Classic Boat – August 2019

(^30) CLASSIC BOAT AUGUST 2019
Saleroom
ELDRED’S, USA
Two pints of barge knowledge
Exhaustive research in the world-renowned hub of all sailing
knowledge – The Queen’s Head pub in Maldon, Essex – has added
insight to this rare barge painting by the renowned British artist
Montague Dawson (1893-1973), who is better known for his grand
clipper seascapes.
The location of The Stone Jetty is Bell Wharf Quay in Leigh
on Sea on the north shore of the Thames, local yachtsman Tommy
Mills assured me over a pint of Adnams. A pint of Carlsberg elicited
the view of boatyard owner and art aficionado Jim Dines that:
“They’re kind of generic mulies, but could do with a bit of sheer
and taller top masts.” All this knowledge for the price of two
pints. The painting is estimated to fetch $70,000-100,000 at
Eldred’s 25 July marine sale in Massachusetts, USA.
CHARLES MILLER LTD
Time ticking on Pigtail centenarian
“History will not thank us,” fumed auctioneer and yachting historian
Charles Miller after he came to a dead end in his exhaustive eorts to
discover whether the 5-ton yacht Pigtail, built by Stow & Son in
Shoreham in 1919, is around to celebrate her centenary this year. Can
CB readers help?
The quest was prompted by the inscription on this rare c1922
one-day deck watch consigned to his next auction on 5 November.
Lloyd’s Register ceased in 1980 when the 29ft yacht was registered to
Brian H Basset in Fowey, Cornwall. Registration on the Small Ships’
Register lapsed in 2002, possibly as a result of digitisation. Now there’s
nowhere to go short of trawling through county record oŒce archives.
“It’s ironic, we’re operating more in the dark in this digital age, than
in cataloguing the Victorian era,” said Charles Miller, who would like to
see the creation of an online register of classic yachts. The Thomas
Mercer deck watch, estimated at £1,500-2,000, would be a fine
accompaniment to a yacht of the period, and an even better
companion piece for Pigtail, should she still exist.
Prime ministers and presidents receive the odd fountain pen from fellow heads
of state, but when you’re the prince of the world’s most glamorous playground
your chums o˜er far superior tokens of appreciation.
One such was this Riva Tritone, Via, presented to His Serene Highness Prince
Rainier III of Monaco as a gift in 1958 by a wealthy Milanese textile
industrialist. Signor Gianoglio had ordered two Tritones but gave hull
No 62 to the prince as a mark of admiration and gratitude. At the
time, the near eight-metre (26ft) Tritone was the largest Riva
produced and dominated the luxury market in the Mediterranean
until the arrival of the Aquarama in 1962. With a select client list of
kings, princes, potentates and sheikhs, the Tritone became known
as the “boat of kings.”
Rainier enjoyed Via – and its prodigious twin 5.5-litre six-cylinder
Chris Craft engines, each producing 175bhp – with his actress wife Grace
Kelly and young family. So pleased was Rainier with his Tritone that he
invited Carlo Riva to his palace and the pair became fast friends, with Riva
granted the privilege of using the tunnel of Monaco Boat Services for boat
storage. Rainier kept Via for some years before downsizing to a Riva Junior.
Recently restored with its original engines, Via sold for €330,000 (£294,000).
Tritone trinket gift to Prince Rainier
RM SOTHEBY’S
ELDRED’S, USA
RM SOTHEBY’S
By Dave Selby
CHARLES MILLER LTD