Like Arthur, it has been a dream of mine for a long time to take some time out and sail for a period, to relax, re-energize and reconnect with what is important. I have done a lot of sailing over the years and a few of the trips Cheryl has been on board for part of the time, but I really wanted to share a special trip on our own boat with her. I have done a few yacht deliveries, one Cape to Rio Race in 1993,a leg of the Clipper round the world race, and several trips in the Med, Seychelles and Mauritius, skippering a 45ft Vickers for friends of ours, Hedi and John Matthews, who were kind enough to invite Cheryl along on these trips.
As much as I enjoyed all of these trips, I always hankered after my own yacht. Cheryl and I are both estate agents in Plettenberg Bay and the property market has not been kind over the past few years, so we certainly were not able to look at any fancy yachts at fancy prices. We have realised that we are not getting any younger and that if we are looking to do any serious sailing, it would have to be soon. So we have been looking and looking for the right boat.
I am an avid user of the Gumtree site. I have found amazing things and have met some wonderful people through my searches and purchases. So one day in December of last year, when I saw the advert, I was immediately interested. I contacted Sue, and after chatting to her, decided that I was definately interested, but couldn't travel to East London until January as we were in the middle of our hectic Christmas Season in Plett, the busiest time of the year and the time when we have to try and maximise sales.
GRAHAM
Sunday, June 2, 2013
ARTHUR'S DREAM
Arthur was very excited about the new rig and spent a long time honing and perfecting it. His dream was to sail around the world in Boundless. She was his baby and he spent all his energy on preparing for the epic journey. He sailed her with friends in and around East London in preparation for the voyage
Sadly, before this materialised, Arthur suffered a heart attack, from which he never fully recovered. He was never able to sail again and after a time Boundless was taken out of the water and moved to Arthur's home in Gately Street, East London, where she sat for many years. Arthur was looked after by his daughter, Sue who moved in with him until his death in 2011. She inherited the house and Boundless.
Not having any knowledge or inclination to sail, Sue decided about eighteen months after her father's death, to find a new home for Boundless. She was taking up a lot of space in the garden and Sue wanted to move on. This was easier said than done ...! Nobody wanted a half Western, half Chinese yacht and everyone who came to look at her was trying to calculate the cost of returning her to the original rig configuration. Eventually, in desperation, and without much hope, Sue placed an advert on Gumtree. People sell all sorts of things on Gumtree, don't they? But a yacht.......?
Sadly, before this materialised, Arthur suffered a heart attack, from which he never fully recovered. He was never able to sail again and after a time Boundless was taken out of the water and moved to Arthur's home in Gately Street, East London, where she sat for many years. Arthur was looked after by his daughter, Sue who moved in with him until his death in 2011. She inherited the house and Boundless.
Not having any knowledge or inclination to sail, Sue decided about eighteen months after her father's death, to find a new home for Boundless. She was taking up a lot of space in the garden and Sue wanted to move on. This was easier said than done ...! Nobody wanted a half Western, half Chinese yacht and everyone who came to look at her was trying to calculate the cost of returning her to the original rig configuration. Eventually, in desperation, and without much hope, Sue placed an advert on Gumtree. People sell all sorts of things on Gumtree, don't they? But a yacht.......?
Saturday, June 1, 2013
A Tale of Two Rigs
Let us start right at the beginning....
Boundless started her life as Curly Love, a Van Der Stadt Phoenix with a conventional Bermudian rig. She was built in xxxx and was purchased by Dr Arthur Middleton, a chiropractor, practicing in East London, in 1993. She was re-registered as Boundless.
Dr Middleton sailed her with the conventional rig for a few years and then made a radical decision to change to a Chinese lugsail.
Here is an excerpt from Dr Middleton's notes, dated 1996.
"Many people have asked me why I changed a perfectly good Bermudian rig for a Chinese Lugsail. I must admit that it was not an hasty decision. The modification started off as an attempt to reduce the size of the cockpit, some 3.5 metres of dancehall proportions, which prevented below deck access to the aft cabin.
The process of removing the cockpit didn't phase me until I observed the shoddy workmanship. The more I cut out, the more I had to cut out, eventually finishing up with just the hulland the fore part of the yacht still in one piece. I wondered what the hell I had done. It was at this stage that consideration was given to an easier handled type of rig. As a major refit was in the offing,it seemed the sensible thing to consider a modification to the rig at the same time.
