LETTER OF THE MONTH
SUPPORTED BY OLD PULTENEY WHISKYNEW SERIESMain: Souvenirversion of the boatAbove: the open , a later
the outboard well and cabin version – note mainsheet horse are not as originalNEXT MONTH: CONTESSA 2674 CLASSIC BOAT APRIL 2018 CLASSIC BOAT APRIL 2018 75T
he Memory 19 belongs to a very specific and popular genre: the 19ft (5.8m) GRP-built, traditional-looking, trailable, gaff-rigged yacht,
sold more than 1,100 boats since its inception in GRP in 1980. The Memory 19 was the first of the genre, launched in GRP in 1976. She was designed by Tony exemplified by the Cornish Shrimper that has
Robinson for his own use, then built by Eric Bergqvist, then Liverpool Boat Company, and in more recent years by Salterns Boatbuilders. Collars is now the builder, but
the cost of a new one (over £30,000 by now) against the very good and plentiful examples on the used market, means none have been built in years.
cruising, but for daysailing and weekending it will come into its own with its huge cockpit and ample rig. The You wouldn’t buy the Memory 19 for long-distance
Memory 19 is a fast boat – in fact, they have won more races than any other design in OGA racing. The big rig means these boats go in very little wind and reach hull speed in as little as 10-12 knots with the right sails up.
“It’s quite easy to sail,” says Greg Dalrymple of Salterns, “but you do have to keep reefing it down.” You will find the Memory 19 in various guises. The
early boats, built by Eric Bergqvist and then the Liverpool Boat Company, were sold as bare hulls with deck and centreboard case for the buyer to complete, with varying
results. Besides their long (9ft) open cockpits, two full-length berths under the foredeck – once you had crawled in. Some had sliding hatches to improve access. they offered
boats, giving sitting headroom and some home-builders added their own cabins. The boats are also differentiated by their masts – about half of them are keel-stepped, the Liverpool Boat Co added a very small cabin to some
other tabernacled. The draught, while the keel-stepped mast negates the need for running backstays. tabernacle mast allows lower air
the Memory 19 as a complete boat in open and, later, cabin guise. The quality became consistent, and In 1996, Greg Dalrymple (Salterns) started building
numbered, which makes them easy to identify.a redesign of a 1922 Essex boat called internal, aided by a heavy centreplate. Originally that The ballast, as befits the boat’s workboat origins (she’s Brownie), is all
ballast was sand, but in the later boats, it’s lead pigs under the sole. The boat’s relatively flat bottom and 50 per cent ballast ratio give huge initial stability, and at heel, water iskept at bay by wide side decks. Later boats had internal buoyancy to comply with RCD. Power-wise, some have inboard diesels, most have an outboard
mounted on a transom bracket and some later boats have the outboard-in-a-well option, probably the best. boats – £5,000-£10,000 – so, if you can, stretch to a There is little price variation between early and late
late one. The cabin boats while keeping the cockpit benches at 6ft 6in, but the open boats are unique with their huge space for give more accommodation
day-sailing; they will sit four adults down one side. Around two-thirds of all Memory 19s are open. With the earlier boats, it’s a case of caveat emptor. There
are some good ones, but with all Memory 19s check the bobstay mast up (!)... and the centreboard, lifting gear, and eyebolt – simple to replace, and it keeps the
pivot pin. As always, consider a survey.stem and nearly straight transom make maximum use of length and, combined with the big, topsail gaff rig, The workboat aesthetics of gentle sheer, straight
make quite a sight under sail; and the angular cabin trunk is one of the best retrofits we’ve seen. You can see a Memory 19 in the 2001 Agatha Christie TV
movie Jonathan Dimbleby. About 140 have been built in total, and they are plentifully available. Expect to pay Evil Under the Sun, and past owners include
£10,000 for a nice, late boat or a bit more with a trailer.Three on the marketAFFORDABLE
CLASSIC
Memory 19MEMORY 19DESIGNED Tony Robinson, (^)
c1974LOA 19ft (5.8m) (^)
BEAM 7ft (2.1m) DRAUGHT (^) T
1ft 9in (0.5m) or 3ft 9in (1.1m)DISPLACEMENT
1.1 tonnesSAIL AREA 273sq ft
(25.4m 2 )
LESS THAN
£10K
AN OWNER’S VIEW“18 years. I looked at a Cape 19, which I have owned Greensleeves for
has much more room, but the Memory won for its very traditional looks. I have had huge pleasure from
crossed the Irish Sea four times and won the Cape Horn trophy, for a very rough passage from Brittany this little gafer, won many races,
to Essex. She sails like a witvery light helm and a cosy cabin: what more could one ask? After 100,000 miles at sea, including in a ch in light airs, has a
J-Class, she’s the most fun I’ve had.Roy Hart, Greensleeves, 1998 cabin model (late boat)”
£9,500 Hayling Island, theyachtmarket.com 2004, new winch, c/board wire. Lying Liz, cabin version, Salterns-built, £6,500 Co-built, 1978, new c/board, 7.5hp diesel, road trailer. Lying Devon, apolloduck.co.ukJess, cabin version, Liv Boat £9,995 2006, Mercury 5hp. Lying Cowes, IoW, theyachtmarket.com Heron, open version, Salterns-built,
INGRID ABERY PHOTOGRAPHY
58 CLASSIC BOAT MARCH 2018 CLASSIC BOAT MARCH 2018 59
THE DEBATE
B
runo Troublé has sparked a heated debate on the future of CIM as a rating system governing
become a central figure in the classic scene, has classic yacht racing in the Mediterranean. The former America’s Cup helm, who has
surveyed members of the French Association of Classic Yachts (L’AYFT), backed by association president Frederic Berthoz, on a range of topics including the
hiring of professional helms, the optimisation of yachts and the handicap or rating system.The Med circuit has raced under the rules of CIM –
the Comité International de la Méditerranée – for more than 20 years. Broadly speaking, CIM is distinguished from other systems in that it adjusts a yacht’s handicap
according to how ‘authentic’ that boat is, so an old boat with modern sails and fittings should receive a less favourable rating.
