New and Neglected Nautical Writing
Too fast for accurate navigation
The year was 1955 and H W Tilman was undertaking his first ‘sail to climb’ expedition, aiming to cross the Patagonian ice-cap in both directions—starting from the ‘other side’. This would necessitate a transit of the Magellan Strait; as Sir Robin Knox-Johnston puts it…
A mindful scrutiny
Gloria Wilson has been writing about, photographing and drawing the North Sea fishing industry for half a century. Of her drawings in particular she writes:In making the drawings, with my own photographs for reference, I have enjoyed a mindful scrutiny of the boats…
Forgotten and lonely backwaters
Tony Smith is now the keeper of Charlie Stock’s game little 16-foot gaff cutter Shoal Waters, and has made it his business to take her the length and breadth of the Thames estuary, and into nooks and crannies most of us have never heard of, let alone visited. One such…
Ghost ship of Grytviken
The Albert Strange Association (bear with me), in which I am heavily implicated, held its Annual General Meeting in Lincoln a few years ago, and our very engaging guest speaker was Dr Robb Robinson, a maritime historian at the University of Hull. His subject was…
Progress on Emerald
One of the reasons these blog posts are so infrequent is I have a few distractions, two of which are Albert Strange yachts. One, Leona (1906) awaits attention when I finally retire (or make me an offer). The other, Emerald (built 1937 to a design of 1910),…
Strange’s MIST shortlisted for Classic Boat’s Restoration of the Year
Readers will know we have a soft spot for the designs of Albert Strange and those who work to preserve them. One such was Woodbridge-based boatbuilder John Krejsa, who in 2006 took on the virtual wreck of Mist (built 1907) and performed a magnificent…
Tilman and ‘Viola’—lost footage unearthed
The BFI has recently unearthed and put online ‘lost’ colour film footage of a number of Tilman expeditions. It currently lacks any form of commentary and needs a bit of an edit. There are links to it on Bob Comlay’s website. Two reels feature a 1971…
A bit ‘Father Ted’
I became the new keeper of the Albert Strange canoe yawl Emerald in October 2017. Although she was functionally in very good order, her external brightwork (varnish) had suffered lately, as her owner of the previous twenty-five years had been unable,…
A Strange weekend on the Deben
The weekend of 1–2 September 2018 saw the largest ever gathering afloat of yachts designed by Albert Strange; this took place in idyllic conditions on the River Deben in Suffolk, with seven boats taking part. Woodbridge photographer Gill Moon gave chase on…
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The Yorkshire Coble
Perhaps the most curious craft which is found in use by the fishermen round the coasts of Britain is the Yorkshire coble [writes George Holmes in 1912]. Along with the Sheringham boat—referred to and described in a former number—this type is used for crabbing by the…
Too fast for accurate navigation
The year was 1955 and H W Tilman was undertaking his first ‘sail to climb’ expedition, aiming to cross the Patagonian ice-cap in both directions—starting from the ‘other side’. This would necessitate a transit of the Magellan Strait; as Sir Robin Knox-Johnston puts it…
An invitation I just couldn’t resist
Charlie Stock was a singular sailor, who was for sixty years a part of the scenery on his home waters of the Thames Estuary. In his last book, published posthumously, he describes and handles the local features and hazards meeting the small boat sailor, not only in…
Getting sea-value
My good friend Fabian Bush built me a (-nother!) boat a few years ago and we launched her together in 2014 at West Mersea in Essex. Teal is named for the ‘small dabbling duck’ in recognition of the direction my sailing was expected to take in my dotage, and she has…