Oyster News 52 - Oyster Yachts

NEWS 

O YSTER® 

NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF OYSTER - DOUBLE QUEEN'S AWARD YACHT BUILDERS 

ISSUE NO 52 

APRIL 2004 

OYSTER - WORLD LEADERS IN DECK SALOON CRUISING YACHTS 

OYSTER 82 

FIRST SEA TRIALS 

LONDON 

OWNERS 

DINNER 

ARC 2003 

REVIEW

NEWS 

O YSTER ® 

NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF OYSTER - DOUBLE QUEEN'S AWARD YACHT BUILDERS 

OYSTER 82 

FIRST SEA TRIALS 

LONDON 

OWNERS 

DINNER 

ARC 2003 

REVIEW 

ISSUE NO 52 

APRIL 2004 

OYSTER - WORLD LEADERS IN DECK SALOON CRUISING YACHTS 

EDITOR 

LIZ WHITMAN 

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 

ROGER VAUGHAN 

CONTENTS 

FROM THE EDITOR 

We publish Oyster News 

four times a year and we 

know from our readers 

that the articles they most 

enjoy reading about are 

the contributions from 

Oyster owners. If you 

have a story to tell or 

information about cruising 

in your Oyster please let 

me know. Photographs 

are always welcome with 

or without a story. 

Email: liz.whitman@ 

oystermarine.com 

FRONT AND BACK COVER PICTURES 

The just launched Oyster 82, Cygnus, on sea trials 

Photos: George Johns 

Oyster News is published 

by Oyster Marine Ltd. 

Oyster News is for promotional purposes only, 

privately circulated, and cannot form part of any 

contract or offer. Views, details and information herein 

are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher who 

will not be held responsible for the consequences of 

any error or omission. Pictures and illustrations are 

liable to show non standard equipment. 

2 www.oystermarine.com 

16 OYSTER 82 BUILDER'S TRIAL 

RICHARD MATTHEWS ON THE FIRST SAIL OF CYGNUS 

22 CAPE VERDEAN INTERLUDE 

STEPHEN THOMAS 

28 KEEPER OF THE CASTLE 

PROFILE OF OYSTER OWNER LORD AMHERST 

ROGER VAUGHAN 

36 ARC 2003 REPORT 

41 THE 2004 OYSTER FLEET 

42 PARALYMPIC SAILING TEAM REPORT 

HANNAH STODEL 

44 THE ROLLS-ROYCE OF YACHTS 

BRIAN LONG 

46 CRACKERJACK – THE DELIVERY 

EDDIE SCOUGALL 

54 JUST LAUNCHED 

56 LATE SEASON IN GÖKOVA BAY 

ROZLYN WALSH 

3 FROM THE CHAIRMAN 

RICHARD MATTHEWS 

4 NEWS ROUNDUP 

8 LONDON DINNER 

OWNERS PARTY ON THE THAMES 

10 PERSUASION OF A SCEPTIC 

KATHERINE SAVAGE

The first voyage of the season for many owners 

was aboard the 200ft Thames River cruiser, 

chartered for our London Boat Show Party. 

The views from the Thames of London by night were only surpassed 

by the generosity of our guests who, in less than an hour, helped us 

raise £40,000 in support of Hannah Stodel and crew who, sponsored 

by Oyster, will represent Great Britain sailing in the Sonar Class in this 

year’s Paralympics Games. 

On 24 February, the Oyster crew braved the British winter for very 

successful Builder's trials aboard "Cygnus", the first Oyster 82 

afloat. There’s a report in this edition but for us, with five 82's on 

order and a substantial investment in production tooling, it was a 

milestone moment. 

I can remember doing trials on the Oyster 46, our first Deck Saloon 

cruising yacht, and thinking "wow" this is a big yacht! Twentyfive years 

later, I had that same feeling sailing the new 82, only this time "big" 

had moved up a couple of gears. 

In over a quarter of a century, the 82 incorporates some huge 

advances in design and technology, while some defining features 

remain, like a single skin hull, keel stepped mast and a rudder hung 

on a fully protected skeg. Speaking of steering, during the Builder's 

trials, designer Rob Humphreys snapped me sailing at 8.5 knots to 

windward in 23 knots of apparent wind with just two fingers holding 

the wheel. How’s that for balance! 

It looks like we will have a great turnout for the upcoming UBS Oyster 

Regatta in the BVI in April and we look forward to covering that event 

in our next issue. 

