An owner’s dream to sail his wooden
yacht in the Round the Island Race
STORY BARRY PICKTHALL
S
he was under a tarpaulin shrouding her
decks, high and dry at the top of the slipway
at David Hillyard’s old yard at Littlehampton
in Sussex. With varnish badly peeled, she was
a sorry sight, but what beautiful lines! That’s
the trick classic yachts, whatever their state, play on us.
The yard owner caught me peeking wistfully under the
cover.
“She’s been abandoned,” he said. “You can have her
for £500 if you want.”
I didn’t quite bite his hand off. Having trained as a
boatbuilder, I could see rot had set in on the decks,
coachroof and cockpit, but the hull itself was sound. She
had an engine, a full rig stored in the shed and everything
from a Walker log to compass stowed in boxes under a
bench. Perhaps I should have taken more notice of the
rusting tool box, the set of overalls and empty lunch
box, left by the last owner, who had simply walked