Tag: Southwold

The effort to take Victorian racing cutter Leila back to sea needs money and help

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great yarmouth, leila, racing, repair, restoration, smack, southwold, victorian yacht, wooden boat, yacht

great yarmouth, leila, racing, repair, restoration, smack, southwold, victorian yacht, wooden boat, yacht great yarmouth, leila, racing, repair, restoration, smack, southwold, victorian yacht, wooden boat, yacht

Leila needs more repair work than expected

A group caring for a rare National Historic Ships Register-listed 42ft Victorian racing cutter at Southwold are urgently appealing for more manpower and financial help.

Leila was built at Charlton, London in 1892. She’s a striking and unusual yacht: above the waterline she looks very much like a smack, but below the waterline she’s clearly a racing yacht with an impressive 8ft deep keel.

In her early years sailed with the Royal Temple Yacht Club at Ramsgate, and won the Round Britain Race in 1904. From 1961 until a few years ago she was kept at Fisher’s Quay, Great Yarmouth.

When restored and brought up to the relevant Coastguard standards, she will be used for sail training local youngsters, and will again operate from Fisher’s Quay. I hope to visit this weekend and take some more photos.

The Leila Trust has so far raised £50,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, £2000 from the National Maritime Museum and £40,000 from private donations – but are now having to appeal for an extra £30,000 after finding unexpected areas of rot in the hull that have been caused by leaks around iron fittings around the forward beam shelves.

To find out more, and to offer help etc, contact the Leila Trust via their website: http://leila2c.org.

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The old boating lake at Southwold – some pictures

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Southwold model boat and boating ponds in 1918

Southwold model boat and boating ponds in 1918. As usual, click on
the pictures for a larger picture

Southwold boating pond in the 1950s

Southwold boating pond in the 1950s

Bingo! I’m pleased and feel lucky that Nick Wood has sent me these two images of the boating lake at Southwold.

What intrigues me is that the earlier image includes some little sailing boats that are in some ways similar to the ones I remember from the sixties – small, heavy double-enders set up with a small balanced lug. However, these boats have much more sheer than I remember from my boyhood, and in any case it seems unlikely that the boats that were on the pond in in 1918 would still be on the water nearly 50 years later.

In the shallow water of the pond I remember there was no room for much of a keel, so the little boats could hardly beat at all – but I loved them anyway.

Thanks for the photos Nick – does anyone else have any images or recollections to share please?

The old boating pond by Southwold Pier

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Southwold Pier

The pier at the Suffolk seaside resort of Southwold, photographed
by Jukka1 and sourced from the Wikimedia

Does anyone out there recall the old boating pond close to Southwold Pier about 45 years ago? If so, do you have any photos to share?

I remember it with a lot of affection, but haven’t been able to find any photographs either in the house or on the World Wide Web, but feel sure many must have been taken over the years.

If you have any memories or shots to share I’d like to include them here at intheboatshed.net – so please email me at gmatkin@gmail.com or use the Comments link below.