Morning Cloud - where are they now?

[burgundyben]

No1 - is lost.

No2 - where? And 2 further build of the same design?

No3 - Lost with 2 crew.

No4 - Where now?

No5 - Where now?

I was just wondering, no reason.

 

[dunedin]

The beautiful second Morning Cloud was renamed Opposition, and spent many years on the Clyde.

Sounds like she may have returned south recently https://www.britishclassicyachtclub.org/yachts/086-opposition.html

 

[sarabande]

I sailed on 2, 3 and 4 out of Cowes from time time as spare crew, and deliveries. I was skippering a sister ship about two hours behind Cloud on the return trip from Burnham week in 1974, and we chickened out around North Foreland and returned to Burnham, to hear the dreadful news.


The first Cloud, an S&S 34 production boat, was very rapid. The engine under the saloon table helped the rating greatly.

Lallows built two wooden boats for Mr Heath, and a couple for my then owner. Mahogany and varnish, and immaculately maintained; most beautiful of their time and genre.

 

[A1Sailor]

The beautiful second Morning Cloud was renamed Opposition, and spent many years on the Clyde.

Sounds like she may have returned south recently https://www.britishclassicyachtclub.org/yachts/086-opposition.html

Opposition looked a gorgeous boat. She was moored, I think for one season, in Tayvallich Bay I think in the early 1970s. I don't know who owned her at the time.
Here she is at Tarbert, Loch Fyne:

Edit: Must have been mid-late 1970s, from the article at your link.

 

[sailorman]

No 4 was Dutch based mebe 20 yrs ago. Just cant remember where we saw her

 

[Venatrix]

Opposition regularly turns up in Cowes during the classic week in the summer.

 

[Seashoreman]

Opposition regularly turns up in Cowes during the classic week in the summer.

Yes, was definitely on a pontoon at 2017 Panerai British Classic Week in Cowes.
Had a board attached detailing history,etc. A fine looking vessel.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Opposition looked a gorgeous boat. She was moored, I think for one season, in Tayvallich Bay I think in the early 1970s. I don't know who owned her at the time.
Here she is at Tarbert, Loch Fyne:

Edit: Must have been mid-late 1970s, from the article at your link.

That's much later than the mid to late 70s. Is that not an X Yacht off her stern?

 

[Kukri]

I think Morning Cloud II also had some Huisman built near sisters in alloy with a modified deck layout - the Huisman 41. David Scott Cowper's Ocean Bound was one.

 

[Debenair]

That’s right. Ocean Bound was completed from a bare hull by Whisstocks, and for at least the last 15 years has been sitting in a field just adjacent to the Bredfield turn off from the A12 just north of Woodbridge, with her mast in the racks in the lower “meadow” at Fox’s.

 

[Kukri]

That’s right. Ocean Bound was completed from a bare hull by Whisstocks, and for at least the last 15 years has been sitting in a field just adjacent to the Bredfield turn off from the A12 just north of Woodbridge, with her mast in the racks in the lower “meadow” at Fox’s.

Thanks for the info. I must go and have a look. David obviously has no further use for her and doesn't want to sell her, because of her sentimental value. That seems to happen to a lot of boats.

 

[dgadee]

I always wondered where Heath got the money from. Huge house, racing yachts on a prime minister's salary?

 

[Motor_Sailor]

I always wondered where Heath got the money from. Huge house, racing yachts on a prime minister's salary?

Lots of people have wondered this, including the official guide in Salisbury Cathedral when I took a tour. We looked down on Heath's old house and was surprised when the very elderly guide started on a long spiel about 'no one in Salisbury knows how Heath could afford one of the most expensive houses in the city together with a string of custom built racing yachts with professional crew that he campaigned around the world".

