How much do you know about your boat's history?

I am very lucky as I have quite a lot of Chinita's history since the build in Hong Kong in 1963.

She has appeared (by pure chance) in a number of publications - one being a photograph of her interior in Hiscocks Cruising under Sail.

A previous owner won the Royal Cruising Club Challenge bowl for a Transatlantic in her and then, a few years later, the Cruising Cup for a trip to the Spanish Rias. These were written up in the RCC Yearbook. Last year I had an e-mail, out of the blue, from him enquiring about her health!

I also know her two sisterships (one in Holland) which arrived in UK on the same freighter.
 
I have done a lot of research into the first owner of 'Aries of Lincoln' and have recently met up with the daughter of the Air Vice Marshall who originally bought her new in 1978. So have had sight of her logbooks relating to various sailings from Liverpool and Inverness and many other places in between. The best bit (for me) is that this RAF officer/chap started the whole of the RAF aerobatic display stuff back in 1953 (ish), even though it was not allowed, (they practiced above the clouds). So we owe a dept of gratitude to him for the Red Arrows of today and teh previous display teams that our senior members may also recollect. An article by yours truly is in the latest WOA magazine detailing much more info, of course if you are not a WOA member then shame on you if you have a Westerly, if you dont own one then its a loss to you that you are missing a very good association and boat!! I am presently looking for his replacement boat a GK29 (but this was sold by him in the USA in about 1983, its going to be a difficult job locating that one. Aries of Anglia was its name.

Unc
 
Phoenix was built in Taiwan in 1978 and imported brand new into the UK and based in Dover. Several forumites have contacted me, remembering her from Dover.... she cruised the UK south coast extensively, and was crewed and visited by various people, including own very own Cindy from Wilkinson sails.... She was then sold to a UK based Australian Civil Servant... I am in touch with this guy, who is now in Singapore..... I have also swapped emails with another crew from this phase of her life, who coveted her, and wanted to buy her when we did, but couldn't raise the funds.... the Ozzie owner cruised her down to the med for several further seasons. Eventually she was bought by the last owner (bar me) in Spain and brought back to the Bristol Channel for a refit and planned chartering... which was half done before the owner ran out of funds and interest... I bought her... the previous owner brought her back to the Solent, with the Ozzie Civil Setvant as crew, and I brought her round to the east coast with Full Circle and CPD...

So, she's never left Europe, but has spent 6 seasons in the med.

She's an Explorer 45, one of 13, designed by Stan Huntingford, and described by him as his favourite ever design. I am in touch with 3 other owners of the marque.
 
I took several visits to Southampton to watch Habebty being built, from bare hull to launch and delivery trip back to Ipswich. That was back in 2004, where has the time gone?? :)
 
Bought my boat from the only previous owner in Spain.

Apart from the delivery trip from Moody's yard she seems to have been infrequently used.
In 16 years the radar had 25 hours use (as displayed on boot up) and the engine 500 hours(allegedly)
Infrequent use brings its problems and the maintenance bill and projects that comes with that was anticipated and reflected in the offer price which, whilst it was accepted, sadly curtailed any dialogue with the seller.
 
I know very little of the history of my new boat a 1973 Rival 34 other than she had an excellent survey. On one of the forums [it might be this one] there is a discussion on port of registration. My new boat is called 'Raven of Hamble' but lacks a port on the stern, although on her Part 1 registration it says 'Cowes'. I picked her up in Port Solent and keep her on the Medway. 3 days after I took delivery I did have an opportunity to look at the bottom during my bringing her back [single handed] to the East Coast. I mistook the entrance at St Valerie en Caux for Dieppe and managed to get to the outer drying harbour just as the ebb ran out. Very embarrassing to sit in the middle of a busy French town lying on your side. But lots of Gallic offers of help not that there was anything any of us could do.
 
Glayva said:
I know very little of the history of my new boat a 1973 Rival 34 other than she had an excellent survey. On one of the forums [it might be this one] there is a discussion on port of registration. My new boat is called 'Raven of Hamble' but lacks a port on the stern, although on her Part 1 registration it says 'Cowes'. I picked her up in Port Solent and keep her on the Medway. 3 days after I took delivery I did have an opportunity to look at the bottom during my bringing her back [single handed] to the East Coast. I mistook the entrance at St Valerie en Caux for Dieppe and managed to get to the outer drying harbour just as the ebb ran out. Very embarrassing to sit in the middle of a busy French town lying on your side. But lots of Gallic offers of help not that there was anything any of us could do.
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'Mermaid' was built in Taiwan in 1983 and the next reference I can see of her is from an old brokerage document in San Diego, USA in late 80s another HC44PH owner sent to us. She was called Barefoot Peddlar then.

