15
ALL AT SEA JANUARY 2021
CLASSIC RESTORATION
image: Paul Wyeth
Image: Stuart Sawyer
Stuart Sawyer’s classic powerboat, a Fairey Swordsman 40 ‘Freebird’, was placed in the hands of Mylor Yacht Harbour’s for transformation from neglected and broken to prime condition. Talking about his 1960s marine icon, Stuart said: “I love that Fairey represents the best of British classic design, for both sailing and motor craft. Their commitment to performance and seakeeping remains timeless even today, with Sir Richard Fairey founding the firm around his passion for aviation and boats in the 1940s and his son producing the first motor cruisers in the 1960s as a fan of offshore racing.” Mylor’s owner, Roger Graffy, said it was exactly the kind of project they wanted to be involved in: “As a child of the ‘60s I have always loved these boats and it was daunting, but also a welcome challenge, to have one coming for such major works.” A survey confirmed the vessel was suffering from lack of use, care and maintenance, but sea trials exposed major issues with the engines and the dawning that they would need to be replaced. Over four months Mylor’s engineering manager, Nathan Percival, worked closely alongside Stuart, while lead engineer Chris Powell headed up all the
engineering works which included sourcing the new Caterpillar C7.1 engines and the difficult task of fitting them into the vessel. “The biggest challenge was fitting a modern version of the original Caterpillar engines into a slim classic design,” said Chris. Attention to detail and authenticity was key. With the main dashboard and cockpit control panels rusted and missing buttons, Mylor managed to find the original supplier and arranged for new panels to be cut and powder coated to maintain the original look and feel. While the Mylor Marine Team focused on the engines and electrics, Stuart asked local tradesmen Tim Seaman from Formation Marine and carpenter Rob Holdroff to work on the exterior repairs and interior fit-out respectively, completely restoring the external lockers, teak decks, topsides, structure and mast and fitting out all interior lockers, berths, galley, hull fittings and heads. Stuart said: “The restoration of Freebird was great to watch unfold: it was a real bonus having such a connected Cornish team who genuinely wanted to work on her.” On her re-launch Roger declared her boathandling to be an “absolute dream”. www.mylor.com
Double handed offshore series The RYA has welcomed the creation of a new sailing series aimed at promoting and growing shorthanded offshore sailing in the UK. The UK Double Handed Offshore Series will be a standalone series debuting this year made up of six existing races including flagship events such as the Rolex Fastnet Race and Round the Island Race. The RORC-backed series is the brainchild of round-the-world sailor Henry Bomby, who raced in the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race and has also competed on the singlehanded Figaro circuit. It will be open to double handed teams sailing boats with an IRC rating between 0.990 and 1.055 TCC, and has already attracted big names
such as two-time Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson and Dee Caffari. Henry said: “With so many great races already, the vision of the series is to cherry pick the best double handed races on offer each year into one season long series. We also hope to grow the community with regular training sessions.” Ian Walker, RYA director of racing and winner of the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race, added: “The launch of this series is particularly timely given mixed offshore keelboat’s potential inclusion in the 2024 Olympics.” Eight teams are currently signed up to compete in the UK Double Handed Offshore Series. www.doublehandedoffshore.com
Image: Wendy Davies