Messing about in boats
Daring Dauntless takes the title at Cowes Classics Week 29 July - 02 August 2019 Cowes, UK. August 2019 - Dauntless, sailed by Richard Acland and his crew, was almost untouchable in the 14-strong Daring Class which finished competing at Cowes Classics Week today. Five first places and a throwaway third ensured victory at the [...]
Classic Sailor went aboard the new Thames Sailing Barge Blue Mermaid. We joined her in the Blackwater in Essex for a sail out into the Thames estuary and round to Brightlingsea A new sailing barge is a rare sight – but in 1900 there were around 4,000 such barges registered to carry [...]
An island in the stream The West Mersea Oyster Dredging Match – Story and photos by John Worrall Packing Shed Island, just off Mersea, has been key to the Essex oyster fishery for over a century. Now, with the revival of dredging for oysters under sail, it’s come into its own again. As a link [...]
A first view of the new Harker's Yard gig - built in glassfibre by apprentices with the Pioneer Trust in Brightlingsea. [/fusion_youtube] The new gig is the same as the well known wooden ones, and was being tested for buoyancy. Nina Crouchman and the Pioneer Trust’s founder and chairman Rupert Marks were [...]
Classic Sailor talked to David Selby about the Westerly Centaurs' 50th anniversary bash at Bembridge, Isle of Wight, where more than 50 boats attended, from July 3 to 7. And Dave goes on to make the case for many boats like this which offer an affordable way of getting afloat. The Centaur impresses because it [...]
Racing to keep up with demand – by Julia Jones How the restoration of Pioneer produced a training scheme for apprentices which has led to a whole new interest in competitive rowing. Apprentice Jake Anderson showing part of Moliette's backbone (stem, apron, forward knee) Sandwiched between two examples of traditional boatbuilding craft at [...]
Chris Potter reports from the Suffolk Yacht Harbour Classic Regatta 2019 “This is a very special regatta!” I heard this many times over the weekend of this year’s Suffolk Yacht Harbour Classic Regatta, not the least from Sean McMillan the boss of Spirit Yachts, who, as anyone who has seen a Spirit Yacht will [...]
The English Braids Falmouth Classics 2019 on Friday 14th - Sunday 16th June was hugely popular, with 190 classic boats taking part. Entries came from far and wide, including France, the Bristol Channel, West Wales, Essex, the Thames, the Solent and other parts of the South West. The marvellous Quay Punt Curlew in the [...]
Bob Cooke built his own ferro cement boat and then lost her in the Azores. Now he sails the Atlantic in a 22-footer, as he told Mervyn Maggs Sitting in Ramsgate harbour waiting for a brisk NW wind to drop before crossing the Thames Estuary, I noticed a small gaffer turn into the next berth. [...]
