This is a great film from a piece of water where as a young man my father used to sail. And I just love the cannons!
My thanks to small boat designer and sailor Mik Storer for this one!
Category: Sailing boat
Cornish lugger Spirit of Mystery for sale on eBay
The Cornish lugger Peter Goss and his crew used to sail to Australia a couple of years back (read this and this), Spirit of Mystery, is up for sale on eBay.
She was built in Millbrook, Cornwall by Chris Rees, and is heavily built in larch on oak, and has an open plan interior.
The owner says she is great fun to sail and can be sailed easily by a crew of two, though he has thended to sail her as standing lug so that no dipping is needed.
Frankly, it’s nearly impossible to describe how desirable I find this boat… if only I had the money and time!
Celebrated yacht designer Alan Buchanan passes away
Sad news from the Buchanan Owners Association
Alan Buchanan, one of the last great yacht designers from the era when yachts were still built the traditional way and looked absolutely gorgeous, has passed away at a great age – by my calculation he would have been 92 or possibly 93.
His glory days were during his time working as a yacht designer at Burnham; many of the successful racers of the the 1950s era were the product of his drawing board. However, he continued to draw boats well into years that for most of us would be retirement or even dotage.
The Buchanan Owners Association website has an excellent article by John Leather about Buchanan’s work – as a memorial it would be difficult to beat, so read it here. Classic Boat’s short announcement is here, and there’s a Wikipedia entry about his Hilbre One Design here.