Classic Boat – September 2019

Saleroom

GUERNSEY’S

Illuminating Titanic rescue

Fable was confirmed as fact when a walking stick

with an electric torch emerged at auction from the

family of a Titanic survivor. The novelty cane could

become one of the most valuable Titanic artefacts

ever sold at auction.

In the 1955 account of the 1912 tragedy author

Walter Lord recounted in his book, A Night to

Remember: “Mrs J Stuart (Ella) White didn’t help to

row No 8 but she appointed herself a sort of

signalman. She had a cane with a built-in electric light,

and during most of the night she waved it fiercely

about, alternately helping and confusing everyone.”

Ella White’s novelty cane came under the hammer

on July 20 at Guernsey’s, USA, with an estimate of

$300,000-500,000. However, it could soar beyond

that. After all, a biscuit found in the pocket of another

Titanic survivor recently made $23,000.

RM SOTHEBY’S

Fast and spurious

Herter’s Flying Fish had to be seen to be believed – and

disbelieved too – certainly if you bought one in the 1950s on the

strength of the mail-order catalogue description, which gushed:

“Although this famous runabout looks like a space ship its design

is time proven. The forward part uses the proven design

principles of the boat Slo-Mo-Shun, North America’s fastest and

safest high speed boat. The rear uses the design principles of the

English Bluebird, the fastest and safest European fast boat.” Wow,

hadn’t they heard of Trading Standards!

Perhaps the least extravagant claim was that the Flying Fish

was “a great boat for water travel,” which is kinda what you’d hope.

It’s not recorded whether any customers muttered “Lying Fish,

more like,” when they took delivery, but this 1958 example of the

period fibre-glass curio also failed to meet market expectations

earlier this year. With Mercury Thunderbolt outboard and trailer it

made just $3738 against an estimate of $15,000-20,000.

Winnifred Sutton was a winner and so was her controversial half-rater,

appropriately named Wee Winn. Though derided as “scarcely

dignified,” the forward-thinking Nat Herreshoff design and the lady

racer became the talk of the Solent in 1892 with a tally of 20 wins out

of 21 races.

The extraordinarily modern fin-keel design from the board of the

legendary naval architect who went on to pen five America’s Cup winners

prompted tutors and students at the International Yacht Restoration

School to create a meticulous replica of the 23ft 10in keel boat from

original plans. Completed earlier this year, the Wee Winn replica was

auctioned at the Rhode Island school on 20 July with an estimate of

$50,000-70,000. This time benevolence is the winner, as all proceeds are

going to support the education of future boatbuilders at the school.

Winnie’s

Wee Winn

wins again

GUERNSEY’S

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GUERNSEY’S

By Dave Selby

RM

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