Author: admin

Historical:

Wherry Yacht Charter – Norada is named after a famous racing yacht of the era, and was the second wherry yacht built by Ernest Collins. He designed her to be small enough to pass under the low bridges at both Ludham and Potter Heigham following problems there with her sister wherry Olive. Ironically, after having gone to so much trouble, he saw Ludham bridge destroyed and washed away in the floods of August 1912 and rebuilt with more headroom.

The first of the Collins wherry yachts to be retired from the fleet (in 1950), Norada nonetheless avoided the common fate of becoming a houseboat. A few years after her retirement she was bought by a Mr Andrew, who renamed her Lady Edith in honour of his wife. They had spent their honeymoon on Norada when she was part of the Collins fleet. In 1964 she was bought by Barney Matthews, who sailed and then began to restore her before founding Wherry Yacht Charter with Peter Bower. After starting to take charters again in 1984, Norada reverted to her original name as part of her 75th anniversary celebrations in 1987.

Along with her sister vessels Norada was transferred to Wherry Yacht Charter Charitable Trust in 2004. After a period of fundraising, Norada was hauled out in 2006 and saw extensive hull work and interior restoration before being relaunched in 2011. Her restoration received significant funding from the Geoffrey Watling Trust and, specifically to replace her diesel auxiliary motor with an electric one, the Broads Authority Sustainable Development Fund.

Provenance (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Crew & Notable Guest):

• Guardian/Owner: –
• Guardian/Owner: – (1950-1964) – Mr. Andrew – renamed Lady Edith
• Guardian/Owner: 1964 – Barney Matthews
• Guardian/Owner: (2004) – Wherry Yacht Charter Charitable Trust

Resources

Wherry Yacht Charter Charitable Trust
National Historic Ships UK

Historical:

One of the earliest Sparkman & Stephens vessels buīlt using the strip-planking method (planks edge-nailed and glued to the adjoining planks.) Also noted framing was typically additionally spaced, because of the additional strength associated with this building technique, but in this case was spaced the same as traditional plank on frame construction.

Provenance (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Crew & Notable Guest):

• Owner/Guardian: Alec Brainerd

   

   

Historical:

James H. “Sham” Hunt on sailing on the International 410 Et Toi – “CRH and I only..age 13…raced in the New London to Marblehead Race in 1949 and won by such a large margin that the committee called the Canal to see if we had taken a short cut through it..no of course….this was when you had to check in before any transit was allowed! I doubt I added much but he had such stamina that a 24 hour vigil was a piece of cake.”

Thames Yacht Club members considered the International 410 “Nor’wester” – “A stylish double-ender, one of the most beautiful boats to ever grace the club fleet. Under sail or bare-poled at her mooring, she always drew comments from people impressed with her near-perfect lines.”

In the Fall of 1961, during the Off Soundings Club Regatta, Nor’Wester’s 4th owner, Charles LaCour and his three member crew were enjoying a comfortable lead with two other boats, they were way ahead of the rest of the fleet. Under full main and small jib with 20-knots of breeze, they were approaching Shagwong Reef buoy off Montauk Point, when a strong squall approached out of nowhere knocking down Nor’wester. A huge swell then filled the non-self-bailing cockpit, and within minutes the boat sunk. The entire crew were picked up and brought to Shelter Island, New York, their final destination point of the first day’s race. That night, still shaken by their ordeal, they returned back to New London, on the Orient Point Ferry.

Anemometer readings, from Montauk Point had clocked gust up to 79 miles per hour. NorWester had sunk in 55′ of water, with strong currents, LaCour decided not to salvage her, figuring reluctantly that they would be unsuccessful in there attempt to raise her.

Later that year, the Off Soundings Race Committee, mandated that all entries had to have self-bailing cockpits. The tragedy influenced the implementation of the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) laws that generated numerous maritime safety rules still in effect today.

