Classic Boat February 2023 - Sample Issue

STEFFAN MEYRIC HUGHES, EDITOR

THE BUSINESS OF REMEMBERING

has probably been said about the memories of memories and the vicissitudes of reputations through history, but it’s always a thing to celebrate when a major new book is published that shines light on neglected corners of the past. The book I’m talking about is Alfred Mylne. Mylne, 1872-1951, was one of a trio of yacht designers that included GL Watson and William Fife III, who made the Clyde on Scotland’s west coast one of the epicentres of the sailing world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Mylne, we learn in part one of a two-part series published in this issue, was perhaps held back by the fine quality of his modesty. This is also our Awards 2023 shortlist issue. More than anything else we publish, it shows the breadth of designs that owners and boatbuilders have spent blood, sweat, tears and – let’s not be coy – frightening amounts of money to save. We have wooden boats old and new, steel ones, a smattering of vintage and modern GRP, sail and power, slow and fast. At least one of them deserves your vote after all that work, surely?

COVER STORY

. SHENANDOAH OF SARK One of the world’s grandest cruising schooners and her windy win at Les Voiles

COVER STORY 21 . CLASSIC BOAT AWARDS It’s time to vote for the best new and restored boats of 20222

. PAUL GARTSIDE GAFFER A very traditional Paul Gartside for a structural engineer of modern yachts

. IN CHILDERS’ WAKE A century a er his execution, father and son set o in the wake of Riddle of the Sands author Childers COVER STORY

. ALFRED MYLNE

life and designs of one of the great Clyde yacht designers

STORY

. ON LAND AND SEA

car collector Corrado Lopresto on his 1936 motor yacht elas

TALES

OBJECTS OF DESIRE

BOSUN’S BAG

TOM CUNLIFFE

NEXT MONTH

RIDER ON THE STORM

Racing a three-masted topsail schooner in high winds is no joke, but taking the win in class at Voiles de Saint-Tropez made it really special, as her skipper tells

RUSSELL POTTER PHOTOS VARIOUS

WORDS

PHOTO: GILLES MARTIN-RAGET

The build up to the Voiles de Saint Tropez cannot be exaggerated. It’s the last event of the classic calendar and the end of the summer, so there’s quite often an emotional attachment to this regatta for a lot of sailors.

For us on Shenandoah the intention was to bring the boat to the south of France to showcase her on the circuit because, after a 22-year tenure, the owners are looking for the next custodian to look after her.

As is customary before Saint-Tropez, we took part in the Régates Royales in Cannes, with a couple of days training preceding it. It’s been a while since Shenandoah has graced the racecourse, so we spent a week removing all the charter toys, extra anchor, books and many spares that we carry for the ‘what if’ scenarios during the summer charter season. Alas, we had to take the Steinway piano on board for the racing as the thought of removing it... well, enough said!

As well as removing weight we also brought some sails out of deep storage and trained the crew to be able to push the boat to a competitive level against similar boats in her class.

Shenandoah was never intended as a race boat, but rather as a global cruising yacht. Nevertheless she turns heads when doing either. When we were given the green light to do the regattas, the crew was delighted and, for me, it was the first time I’d had the chance to dig out the spinnaker and assemble a race team.

Gathering a team for Shenandoah is a real delight as the people you get to choose from are very enthusiastic to be part of the programme. We ended up racing with a roster of six permanent crew, six seasonal and an additional 12 race crew. We were sailing with the bare minimum required to effectively race this boat. Three

page: Charging downwind just before the kite drop

masts, 10 upwind sails with 1,000m2 (10,764 sqft) and three downwind sails that double that area should not be taken lightly and needs a lot of hands.

For us, Cannes was seen as a sort of training regatta, and due to the combination of windward/leeward courses and the light airs, the conditions were not ideal for the boat, but they were perfect to galvanise the team and get the manoeuvres smooth and speedy.

