CHRISTIE’S
SOLD £15,788
A 7.9m (26ft) 1930 Petterson,
unused since an £11,000
restoration and conversion to
electric power in 2006.SOLD £12,389
Well-equipped 11.3m (37ft)
1963 Dutch clinker Schokker
with 50hp diesel engine.SOLD £4,750
Sound looking c1950 two-berth
carvel Swedish weekender with
15hp Albin diesel engine.CLASSIC BOAT AUGUST 2016 33Saleroom
DAVE SELBY
Efforts by town leaders of a picturesque Paris
suburb to promote leisure yachting made a
considerable impression on Claude Monet,
tempting the artist to settle in Argenteuil on
the Seine and take to the water in a floating
studio, from which he painted more than 50
scenes of an iconic stretch of water that was
at the forefront of the new sport.
Just 11km (6.8 miles) west of Paris, the
thrusting burghers of Argenteuil encouraged
moorings, boat houses and other facilities on
this broad, deep stretch of water that
provided a perfect sailing playground. The
Paris Yacht Club, CVP, founded there in
1858, went on to became a prime mover in
the development of sailing: in 1877 members
built the first club house in France devoted
exclusively to sailing; the following year theyfounded France’s first sailing magazine, Le
Yacht; the CVP later hosted Olympic
regattas; and inaugurated the International
Cup, the future One Ton Cup (see p64).
Monet (1840-1926) painted this dreamy
scene in 1874, just weeks after the firstImpressionist exhibition, where the new art
was derided as “almost an insult to taste
and intelligence of the public”. Tastes
change. At an Impressionist sale recently at
Christie’s New York, Au Petit-Gennevilliers
sold for $11,365,000 (£7,842,000).Monet’s $11m
yacht club
impressions
CHARLES MILLER LTD
Figurehead hero
This 1862 figurehead from the
Emily Burnyeat is the sole
surviving witness to a
remarkable feat of
seamanship and
endurance. With the
128-ton brigantine damaged
in an Atlantic gale and all
crew disabled bar the
14-year-old cabin boy and
skipper, Captain Bale
managed to work his boat
almost single-handed
into the Mersey. Unable
to heave to for a pilot
he sailed on and ran
Emily Burnyeat
aground before
collapsing with
exhaustion, having saved
cargo, crew and vessel. The
brigantine disappeared from
records in 1896. The figurehead that
provides a precious glimpse of the
past was hotly contested in the sale
room, making £17,400 at Charles Miller
Ltd’s most recent London maritime auction.CATAWIKI
Classic boats online
It may sound like a Polynesian rig but Catawiki is a Dutch online
auction house that is making inroads into the classic boat sector.
With its recent launch in the UK, Catawiki’s weekly boat auctions
regularly feature classic vessels of all kinds, often at what appear to
be bargain prices. Specialist Age of Sail and marine sales are a
worthwhile hunting ground for everything from art and
instruments to spares, models and fittings.CHRISTIE’SCHARLES MILLER LTD