Our thanks to those owners whose contributions feature in this 

edition. Please keep them coming. Meanwhile, as usual, we wish all 

our readers fair winds and good sailing. 

Richard Matthews 

Founder and Chairman 

Oyster Marine 

2004 DIARY DATES 

UBS OYSTER REGATTA – BVI 

5 - 10 APRIL 

OYSTER PRIVATE VIEW 

ST KATHARINE'S YACHT HAVEN, 

LONDON 

22 - 25 APRIL 

OYSTER REGATTA NEWPORT 

10 - 13 JUNE 

UBS OYSTER REGATTA – COWES 

6 - 10 JULY 

IJMUIDEN BOAT SHOW 

31 AUGUST - 5 SEPTEMBER 

SOUTHAMPTON BOAT SHOW AND 

OYSTER BROKERAGE SHOW 

10 - 19 SEPTEMBER 

OYSTER OWNERS DINNER 

ROYAL SOUTHERN YACHT CLUB 

11 SEPTEMBER 

NEWPORT BOAT SHOW 

16 - 19 SEPTEMBER 

UBS OYSTER REGATTA – PALMA 

29 SEPTEMBER - 3 OCTOBER 

ANNAPOLIS BOAT SHOW 

7 - 11 OCTOBER 

OYSTER OWNERS PARTY 

ANNAPOLIS 

7 OCTOBER 

GENOA BOAT SHOW 


HAMBURG BOAT SHOW 


PRE ARC OYSTER PARTY FOR 

OWNERS AND CREW 

18 NOVEMBER 

ARC START – LAS PALMAS 

21 NOVEMBER 

2005 DIARY DATES 

LONDON BOAT SHOW 

6 -16 JANUARY 

OYSTER OWNERS DINNER LONDON 

8 JANUARY 

DÜSSELDORF BOAT SHOW 

15 - 23 JANUARY 

MIAMI BOAT SHOW 

17 - 21 JANUARY 

www.oystermarine.com 

3

Photo: Jos Vaes 

NEWS ROUNDUP 

BIGGEST ISN’T ALWAYS BEST BUT… 

Oysters are the largest yachts at London and Düsseldorf Shows 

The Oyster 66 was the largest sailing yacht at the London 

Boat Show held in January. Attendance was up by about a 

third at the new Excel venue in Docklands and with around 

100 new exhibitors, visitors agreed the show was both 

bigger and better. 

Meanwhile the show at Düsseldorf was bigger still, over twice 

the size by visitor numbers and floor space. The two shows had 

one thing in common in that again Oyster were at the top of the 

list with the new 82 being the largest sailing yacht on display. 

The 82 "Cygnus" set off under power from our SYS yard in 

Southampton, but the fun really started when she reached 

Rotterdam at the mouth of the Rhine. Here we heard the 

revelation that, due to abnormally low rainfall, there was 

insufficient water up-river for the 82 to float! What to do? That 

large chunk of carpet was going to look awfully empty with 

nothing but a reception desk and a few posters! 

Harald Flack - IN MEMORIAM 

We were very sad to hear that, during February, Captain Harald Flack from 

Hamburg passed away after a prolonged illness. 

"Britho", Harald's much loved and well travelled Oyster 46, extended to 49', 

was the first large cruising Oyster we sold into the German market. Harald, 

who owned "Britho" for 17 years, taught us a lot about the expectations of 

the many German owners that followed. 

Harald, his wife Marian, daughter Britta and son Thorsten, are all old friends 

of Oyster and many owners will recall Britta, who worked for Oyster at Ipswich 

for two years as a sales consultant. Britta and Thorsten have continued their 

relationship with us, helping to staff German boat shows. 

To hell with the expense - the show must go on but how? 

Schmidt, better known for their fleet of ocean-going tugs, came 

to the rescue with a huge flat-bottomed barge. "Cygnus" was 

loaded at Rotterdam and made it to "Big Willy" the name given 

to the 400-ton travel lift that runs from the bank of the Rhine 

straight into the exhibition hall. Thankfully by the end of the 

show the water level in the Rhine had risen to allow "Cygnus" to 

head home across the North Sea without incident. 

Biggest isn’t always best but when it come to the new 82 we 

figure size does matter! 

The new Oyster 82 is believed to be the largest series 

production sailing yacht ever built in the UK. A report on our first 

sea trial appears on page 16. 