BarefootPeddler05s_zps509c5200.jpg


Some while afterwards she was in Florida.
Other than that, the next documentation I have is the Dutch Shipping Registry showing she was called 'Belle' and then 'Mermaid'.
We bought her from a Swiss chap who bought her in the late 90s in Holland.
He spent a couple of years - and a small fortune - refitting her. I saw bills from a lucky Dutch yard for around €200k including new engine, gearbox, shaft, prop, genny, Raymarine electronics, interior revarnish/paint, exterior paint, leather upholstery etc.
He took her to the North Eastern Adriatic where she stayed as a kind of floating holiday home in a marina just north of Lignano Sabbiadoro.
We had been to various parts of the UK, Holland, France, Spain until we arranged a road trip in Italy in Spring 2006. This was partly to visit four boats (one in San Remo, two in Viareggio and Mermaid. The other part of the trip was to spend SWMBO's 40th in Venice.
We bought Mermaid at Easter 2006 and then decided that the best way to get her back to the UK was to use Van de Wetering to bring her back on a truck from Portoroz in Slovenia (about 25nm from her home) where the mast would be dropped and she would go to Breskens where we could collect her and sail back to Ipswich.
Unfortunately, when she was surveyed, she was about 18" too tall to get through the Alpine tunnels on the truck so we had to take her to Port Napoleon in southern France by sea (via Rovinj and Pula in Croatia, Ancona, Pescara, Brindisi in Italy, Risposto in Sicily and Bonifacio in Corsica).

This is what she was like in the Adriatic

web050402S_zps89aacb7b.jpg


and this is more recently (with a new main mast - 10ft taller than before - and the addition of a mizzen)

009.jpg
 
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wingdiver said:
'Mermaid' was built in Taiwan in 1983 and the next reference I can see of her is from an old brokerage document in San Diego, USA in late 80s another HC44PH owner sent to us. She was called Barefoot Peddlar then.
Some while afterwards she was in Florida.
Other than that, the next documentation I have is the Dutch Shipping Registry showing she was called 'Belle' and then 'Mermaid'.
We bought her from a Swiss chap who bought her in the late 90s in Holland.
He spent a couple of years - and a small fortune - refitting her. I saw bills form a lucky Dutch yard for around €200k including new engine, gearbox, shaft, prop, genny, Raymarine electronics, interior revarnish/paint, exterior paint, leather upholstery etc.
He took her to the North Eastern Adriatic where she stayed as a kind of floating holiday home in a marina just north of Lignano Sabbiadoro.
We had been to various parts of the UK, Holland, France, Spain until we arranged a road trip in Italy in Spring 2006. This was partly to visit four boats (one in San Remo, two in Viareggio and Mermaid. The other part of the trip was to spend SWMBO's 40th in Venice.
We bought Mermaid at Easter 2006 and then decided that the best way to get her back to the UK was to use Van de Wetering to bring her back on a truck from Portoroz in Slovenia (about 25nm from her home) where the mast would be dropped and she would go to Breskens where we could collect her and sail back to Ipswich.
Unfortunately, when she was surveyed, she was about 18" too tall to get through the Alpine tunnels on the truck so we had to take her to Port Napoleon in southern France by sea (via Rovinj and Pula in Croatia, Ancona, Pescara, Brindisi in Italy, Risposto in Sicily and Bonifacio in Corsica).

This is what she was like in the Adriatic

web050402S_zps89aacb7b.jpg


and this is more recently (with a new main mast - 10ft taller than before - and the addition of a mizzen)

009.jpg
Click to expand...

Who took that very nice lower photo
 
I recently looked through some Lloyd's Registers and found our boat mentioned for the first time in the 1980 edition. Am I right to assume that this was the time at which the boat was commissioned?
 
Beguine is a Frances 26 from 1988. She was reviewed by Classic Boat around that time when she had an Oregon, USA, registration. She then spent some 5 years in Spain, I understand, before being brought back to the south coast where a pot of money was spent on her. I then think she had a couple of owners, (I'm not sure where) up until late 2004 when she was bought and sold within 6 months. The last owner then had her on the Deben for some 5 years, part of which was ashore. During this time she saw little action as the owner's wife did not like sailing and so she was sold to be replaced by a motor boat. Because of the lack of use and care she was in a bit of a sad state when I took over 2 years ago so we are gradually trying to bring her back to her former glory, whilst getting as much sailing in at the same time.
 
I think I was berthed opposite Beguine when in Chichester Yacht Basin a few years ago, when see was owned by a local architect. Not much else I can add as it was only for a short time before leaving for the East Coast. Will try to find some more exact dates if that would help.
 
sailorman said:
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Interesting. From the photo I'm still not sure if it is Dieppe or St Valerie en Caux. The only clear lead I have is the wave break beach on the left which I think is St Valerie en Caux. And going into Dieppe there are usually lots of fishermen on the sea walls whose job it is to throw sinkers at you. But I can see one fisherman on the right getting ready to throw a sinker.
 
Glayva said:
Interesting. From the photo I'm still not sure if it is Dieppe or St Valerie en Caux. The only clear lead I have is the wave break beach on the left which I think is St Valerie en Caux. And going into Dieppe there are usually lots of fishermen on the sea walls whose job it is to throw sinkers at you. But I can see one fisherman on the right getting ready to throw a sinker.
Click to expand...

That is St Valery
x channel ferries go into Deippe

Picture287_zps96d9f6d8.jpg
 
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Enough to squirm. A Beneteau First 345 born in 1987 somewhere in France and imported by 1st owner to our shores as "Ocean Balloo". At some stage became a charter boat in the Solent, renamed mid "noughties" ............................... Mr.Tinkles, and moved to the east coast where I became her proud owner. Only Phoenix of Hamble had the pleasure of overhearing the final reason why she was christened "Pipedream II". Thames control asked me 4 times to repeat her name whilst asking permission to return through the Thames barrier, and yes, not unquiet sniggers were clear in the background. Great memories ............
 
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