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
‘I just couldn’t believe that the Dolly Varden was still intact. She is so well known throughout history but disappeared in the early 1990s. Everyone thought she had been scrapped but it turned out she had been in a field for 25 years waiting for someone to realise her importance and potential.’
My thanks to Tom Cunliffe for spotting the link and posting on Twitter.
ICWDR 2017_LONGPLAY from drift media on Vimeo.
Jeff Cole writes to say that his small yacht club runs a vintage wooden dinghy regatta on the weekend of Australia Day, and gave me a link to a video of this year’s event. There are a few local notices, a few speeches and a lot of sailing and talking, notably from Sailfish co-designer Jack Caroll, who Jeff says is still sailing at 84 (he thinks that’s his age anyhow).
I like this – it’s club sailing stuff that many of us will recognise.
Jeff adds that the Sailfish is enjoying a revival.
1927 Fastnet winner and legendary Albert Strange-designed cutter yacht Tally Ho is in need of help.
She’s lying at Brookings Harbor, Oregon where the harbour authorities have decided that if she isn’t taken up by a new owner intent on bringing her back to life by June, she will be destroyed.
The aim of the Albert Strange Association is to bring her back to the UK for repair and restoration, and hopefully back to racing. Historic and beautiful as she is, she would be a wonderful project for someone with the right resources and interest.
Designed in 1909 and built for the owner of an early British Isles steam trawler fleet, she was built by Stow & Son of Shoreham for cruising in comfort while indulging in deep-sea fishing.
The yacht is said to have all the beauty associated with an Albert Strange design, but withthe power and seaworthiness of a pilot cutter. She won the 1927 Fastnet race in near storm conditions, and only two yachts of the whole fleet managed to complete the course. Read some terrific descriptions of the race.
See also the Save Tally Ho Facebook page and the Wikipedia and National Historic Ships entries for Tally Ho.
People feel strongly about this vessel. Here’s an appeal from the Council of American Maritime Museums.
PS – The magazine Classic Sailor has just published this nice piece about Tally Ho. Let’s hope there is good news soon.