Jan Harber
Active member
The lovely Duet celebrates her 110th birthday today. Here she is seen yesterday at Suffolk Yacht Harbour taking part in the Felixstowe Book Festival, which has a maritime theme this year.
Designed by Linton Hope and built in 1912 in So'ton, she was originally named Gaviota but was re-named when the arctic explorer Augustine Courtauld bought her in 1931. Duet was the boat of his dreams and she was raced and cruised extensively. Just prior to WW2, when the East Coast division of the RNVR was set up, he cruised her to Norway where he surveyed the coast.
When August died in 1959 he left Duet to his son Christopher who, at that time, was involved with the formation of Ocean Youth Club. When I sailed with OYC in the early 1960s Duet was one of their original three boats; the other being Chris Ellis' Bristol Channel pilot cutter Theodora and the French pilot cutter Equinoxe. About this time she was fitted with the doghouse seen above. It had been discarded from the then royal yacht Bloodhound.
Duet is now with the Cirdan Sailing Trust but is still in the ownership of the Courtauld family.
Designed by Linton Hope and built in 1912 in So'ton, she was originally named Gaviota but was re-named when the arctic explorer Augustine Courtauld bought her in 1931. Duet was the boat of his dreams and she was raced and cruised extensively. Just prior to WW2, when the East Coast division of the RNVR was set up, he cruised her to Norway where he surveyed the coast.
When August died in 1959 he left Duet to his son Christopher who, at that time, was involved with the formation of Ocean Youth Club. When I sailed with OYC in the early 1960s Duet was one of their original three boats; the other being Chris Ellis' Bristol Channel pilot cutter Theodora and the French pilot cutter Equinoxe. About this time she was fitted with the doghouse seen above. It had been discarded from the then royal yacht Bloodhound.
Duet is now with the Cirdan Sailing Trust but is still in the ownership of the Courtauld family.
Last edited: