Gavin Atkin's weblog for the sort of people who like looking inside boat sheds. It's about old boats, traditional boats, boat building, restoration, the sea and the North Kent Coast
The Number 1 covered slipway at Plymouth really is the best shed ever, isn’t it? And the work of Stirling and Son that goes on inside it looks pretty cool too.
See the winter maintenance work Will Stirling and co have been doing on a Vertue, Tom Thumb, and a 1930s gaff cutter, Mirelle.
Chris Sonnemans has been in touch to answer the question I asked on the 4th October 2013: has Scheveningen got the most painted shore in the world?
Chris’s answer is that it has – since 2009, he has been searching the internet for pictures of the coast of Scheveningen for his website, www.scheveningentoenennu.nl.
His online survey has revealed that over 500 artists visited Scheveningen to create oilpaintings, drawings, etches, water-colours and other artworks since 1600. He has found some 3255 pictures by artists from the Netherlands, Belgium, France, UK, United States of America, Germany, Russia, Poland, Switzerland and other countries, and observes that there must be more in private collections around the world.
A significant number depict the events of one day. Following the exile of the Stuart Royal Family, King Charles II departed from the shore of Scheveningen for England on June 2, 1660. Ten artists made 50 paintings, drawings, etches and medals of that one day, and a crowd of 50,000 people gathered in the dunes and on the beach to see him leave.
It’s quite something to think of so many images being created of one event on one day in the 17th century. See some of them on Chris’s website, along with more material on Charles II. It’s in Dutch, but Chris hopes Google Translate will help English readers understand the text.
In the 19th century the British painter Edward William Cooke (1811-1880) visited Scheveningen many times between from 1837 and 1860, and in Chris’s judgement he painted the fishing boats on the sands better than anyone else.
Here’s what Chris has to say about some other artists:
‘From December 1881 until September 1883 Vincent van Gogh stayed in The Hague and took lessens from Anton Muave and learned to know Jozef Israëls, Hendrik Johannes Weissenbruch, Hendrik Willem Mesdag, the brothers Jacob and Willem Maris, and George Breitner. I found 48 paintings, drawings and watercolours of Scheveningen by Vincent van Gogh.
‘Anneloes Groot painted the modern Scheveningen including the harbour and fishingboats. See some of this material here and here.
‘On the website you will also find large numbers of Delft blue tiles and plates and murals showing scenes of Scheveningen.
‘Finally, I understand that you have nice memories of Scheveningen. You can find images showing how the coast at Scheveningen has changed here.
Fowey boat builder Marcus Lewis writes to say that two Fowey River Dinghies are currently up for sale – Red Kite (No. 55) pictured above and No. 51.
No. 55 was built in 2009, and is planked in spruce, and comes with sails and cover. She has no trailer. There is the possibility of a handy mooring in the river. The dinghy needs sanding and re-varnishing all over: the asking price is £8,000 as is, or £9,000 all done.
No. 51 was built in 2004, and is planked in mahogany. She was recently stripped and revarnished throughout, and comes with sails, cover, trailer and the possibility of a convenient mooringat an asking price of £6,500.
Contact Marcus via his website.
Fowey River Dinghies are based on the Yachting World 15ft Knockabout designed by Reg Freeman, and were published by the magazine in the late 1940s.
A Fowey dentist asked a local boatyard to build him one, and then others followed. Some owners go for plain sails, but the majority now get the coloured pencils out and design a unique sail pattern.
The class holds racing on a regular basis. At Fowey Regatta last year, Marcus tells me, there were 23 dinghies entered. There have been 67 Fowey River Dinghies built to date, with around probably half that number surviving.
PS – When he wrote, Marcus included these photos of a 14ft rowing boat that he’s recently completed for a client. Thanks Marcus!