Harald, Britta and Thorsten Flack

GETTING A LIFT 

Fox’s Marina on Suffolk’s beautiful River Orwell is the Oyster home 

base and, although no new yacht construction takes place on site, 

all new Oysters are rigged, tested and commissioned here. 

Fox’s was the first yard in the area to install a travel lift and, following 

Oyster's acquisition of the marina in 1985, a second hoist was 

installed. To enable the yard to handle the new Oyster 82 and the 

upcoming 72, which are both too wide for the original lift dock, a 

totally new lift dock has just been commissioned and a new travel lift 

installed. Oysters are not the only yachts to make use of Fox’s 

facilities, since a wide range of yachts and small commercial vessels 

are always on site for repairs, refits, spray painting, osmosis 

treatments, rigging and electronic upgrades. Non-Oyster owners are 

welcome and over 200 vessels regularly winter ashore in Fox’s care. 

For workshop and general enquiries contact Fox’s Yard Services 

Director Ralph Catchpole on +44 1473 689111 

Email: ralph.catchpole@oystermarine.com 

Westerbeke 

and Surrette 

to support 

US Regatta 

Westerbeke, the US maker of 

generators, and Surrette, suppliers to 

Oyster of batteries, have joined Raymarine, 

Pelagos Yachts and Cruising World as sponsors of the inaugural 

Oyster USA Regatta, to be held out of Newport, Rhode Island from 

10-13 June. Entries are coming in and we welcome enquiries from 

any owners who will be in the area and would like to take part. 

Email: liz.whitman@oystermarine.com 

NEWPORT 

REGATTA 

STAFF NEWS 

World-class companies never stand still and we are pleased 

to announce the following additional or replacement 

appointments and staff changes that have all taken place 

since our last edition: 

JOHN MUNNS 

Well known to many owners, John 

was our Commissioning Manager 

before taking off to sail the world 

with his wife Ira as the skipper of an 

Oyster 80. John has been managing 

Fox’s Marina and is now rejoining 

Oyster to take charge of an "under 

wraps" new yacht project that will 

be announced later this year! 

STEPHEN PARKINSON 

With over 16,000 miles as a skipper and crew under his belt, 

Stephen joins us as our new After Sales Assistant with a wealth of 

blue water sailing experience, having most recently participated in 

the 2002 ARC. During that event, Stephen played a key role in the 

May Day operation resulting from a fatal man overboard incident 

on another yacht. 

KIM SOMERVILLE 

Joining us as our new Assistant 

After Sales Manager, Kim is no 

stranger to us as her father is on 

his third Oyster! 

HAMISH BURGESS-SIMPSON 

Formerly in charge of warranty, Hamish 

continues as second in command of 

After Sales, but will use his very 

considerable depth of experience to 

look behind warranty and unscheduled 

maintenance issues and operate as our 

Technical Consultant. He will also be 

responsible for our Customer Care 

Programme and introducing the 

new Maintenance Log system for 

Oyster yachts. 

HOLLY NEILSON 

Our new Sales Secretary has joined us from Linklaters. 

Holly sails on an Oyster Smack but we don’t expect it 

will be long before she gets a taste for our kind 

of Oyster. 

PETER BIRD joins the busy Oyster in-house 

Design Team, and has a depth of experience. He has 

worked in the USA with Robb Ladd, Trinity Yachts, 

and more recently with Seaway Group in Slovenia. 


5

NEWS ROUNDUP 

Bora Bora Raft Up 

Bora Bora is one of those Pacific islands that most yachtsmen would want 

to visit. Although well developed as a tourist resort and becoming more so, 

it still captures the imagination and offers some really nice anchorages. As 

an example of making the world their Oyster this year, we hear three 66’s 

are heading for a Bora Bora rendezvous. David and Linda Hughes with 

Miss Molly, Stephen and Catherine Thomas with Magic Dragon and Brian 

Hall OBE with Forever Young are all expected to be there. Miss Molly and 

Magic Dragon (Hughes & Thomas) are planning to cruise to the Antarctic 

via Cape Horn – more of that in future editions. 

Oyster 66 Miss Molly 

Purple X joins the COA 

Chinese New Year 

Macau Race 2004 

In spite of severe cold weather warnings, 37 

yachts turned out to brave the chilly 

conditions for this year’s COA Chinese New 

Year Macau Race, from Hong Kong to Macau 

and back, including the Oyster 49 Purple X 

owned by Raymond and Carolyn Lee. 

