The fate of "Suhaili"

' On Friday 14 June 1968 Suhaili, a tiny ketch, slipped almost unnoticed out of Falmouth harbour steered by the solitary figure at her helm, Robin Knox-Johnston. Ten and a half months later Suhaili, paintwork peeling and rust streaked, her once white sails weathered and brown, her self-steering gone, her tiller arm jury rigged to the rudder head, came romping joyously back to Falmouth to a fantastic reception for Robin, who had become the first man to sail round the world non-stop single-handed. By every standard it was an incredible adventure, perhaps the last great uncomputerised journey left to man. Every hazard, every temptation to abandon the astounding voyage came Robin's way, from polluted water tanks, smashed cabin top and collapsed boom to lost self-steering gear and sheered off tiller, and all before the tiny ketch had fought her way to Cape Horn, the point of no return, the fearsome test of any seaman's nerve and determination. A World of My Own is Robin's gripping, uninhibited, moving account of one of the greatest sea adventures of our time. An instant bestseller, it is now reissued for a new generation of readers to be enthralled and inspired.'
 
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I was looking for it on Amazon, but I came across an old book by R K-J called 'Seamanship', so ordered that, it was only a couple of quid, never heard of it before.
 
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Seajet said:
' On Friday 14 June 1968 Suhaili, a tiny ketch, slipped almost unnoticed out of Falmouth harbour steered by the solitary figure at her helm, Robin Knox-Johnston. Ten and a half months later Suhaili, paintwork peeling and rust streaked, her once white sails weathered and brown, her self-steering gone, her tiller arm jury rigged to the rudder head, came romping joyously back to Falmouth to a fantastic reception for Robin, who had become the first man to sail round the world non-stop single-handed. By every standard it was an incredible adventure, perhaps the last great uncomputerised journey left to man. Every hazard, every temptation to abandon the astounding voyage came Robin's way, from polluted water tanks, smashed cabin top and collapsed boom to lost self-steering gear and sheered off tiller, and all before the tiny ketch had fought her way to Cape Horn, the point of no return, the fearsome test of any seaman's nerve and determination. A World of My Own is Robin's gripping, uninhibited, moving account of one of the greatest sea adventures of our time. An instant bestseller, it is now reissued for a new generation of readers to be enthralled and inspired.'
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Although I have twice read the book, and "A voyage for Madmen", that passage brought tears to my eyes and a big lump in my throat.

It sums up perfectly what this thread should mean to anyone who sails, has a pride in Britain and RK-J or runs a museum.

As said further above, the Yanks, those cousins across the pond, do it. We should too, for goodness sake, we are (were?) a maritime nation whose whole history has been made possible by "going to sea in ships; and stopping others getting a toe hold on our shores".
 
it is now reissued for a new generation of readers to be enthralled and inspired.'
Read more at http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...f-quot-Suhaili-quot/page5#A3qKYUbLM7ecszPJ.99

Really?
Is any new generation going to be enthralled and inspired by the fact that some bloke decided to sail around the world slowly on his own, way back in time?
The world, and the 'new generation' has moved on whether we like it or not. They have their own 'so called' heroes.
I have no doubt Suhaili will not attract much attention and sit in some corner rotting away and wasting money.
 
Robert Wilson said:
As said further above, the Yanks, those cousins across the pond, do it. We should too, for goodness sake, we are (were?) a maritime nation whose whole history has been made possible by "going to sea in ships; and stopping others getting a toe hold on our shores".
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Well do not tell anybody, because if the snowflake lefties in the universities & schools find out it will have to be written out of history & apologies issued forthwith
 
If there is no general public interest, perhaps the next best thing would be to set up a trust, as has been done for Arthur Ransome's 'Nancy Blackett'. Those of us who might like to see 'Suhaili' conserved (and used) could contribute by membership fees, buying souvenir mugs, fridge magnets, etc. :D
 
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For the survival of the boat it would be better for RKJ to sell it when he wants rid to another yachtsman who will look after it better than any foundation or committee .
 
Wansworth said:
For the survival of the boat it would be better for RKJ to sell it when he wants rid to another yachtsman who will look after it better than any foundation or committee .
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This has happened before and eventually it all gets too much for the private owner's resources, the vessel goes into serious decline and a trust has to be formed to save the vessel before she deteriorates to the point where she is too far gone to rescue There are numerous examples where this has happened, 'Cutty Sark'; 'Nancy Blackett'; 'Centaur'; 'Pudge'; et al.
 
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Suhali is definitely one of the most historic and famous British sailing yachts (there are also many historic sailing dinghies). More so even than Gypsy Moth etc. As such I hope she is maintained as a national treasure.

However, as a private boat owned by RKJ, it will be up to him to decide what he wants done with his beloved ship once he no longer has a use for it.
Who knows, he may even decide to adopt a Scandinavian approach and go out to sea in a blaze of glory. Hopefully not, and certainly hopefully not anytime soon. But his call on Suhali’s future.
 
Some solution will be found. Hopefully, a yachtsman will take her on. I reckon R K-J would be happy to see her voyaging into the future, in good hands.
There are many thousands of folk, myself included, using, cruising and voyaging on old wood boats, the maintenance isn't so onerous.
( It's being preserved out of the water that knackers them, unless big money is spent. Look at the Cutty Sark. Gyppo 4 etc.)

