Duet 110 Today

[Jan Harber]

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.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

SO next year, will she disappear from her eleventyfirst birthday party with a flash and a bang, never to be seen again in mortal realms? Of course, travellers to Rivendell or to the Undying Lands might see her again!

 

[Black Diamond]

My mentor Walter 'Navvy' Mussett was the master of the Courtauld yachts, the cutter Ripple and then the mighty Duet. Was Navvy skipper on the Norwegian survey voyage, Jan, do you know? I remember that he was in the RNR patrol boats in the Thames Estuary for the duration of WW2.

 

[TLouth7]

I did the Small Ships' Race on her a couple of times in my youth, in which we were only beaten by the equally distinguished Jolie Brise. The contrast in comfort between the saloon berths and those in the fo'c'sle is impressive!

 

[Jan Harber]

Afraid I don't know whether Navvy Mussett was on the Duet Norwegian survey voyage but I'm fairly sure that the answer will be in Augustine Courtauld's autobiography, Man the Ropes, which has just been re-printed by Julia Jones' Golden Duck publishing company.

There might also be info in Julia's recent book Uncommon Courage (Adlard Coles), a history of the yachtsmen volunteers who served in the RNVR during WW2. I would look it up for you but have just lent my copy to a friend.

As is often the case with yachts that look beautiful, comfort anywhere below decks would, I think, be hard to come by on Duet while at sea. Things probably improved slightly after they fitted the Bloodhound doghouse over the existing cockpit, but the facilities below are still very basic to say the least. The Duke of Edinburgh award youngsters who go afloat on her these days must have a character-building introduction to sailing...

 

[Robin]

I did the 1962 Tall Ships race on Theodora with OYC when Duet retired ,with a busted mast I think, soon after the start in Torbay, had many a beer on Duet too Those were the days my friends those WERE the days.

 

[MikeBz]

Duet wins Tall Ships Race - the skipper was (well, still is) my nephew.

 

[Kukri]

I call her “The Trust Fund Babe” because she is (a) gorgeous and (b) high maintenance and (c) she actually does have her own Trust Fund to see to her needs.

As far as I know, she is unique amongst yachts of her size type and pedigree in having her future thus secured, but perhaps the slightly younger S&S schooner “Brilliant” has a similar arrangement.