Despite a rather severe handicap and with a 

family crew on board, which included the 

Lee's two young sons, Purple X had a great 

race, but didn't feature in the prizes Sailing 

is a way of life for the Lee family, as later this 

year Joe and Jing Lee (aged 12 and 14) will 

be sailing for the Hong Kong youth team in 

the Laser 4.7 World Series in Italy and we 

wish them every success in that event. 

For more information about the Hong 

Kong Macau Race see: wwwcoahk.org

Miami Vice 

Strictly Sail is the sailboat section of 

the long established Miami 

International Boat Show. Held 

between 12-17 February, it gave 

the Oyster USA team and a lot of visitors 

from the US East Coast and across the 

States, a chance to escape the winter and 

get some sunshine. This is the show where 

you can see 100 mph powerboats and a 

selection of fishing gear that would have 

Jaws running for cover. The sailboat section 

has grown and includes a reasonable 

selection of European and US builders who 

can be split into two groups – those that 

have shoal draft options and those that wish 

they had! Most Florida sailors need shoal 

draft for the Intercoastal Waterway, the 

Bahamas and Florida Cays, which are all 

predominantly shoal water areas. And yes – 

all Oyster yachts offer a shoal draft variant 

and you will see a fair number of Oysters in 

Florida waters. 

20,000 MILES 

FOR OYSTER 55 

We were delighted to hear from Japanese 

owner, Jyunya Hirose, who recently 

completed 20,000 miles cruising in his Oyster 

55, Magelen Major VII. Jyunja, who took 

delivery of his new 55 in 1996, marked the 

occasion with a party, in Japan, for friends 

and crew and passed on his gratitude to 

Oyster for "A wonderful sailing yacht, that 

has shown excellent performance and 

durability on our long ocean voyage". 

Thank you Jyunja. 

A Lucky Escape 

Is Marigot Bay a safe place 

for Cruising Couples? 

ROBERT AND SUE DAVIS HAD A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE ABOARD 

THEIR OYSTER 406 SUNDAY'S CHILD. 

Overnight on 14 February 2004, while at anchor in Marigot Bay, St Lucia, they were boarded and 

attacked by two natives who swam to the yacht and climbed aboard while they slept. As a retired 

couple, Robert and Sue were overpowered, tied up and robbed of what cash they had on board 

at knifepoint. The assailants made off in the yacht's tender, which was later recovered. 

Altogether a highly traumatic experience that could so easily have ended in tragedy. 

With hindsight Robert offers the following observations: 

• Be aware that the boat boys or guys going around on surf boards with a few bananas for sale 

are not always selling bananas (Quote from the local constable) 

• Our companionway hatch was open. Make it difficult/impossible for these guys to get below. 

• We had a reasonable amount of cash on board, I dread to think what would have happened if 

we had not had enough to satisfy these guys. 

• Do not have a light on in the cockpit; it works entirely to their advantage. 

COMMENT FROM RICHARD MATTHEWS 

Oyster News aims to be an upbeat publication so we are wary of publishing ‘bad news’ 

stories but we felt we owed it to Robert and Sue Davis to sound a note of caution to 

other owners. If any Oyster owner would like a full transcript of Robert’s report, 

email: liz.whitman@oystermarine.com. If any owners know of other attacks please let us 

know. On a personal note don’t underestimate the strength and determination of Robert's 

attackers. As it happens I have known Robert, an ex British Marine, since childhood – 

he is not the kind of guy that would just roll over to have his tummy tickled! 

The ARC finishes in St Lucia and lots of yachts visit Marigot Bay. The beach, with a palm tree 

background, has served for many an Oyster photo shoot. It’s the location where Rex Harrison 

‘talked to the animals’ in the movie Dr. Doolittle, hence Doolittle’s is the local bar. 

www.oystermarine.com 7

With the London Boat show moving to the new 

Excel Exhibition Centre in Docklands and 

Oyster’s 30th Anniversary year at a close, in a 

change from our usual Royal Thames Yacht Club venue, this 

year's boat show party on 10 January, for Oyster owners, 

was held aboard the "Silver Sturgeon" a 200ft Thames River 

cruiser. Over 250 owners and guests, representing over 50 

Oysters, joined the party starting from St Katharine's Pier by 

the River Thames' best-known landmark, Tower Bridge. 