We arrived in Saint-Tropez on the Sunday, and with us safely stern-to and the crew soaking up the atmosphere of the town it felt fitting to pop up to the Sube, have a beer and admire all the beautiful classics parked up in such a spectacular setting. The Voiles is about the sailing but the après sail is also an important part of what gives this regatta such a unique identity amongst the competitors.

THE MISTRAL ARRIVES AT ST TROPEZ

A Mistral bringing 50 knots plus of wind arrived on the Tuesday, which meant the first day of racing was abandoned. There was also another unfortunate call to abandon the following day, so racing for the Gstaad Centenary Cup, which is separate to the Rolex Trophy, took place the next day. Conditions were excellent and the race course first-rate for a quick pursuit out and back into the bay. The leeward mark rounding was the highlight of the race. Watching the breeze freshen to the point that those still flying their spinnakers were broaching and rounding up ahead of us was a great spectacle. Fortunately, it’s something we never have to contend with on Shenandoah:due to the sheer weight of the keel she behaves very well in gusty conditions. So, it was a handbreak turn around the leeward mark

History of Shenandoah

Shendandoah of Sark – or just Shenandoah – is a steel, threemasted topsail ga schooner built for the American banker Charles Fahnestock in 1902, at the height of the new American wealth. She instantly became one of the most glamourous yachts in the world, racing the crème de la crème from her base at Newport, Rhode Island. From the very start, she was a yacht that cruised as well as raced, and this is a pattern that has continued. She lost her three topsails after the war, and cruised to and around the Med where she spent years cruising and entertaining royals and stars of entertainment and commerce. During her life, Shenandoah has crossed the Atlantic many times and ventured further, up the Amazon, Niger and Congo rivers. She has been owned by princes and counts, but in 1972, a new, more modern owner, took her over: Marcel Bich, famous for Biro ballpoints and disposable cigarette lighters. Bich was a great owner for the yacht, giving her back her original name –something he believed strong in. He restored her and remained her owner for 14 years, during which the yacht starred in Rod Stewart’s video for ‘What Am I Gonna Do’, and a photo shoot for Vogue. She was restored comprehensively under a later benevolent owner in the mid 90s, and attended the America’s Cup Jubilee on the Solent in 2001. The current owner has had her from around that time.

Facing

and a blast upwind to the finish, which put us midfleet, respectable considering the boat that won could fit inside the main saloon of Shenandoah, twice!

With the Gstaad behind us, we only had two qualifying races for the Rolex Trophy. For the first race, in light airs we set off toward the pin end maintaining clear air and managed to keep away from the other yachts. As we progressed the wind slowly veered, lifting us up and over the lay line of the first mark. By the time we were within 500m of the mark we started cracking sheets and preparing for a gybe set. Everything was working out nicely. With the mark rounded and gybe set complete, we powered up and headed back home with a breeze filling in from astern. We had good company all the way down with Belle Aventure keeping us on our toes all the way to the finish line. We finished second to Viveka on corrected time in that race.

THE FINAL RACE

The start for the final race was downwind at around 20-25 knots so there was a little hesitation whether or not to use the kite. After the start it was La Sèche à l’Huile to port and then on to a mark off Saint- Aygulf before returning back to SaintTropez for the finish.

We started as far as we could downwind toward the pin end because we could see those ahead struggling to make La Sèche without gybing. This did mean that as soon the starting gun went, we got rolled by Naema, who had made the right choice to hoist her spinnaker and gollywobbler. With Ashanti and Puritan behind us and the wind looking light ahead, we made the call for the kite and up it went with us narrowly avoiding the wind shadow of Ashanti which was catching us.

Now with the kite up and the wind fading from 20 to 12 knots, it was a real effort to balance the boat speed with keeping the kite flying and heading up, thereby avoiding two gybes before La Sèche. With Shenandoah’s 4.8m draft, it was going to be close but we had to make it, even if that meant shooting the shallow spot. As we came abeam of La Sèche it was some relief as the boat speed was down to 6 knots and we were almost running by the lee, but we’d made it past.

