Some things never change. Whatever it is you’re sailing, if you’re a fly on the bulkhead of the mess room you’ll hear the hands grousing about the ship. They’ll complain about the food, the skipper, the designer, the owners and throw in a few choice words about the paymasters too, but if any outsider dares to criticise their vessel, they’re on him like a whirlwind. Not being a psychologist I can offer no reason why this should be, but yesterday I was sailing on a boat that I’ve never known anyone curse, even in her earlier incarnations. I’m talking about the Le Havre pilot cutter, turned racing yacht, turned sail-trainer, Jolie Brise.
When I found myself in charge of her 40 years ago, her galley was up forward. Cooking was on an ancient coal stove manufactured by a respectable company called Esse, whose creation had fought the good fight for too long and which now generated more noxious fumes than heat. It’s true that the crew offered some choice comments as they staggered out of the fo’c’s’le clutching their throats, but nobody ever widened the complaints to the ship as a whole. So glorious was her progress through the water that we forgave her even the poison gas.
Denne historien er fra February 2021-utgaven av Classic Boat.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 2021-utgaven av Classic Boat.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Need For Speed
Saving lives at sea has always been bound to the speed of rescue, from the first rowing boats to the 60-knot, all-weather motorboats of today
ROW YOUR BOAT
There has been a steady rise in recreational rowing over the past few years, and the choice can be bewildering. What’s the right boat for you?
Traditional Tool
JOINER’S NAME STAMP
Classic misuse of a word
Real classic ownership involves rot, rust and reward
SCUD MISSILE
Herreshoff’s newly-restored Bar Harbor 31 Scud lit up the classic racing scene in the Med in 2020 with a double win at Cannes and Saint-Tropez
BOSUN'S BAG
PRACTICAL TIPS FOR THE TRADITIONAL BOATER
DOUG LEEN - Tugboat man
Vietnam vet, park ranger, dentist, small-craft conservator and tugboat skipper.... meet Ranger Doug!
CHANCE TO SAVE AN Albert Strange yawl
Chances at Albert Strange ownership don’t come up often, and Sheila II is the quintessential Strange – and one with a great history, too
AFFORDABLE CLASSIC Salcombe Yawls
A friend and I once decided that walking might make a change from sailing. So we set forth to walk from Branscombe to Bigbury, a 100-mile stretch of the south-west coastal path marked by knackering climbs and knee-wrenching descents.
Cardiff, Wales - Save The Elena Maria Barbara!
A rare, 18th-century schooner replica, restored to the tune of around £1 million, could be abandoned if a buyer is not found soon.