Matt and Caroline Sheahan, 

David Hulston and Naeema Ali, 

Kenneth and Lesley Fogg 


Andy Green, Hannah 

Stodel, Richard Matthews, 

Stephen Parks 

Hamish Burgess-Simpson, Linda Hellings, 

John and Susan Dietz

Alan and Sue Brook, Andy Green, Gavin and Charlotte Stewart, Robert Matthews, 

Candice Matthews, Ian and Amanda McCracken, Rupert Knox-Johnston 

LONDON DINNER 

The evening started with a champagne reception kindly sponsored by Declan O’Sullivan’s 

company, Pelagos Yachts, who offers a cross border leasing VAT mitigation scheme. 

To illustrate the international flavour of the evening, overseas guests included Jonathon and Jane 

Edwards, owners of the new Oyster 66, Voodoo, on display at the London Boat Show; John and 

Susan Dietz, Bill and Linda Hellings, Tom and Stephanie Poynter, Robert and Mallika De Haven, 

John and Cheryl Ellsworth and Mike and Donna Hill who are all from North America, and Mr and 

Mrs Jacques Poli, Rolf and Yolanda Herlig, Hans and Margareth Kampers and Tormod and Elena 

Wangen from Europe. 

Specially honoured guests included Erick and Heather Reickert from the US, who completed a 

circumnavigation in their Oyster 55 Escapade and David and Linda Hughes who sailed around the 

world in their Oyster 55 Miss Molly and are now doing it again on their 66 of the same name. The 

furthest travelled was David Hulston from Australia who was the overall winner of Oyster’s New 

Zealand regatta in his Oyster 53 Southern Aurora. 

Towards the end of the evening, Richard Matthews introduced Hannah Stodel, an 18 year old 

sailor, who has been sponsored by Oyster for the last five years. Two years ago Hannah was 

voted Young Sailor of the Year. In 2003 Hannah and crew set their sights on a place in the 2004 

Paralympics in Athens, sailing for Great Britain in the Sonar Class. With sponsorship from Oyster 

and help from the Royal Thames Yacht Club, who provided the boat, against all odds and 

expectations Hannah and her crew, through sheer determination, practice, blood, sweat and 

tears, soundly beat a much favoured and more experienced crew to win their place. To put this 

achievement into perspective, Hannah, who has no right forearm, trims the jib and calls tactics. 

She sails the boat with John Robertson who is paralysed below the waist and Stephen Thomas 

who has no legs. 

Also present at the dinner was Stephen Park, Olympic Team Manager for Britain’s Royal Yachting 

Association who spoke about the Paralympics and Britain’s chances of winning medals in the 

upcoming Olympics. By the way, at the last Olympics, Britain was the top sailing nation. 

Hannah Stodel, Bob and June Beeston, Adrian and Sue 

Bouckley, Robert and Marianne Hill, Declan O'Sullivan, 

Cora Cleary and Chris Packard 

Richard Matthews went on to explain 

that Hannah and her crew needed to 

raise £40,000 to meet their campaign 

budget and offered to match, pound for 

pound any donations from Oyster 

owners and guests pledged on the 

night. Faced with a genuine cause and 

Hannah herself looking owners in the 

eye, thanks to the generous spirit of 

those present, including a significant 

number of ‘non Brits’, £20,000 was 

pledged in less than 30 minutes! As 

promised, Oyster matched this amount 

and so it was that, with Hannah literarily 

weeping tears of joy, £40,000 was raised 

during the course of a thoroughly 

enjoyable occasion. 

Oyster News will bring reports of Hannah 

and crew in the build up to the 

Paralympics (see page 42 in this issue) 

and the games themselves. 

George and Jane Johns 

Alan and Sarah Harmer, John and Jane Edwards, 

Neil and Kate Cresswell 

Robin Campbell, 

Lani Heuer, Robert 

and Mallika de 

Haven, Tom and 

Stephanie Poynter 

Our thanks go to the many individuals and 

companies who so generously pledged 

donations, including: 

