18 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2016TELL TALES
STUDIO CANALC/O JEREMY ROGERS LTDC/O ALEXIS ANDREWSTOTALLY THAMES FESTIVALLYMINGTON, SOLENT
Contessa 26
celebrates
half century
INTERNATIONAL^
Boats
on film
This 17 September, a fleet of Thames sailing barges will sail
from London's Docklands through Tower Bridge, then back
to West India Docks, where they will be
on display the following day. It forms part
of this year's Totally Thames festival.
See totallythames.orgAn icon of British yacht-building was celebrated during the last
weekend of July, when no fewer than 46 Contessa 26s gathered
at Lymington. They came from as far as Northumberland, Holland
and the west country; one owner came from Canada. There
were 51 boats present in total, more than one for every year of
their reign. The 25ft 6in (7.8m) yacht was designed by David
Sadler and Jeremy Rogers, based on the Folkboat, and launched
in 1966. More than 350 have been built in Britain, and more than
400 in Canada, all in GRP, and they remain popular to this day.
The Contessa 32, known for standing up to conditions in the
1979 Fastnet, followed. The rally, which was blessed by good
weather, started with a barbecue on the Friday, followed by a
cruise in company to Hurst on Saturday, then a dinner at the
Royal Lymington. A ‘relaxed’ race was held on Sunday, followed
by Sunday lunch in Yarmouth to end the weekend.You might, by now, have seen the new Swallows and Amazons film, but
don’t despair: there are plenty more filmic treats on their way soon.
Firstly, the multi-award winning documentary Vanishing Sail (above) is
having its first screening in Britain. The film, from Alexis Andrews, tells
the story of traditional boatbuilding in the Caribbean island of
Carriacou. The film will be shown in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, at
the Hebrides International Film Festival on 14 September. The film
follows one of the last master boatbuilders in the Lesser Antiles, Alywn
Enoe, practising a trade passed down through generations from
settlers who arrived in Carriacou in the late-18th century from Scotland
(hence the Lewis link). Approaching his 70s, Enoe decides to build one
last sailing sloop with the hope that his sons will continue the trade.
In other film news, the Donald Crowhurst film starring Colin Firth
(below) and Rachel Weisz now has a title – The Mercy – and a UK
release date of early January, 2017.
And lastly, a number of Dunkirk Little Ships and their owners have
been in Dunkirk, filming for the eponymous big-budget movie, set for
UK release in July 2017. Among the cast of this Christopher Nolan-
directed epic are Kenneth Branagh and James D’Arcy. Operation
Dynamo last featured in a movie in 2007, in Atonement.OBITUARY
Adam John Kerr 1933-
We are sad to report the death of Adam John
Kerr, chairman of the Cornish Maritime Trust, and
skipper of the Cornish lugger Barnabas, recently
featured on these pages. Adam was a master mariner
who trained on HMS Conway, a world-renowned
hydrographer and a transatlantic yachtsman. His last
adventure was sailing to this year’s big maritime
festivals in Brest and Douarnenez.LONDON
Thames barges bound for London
Contessas at 50, with (inset) Jeremy
Rogers (left) and association secretary
David Houlton