The focus was now on Viveka who was only 500m or so ahead of us but closer to the shoreline. Certainly, if we could keep her from growing her lead, we could be well in with a chance, but no sonner than as I was thinking about that, a breeze line crept in from the shore and she was carried away with it. There was nothing we could do. We helplessly watched her sail

Below: Threading her way through the oncoming fleet on starboard tack

Facing page, clockwise from top left: Main saloon; Cockpit; Dining table; Nav station; Flag locker; Master Cabin spare bunk; Deck saloon

away and, unfortunately, we were just outside the wind line, which seemed to take an eternity to reach us. By the time it did, she must have doubled the ground between us, but now we had the wind, we were back up to sailing at over 10 knots and things were looking up. Then, as Viveka approached Les Issambres, the wind started to veer and she sailed into a big shadow, slowing almost to a standstill and visually sat upright. By this time we had other things on our radar. The fleet ahead was now heading back toward us, close hauled and on starboard. With us sailing downwind on port and the kite up, the breeze now around 20 knots true, we had the delicate challenge to try to thread our way through the oncoming traffic.

SAILING INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC

It must have been a little daunting to see Shenandoah carving her way through, but in the true spirit of gentlemanly classic racing (or perhaps sheer fear) we managed to safely find a path through. As soon as we were clear we could see the next breeze line filling in from the port quarter and the following call was to drop the kite. Just in time as well, because as the kite was folding under the shadow of the foresail, the breeze was now up to 25 knots and building. With the spinnaker safely in her bag and stowed midships, we were now getting headed into the leeward mark. The wind had come around more to the west and we were on a beam reach, Shenandoah in her element. Viveka was still to windward of us struggling with the gusty conditions, sailing lower in an effort to drop the kite, so we headed up and passed astern of them, giving them a great wind shadow to assist with getting their kite down.

With the entire set of fore-and-aft sails hoisted, we were pushing 14 knots coming up to the mark and watching Naema overpowered ahead gybing around the mark. The return leg back into the bay of Saint Tropez was going to be a little closer on the breeze so we readied the fore and main topsails for drop and hold because the conditions were growing livelier by the minute. Just as we approached the mark and flicked a 180, the topsails came down in record time and we started the next challenge to claw back the lead from Naema who was around 700m ahead of us. So far, we could not have asked for better conditions. We’d sailed downwind without making a gybe and then gybed from reach to reach at the leeward mark. As we sailed closer into the bay, we could also see Elena being taken down to leeward with strong gusts now pulsating down the bay of Saint-Tropez. She was

GIANFRANCO FORZA

trucking along and an impressive sight to see, but we could still see her so we knew that we’d probably beat her on corrected time.

We were now watching down the race track and seeing the story unfold. The wind was still building and being offshore it was very gusty. Naema by this time was heeled right over and being pushed down to leeward of us. Our cap rail was almost constantly in the water and the jib trimmers looked like whitewater rafters from time to time. We needed to get the jib top down before it was to late so, with 15 sailors on the foredeck, and a quick bear away, it was down in a flash and lashed to the bowsprit. Back up we came on to course and headed on starboard up to La Seche.

A slight round-up at the mark, then the final furlong to the finish, but we were still overpowered with the mizzen topsail set on the windward side. The foredeck team came back, Bryan shot up the mizzen ratlines and down she came with an assisting hand over the mizzen peak halyard so as not to get the topsail snagged or jammed on any running gear aloft. It came down much easier than expected but there was no time to think about our luck as we were nearing Naema, and Shenandoah was now galloping at full charge to the finish.

