearl put on a hell of a show on the Round The Island Race last Saturday. As you have probably read there were plenty of boats entered and plenty of wind. Our start was at 0610, which meant I had about two hours sleep before hand-a combination of too much rum and waking up early listening to the wind.

‘We set of to windward with one reef in the fore (main) and just the small stays’l. Down the Solent we regulary crossed tacks with the pilot cutter Polly Agatha. We had eight crew in total, and they soon had the tacks fine tuned into a neat manoeuvre, although the odd one was a three point turn!

‘At Hurst Castle and the Needles the seas built up and we broke out the genoa to power her through the swells. She was a bit overcanvassed really. The bowsprit was going under, we had water in the scuppers, and the crew on the foredeck were getting vertigo as we dropped into the 15 ft swells of the Shingle Bank. With a reef in the mast puts in a curious bend, and the hard eyes in the 12mm rigging had become stretched…..

‘As we turned the Needles the sheets were eased and we had a sleigh ride to St Catherines Point. Luggers aren’t great on a run and Polly Agatha slowly passed us, her long boom catching all the wind. She was about a mile ahead when we
finally lowered the fore, shook out the reef and set of in pursuit. We were maintaining about 7 knots, but on the big swells we were surfing, with the GPS showing 10.7knots!

‘Across Sandown Bay we kept in closer than most, with a small genoa poled out on the port side, leg-o-mutton style. By Bembridge Ledge we had closed the gap on Polly Agatha, and now it was a beat to the finish.

The majority at this point hug the cost of the Isle of Wight, keeping out of the tide and hoping for a lift as the wind comes off the island, but we did the opposite, staying on one tack over to Lee on Solent, through the flooding tide, and on towards the top of Southampton Water.

A final tack put us back across to Castle Point, and the finish line. Polly Agatha was closing fast, but we pipped her at the post by 5 minutes.

It was a long and exhausting day but what a result! Ocean Pearl was first with an elapsed time 10.36 hours, corrected 11.13 hours; with Polly Agatha second with an elapsed time 10.41 hours and 12.08 hours and Maybird third with  11.32 and 12.22 hours. The pilot cutters Merlin and Morwenna came fourth and fifth, and the pilot cutters Amelie Rose and Westernman,  (pilot cutters) and plank on edge gaff cutter Aeolus retired. Not bad for an old motor boat!

I’m impressed! I get breathless just reading this story – and it’s amazing that no sleep and a generous helping of rum can be so helpful in a race. Full results are of course at www.roundtheisland.org.

Colin Archer RS14 roars through rough sea

If you’ve ever wondered what a superbly bouyant  Colin Archer looks like when sailing in the weather for which it was designed, now’s your chance to see one on YouTube. It’s bloody marvellous!

My thanks to Jim Van Den Bos for pointing it out.