Category: Latest Classic Yacht News

Historical:

Sire of a dynasty of miniature fishermen beloved by generations of New England cruising yachtsmen.

Alden desired a vessel he could sail alone or with a few friends. A simple, easily handled rig, a hull of fairly modest size, and accommodations laid out for an amateur crew. An able boat that could be taken offshore shorthanded in safety and comfort.

“I wanted a cruising boat in which I could go anywhere along shore or off the coast, that would stay at sea in almost any weather, and at the same time, would not be too much to handle alone in case of necessity.”

Malabar was a stout yacht, with short ends, graceful sheer leading to a high bow. She had two cabin trunks, primarily to allow extra-strong partners for the mainmast. The first three Malabars are similar in concept, but 2 and 3 are sleeker and yachtier.

Resources

Down to the Sea: The Fishing Schooners of Gloucester, by Joseph E. Garland
John G. Alden and his yacht designs

Historical:

Mah Jong was named by Mr. Freeman after the Cantonese game of chance, because “since our whole adventure is a big gamble, we felt it appropriate.”

Designed by Sparkman & Stevens and built at the Cheoy Lee Shipyard in Hong Kong. Mah Jong was the collective dream of three American college friends who pooled their resources, selected one of the top yacht designers of the time, choose the most cost effective shipyard with access to some of the finest ship building material in the world, Burmese teak.

Mah Jong took just six months to build at a cost of $30,000 US dollars. Her shakedown trip was a 10-month, 15,000-mile cruise from Hong Kong, via the Suez Canal, Greek Isles and beyond. Her voyage was well documented in the 1957 issue of National Geographic. If that wasn’t enough adventure she then entered the 1958 Newport Bermuda Race, finishing in the middle of the pack with countless stories to last a lifetime.

Fast forward after a thorough restoration by Gannon & Benjamin Marine Railway Mah Jong is available for charter: Website

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

Owner: (1957) – Hovee Freeman, Providence, Rhode Island – Mike Merle-Smith, Oyster Bay, New York – Gilbert M. Grosvenor, Washington, D.C (president of the National Geographic Society)
Owner: Pat Ilderton

Historical:

Comments from The Framnæs Collection of Classic Yachts, Sandefjord, Norway:

In 1908 William Fife III designed and the boatyard Anker & Jensen, Norway built “12mR Magda VIII” for Alfred W. Larsen (all his boats were named “Magda”). She was designed and built after the 1.International Rule from 1906.

“12mR Magda VIII” is Norway’s first 12-meter and she is now the world’s oldest 12- meter still sailing!

“12mR Magda VIII” was sold and renamed “Magnolia” when Alfred W. Larsen ordered a new 12-meter for the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912. Larsen won the gold medal with “12mR Magda IX” which was designed by Johan Anker and built by Anker & Jensen.

“Magnolia” was in active use until the 1970s, but in very poor condition. The boat was rescued from midsummer bonfire in 1982 by Mr Barlag, Drøbak, Norway. Barlag conducted a time-consuming restoration, and launched the boat again in 1999. “Magnolia” attracted much attention and participated in several regattas, before she once more was brought ashore in 2005.

“12mR Magda VIII” has been a part of the Framnæs Collection since 2008 and underwent a final and extensive restoration in 2009 at Framnæs yard and was renamed “Magda VIII”.

“12mR Magda VIII” holds a valid 12-meter certificate and is used for racing and charter in Scandinavian waters.

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

Owner: (1908) – Alfred Larsen, Christiania, Oslo
Owner: (1912-1915) – Olaf Brown, Christiania, Oslo (renamed Magnolia)
Owner: (1919-1922) – Hans M. Vik, Tonsberg (Norway).
Owner: (1923-1924) – Ole Larsen Jr.
Owner: (1925-1936) – E. Blikstad, Oslo
Owner: (1937-1938) – Nielsen, Sandefjord (Norway).
Owner: (1939-1950) – C.B. Nielsen, Skien (Norway). Renamed Lucie VIII
Owner: (1951-1960) – Edward Gjoiberg, Oslo (Norway). Re-rigged Bermudian cutter
Owner: (1967-1968) – G.A. Sommerfeldt.
Owner: (1969-1974) – Ragnar Birkeland, Sarpsborg (Norway).
Owner: (1975-1976) – Edward and Lars Chr. Dahl, Nyren (Norway).
Owner: (1982-2007) – Trygve Barlag, Oslo (Norway).
Owner: (2008) – Einar Sissener, Sandefjord (Norway).