FINISH LINE AND VICTORY

We were down to six sails and still overpowered but using it to our advantage. We kept the mizzen sail overtrimmed to drive us to windward, and the sheet team on the hydraulic winches of the main, fore and outer jib were in control of heel. Each time the caprail dipped under water and turned the middeck into an aquarium, the guys in great synchronisation eased the sheets, preventing the heel from becoming dangerous. I was on the helm pushing the boat as hard as I could to windward, taking advantage of every gust, pinching her up not only to depower the boat but also to keep us up on the lay line to the finish. From the stern of Shenandoah I could see all the crew focused on the task ahead. We were pushing the boat to the absolute limit and she was responding with total grace. She was in her element and so was I, watching each wave breaking over the windward bow throwing up a spray that lashed down the deck, bellowing over the cockpit and turning into a white mist over the aft deck. It was just amazing; the wind, the view, the taste of saltwater spray and the taste of victory mixed in the air. Watching the crew was magical. They were clearly all in harmony saying “Come on, is that all you’ve got? We can take more, we can do this!”

The leg was short but we had reeled in Naema, who by now had to tack to cross the finish line. We had managed to keep Shenandoah on the lay line and blasted across the finish line 50 feet from the pin end to take the victory and the 2022 Rolex Trophy. We had sailed a race with only one gybe and no tacks. It was quite simply our day, and as the gun sounded at the finish, the atmosphere was euphoric. Never in our wildest dreams did we believe we could win a regatta like this with Shenandoah, but we’d done it, and every crew member was on a real high for days following this historic victory.

SHENANDOAH OF SARK

DESIGNED: Theodore Ferris

BUILT: 1902, Townsend & Downey, NY

LOD: 137ft (41.5m)

BEAM: 27ft (8.3m)

DRAFT: 15ft (4.7m)

DISP: 178 tonnes

ACCOMMODATION: 11 guests, 12 crew

Classic Boat’s address:

Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London, SW3 3TQ

cb@classicboat.co.uk

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Race with the Tall Ships Youth Trust

The Tall Ships Youth Trust is o ering race weekends for groups in 2023. The trust, which runs 72ft yachts, is inviting sailing clubs, schools, colleges and other youth organisations to compete in its Challenger Championships. The trust is the Charity of the Year of the British Classic Yacht Club, as well as that of our sister title, Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting

The trust says: “Sailing onboard an iconic 72ft Challenger yacht, your group will take part in an exciting and competitive race, with a ‘Le Mans’ style start. Out on the ocean, the young people will become an integral part of the crew and get involved in all aspects of running the vessel. This includes ropework, sail handling and even taking to the helm.

“Working together onboard to overcome common challenges, young people develop resilience, self-esteem and life skills, which they can take back to their communities and thrive. We have exciting race weekend opportunities for groups in 2023, so why not challenge your rivals to a friendly competition, while supporting your young people’s personal development?”

Those interested should get in touch with Diana Bunescu at diana. bunescu@tallships.org or call 02392 832055.

Meanwhile TSYT volunteer watch leader Martha Kneebone, aged 19, has been awarded bursary funding from ASTO (Association Of Sail Training Organisations) and Trinity House to enable her to complete a number of maritime qualifications. The bursary will cover the cost of all practical and theory-based training for the qualifications, including

the RYA Coastal Skipper and the RYA Yachtmaster (Coastal).   Martha first sailed with TSYT in 2019 as a youth crew member, before being asked to come back and train as a volunteer watch leader. Since then, she has built up more than 3,000 nautical miles and recently sailed across the Bay of Biscay for the first time. Martha, said: “I’m very grateful to ASTO and Trinity House for the support and I’m looking forward to taking these next steps. “I’m most excited about the opportunities this will open up for me and of course doing lots more voyages with TSYT to build up my experience and help even more young people.” tallships.org

Get ready for BoatLife

The second SBS BoatLife show runs from 16-19 February, 2023, at NEC Birmingham, with a range of talks, exhibitors and activities for sailors. The first show was notable for its wooden boat section, with exhibitors including Katie McCabe in her Morgan Giles yacht, Falanda, as well as the Thames Traditional Boat Rally and others from the Thames classic scene.

This year there will be the full range of sailing and boating activities and talks, including a fishing/angling zone.

