Category: Boating, boats, ships and the sea

Seagull for sale

Ian Standingford has been in touch to say that there’s an Essex-built example of the American-designed Seagull design up for sale on Apollo Duck.

Here’s what he says about it:

‘Hi Gavin,
‘Browsing on “Apollo Duck” I see there is one such for sale.
‘Boy Martin is well known in the Benfleet and Leigh area and seems to be in nice order… I would be tempted to buy her myself but have others to look after!
‘I note she was built by Leslie Warland, whose yard was on Leigh marshes, near the bridge over to Two Tree island.
‘As a lad in the 1960s, I loved to wander around this ramshackle place, which was home to several barges…one I think was called Edith & Hilda, and there was also a Dutchman or two, and many yachts of all descriptions in various stages of decay. No trace remains now. Does anyone else remember it?
‘Best wishes, Ian’
Thanks Ian!

Foula fishing superstitions

In “ancient times” fishermen had to beware of meeting the bad foot [unlucky person] on their way to sea. According to Robbie Isbister, that is nowadays rightly dismissed as superstition.

We’re not told here who has the ‘bad foot’, but sailors’ superstitions generally tend to focus on people with flat feet or red hair. (That’s me and much of my family in trouble then… )

Also, among Foula fishermen certain taboo things were not to be referred to by their normal names at sea and had special sea names instead, eg:

  • yongers [horse]
  • scaffin (or fittin) [cat]
  • klibna [tongs],
  • blethers [sheep]
  • hyuncie [hen]
  • tounskerrie [cock]
  • rakki [dog]
  • cunning [rabbit]

 

George Holmes’ legendary Eel is for sale

A very happy chappie sailing “Eel”

The famous Eel is for sale. She was designed by Albert Strange associate George Holmes in 1896 and built by JA Akasters of Horsea in 1897, and as you can see she’s a beautiful little canoe-stern gaff-rigged Humber yawl and is said to have represented an important turning point in the design of small cruising yachts.

She is planked in larch on English oak with iroko topsides and a Douglas fir main and mizzen.

She’s said to be in gorgeous condition, having been restored while in the hands of her present owner who has spent a total of £66,000 (all the invoices are included in the sale) over the period 2007-2013. the work was done by Alan Staley of Faversham, who has known the boat since 1963,

She comes with a mass of material, including a copy of the book Holmes on the Humber, and printouts about her trips from Classic Boat and Yachting Monthly going back as far as January 1915.

There’s a bit more information at the Albert Strange Association website.