68 CLASSIC BOAT JANUARY 2018
CLARE LALLOWCLARE LALLOW
never have done that for themselves, and by now the
yard needed no such advertisement, as work was rolling
in. If you visit the Sir Max Aitken museum in Ratsey’s
old sail loft at Cowes, under Britannia’s great suspended
gaff, amid a pirate’s hoard of yachting memorabilia,
there is a trio of long, shining mahogany tables, crafted
for Sir Max by the yard’s workshops. Clare was given a
blurry black-and-white photocopy and told: “Make
them like this!”
As you enter the museum, at floor-level there is a
model of Roundabout, with a simple plaque inscribed:
‘To Max from Clare and Sybil, Xmas 1968.’ For once
they had relaxed the rule, and their client had become a
friend.
Ian won two Round the Islands in Roundabout, as
crew, and went on to helm two more victories with
Edward Heath in Morning Cloud II and III. Heath
chose Lallows on the advice of both Uffa Fox, who had
a neighbouring yard, and Olin Stephens himself who said
he “could not do better for a wooden boat”. In his
sailing autobiography the ex-Prime Minister wrote:
“There is a remarkable intuitive understanding between
Clare and Olin which obviates the need for the usual
mass of detailed design drawings which are required by
most builders. Clare Lallow has built so many Sparkman
and Stephens boats that the merest indication of the
design is immediately translated into practical reality.”
Ian tells hilarious tales of himself and the jovial Prime
Minister skipping the security men and heading off to
share a private bottle of whisky in his flat. Heath enjoyed
sailing as an escape, affairs of state forgotten. While
building Morning Cloud III there was an IRA threat,
with always the chance of a bomb; if something set theAbove: Edward Heath at the launch of Morning Cloud IITHE EDWARD HEATH CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONSIR MAX AITKEN MUSEUM
Above: motor boat Humdrum; Max Aitken (centre) with Ian Lallow (right)