Imagine seeing Suhaili listed on Wooden Ships brokerage, you could wax lyrical with the blurb..
Historical provenance/bragging rights do attract buyers, eg Tom Cunliffe's old BCPC Hirta seemed a bit dear..

Against all this is that Suhaili is a bermudan ketch, ( not a gaffer), built by nameless coolies in India (not Campers or whoever ) and she is a heavily built plodder ( from the horse's mouth..), plus she's had refits inside, so no bite marks, bloodstains, empty rum bottles or discharged Lee Enfield cartridges in the bilges..

This is Britain's most historic yacht! Why are we even having this discussion?
 
Twisterowner said:
This has happened before and eventually it all gets too much for the private owner's resources, the vessel goes into serious decline and a trust has to be formed to save the vessel before she deteriorates to the point where she is too far gone to rescue There are numerous examples where this has happened, 'Cutty Sark'; 'Nancy Blackett'; 'Centaur'; 'Pudge'; et al.
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Greetings
may I venture to respectfully disagree a little? Yes, the 'serious decline' clearly can happen. But she's not a big boat, the effort and outgoings to keep her in shape would be relatively modest, surely? RKJ, with two helpers, recently replaced all the fastenings, without huge grants as far as I know..
My old relic (another W.Atkin double ender) is very similar, albeit a gaffer, and shows no sign of serious decline. There is no reason at all why she won't be cruising until the heat death of the universe. Regular use, keeping them in commision is the key to it. Fair winds
 
Prasutigus said:
Greetings
may I venture to respectfully disagree a little? Yes, the 'serious decline' clearly can happen. But she's not a big boat, the effort and outgoings to keep her in shape would be relatively modest, surely? RKJ, with two helpers, recently replaced all the fastenings, without huge grants as far as I know..
My old relic (another W.Atkin double ender) is very similar, albeit a gaffer, and shows no sign of serious decline. There is no reason at all why she won't be cruising until the heat death of the universe. Regular use, keeping them in commision is the key to it. Fair winds
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That's fine, as far as it goes, but the danger comes when the enthusiastic owner comes to the stage where he cannot carry on. If there is another enthusiast such as yourself ready to take over, with the skills and/or money to maintain her, all's well. If not, she goes into decline and eventually joins the thousands of other wooden boats quietly rotting away in a creek or boatyard. Most of the time it doesn't matter; we can't preserve everything; and a lot of old boats are not worth preserving. But if the vessel is of sufficient historic interest to be worth preserving, then some kind of group ownership seems to me to an acceptable way of achieving that end. Not only is an interesting vessel preserved but many people who have not the time or wealth to be able to become an individual owner can enjoy sailing and working on her.
 
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Twisterowner said:
If there is no general public interest, perhaps the next best thing would be to set up a trust, as has been done for Arthur Ransome's 'Nancy Blackett'. Those of us who might like to see 'Suhaili' conserved (and used) could contribute by membership fees, buying souvenir mugs, fridge magnets, etc. :D
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The Nancy Blackett Trust is an interesting one, which seems to demonstrate the value of this sort of arrangement. The 2016 accounts showed that the boat is valued at £29K, and that around £15K was spent during the year on "maintenance and sailing costs". But the income in 2016 was around £60K, and there are reserves of over £50K, so plenty to keep the boat in good nick.
 
pvb said:
The Nancy Blackett Trust is an interesting one, which seems to demonstrate the value of this sort of arrangement. The 2016 accounts showed that the boat is valued at £29K, and that around £15K was spent during the year on "maintenance and sailing costs". But the income in 2016 was around £60K, and there are reserves of over £50K, so plenty to keep the boat in good nick.
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Very interesting and encouraging.
 
"Suhaili" is not old, and is in good shape. I am rather more worried about "Lively Lady", which is in the hands of a committee. Both are teak built, so they ought to be just about immortal.

The oldest boat still going is the "Boadicea", built in 1808, and she got through her first 130 years without anyone even noticing that she was anything special; only in the last 80 has she become a minor celebrity.

These are all ordinary boats; what they need is enthusiasm. The "Nancy Blackett" Trust does work well (like many of us, I am a member) but she has had to be modified a little to keep her up to "coded" requirements and things like her Primus stove and her Baby Blake have been replaced by more "user friendly" equipment.

Of course, Ransome's books have a following, and what Nancy is famous for is sailing from Harwich to Flushing and back, which she can do most years, whilst we can't expect Suhaili and Lively Lady to keep on doing what they are famous for, because it takes too long, and has to be done singlehanded...
 
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Good point about "doing what they are famous for."
( HMS Belfast isn't ready for any convoy escort duty either. Although the way things are going...)
I know nothing about the Nancy Blackett, but I have crewed on Boadicea in a local gaff regatta, and she still goes out to dredge oysters under sail. And still in the same family. Not bad for a smack built 3 yrs after Nelson died!
There is a petition out there, aimed at Hannah Cunliffe, to bend the length rules, just this once, for Suhaili.( I saw it on Facebook but don't know how to link it here.)
I would like to link the petition on here. Can somebody do that, please?
 
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There is perhaps a conflict between keeping a yacht in working order and preserving it?
Most wooden boats are built such that they don't last forever.
There comes a point when if you want it to be kept, it should be dried out and put in a museum.

I don't buy the 'it's teak, it won't rot' argument.
As someone in Portsmouth said, the Foudroyant was teak, and that was rotten.
 
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