Category: Small boats

Old postcards: an ‘oil launch’ wins a 1910 regatta prize, Jellicoe and Burton Bradstock

Cause oil launch regatta trophy 1910 Jellicoe postcard

Burton Bradstock postcard

My thanks to regular intheboatshed reader and supporter Jeff Cole for sending over these scans of old postcards. As usual, click on the images for a much larger view.

The trophy is intriguing – who might Mr Cause have been, I wonder, and what would his oil launch have looked like in 1910? I wonder if it was anything like this launch?

If you don’t happen to know the story of Admiral of the Fleet The Right Honourable The Earl Jellicoe, read about his career here.

There’s an interesting page about fishing at Burton Bradstock including some great photos here, and maps of the area here. I’d guess the boats would be the local crab and lobster boats.

Classic 18ft Harry Feltham dinghy for sale by the River Fowey

Harry Feltham 18ft clinker dinghy for sale Harry Feltham 18ft clinker dinghy for sale

River Fowey boat builder and restorer Marcus Lewis has written in to report that he’s spotted an 18ft clinker-build sailing boat for sale close to his own premises. Here’s what he says:

‘Hi Gavin: I was doing a small job at the St Winnow boatyard on the River Fowey, and spotted this 18ft or so centreplate dinghy, the ownership of which has just passed to the proprietors.

‘Built by Harry Feltham of Portsmouth, it doesnt look in bad condition. It needs some tender loving care, but the buoyancy bags inside are still inflated, a compass still installed, and there is a mast, though I’m not sure about sails. The owners of the boatyard want to sell her, and I shouldn’t think she would be very expensive – and someone could pick up a classic boat at a good price.

‘I dont know if she is a class? maybe someone out there knows more?

‘She needs to be snapped up before a season out the water on a trailer (in the baking sunshine we are bound to get) wont do her any favours.

‘If anyone’s interested, they should contact St Winnow Yachts on 01208 872327.’

Thanks Marcus! Let’s hope she catches someone’s eye.

Testing prototypes for the world’s largest Viking ship

The Dragon Harald Fairhair project sounds wonderful – and even these little prototypes are clearly great fun.

You may have heard that square-sailed craft without deep keels don’t go well to windward and have to be rowed, but from what I can see, these little boats do remarkably well on that point of sailing, even if we can’t see enough to tell whether they match up to a modern racing yacht.

My thinking is that the Norsemen made the journey to our islands in numbers on a regular basis, and did it in such numbers that most of the villages and features in the area where I grew up were named by them. In making their journeys, they must have sailed towards the prevailing wind on most occasions.

It will therefore be very interested to hear how the new Dragon performs when she’s complete. Read all about her here and here.

My thanks to John  Lockwood for pointing this out.