Lightship travels the world
When Europa was built in 1911 (as Senator Brockes) by the Stülcken and Sohn
Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, it was for a relatively sedate existence as a
lightship on the River Elbe, a role she did not relinquish until 1977. A Dutchman
bought the tired 184ft (56m), steel-hulled ship in 1985 and converted her to the
glorious sailing barque you see here. Since her re-launch in 1994, she has
chartered various paying crew members to the furthest corners of the world,
including a world circumnavigation and regular trips to Antarctica.INTERNATIONAL
Raymond
Hunt
biographyThe achievements of naval
architect Raymond Hunt, best
known for the Boston Whaler
boats and developments in the
deep-vee planing hull, have been
recognised in a new book. The
book, from Tilbury House
Publishers and the New Bedford
Whaling Museum, is the first Hunt
biography, titled A Genius at his
Trade: C Raymond Hunt and his
Remarkable Boats. It comes 37
years after his death at the age of- He will be best known to CB
readers for his more moderate,
but equally enduring 1938 design,
the lovely 40ft (12.2) Concordia
Yawl, of which 103 were built. All
but one survive today and the
yacht has become a symbol of
American sailing.
FISHER 34
Owners'
website
One of the most
popular boats we’ve
ever covered, the
Fisher 34 MFV yacht,
now has a dedicated
owners’ website. It’s
a work in progress,
but is already
looking great, thanks
to the efforts of
Fisher 34 owner
Wayne Hopkins, who
bought Mistress Mine
(1979) early last
summer. Take a look
at fisher34.com.
C/O EUROPAC/O TAMESIS TRUSTThe Tamesis Trust has applied for a £2.5 million Heritage Lottery
Fund (HLF) grant to build the Thames Heritage Museum at
Beale Park near Pangbourne on the non-tidal Thames. The
museum aims to tell the story of Thames navigation from the
first mechanical propulsion in the 1800s to present times, and
the ramifications on the river and surrounding communities.
Objects will include historic Thames craft and early machinery
and other artefacts. The museum has strong local support, as
well as from many national organisations. Local MP Richard
Benyon, a keen supporter of the project, said “The history of
the River Thames is a much undervalued part of our nation's
heritage.”
A successful HLF grant does not fund the whole project, so
substantial partnership contributions will also be needed, and
work to raise these has already been started. The trust is keen
to consider additional potential exhibits or archives suitable
for the museum display and any other support in aid or kind.
Trust chairman Brian Smith said: “This is a once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity to establish a high class museum in a
lovely part of the Thames valley to exhibit and explain the
diverse history of Thames navigation. No other museum
covers the story of the development of the river launch which
has taken place on the Thames in the last 200 years.”
Key exhibits will be: Cygnet, an open Thornycroft river
steam launch, built in 1870 and probably the oldest
completely original river steam launch in the world; Donola,
an 1894 saloon launch that has served in many roles in her
long life; and Consuta, the Saunders umpire launch built in
1898, and probably the earliest surviving stitch-and-ply-built
vessel. Among those signed up to the project are The Beale
Park Trust and National Historic Ships.BEALE PARK, UPPER THAMES
Thames heritage
museum planned
Europa
1911Top: Mock-up of museum. Above left: Donola. Above right: Boatbuilding on the Thames