Historical:

Lynx is an interpretation of an actual privateer named Lynx built by Thomas Kemp in 1812 in Fell’s Point, Maryland. She was among the first ships to defend American freedom by evading the British naval fleet then blockading American ports and serving in the important privateering efforts.

At the outbreak of the War of 1812, the American Navy consisted of only 17 ships – eight frigates, two brigs, and seven assorted smaller vessels including a few schooners which saw service in the Barbary Wars. When a nation went to war, owners of private vessels were granted special permissions, called “letters of marque,” to prey upon the enemy’s shipping; thus, “privateers.” While rarely engaging enemy warships, their impact was felt by English merchants who insisted on warship escorts for their vessels. To perform this duty, warships were drawn away from engaging the scant American Navy and blockading our coast, and thus did the privateers, motivated by profit, assist in our national defense. Among the Baltimore privateers was the sharp-built tops’l schooner, LYNX. Privateers were so effective at running the British blockade and harassing the British merchant fleet that the ship yards, which built them, became primary targets for British revenge. The most notorious of these were at Fell’s Point.

But in order to get to them, the British force had to sail beyond Ft. McHenry, which protected the entrance to Baltimore’s inner harbor and Fell’s Point. For 25 hours on 13 and 14 September 1814, the British bombarded the fort with over 1500 iron shot and mortar shells,but were unable to achieve their goal. It was here, on the morning of 14 September that Francis Scott Key, a lawyer from Georgetown, DC, was moved to write the “Star Spangled Banner” which, 131 years later, became our National Anthem.

Although captured early in the war, the original LYNX with her rakish profile and superior sailing abilities, served as an inspiration to those ships that would follow.

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

Owner:
Owner: Lynx Educational Foundation, Newmarket, NH 03857 US

Tall Ships: The Privateer Lynx from SailFlix on Vimeo.

Historical:

Wiki – The boat’s name comes from Lulworth Castle, which belonged to her second owner, Herbert Weld, whose grandfather was a charter-member of the Royal Yacht Squadron. The Lulworth (1920) was built by the White Brothers’ Yard for Richard H. Lee, who wanted a racing boat to compete in the premier yachting league in Europe: the British “Big Class”.

Shortages in the supply of premium spruce after World War I meant that Lulworth’s original lower-mast was made of steel instead of wood. This constraint handicapped Lulworth greatly, leaving her trailing older, more famous Big Class racers like Thomas Benjamin Frederick Davis’s Herreshoff-designed schooner Westward (1910), HMY Britannia I (1893) and Sir Thomas J. Lipton’s Fife-designed 23mR Shamrock (1908).

Her gaff-rigged sail plan was updated several times to no avail, until America’s Cup naval architect Charles Ernest Nicholson redesigned the rig with a wooden lower-mast and adjusted the keel balance. By 1924, Lulworth’s flaws were corrected and she became an accomplished racer in all subsequent seasons of the Big Class: from 1920 to 1930, she took part in 258 regattas, taking 59 first places, 47 of which were after 1924.

Obsolescence and revival

The 1930 America’s Cup in saw the arrival of the innovative J-Class designs that made all gaff-rigged yachts obsolete. Despite The Lulworth’s early successes against the J-Class Shamrock V (1930) before the America’s Cup, handicapping rules in the Big Class were ended and Lulworth’s racing career was over. In 1947 Lulworth was saved from the scrap yard by Richard Lucas and his wife Rene. She was taken to Whites Shipyard for restoration and mud-berthed in the River Hamble where she served as a houseboat.

In 1990 her hull was shipped to Italy in hopes of a refit. A meticulous renovation was started in 2002 which saved 70% of her furnishings and 80% of her steel frames. The sail plan from 1926 was replicated to recreate Lulworth’s rig, which features the world’s tallest wooden mast. She was relaunched in 2006.
Lulworth immediately re-entered racing competition and subsequently won Boat International Award for the “Best refit of 2006”. Lulworth is the world’s largest cutter.

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

Owner/Guardian: (1920) – Richard H. Lee
Owner/Guardian: Herbert Weld
Owner/Guardian: (1947) – Richard Lucas