Classic Boat - May 2018

PPL MEDIA

CARLO BORLENGHI, C/O J-CLASS ASSOCIATION

The wooden Thames sailing barge

Cambria, built in 1906 by FT Everard

in Greenhithe, Kent, holds the

singular distinction of being the

last British commercial vessel to

carry cargo under sail only. These

days, with the revival in cargo

under sail by the likes of the Tres

Hombres and Grayhound, that will

need a bit of re-wording, but

Cambria's position in sailing

history remains. She is 91ft (27.7m)

long and weighs over 100 tonnes.

The Thames sailing barges used to

operate on Britain’s coasts and

rivers in their hundreds, but on one

day in 1970, skipper Bob Roberts

and CB’s Dick Durham, then 18

years old, sailed Cambria, laden

with 79 tonnes of British oak and

160 tonnes of wheat, into

Felixstowe – and the end of the

days of trading under sail. Read

Dick's account on our website.

“The ghost of Tore Holm might prevail

yet,” was our summing up after sailing on

the world’s newest J-Class yacht Svea last

year, referring to the fact that she was

never built in Holm’s lifetime, and also to

her potential to be the fastest J afloat, a

potential that was not fully realised in

racing last year. All that changed during

the St Barths Bucket Regatta in March,

when she won four out of her five races

against Topaz (2015) and Velsheda (1933)

to take her first overall regatta win. Svea

spent the winter at Newport Shipyard to

correct some teething issues that were

apparent in 2017, particularly a lee helm

problem. “We added some area to the

leading edge of the keel and extended the

length of the boom,” said project manager

and Svea tactician Charlie Ogeltree. In

1937, the boat was designed with a

12ft (3.7m) centreboard, not permitted

under current class rules. The yacht has

gained a small improvement in rating as

her wetted surface has increased due to

the additional keel area, and was seen to

be particularly quick downwind in her new

fettle. You can read our feature on Svea on

our website now – classicboat.co.uk

ST BARTHS, CARIBBEAN

Victory for Svea

in the Js

The first-ever winners of the Yachting

Journalists’ Association Young Blogger

of the Year were announced at the RYA

Dinghy Show in March. The brother and

sister team of Monique (15) and Ollie

(13) Vennis-Ozanne of Fareham,

Hampshire, won the prize – a GoPro

video camera from 1080 Media TV – for

their video of the 2017 Ovington Junior

Inland Sailing Championship. Clif Webb,

MD of 1080 Media TV, commended their

professionalism at a screening of the

film. Nominees included 16-year-old Ollie

Perkins, who wrote a weather forecasting

book, The Message of the Clouds,

published by Bloomsbury, aged 15.

LONDON

YJA Young Blogger

The last to carry

cargo under sail Cambria

1906

JAMES HAMILTON

Svea leading the

fleet at the recent

St Barths Bucket