Anyone know about Bradwell 18 SVIP's atlantic crossing in '87?

[steve yates]

Just seen some pics posted on the fb group (which is very small) of a bradwell 18 that took part in the ARC in 1987 to Barbados!

Appears to be a Danish boat, called SVIP, she is now just used for fishing from under engine, but would love to know more if anyone has heard of it.

I'm specifically interested in whether they modded the keel to stop it lifting off the bolt it swings on if she fell off a wave. But actually anything about it would be interesting.

Not that I intend to repeat it b the way, I just couldn't store enough beer.

 

[Bajansailor]

I was here when the 1987 ARC arrived, and I do not remember a wee Bradwell called SVIP - however there was a Hurley 22 called Raggles in the first ARC the year before, and I think that she was pretty much on the lower limit re size (or an exception might even have been made for her).
She had a couple with a dog on board, and they crossed in fine style.
The last boat to arrive in 1986 was a singlehander David on an Achilles 24 called Dunkers - his windvane self steering had packed up soon after leaving the Canaries, and he couldn't get a 'sheet to tiller' system or similar to work, so he was hand steering most of the way.

There was quite a large group in the under 30' (or thereabouts) class in 1986 - I also remember a Frances 26 called Mithril with Rob & Cathy, and a singlehanded Elizabethan 29 called Andani with Tim Wright (of subsequent www.photoaction.com fame), a singlehander Jon Baigent on a Sadler 26 called Tahit and a singlehander Graham on a 25' Trapper 300 called Crumpet.

 

[LittleSister]

I was here when the 1987 ARC arrived, and I do not remember a wee Bradwell called SVIP - however there was a Hurley 22 called Raggles in the first ARC the year before

I had a Hurley 22 some decades ago, and my insurers at the time refused to cover me for sailing to France (to Brittany from Devon/Cornwall), because it was 'too small' for such . I tried to reason with them that a number of Hurley 22s had previously raced across the Atlantic, but they wouldn't have it, and I had to change insurers to get cover.

 

[LittleSister]

Just seen some pics posted on the fb group (which is very small) of a bradwell 18 that took part in the ARC in 1987 to Barbados!

Appears to be a Danish boat, called SVIP, she is now just used for fishing from under engine, but would love to know more if anyone has heard of it.

I haven't, but fair play to whoever did it.

Apparently 'svip' is Danish(?) & Icelandic for 'flip'.

 

[Bajansailor]

Steve, I see that the Bradwell group on FB is private, so I cannot see the photos that were posted - could you perhaps post a photo of Svip on here please?

I just tried googling Raggles, and found a few 'hits', including this one -
Real Sailing Heroes

Here YM mentions that Raggles was the smallest boat to ever take part in the ARC - she took 28 days from Las Palmas to Barbados which is pretty good going really, averaging around 100 miles a day.
ARC facts and figures - Yachting Monthly

 

[ProDave]

Talking of small transatlantic yachts, in 1968 an early Leisure 17 crossed the Atlantic. have never found any more details other than that one line statement.

 

[Skylark]

A few years ago I came across a really nice guy who sailed solo across the Atlantic in 1992 in an 18ft Caprice.

He wrote a book about the adventure, “An Ocean Away” by Dave Clarke.

If that wasn’t mad enough, 6 years later he rowed across single handed and wrote another book “Solo”

 

[ProDave]

I have not heard any of these trans Atlantic small boats making a return trip. "once was enough" perhaps?

The first boat we sailed on belonged to a relative and he kept in In Puget Sound west coast USA. He told us it was for sale for a very small amount of money. I VERY briefly pondered what would be involved in sailing it to the UK......

 

[steve yates]

Heres a couple of the pics from the fb page post.

 

[steve yates]

Steve, I see that the Bradwell group on FB is private, so I cannot see the photos that were posted - could you perhaps post a photo of Svip on here please?

I just tried googling Raggles, and found a few 'hits', including this one -
Real Sailing Heroes

Here YM mentions that Raggles was the smallest boat to ever take part in the ARC - she took 28 days from Las Palmas to Barbados which is pretty good going really, averaging around 100 miles a day.
ARC facts and figures - Yachting Monthly

Interesting links thanks, the YM article with the historical facts and figures doesnt mention an 18 ft Bradwell, just that hurley 22 raggles. A boat far more suited to the job

 

[steve yates]

I was here when the 1987 ARC arrived, and I do not remember a wee Bradwell called SVIP - however there was a Hurley 22 called Raggles in the first ARC the year before, and I think that she was pretty much on the lower limit re size (or an exception might even have been made for her).
She had a couple with a dog on board, and they crossed in fine style.
The last boat to arrive in 1986 was a singlehander David on an Achilles 24 called Dunkers - his windvane self steering had packed up soon after leaving the Canaries, and he couldn't get a 'sheet to tiller' system or similar to work, so he was hand steering most of the way.

There was quite a large group in the under 30' (or thereabouts) class in 1986 - I also remember a Frances 26 called Mithril with Rob & Cathy, and a singlehanded Elizabethan 27 called Andani with Tim Wright (of subsequent www.photoaction.com fame), a singlehander Jon Baigent on a Sadler 26 called Tahit and a singlehander Graham on a 25' Trapper 300 called Crumpet.

I've messaged the owner to see if he knows ny more about it, of course it might just have an ARC 87 sticker on it filched from elsewhere

 

[Bajansailor]

Interesting links thanks, the YM article with the historical facts and figures doesnt mention an 18 ft Bradwell, just that hurley 22 raggles. A boat far more suited to the job

I sailed in the 1986 ARC, and I remember seeing Raggles motoring out of Las Palmas harbour, deeply laden with 2 crew, a dog, and ample provisions and water for the three of them for at least a month - her waterline was not visible at all.
But I heard that she had a text book passage across - I was crewing on a 44' boat, and we only arrived a couple of days before her.

