Tag: Albert Strange

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.

Tally Ho, Jolie Brise and Ilex: the story of the first three Fastnet races

Tally Ho

‘A hundred years ago public interest in yacht racing was widespread and the press, both dailies and periodicals, printed long articles covering races in and off shore. People came to sit on the headlands and watched in their thousands as well. Offshore ocean races did not favor the picnicing crowd ashore and the tales needed to be told by the sailors. Ocean crossings in small boats and private races between big boats got wide coverage in the 19th century. In the early twentieth century periodicals like The Rudder and Yachting Monthly took the lead in sponsoring and promoting ocean races, starting with the Bermuda Race off the US east coast and the Fastnet Race starting at Cowes, England.

‘The first three winners of the Fastnet Race were old boats of widely varying character and all three of these boats still exist 90 years later, all over 100 years old. Jolie Brise, 1925 winner as well as in 1929 and 1930, was built as a French pilot boat in 1913. Ilex, 1926 winner, was designed and built by Camper and Nicholson in 1899 as a yacht. Tally Ho, 1927 winner, was designed by Albert Strange in 1909 and built in 1910 as a cruiser from which the owner, a fishing fleet owner, could fish.’

Read the rest of Thad Danielson’s article here.  Read more about the historic Tally Ho and find out more about the Albert Strange Association’s efforts to give her a future here.

 

Save historic Albert Strange racer Tally-Ho!

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.