 

[scruff]

Lots of people have wondered this, including the official guide in Salisbury Cathedral when I took a tour. We looked down on Heath's old house and was surprised when the very elderly guide started on a long spiel about 'no one in Salisbury knows how Heath could afford one of the most expensive houses in the city together with a string of custom built racing yachts with professional crew that he campaigned around the world".

A string of yachts undersells it somewhat - did he not have a new one custom designed and built every 18 months? I also read in his book when he was racing he would have a helicopter in the air ready to air lift him should "Ministerial Matters" arise...

 

[sailorman]

I always wondered where Heath got the money from. Huge house, racing yachts on a prime minister's salary?

And the son of a humble Carpenter

 

[Poecheng]

I always wondered where Heath got the money from. Huge house, racing yachts on a prime minister's salary?

I likewise have pondered this question. Running an ocean racer and, more than that, having them built in the first place!

The house in Salisbury was not just expensive but should never have been sold away from the Cathedral although the latter point was, no doubt, the bringing to bear of massive, oppressive influence.

There is nothing in his background or career that could possibly explain one-tenth of the income necessary for doing what he did; he was from a modest background and nothing inherited. He was in politics very early on and therefore no career first.

The very significant amounts of money over such a long period of time is capable of being generated (at that time) in only a few ways - drugs, selling of influence/corruption and insider trading. If you rule out drugs (you do get caught eventually) and rule out corruption (the whiff is clear, it would still be hard to generate that sort of money and how long can you do it for?), I have concluded on no evidence whatsoever that he must have been insider dealing on a large scale.

Insider trading in those times was not illegal and yet, with a big enough stake and access to the correct information you could keep doing extremely well. Payments from stockbrokers to Heath would not have cause a problem with the security services in those days IMHO. It is hard to prosecute now with all the technical assistance and clear law - in those days (when it wasn't illegal and perhaps only frowned upon) it would be almost impossible especially against someone such as Heath.

I have ruled out the income related to the more lurid allegations against Heath as it is unsubstantiated gossip but, even were it true, it doesn't begin to account for the very serious money needed.

All IMHO

 

[Kukri]

Well, I know where some of it came from. My employers paid him a very handsome retainer (a multiple of my salary at the time) to do nothing except advise them on particular points a couple of times a year. This was perhaps the most enjoyable part of my job - drive to Salisbury, enjoy a truly memorable lunch (Heath was a very good host and something of a gourmet), retire to his study, listen to what he had to say, drive back, report.

I’m perfectly sure that we were not his only clients. A dozen would easily have run Arundells. I would not be surprised to learn that there were fifty.

We did the same with Al Haig, who was of course Dr K’s "gofer", because Dr K was too fly to use his own name for anything, but Al was a nice chap and good value in his own right. Mrs T did the same for one of our competitors to my knowledge and I’ve no no doubt that Tony Blair and John Major do it too.

This is not exactly “influence peddling”. I can say categorically that I was never asked to ask him to influence anyone. But my lords and masters did like to know things like “what might so-and-so’s position on such and such a question be likely to be? “who would be a good person to talk to about this?” “is this likely to go through at the UN?” and so on.

This was of course long after he had ceased to be Prime Minister (same goes for Thatcher, Major and Blair and no doubt Brown). I think that before he became Prime Minister he benefitted, in the same way that Winston Churchill did - and Churchill had a much more extravagant way of life) from having a group of wealthy friends who clubbed together to make sure that he had no financial concerns, because they wanted him to be able to concentrate on politics.

And, for what it's worth, he wrote two best sellers.

 

[itchenseadog]

An 8ft bow section of one of the Morning Clouds was mounted on the wall of Belsize Boatyard before Squeeker sold up.

 

[rich]

I don’t know which one it was, but one ended up in Jersey, owner was mr Benest, a super market owner.
It was renamed in French with the original name.

 

[wombat88]

All is revealed...Lot Number 14...

https://www.conservancy.co.uk/assets/files/cms_item/215/d-Auction_Catalogue_2018-DjUMFAusoT.pdf