Ownership History:

1947 – Et Toi – Ray Hunt
1950s – Nor’wester – Lawrence A. Chappell, Jr (joined the Thames Yacht Club Fleet)
1950s – Nor’wester – Ray Camp Norwich
1960 – Nor’wester – Charles M. LaCour

Known Racing History:

1952 – Thames Yacht Club Distance Race – First boat to finish and corrected time winner.
1949 – Off Soundings Race – (Skipper Lawrence A. Chappell, Jr – Crew, Dr. Fred Hartman, Stan Secora) Spring and Fall – 1st and 2nd place respectively
1948 New London – Marblehead Race (Ray Hunt) Et Toi beat the nearest competitor by 2 hours.

Ship Plans:

NOR’WESTER: Double ended auxiliary sloop, Design #410

Mystic Seaport
SHIPS PLANS
Plans set
Hunt, C. Raymond; Marblehead Yacht Yard
1947-08-04; 1948-10-11

4 sheets of plans for 35.92 ft. double ended auxiliary sloop, NOR’WESTER (built 1947), design #410 by C. Raymond Hunt. Dates on plans range from 08-04-1947 to 10-11-1948. Also known as the 410 class sloop.
SP.29.178

Historical:

NOR’EASTER IV (built 1926), design #281 by John G. Alden and re-rigged by L. Francis Herreshoff. Dates on plans range from 03-22-1926 to 1946

Provenance (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Crew & Notable Guest):

• Owner/Guardian: (1926) Grafton Smith, Boston, MA
• Owner/Guardian: Arthur J. Santry, Jr.
• Owner/Guardian: (1958) John White Winston Churchill, Vineyard Haven
• Owner/Guardian: Ted and Shelia Graves

Comments

Jacob B. Christophersen – March 6, 2017

Hi,
Fantastic yacht – love it…!
Best regards
/ Jacob

Shelia – July 10, 2017

Tks! – She is amazing. We are looking for her next owner. Tks! Shelia G.

Historical:

Mistress Quickly was named after a fictional character who often appeared in plays by William Shakespeare. Although Mistress Quickly was designed as a yawl she was converted into a sloop three years after her launching and remains this way today. She was designed to the International Cruiser-Racer rule, which stipulates that a vessel must be sturdy, fast and comfortable to achieve the Ocean races to which they were designed.

As testament to her design, Mistress Quickly finished fourth behind Tenacious, Condor of Bermuda, and Kialoa in the tragic 1979 Fastnet Race.

The Nerissa was built with the A1 Malta Cross standard of the Lloyds Register: the top quality. She is fully built in teak using a batch that was drying since more than 80 years! Her hull, her deck and her impressive dog-house (very difficult to build) are all of teak. All her floors (acacia built as the frames) are doubled with monel floors. The monel raises the full frame at chainplates and involves the two bilge stringers. A first quality building made thanks to the high craftmanship of her builder, the Beltrami Yard. Ing. Vincenzo Beltrami built during 50 years the finest boats in Italy. His Yard closed at his death, two years after the launch of Nerissa. In her fifty years of life, Nerissa has enjoyed the ownership of four persons, the present one, since more than twenty years already. Her most famous owner was the second, Count Alberto Marone Cinzano. She is a very fast vessel, capable of points of 13 plus knots and averages of 7 plus. Her present owner used her mainly for family cruises and club racing with friends. No doubt that with a good grew and new sails she can make a surprise in the classic races in the Med. She is in very good shape and very original. She was never restores, just kept in good mood for each owner and the present one has preserved her as she was twenty years ago. He just replaced the engine and the rig.

Provenance (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Crew & Notable Guest):

Owner: W. Whitehouse-Vaux
Owner: Count Alberto Marone Cinzano
Captain: Enrico Bugliani
Crew: George Chew
Crew: Bob Cooper
Crew: Peter Bowker
 

Comments

Alessandro Albertoni – September 9, 2019

Well, I have Worked in 1986 on board With Skipper Enrico Bugliani when owned by Conte Alberto Marone Cinzano.