95
CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2019
Send your letters (and any replies, please) to:
Classic Boat, Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place,
London SW3 3TQ
email: [email protected]
Tender for Norge
I am contacting you to find out if there could be any
interest in the UK for our boat.
On the starboard side of MY Philante there was a
motorised tender in davits. For one reason or another,
this boat was replaced with a new one around 1976 by the
Norwegian Navy. The original that was delivered in 1937
with MY Philante, that later became KS Norge (a present
from the people of Norway to King Haakon VII in 1948),
is in our possession here in Stavanger, Norway. Now, we
are simply trying to find out what to do with the boat and
need to get in contact with somebody who really knows.
Bent Rorvik, Stavanger, Norway
It seems that the tender is a Gelyce Class by Camper and
Nicholson. Bent is now in touch with Classic Restoration
Services in England, who restored Gelyce - Ed
Info on Liberty
Your reader [Mark Rolt, Letters CB368, ‘Any information on
Liberty?’] might like to look at the US East Coast Sound
Interclub class – it’s about the right vintage although the rig
looks slightly larger. There is plenty of information available
on the internet about this class.
Peter Teeling, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Paul Gelder
and Gipsy
Moth IV
I was sorry to hear about the
recent death of Paul Gelder
[Tell Tales, CB371]. Although
I didn’t know him, I certainly
remember watching Sir
Francis Chichester sail back
to Plymouth on our first
television in 1967, when I was
just eight years old. It was only
a few months after Donald
Campbell was killed in his jet
boat [Bluebird K7 – winner in this year’s Awards], another
moment that made a big impression on my young mind. I took
my son to see Gipsy Moth IV at some point in the mid-90s, at
which point the boat was in her Greenwich display pit. We had
a great day out seeing her and the adjacent Cutty Sark. I’m glad
that at least one of them has returned to element. I never knew
that the man behind it was Paul Gelder. May he rest in peace,
for the service he has done for all who love boats and the sea.
Michael Shaw, London
Memories of Carlotta
I was very pleased to see Carlotta pictured in the February 2019 issue of
your wonderful magazine [CB368]. For three years, each time my wife and
I took our Fisher Ketch across the Salish Sea (the Strait of Georgia)
to Westview Marina, Powell River, I had to visit Carlotta. She was so
beautiful, moored there. Taking note of the date posted aft (1899)
I would look her over from stem to stern and wonder at her story.
Thank you very much for sending me news of the fate of this grand
old gaff rig cutter. Just look at her now!
Rick Botting, Comox, BC, Canada
Carlotta earned the unique distinction of a double win in the recent 2019
Awards (see last issue CB371 and p12-13 in this one): Best Restoration over
40ft and Gstaad YC Centenarian of the Year. Carlotta’s owner Michael Wright,
along with the builders and many others, were there to collect their award.
C
B
A
R
C
H
I
V
E
S
C
O
M
M
O
N
S
W
I
K
I
M
E
D
I
A
COMES HOME
Carlotta
After a life-saving restoration carried out in two
continents, this 1899 cutter is back on the
waters she sailed 90 years ago
WORDS JAN HEIN PHOTOGRAPHS JOE MCCARTHY