Every book, article or magazine that compared rigs was read and digested and it eventually came down to two possibilities. (1) The Freedom Rig or (2) The Chinese Lugsail Rig. The cost of the Freedom Rig soon put it out of contention, being 10,000 US Dollars per bare mast. This left the Chinese rig. Many of you will remember Captain Mike Briant, who built a 50ft Ferro Cement Junk in his back yard in Amalinda, East London, in the early 70's. I kept in contact with him after his move to Cape Town as Fleet Manager of I & J Trawlers. I asked him about the possibility of marrying the Chinese Lugsail rig to the Western hull. He said that it was feasible, but not practical. Now I had problems. Then, in an English magazine I saw my lifesaving article about "Jester", a junkrigged Folkboat, sailed by Colonel "Blondie" Hasler, (a Cockleshell hero of World War Two), and his sailing experiences in single handed transatlantic crossings. He also designed a wind vane steering system. He and a Major Jock Mcleod had successfully designed and fitted a Chinese Lugsail to a Western hull. Boats like Galway Blazer, Ron Glas and many more were being built with very promising results.
Contact with the designer resulted in the delivery of a rather large portfolio on how to design and build a Chinese rig to fit your own hull.
A few years, blood, sweat and tears later and with a completely depleted bank balance, Boundless was relaunched. The rest is history. Her performance far excedes my expectations and the expectations of a lot of other people, most of whom can now readily recognise a Chinese Lugsail...................... especially from the stern.
With tongue in cheek and a very contented smile".
Arthur Middleton
Boundless started her life as Curly Love, a Van Der Stadt Phoenix with a conventional Bermudian rig. She was built in xxxx and was purchased by Dr Arthur Middleton, a chiropractor, practicing in East London, in 1993. She was re-registered as Boundless.
Dr Middleton sailed her with the conventional rig for a few years and then made a radical decision to change to a Chinese lugsail.
Here is an excerpt from Dr Middleton's notes, dated 1996.
"Many people have asked me why I changed a perfectly good Bermudian rig for a Chinese Lugsail. I must admit that it was not an hasty decision. The modification started off as an attempt to reduce the size of the cockpit, some 3.5 metres of dancehall proportions, which prevented below deck access to the aft cabin.
The process of removing the cockpit didn't phase me until I observed the shoddy workmanship. The more I cut out, the more I had to cut out, eventually finishing up with just the hulland the fore part of the yacht still in one piece. I wondered what the hell I had done. It was at this stage that consideration was given to an easier handled type of rig. As a major refit was in the offing,it seemed the sensible thing to consider a modification to the rig at the same time.
Every book, article or magazine that compared rigs was read and digested and it eventually came down to two possibilities. (1) The Freedom Rig or (2) The Chinese Lugsail Rig. The cost of the Freedom Rig soon put it out of contention, being 10,000 US Dollars per bare mast. This left the Chinese rig. Many of you will remember Captain Mike Briant, who built a 50ft Ferro Cement Junk in his back yard in Amalinda, East London, in the early 70's. I kept in contact with him after his move to Cape Town as Fleet Manager of I & J Trawlers. I asked him about the possibility of marrying the Chinese Lugsail rig to the Western hull. He said that it was feasible, but not practical. Now I had problems. Then, in an English magazine I saw my lifesaving article about "Jester", a junkrigged Folkboat, sailed by Colonel "Blondie" Hasler, (a Cockleshell hero of World War Two), and his sailing experiences in single handed transatlantic crossings. He also designed a wind vane steering system. He and a Major Jock Mcleod had successfully designed and fitted a Chinese Lugsail to a Western hull. Boats like Galway Blazer, Ron Glas and many more were being built with very promising results.
Contact with the designer resulted in the delivery of a rather large portfolio on how to design and build a Chinese rig to fit your own hull.
A few years, blood, sweat and tears later and with a completely depleted bank balance, Boundless was relaunched. The rest is history. Her performance far excedes my expectations and the expectations of a lot of other people, most of whom can now readily recognise a Chinese Lugsail...................... especially from the stern.
With tongue in cheek and a very contented smile".
Arthur Middleton
Saturday, May 25, 2013
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