Re that ARC 87 sticker, I have a feeling that it was probably applied for pose value (a bit like the pose value of Mount Gay red caps at regattas) - although maybe they did enter with good intentions (and got the sticker), but then plans changed, and they did not get to the Canaries in time?
There was a 32' Bajan boat in the '87 ARC called Bruggadung - she had been designed and built here by one of her regular racing crew. Her owner managed to get some good sponsorship from local companies here, including Geest (who shipped her to England) - she was then shipped to the Canaries, and her crew (all 8 of them!) flew in to join her.
And they did remarkably well, flying spinnakers the whole way across and winning their class with ease, and beating many bigger boats across the line. But they sailed her the whole way as if they were racing around the cans, with 4 crew on watch the whole way, doing 4 hours on and 4 off - they all looked pretty beat when they arrived here to a heroes welcome.

 

[LittleSister]

I found this pic of SVIP by a Google search for 'Bradwell 18 Svip'. I think it was previously listed for sale (in Odense, Denmark, judging by the text under the photo), but the link no longer works. (I just downloaded the 'archived' image from Google.)

 

[Iainofiains]

I was here when the 1987 ARC arrived, and I do not remember a wee Bradwell called SVIP - however there was a Hurley 22 called Raggles in the first ARC the year before, and I think that she was pretty much on the lower limit re size (or an exception might even have been made for her).
She had a couple with a dog on board, and they crossed in fine style.
The last boat to arrive in 1986 was a singlehander David on an Achilles 24 called Dunkers - his windvane self steering had packed up soon after leaving the Canaries, and he couldn't get a 'sheet to tiller' system or similar to work, so he was hand steering most of the way.

There was quite a large group in the under 30' (or thereabouts) class in 1986 - I also remember a Frances 26 called Mithril with Rob & Cathy, and a singlehanded Elizabethan 29 called Andani with Tim Wright (of subsequent www.photoaction.com fame), a singlehander Jon Baigent on a Sadler 26 called Tahit and a singlehander Graham on a 25' Trapper 300 called Crumpet.

That Hurley had my parents on it! I’m Iain, their son who gets a wee mention on the Sailing Heroes blog (although I definitely don’t consider myself one!) Sailing with a Hero
They didn’t have a dog at the time (or a child) and they love to tell stories about their time in the Caribbean. Any questions I’ll happily forward them on to my parents.
They’re now having a much more comfortable time on a Moody 346 with plans to sail to Iceland.

 

[KeelsonGraham]

I have not heard any of these trans Atlantic small boats making a return trip. "once was enough" perhaps?

The first boat we sailed on belonged to a relative and he kept in In Puget Sound west coast USA. He told us it was for sale for a very small amount of money. I VERY briefly pondered what would be involved in sailing it to the UK......

There’s definitely one boat that never came back from the ARC 1986. My parent’s Vancouver 32 ‘Keelson’, which they managed to sink off Nevis a few years later!!!!

 

[Wansworth]

Talking of small transatlantic yachts, in 1968 an early Leisure 17 crossed the Atlantic. have never found any more details other than that one line statement.

Vaguely recall that the inventor of the windpilot bought that boat

 

[Bajansailor]

That Hurley had my parents on it! I’m Iain, their son who gets a wee mention on the Sailing Heroes blog (although I definitely don’t consider myself one!) Sailing with a Hero
They didn’t have a dog at the time (or a child) and they love to tell stories about their time in the Caribbean. Any questions I’ll happily forward them on to my parents.
They’re now having a much more comfortable time on a Moody 346 with plans to sail to Iceland.

Brilliant!
That is a lovely article in the Blog.
I have a photo somewhere of Raggles when she was leaving Las Palmas - I will try to find it.
Apologies, I was sure they had a dog on board as well, but I must have got that wrong (it was a long time ago now).

Could you perhaps ask them if they kept in contact with Rob and Kathy on the Frances 26 Mithril?
I think that they had completed her themselves from a bare hull and deck, and I heard that they they had later sailed Mithril back across the North Atlantic to complete their Atlantic circuit.

 

[Bajansailor]

There’s definitely one boat that never came back from the ARC 1986. My parent’s Vancouver 32 ‘Keelson’, which they managed to sink off Nevis a few years later!!!!

I remember meeting your folks here in Barbados, and they came to a party that my folks put on for yachts that I had met in the ARC (and I had met quite a few...)
I was just googling trying to find more info about the sad demise of Keelson - I remembered reading about it in YM, but although I can find mention of that article with Google, it is not on line.
I did find this article in Cruising World by your Mum though -
Cruising World

 

[KeelsonGraham]

Wow! Small world! I had no idea that she had written one about the medical emergency. I remember the article in YM about the sinking and still have the accompanying framed artwork on my wall.

They lost Keelson closing with Nevis at night on a rather oblique angle (big mistake). A nav beacon was out of service, they got ther position wrong and hit the reef. The long keel acted like a ratchet and, under wave action, levered, them further on to the reef. The boat was holed and they abandoned ship, swimming ashore with nothing but the clothes they were in and their wallets and passports. By morning the islanders had stripped the boat bare.

A guy in Nevis bought the wreck and set about restoring her, but I don’t know how that ended up.

When I think about the rudimentary nav and comms kit they had back then, I wonder what they’d make of the full Raymarine set up we now have in our similarly sized boat!

 

[dansaskip]

My parent’s Vancouver 32 ‘Keelson’, which they managed to sink off Nevis a few years later!!!!

However I do believe that Keelson was salvaged and repaired, renamed Pearl of Nevis and is still afloat and mostly lives of Pinney's Beach, Nevis. I met the current owner who owns Double Deuce beach bar and restaurant.