LETTERS

LETTER OF THE MONTH SUPPORTED BY OLD PULTENEY WHISKY

Remembering Overlord

You may be interested in a few notes relating to my experiences with Overlord (Tom Cunliffe, last month) during National Service 1955-57. After my initial training at the RASC Water Transport establishment based at Fort Victoria, Yarmouth, IoW, an officer somehow discovered I had considerable knowledge of the maintenance and handling of small craft. My call-up at the age of 24 was deferred because my employer, the Berthon Boat Company, was building Inshore Minesweepers for the Admiralty. At the time I was a young naval architect and much in contact with the shop floor. Following the revelation of my background, I was placed in charge of the maintenance of recreational Small Craft, dinghies and a 30Sqm Windfall yacht called Sachse. One of my duties was to helm the Windfall yacht Overlord while it was towed from its winter quarters at Gunwharf Quay (HMS Vernon) Portsmouth, to Yarmouth to its summer berth. Under way, it was normal practice to scrub the deck. While helming I watched a Lt Colonel, a Brigadier and two Majors beavering away pushing holly stones fore and aft with beads of sweat on their foreheads. Upon arrival in Yarmouth, one of the officers remarked he had noticed a slight brown stain in several areas, he was informed by me you should never scrub a fir deck in

I have a fairly competent watercolour (pictured below) about 38cm x 28cm entitled Dione painted in 1972. The signature looks like it could be ‘D Reid’. Can any reader tell me about the class, or anything else to flesh-out the background of the craft? It’s a bit out of my league, having originally owned a GP14 as a youngster and currently a delightful 12ft marine ply clinker built Mallard. Any light on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

Graham Hayes, grahamhayes47@hotmail.co.uk

this manner. This treatment over a number of years had reduced the deck thickness allowing salt water to penetrate below the caulking seam exposing the secret fastenings.

During the 1960 season, while Overlord was under the command of Capt Venables, the forestay parted while in mid English Channel. The crew managed to place a strop under the forefoot, braced back to the main shroud chainplates port and starboard. The jib halyard was attached to the strop and sweated up by the winch on the mast. The boat then limped back to its home port, quite a feat of seamanship. Although the mast was saved, it must have received damage, for an aluminium alloy mast was then stepped. In 1961 all Windfall Yachts came up for disposal. Capt Tony Venables had obviously developed an affinity to Overlord as he purchased the yacht reputedly for the value of the lead keel with a view to doing some cosmetic work to sell on at a profit. Instead he had second thoughts and formed a syndicate, which was named The Offshore Sailing Club. It is pleasing to know that both boat and club are in good health.

Jim Hazel, Locksheath

What is this boat? Grab handles

Your article, Inside Job (CB November), is a welcome comment on yacht interiors. While the photos are very attractive they show the ubiquitous lack of grab handles. From practical experience, few or no grab handles indicate, to me, a yacht which has not experienced bad weather. The lack of grab handles in the main photo for example, however attractive the interior design and joinery, must make moving around at sea potentially precarious. Even the galley cooker in the photo of the relatively new sloop Cass does not have a crash bar, and nothing at the forward bulkhead doorway. I have often sailed a recently built 46ft gaff yawl with a wonderful, spacious interior typical of the modern yacht, which did indeed have grab handles – but on the deck head so that I found myself swinging like a monkey from the roof when she heeled. Even my own 1939 built, 25ft Vertue had no grab handles when I acquired her, either on deck or below. I have added a grab handle on the coaming either side in the cabin, either side of the entrance companionway, and on the fore hatch on an otherwise exposed fore deck, all of which have made the yacht much safer for the crew. And how many yachts have adequate, secure and usefully placed grab handles on deck? Perhaps your readers have some experience to contribute to the subject.

Peter Gregson, Wooden Ships, Dartmouth