Classic_Boat_2016-08

CLASSIC BOAT AUGUST 2016 83

BOATS ENTERED

LAUGHING GULL
Built 1949
Type Sparkman & Stephens yawl
Design Olin Stephens
Built Jakobson of Oysterbay
Length on deck 13.4m
Length overall 14.5m
Displacement 12 tonnes
Beam 3.2m
Draft 1.9m
Sail No 136
Hull colour White

History
S&S design number 844 in 1948 was for Percy
Chubb II, a wealthy insurance broker and
Commodore of the NYYC. Olin was given a free
hand but did have to provide the 7ft Chubb
with standing headroom below. Articles on
her construction and specifications appeared
in Yachting Monthly and The Rudder in the
same year. Rutger ten Broeke, her last owner,
is an author and journalist, writing for nautical
magazines.

MARELLE
Built 1965
Type Offshore racing yacht
Design McGruer
Built Deacons, Hamble
Length on deck 11.1m
Length overall 11.1m
Displacement 8 tonnes
Beam 3.2m
Draft 2m
Sail No 335
Hull colour Varnished

History
Beamier than a McGruer 8-M
cruiser-racer, but with similar lines,
Marelle was built for Honor Spink
and raced for a few years. She was
cruised in Canada and Europe,
then moved to the Weldon family,
who kept her at Suffolk Yacht
Harbour. She was then sold to Ben
Pester, who sailed her to Cape
Horn, aged 75. His book Through
the Land of Fire documents the
trip. More about her history at
marelle-classicyacht.blogspot.co.uk

MAIDA

Built 1932

Type 6-M

Design JG ‘Wee John’ Stephens

Built Alexander Stephens

Length on deck 10.6m

Length overall 10.6m

Displacement 4.5 tonnes

Beam 2.1m

Draft 1.5m

Sail No K1

Hull colour Cream

History

Maida infamously lost the Seawanhaka Cup to

Jill in 1932. She had a varied life until a 1980s

refit was done by Peter Wilson in Aldeburgh.

Since 2010, she’s been well maintained by

the current owner and kept at Suffolk Yacht

Harbour.

MASCOTTE

Built 1904

Type Bristol Channel pilot cutter

Design Thomas Cox

Built Thomas Cox

Length on deck 18.2m

Length overall 22m

Displacement 55 tonnes

Beam 15m

Draft 3.1m

Sail No N (mainsail), BY (staysail)

Hull colour Black

History

She was the biggest pilot cutter

of her time, 10ft (3.1m) longer

and twice the displacement of

her predecessors. She worked in

and around the Bristol Channel

until 1915 when the onset of steam

cutters consigned the sailing

cutters to history. She was refitted

as a yacht between the wars

before settling on the Medina mud

as a houseboat. Since 1994 she has

been raced, cruised and chartered

in northern European waters.

LEOPARD

Built 1959

Type Bermudan sloop

Design Morgan Giles

Built Morgan Giles

Length on deck 13.1m

Length overall 13.1m

Displacement 14 tonnes

Beam 2.9m

Draft 2.1m

Sail No 1125

Hull colour White

History

In the post-war years the Navy commissioned

seven identical yachts to be built by Morgan

Giles. The yachts were used by the Seamanship

Training Craft Division for officer cadet and

midshipman training afloat, to replace some

of their Windfall yachts. They were sold into

private ownership in the 1980s and David

Foster has reunited three of them. They are now

available for fleet charter, providing the unique

opportunity to match race in classic yachts.

MARIQUITA

Built 1911

Type 19-M gaff cutter

Design William Fife III

Built W Fife & Sons

Length on deck 29m

Length overall 38m

Displacement 76 tonnes

Beam 5.2m

Draft 3.6m

Sail No C1

Hull colour White

History

Mariquita was one of four British

19-Ms and saw racing success

as soon as she was launched,

Commissioned by Athur Stodart

and first captained by Edward

Sycamore, she raced constantly

until 1913, when she turned to

handicap racing. At the start of

WW1, she was sent to the fjords

of Norway. She eventually found

her way to Pin Mill where she was

used as a houseboat until Fairlie

Restorations restored her.

MATAMBU

Built 1960

Type Bermudan sloop

Design Robert Clark

Built Moody’s

Length on deck 11.2m

Length overall 11.2m

Displacement n/a

Beam 2.7m

Draft 2.5m

Sail No K1726

Hull colour White

History

A one-off design commissioned

by an architect, Matambu is a

cruiser/racer, originally with a

fractional rig and plywood decks

sealed with impregnated cascover

cloth. She is of carvel teak planks

on rock elm below the waterline,

with mahogany above. A feature

of this boat is there’s a great deal

of brightwork to maintain, and

she has a completely varnished

cockpit. She sports four large

Anderson steel winches.