Category: Restoration and repair

Jantje’s sails: the mystery deepens

Sailing tjalk Jantje at Nordhorn, winter 2010

Sailing tjalk Jantje at Nordhorn, winter 2010 Sailing tjalk Jantje at Nordhorn, winter 2010

Hans-Christian Rieck of the Graf Ship Association based at Nordhorn in Germany has written to explain a bit more of the mystery of sailing tjalk Jantje’s sails. Here’s what he says:

‘Hi Gavin,

‘I’d like to give you the update on the history of Jantje’s sails. It is amazing how such a little stamp on an old sail comes out to be a real mystery. We followed your suggestion about Mount Vernon Mills and even contacted them, but got no answer with the exception of a note that our photo was forwarded to some senior official.

‘So I phoned Hermann Ostermann and asked for help. He told me that this sail is something rare in Europe, as to his knowledge there was hardly any American sailcloth imported to Europe. But he used his lifelong connections to other European specialists and sent word around that this special foresail was found in Nordhorn.

‘Kees Hos from The Netherlands replied that this sail and the stamp on it are very extraordinary, both from the quality of the work and the sailcloth. He said that the amazing thing is that a roll of No. 1 sailcloth 84 yds. long must be very heavy – he estimates its weight at about 55 kg.

‘Then we received a very warm letter from Mrs Struik, the sister of the former owner of Jantje, and asked her about Jantje. Mrs Struik was very pleased to see that Jantje is in good condition again. She told us that the late Mr Struik used to sail Jantje with his kids until the early 80s, but then he fell ill and abandoned most of his activities on the ship.

‘Anyway we’ll keep intheboatshed.net informed.

‘So long

‘Hans-Christian’

Thanks Hans-Christian! Now can anyone in the UK shed any light on this please? Was Mount Vernon duck used in the UK? And if so, might that have been the source please? Or did someone set up a short-lived business importing the material to Holland? Is there a historian of the cotton duck trade out there?

Merry Christmas, happy holidays and a healthy and prosperous New Year everyone!

Spider T sailing on the Humber, winter 2010

Spider T, winter 2010 Spider T, winter 2010 Spider T, winter 2010

Spider T, winter 2010 OMSSC Spider T in ice

Click on the thumbnails for much larger images

We wish intheboatshed.net readers of every religious creed and none all the best happiness this holiday season can bring.

And, for the new year, let’s hope 2011 will be a time in which hope, optimism and an idealism that is generous to others replaces the sordid selfishness and tribalism we usually see so much of. If not, we’ll just have to fix up or build boats and go sailing…

The splendid photos above are of the Humber sloop Spider-T. At the beginning of loast year I did not imagine that any such craft still existed, so owner Mal Nicholson’s email in January was one of the year’s boat-related high points. For several informative posts about Spider T, click here.

The photo by Dave Everett below is of the inaugural evening of one of Mal’s newest enterprises, the The Old Maritime Secret Supper Club with various boaty people from the region including folks from the Humber Keel and Sloop Preservation Society and the Humber Yawl Club. There’s a nice piece about it in the online magazine Towpath talk. Thanks for the photos and the information Mal and Dave!

Spider T winter 2010

150 years of Falmouth Docks exhibition at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall

150 years of Falmouth Docks exhibition

The Cutty Sark under repair in Falmouth Docks in about 1930

150 years of Falmouth Docks exhibition 150 years of Falmouth Docks exhibition 150 years of Falmouth Docks exhibition

150 years of Falmouth Docks exhibition 150 years of Falmouth Docks exhibition 150 years of Falmouth Docks exhibition

British Realm, the first vessel to enter No 2 dry dock (Queen Elizabeth Dock) in May 1958; construction of No 4 dry dock 1928; dockyard worker cleaning sections of a tanker engine circa 1960; dockyard workers fitting new boiler tubes; major repairs to tanker circa 1950; workers removing the propeller from the 100,000 ton tanker British Admiral circa 1970. All photos courtesy of the David Barnicoat collection

A new exhibition celebrating the 150th anniversary of Falmouth Docks opened some days ago at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall.

Falmouth has been used as a harbour for over 2,000 years and the docks have been an industrial hub since their creation in the mid-19th century, and Falmouth senior pilot David Barnicoat and museum staff have worked together for months to create an exhibition including models, films, objects, paintings and photography.

Museum exhibitions development manager Milly Newman is particularly pleased to include a model of the docks. ‘In the heart of our exhibition is a beautiful model showing their scale and impact. It’s a real jewel amongst the many objects we have supporting the exhibition,’ she said.

‘Five generations of my family have worked at the docks. My great-grandfather helped build them, I worked in the fitting shop from the 1950s and my son works there today. You could say it’s in our blood,’ retired dock employee  Frank Eva said proudly. ‘This exhibition not only tells the story of the docks but in some ways tells a part of my family’s and other family’s histories and I’m very proud it’s being celebrated.’

The exhibition will remain on show until the 30th March 2011.