Tickets are on sale at boatlifetickets.com

RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show

For fans of smaller wooden boats, the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show presented by Suzuki is a must-see event, attracting class associations, vintage dinghies and talks on maintenance and sailing skills.

The show returns to Farnborough exhibition centre in Hampshire, UK, over the weekend of 25/26 February 2023.

Amid a plethora of modern dinghy sailing, windsurfing and foiling stands, there is a model boat pool, a VR experience and live coaching sessions. Dinghy cruising has become a key part of the show, with the RYA Dinghy Cruising routes remaining popular and now growing post-pandemic. RYA members can claim a free ticket this year. Get tickets at: rya.org.uk/events/dinghy-show

Celebrating 130 years under sail

Having turned 130 in December 2022, Rogue is one of the oldest keelboats still going strong in New Zealand. The 32ft LOA ga -cutter was built in triple-skin kauri, flush-decked and was the first design of Chas Bailey Jr. He is said to have completed the build in the evenings by candlelight, after having put in a full day’s work for his father’s Auckland yard by day. Meanwhile over at the rival Logan family yard, the two Logan brothers were completing another 2 rater, Gloriana, and there was intense interest in which boat would be faster, the Auckland Star reporting the two boats’ respective progress, launch and maiden sails in some detail. However Gloriana proved more successful on the racecourse and Rogue relocated to Wellington in 1900, renamed Muritai

Fast forward to 2006 and Rogue caught the eye of her current caretaker. He recalls: “I was attracted by Rogue’s lines and size, which – beyond their pure aesthetic – seemed a useful discipline against me having ideas above my station, such as venturing beyond the Wellington Heads, or indeed even going out in robust seas. Then I learned of Rogue’s history and thought Rogue’s restoration might be an adventure, as well as a contribution to cultural heritage. I had in mind a slow, o -season, rolling restoration."

The project grew, as projects do, and leading Wellington naval architect Bruce Askew brought on board boatbuilder Matt Price. More ballast was installed and a ‘discreet’ engine put in place, amid a major 15-year project that took the boat back to bare wood inside and out, replacing ‘just about everything except for the fabric of the hull itself, which is still good’. Original material was retained where possible and authenticity was the core tenet – a new ga rig was part of the deal. The restoration was completed through lockdowns in 2021-22, on Rogue's return to Auckland, by Horizon Boatyard's Wayne Olsen (whose work previously has been highlighted in this magazine). The project was highly praised on Rogue’s relaunch and as she enters her fourteenth decade afloat, she remains in fine condition, active in her home waters and a worthy ambassador for the passionate New Zealand classic scene. rogue1892.com

From the archives

The Charles E Nicholson-designed 15-Metre Istria – pictured here in The Yachtsman soon after her launch in 1912 – was innovative in terms of both her hull construction (laminated planking on longitudinal stringers and laminated frames) and her rig. Her hollow topmast was socketed into her main mast and was long enough to negate the need for a topsail lu pole. This rig soon earned the nickname Marconi as the complex rigging that was required resembled the radio mast of the same name. In her first season Istria won thirty-five prizes –twenty-five of them firsts - in thirty-six races. The Association of Yachting Historians has digitised 92 volumes of The Yachtsman (1891-1940) and the complete Lloyd’s Registers of Yachts (1878-1980) and these can be purchased on memory sticks. www.yachtinghistorians.org

Our parent company, Chelsea Magazines, has two great sailing magazines for you over the winter –the Charter Guide and Yachting Year.

The 132-page annual Yachting Year is on sale now and available to buy online, taking a look at events on the water in 2022 and a look ahead at what’s to come over the next 12 months in the worlds of racing, cruising and classics.

Editor of Classic Boat, Ste an Meyric Hughes, with colleagues Sam Je erson and Rob Peake, write exclusive articles. Yachting Year also features practical articles, looking at bluewater cruising kit, foul-weather gear, yacht insurance and more.

You can buy Yachting Year for £9.99 via chelseamagazines.com

Meanwhile, if you’re planning a charter holiday, our Charter Guide comes out in the New Year, packed with practical advice, including advice on chartering a classic boat.