Lewmar, Windboats Marine, Pantaenius, 

Successful Solutions Wealth Management, 

Bob and June Beeston, Microsolv IT 

Consultants, Mike and Elinor Leach, Dick and 

Sally Morgan, John Dietz, Pelagos Yachts, 

Akeler, Heath Lambert Group, Krik and Anna 

Krikorian, Bird Luckin, Michael and Serena 

Stevenson, Bobby and Phylidda Lawes, 

Raymarine, Hood Yacht Spars, Marshall 

Sutton Jones, Yachting World, Mr and Mrs 

William F Hellings, Sir Peter Davis, David and 

Linda Hughes, David and Mabel Blacklaws, 

Dolphin Sails, Minton Treharne & Davies Ltd, 

Andrew and Diane Gerrard, Counterpoint 

Projects Ltd, Humphreys Yacht Design, E C 

Landamore, Mr S Jones, Erick and Heather 

Reickert, Pimsic, Roy Clegg, Mr Lewis

OWNER REPORT 

The Persuasion 

of a Sceptic… 

By Katherine Savage, Oyster 62, VENTURE 


an affair to remember 

Katherine and Pete Savage with grandaughters Lucie and Leslie Oyster 62, Venture, Class Winner in the Marion Bermuda Race 

Denizens of the deep conspired for many years with Mal de Mer and Mother Nature to 

diminish my full participation in sailing. Until, Oyster Yachts came into my life. 

It was love at first sight. "Now this is a boat I could spend time on." Unknowingly, powerful 

and prophetic words, spoken by me at the Annapolis Boat Show several years ago. I (the 

sceptic) had just gone aboard TALISMAN, an Oyster 6l. I was exhilarated by the airy raised 

deck saloon, and the spaciousness of the aft cabin. The headroom was but one of the many 

features that impressed me. Peter (the sailor) was exhilarated by the fact that his wife 

(whose preferred mode of travel is at an altitude of 32 thousand feet, with accommodations 

following at a Four Seasons or Relais and Châteaux recommended hotel) expressed interest, 

let alone delight, in any sailing yacht. And, so our love affair with Oyster Yachts began.

"I attribute whatever modest 

advances I’ve made in 

becoming a sailor, in large 

part to the sense of security 

I have onboard VENTURE. 

I’m no longer fearful. I feel 

safe and comfortable, 

which allows me to share in 

my family’s love of sailing" 

Prior to that auspicious day in Annapolis, 

Peter and I had spent a few years casually 

window-shopping for the perfect sailboat. It 

was entertainment. There was no particular 

hurry due to Peter’s time-consuming 

business commitments and my reluctance to 

make any purchase at all. Bareboat 

chartering for a week or two every year was 

just about right for me. Peter and our 

daughters, Tina and Renee, are competent, 

eager sailors. I, on the other hand, was an 

excellent passenger and good sport, thank 

you very much. I enjoyed exploring different 

ports and revelled in my daughters’ shared 

love of sailing with their father. All of which 

rendered my previously mentioned challenge 

an inconvenience, easily managed for brief 

periods of time. Living aboard for extended 

periods was a different matter all together. 

Window-shopping as entertainment for Peter 

was one thing. Actually making a purchase 

was quite another. Even after we thought 

we’d found the perfect boat, the timing 

wasn’t right and I was still more than a bit 

sceptical. So, we did what 'type A' 

Americans do so well – we researched while 

we waited. Our investigations were very 

thorough indeed. So much so that we had a 

few serious, and very tempting, flirtations 

with other yacht builders. However, after 

doing our homework we decided an Oyster 

was in fact what we wanted. We were ready 

to make our commitment to build. An aside: 

I’ve adopted as my theme song (everybody 

needs a theme song don’t you think?) a 

lovely country western ballad titled "I Can Be 

Persuaded" sung by a Russian-American 

band called, "Bering Strait". Persuaded! 

Brilliantly persuaded, by a master - The 

Sailor. Persuaded, but with a few lingering 

reservations. No matter! I signed on and 

proceeded enthusiastically. 

When we learned we’d have to wait 22 

months for our dreamboat, a stir of mixed 

feelings competed for my initial enthusiasm. 

Peter was crest-fallen. I was a bit relieved. I 

thought it might be an omen. Perhaps we 

should revisit our desire to build a home in 

the Colorado Rockies. Then I heard myself 

suggesting we use the time waiting for our 

boat to be built travelling abroad. Peter called 

it a brilliant idea. I called it speaking before 

thinking. It was decided! And so, when Peter 

made his bi-monthly, then monthly, visits to 

Ipswich and Southampton, we added side 

trips to other parts of the UK and Europe. It 

was a wonderful plan, which added 

immeasurably to our enjoyment of the build 

experience. It was in fact a brilliant idea! 