members: “CIM has reached its limits. It is arbitrary, imprecise, unfair and it lacks rigour.” However, Troublé says in his letter to the association
and that it fails to take into account key measurements such as displacement and headsail size. He is keen for the He claims the CIM rating system does not offer clarity
Med circuit to adopt IRC, the handicap system widely used in modern yacht racing, but with classic-specific clauses added, for instance to protect an old yacht’s
originality and to guard against optimisation.hired to helm private yachts during regattas, Troublé is In response to a growing trend for professionals being
also campaigning for an owner-driver rule. This might
CIM
IRC
see a penalty for yachts whose owners are absent during a regatta and a time credit for yachts that are owner-helmed. Almost 80 members of the association returned
the survey, with 80% calling for a change to the current rating system, many in favour of a mix of systems.Renaud Godhard, who is French representative of the
CIM Rule Committee, said the matter had been discussed by CIM, including the idea of adopting IRC. “We have analysed this initiative, which in principal is
good – to build a performance rule, adding an allowance to protect the authenticity of classic yachts, which is the basis of CIM’s success.
unfavourable for the moment, because the IRC rule is not very adaptable, notably for gaff-rigged yachts and “But the result of the discussions was largely
for older boats. However, we are listening and can start to simulate regatta representatives if and when we have enough data. For now we are preparing the 2018-2021
CIM rules based on some adjustments.”Yachts said: “There are many options and the IRC rating A spokesman for the French Association of Classic
system is just one of them. During the 2018 season, we are going to conduct a simulation of different rating options (IRC, ORC, Time on Time, Time on Distance
and possibly others) and study the results. We will then have a better understanding of each potential way forward. Depending on the outcome, we will consider
presenting those results to CIM, with a view to adapting the rating system. For 2018, the official rule is CIM’s.”The debate provoked a range of opinions from
VS
The future of CIM as a rating system governing classic yacht racing in the Mediterranean is under debate. Alice Widdows spoke to some key players
It is arbitrary, imprecise, unfair “CIM has reached its limits.
and it lacks rigour”BRUNO TROUBLÉ
notably for ga-rigged yachts “IRC is not very adaptable,
RENAUD GODHARD, CIM FRENCH REPRESENTATIVEand for older boats”
Bruno Troublé suggests ‘no professional helms’.
One of my best experiences on the water was
racing against Olympian and World Sailor of
the Year Saskia Clark at British Classic Week.
A friend remembers one thrilling day when a
rival 8-Metre was being helmed by Brad
Butterworth. It would be a shame to bar
amateur sailors from such excitement,
matching themselves against the world’s best.
It doesn’t happen in other sports.
Tom Maddingley, Hampshire
La Nioulargue was defi nitely a racing regatta but it
remains special in my mind because there was something
more important going on – the preservation of the boats.
Everyone understood that was the reason why we were
all there and who was on the podium ultimately was not.
This is the biggest way the whole thing has changed
since those days. It’s also exactly why they should not
change the rating rule from CIM. It is the reason to keep
CIM, which sensibly does not put all the emphasis on
winning. As someone said in your article, if you want to
race a Farr 40, do not buy a wooden yacht.
Martyn Benn, Toulouse
I have been involved with traditional boats for more than 45
years in so many dif erent ways in addition to our principal
business as traditional yacht brokers.
While our name declares our interest, over the past few
years we have found ourselves progressively more involved in
the question of what constitutes a classic boat. I admit to a
prejudice against the ubiquitous white plastic but on mature
refl ection I have concluded that my main objection is not the
material but the design.
For years very skilled men have laboured to mould
unwilling wood into some of the most beautiful artefacts ever
created by man and now that we have GRP which can be
moulded into any shape wanted, the result is some of the
most unfortunate boats ever seen on the water. In the early
days of GRP many designs hitherto built in wood were simply
built in the new material – Holman’s Twister or Peter Brett’s
Rivals for example – and many have beautifully varnished
wooden decks, coamings and cockpits so that it can be hard
to tell the dif erence at least at a distance. If we are to
exclude these, do we then exclude the many fi ne traditional
steel boats built in Holland in the last 100 years? And must
we include modern one-of designs built in epoxy/wood?
Simple exclusion of the material is not as simple as it seems.
Peter Gregson,
Wooden Ships International Yacht Brokers
Why all the fuss? There are
plenty of regattas with
dif erent rating systems and
dif erent atmospheres. The
classic world is bigger than
the handful of regattas that
are so often the focus of
attention. You can race in
your own way elsewhere.
Bo Karlsson, Copenhagen
Regarding the
owner driver rule,
does that bar my
son from taking
the helm? How
about my friend
who has fl own to
join us from
England. What
nonsense!
Chris Weirly
No more thrills
The higher purpose
GRP feeling
Look
elsewhere
Owner
driver rule
A ordable dreams
I have been enjoying your new series, ‘Af ordable
Classic’, and hope before very long you will include the
South Coast One Design, which is much in use today.
There are several boats for sale at under the £10K
mark. I have been a great fan of this 26-footer since I
fi rst went on board at the Boat Show when it was held
at Earls Court, and am pleased to see that it is still
actively campaigned.
T Penner, Eastry, Kent
Editor replies: The SCOD and many others like it are on
our list, but please do suggest other ‘a ordable classics’
we might feature, particularly if you are an owner.