The guide is put together by the team behind Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting, published with the magazine’s March 2023 issue at the end of January. You can also read it online in the ‘charter’ section on sailingtoday.co.uk

THE CLASSIC YEAR AHEAD

Events and boats that will shape the classic boat world in 2023

ANNIVERSARIES

Among the centenaries we’ll be marking in 2023 is that of Alfred Westmacott’s iconic Sunbeam class. The first Sunbeam, Dainty, was built in 2022 and the class plans a three-day Centenary Regatta from 7-9 June 2023 in the Solent, with the Sunbeam Championships in Falmouth at the end of the summer also expected to be a big turnout. More on the class website solentsunbeam.co.uk/2023centenary-year-programme

Another significant birthday in 2023 will be the 70th of the Osprey racing dinghy, a boat raced by so many young sailors of the time. The Osprey was designed by Ian Proctor in 1953 and to mark the anniversary the Osprey Class Association is producing a publication for its membership and for wider circulation at events including the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show in February. Visit ospreysailing.org.uk

Turning 60 in 2023 is the OGA (the Association for Ga Rig Sailing). The OGA’s 50th was a big one, and it seems the 60th is going to be as well, and in similar vein. Up to 150 boats are expected to attend events on the River Orwell, on England’s east coast, from 2-6 August. These four days will encompass class racing, cruising in company, shoreside excursions and more, centred around Ipswich Dock and Su olk yacht Harbour. Events include the first Ga ing 4.1 Championships for the Andrew Wolstenholmedesigned OGA dinghy, followed by a cruise, to which all are welcome. Co-ordinator Alison Cable said: “The Orwell is a great base – between them, the River Orwell, Stour and Walton Backwaters – provide sheltered sailing in most weathers and for the larger boats there are the open waters of the Harwich approaches. A range of sailing

Above l-r: the Sunbeam Dainty racing in the Mediterranean, dwarfed by Eleonora; the Fife Kismet wins the Centenary Trophy with owner Richard Matthews at the helm

events will be organised to suit the di erent groups of boats and the conditions at the time. This will include the annual East Coast Race for the larger boats.”

For those without a boat, the OGA is aiming to provide cruises on a local smack or Thames Barge.

Meanwhile a grand OGA Round Britain Cruise is scheduled to finish at Su olk Yacht Harbour just before the celebrations. Registrations are being taken and skippers will be encouraged to o er crew spaces on one or more legs of the trip. Email oga60@oga.org.uk. The idea was successful for the OGA’s 50th anniversary in 2013, when more than 200 boats took part in at least some of the challenge.

The OGA is looking for supporters for the Ipswich and Orwell events – anyone interested can contact Pete Thomas on pete.m.thomas@btinternet.com. For further information including crewing opportunities search for ‘oga60’ on oga.org.uk

EVENTS

Classic Boat will be kicking the year o in Australia, as our writer Nigel Sharp flies in January to cover a number of events including the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Tasmania and also the traditional 18ft Ski championships in Sydney. Both are spectacular events for di erent reasons and are just two of the events that Nigel will be writing about in future issues of the magazine.

Back in Europe, the inaugural Richard Mille Cup, to be held at Channel ports over the summer, is an invitational for pre-1939 yachts or faithful replicas that are 33ft (10m) or more on the waterline. What makes it unusual, other than the strict rules on participating vessels, is the fact that they will be racing under the CIM handicap system. It will, organisers think, be the first time that CIM has been used on the English side of the Channel. It has been brought about by the owners of three of the most famous of Fife’s larger yachts: Benoit Couturier (Mariquita, 1911); Richard Mille (Moonbeam IV, 1920); and the owner of Moonbeam III (1903). They are also behind the new classic boat hub at Brest, in Brittany, where the three yachts now live. Richard Mille sponsored the Fife Regatta in the summer of 2022, and the idea is now to run something similar to the Richard