PHOTOGRAPH BY TOBIAS STOERKLE
The magic of Charm III JUDE HARRISON
Some men boast about how many boats they have owned during their lives but one man is happy to tell you that he has owned just the one – and oh, what a boat – and what a special owner! The boat in question is the beautiful John Alden-designed schooner Charm III, one of the famous Malabar Schooner series that dominated the ocean racing scene during the 1920s and 30s. Much has been written about this famous schooner over the years, built in Sweden in 1928, originally for the rum running business – hence her excellent turn of speed. Sadly, that lucrative trade had dried up before she could enjoy it. But our story about Charm III begins in 1982 when she was spotted on the River Yealm in Plymouth, England, by the man who was to own and love her for the next 37 years – Richard West, together with his wife Maryse. He sailed her to their home in Anguilla and chartered with her for some years. The first refit, just replacing a plank or two, a common enough necessity with older wooden boats, opened the horrible can of worms with which most classic boat owners are only too familiar. But in this case, a few new planks and a lick of paint were not going to cut it. And so began an epic refit to be done in the traditional Anguillan way, something Richard was most adamant about, but doing it “traditionally” did pose problems. The local boats are much smaller so Charm III, with her 24 tons and deep draft, was a different story, but the ‘never give up’ attitude of Richard prevailed. After four days of intense struggle with Charm III 52
rolled on her side, she made the beach. In so doing, some frames collapsed on the starboard side, simply adding to the enormous work load ahead. The refit was to last 16 years and she became a familiar sight under her shed on Sandy Ground Beach. The shed was to be rebuilt three times thanks to hurricanes but the boat remained steadfast. A boatyard in Holland was closing down and their entire stock of dried, West African Iroko, already sawn into 2in 20ft planks, was shipped to Anguilla. White oak from Alsace, France was used for the frames. A total of 190 frames were replaced and the hull was completely re-planked: as they say “one plank at a time”, a slow and exacting process. But finally, in 2001, she was ready to launch to begin her new life, one that was to see some family cruising but a lot of racing and a lot of trophies, especially when the weather was up. Refits continued over the years as is normal with an ageing older yacht, but that of 2017 in St Maarten was tragic. Charm III was out of the water in the yard when hurricane Irma hit. The yacht beside her fell over, taking Charm III with her, and which took out her rig, those original hollow masts. To rebuild them, Alaskan spruce was sourced and arrived in St Maarten by a rather circuitous route. Some planking had to be replaced, also some of the deck. Now only the keelson