We gradually included family and friends on 

these "inspection" trips. Some actually came 

to the shipyard with us, while others 

rendezvoused with us elsewhere. Tina and 

JD Lytle and Renee and John Savage, had 

an opportunity to share their ideas, both on 

and off site, and made valuable contributions 

to our project. Lucie, age 3 and our only 

grandchild at the time, had a wonderful visit 

exploring Southampton Yacht Services 

shipyard and our unfinished yacht with Peter, 

much to her protective mother’s distress and 

her grandfather’s delight. Tina needn’t have 

worried. The only mishap during their visit 

was the loss of Dee-Dee Dolly, Lucie’s 

favourite doll. Andrew Martin, our Project 

Manager, gallantly came to the rescue by 

collecting Dee-Dee Dolly from Hintlesham 

Hall, where she had last been sighted. We 

were told she ran up quite a bill enjoying all 

the hotel had to offer, before Andrew 

retrieved her and sent her packing back to 

the states. Our hero! 

Speaking of our Project Manager, I must say 

he was an absolute delight to work with. He 

was professional yet friendly, and always 

patient. He saved we poor Yanks from 

ourselves more than once. Whenever I made 

a suggestion he thought ill-advised there 

would sometimes be a pregnant pause, 

The Savage family 

celebrate Venture's 

success in Newport 


OWNER REPORT 

"I have nothing to gain from 

singing the praises of 

Oyster Yachts except the 

pleasure of sharing good 

news the way a convert 

might, and encouraging 

those faint of heart, as I 

once was, to give it a go" 

Peter, Leigh Brown and Katherine 


A ride in Venture's 

tender, adVenture 

a gentle smile, then the comment "Well, 

Katherine that’s an interesting idea 

but…well…it’s a bit…well…power boatie". 

POWER BOATIE! Even I knew that was not a 

good thing for a highly esteemed SAILING 

yacht. To what depths had I fallen and could I 

possibly redeem myself? 

For sound reasons, I had to forsake granite 

counter tops in the galley. I did manage to 

get, among other items, full-length mirrors on 

the backs of each cabin door. Peter managed 

several items on his list as well. At one point I 

overheard him say, "Andrew, you’re 

absolutely right. I understand completely and 

appreciate your point of view. However, I 

have one wife, two daughters, one 

granddaughter (with more to follow) and very 

dear friends, all of whom are high 

maintenance. Their comfort is of paramount 

importance to me. Therefore, I absolutely 

must have the high capacity fresh water 

pump." 

Well, here I am, eighteen months after taking 

delivery of VENTURE, our Oyster 62. 

Katherine, sceptical landlubber turned 

enthusiastic yacht owner, and Admiral of the 

Fleet – Peter’s moniker for me always spoken 

with a twinkle in his eye. My response is 

usually "That would be more impressive dear 

if our fleet consisted of more than one yacht, 

a tender and two life rafts." 

So far, we’ve managed to juggle many of our 

business commitments while staying on 

board. We’ve had help from all of the high 

tech computer and communications 

gadgetry, which are both a blessing and a 

curse, but mostly a blessing. Peter raced 

VENTURE to Bermuda with a wonderful crew, 

placed first in class, and had a fabulous time 

in the process. I met him in Bermuda for the 

celebrations. The revelry continued a few 

days later in Newport, Rhode Island for the 

4th of July festivities at our yacht club. Family 

and friends joined us there for a long 

weekend. Lucie now quickly approaching 6, 

was almost as happy as her grandfather. 

Bubbling with joy, she said several times "I 

knew they’d win. I just knew it!!" Out of the 

mouths of babes.

Her little sister Leslie and cousin Campbell, 

two and a half and two respectively, are too 

young to care much about any of that. They 

just want to explore every nook and cranny, 

push all the buttons and twirl all the knobs at 

the navigation station, climb the companion 

way endlessly, and hang from the rigging. In 

addition, of course, to having their turn 

"driving" VENTURE. Lucie will always ask 

politely for preferences. "Should I drive the 

boat in circles or straight?" Peter and I, diligent 

in selecting a safe location for this escapade, 

allow them to steer in whatever direction they 

can manage at the time. Riding in and 

"driving" adVENTURE, our tender, is also a 

thrill for them. They, and we, love gunk holing 

as well as cutting loose and going as fast as 

safety allows. Needless to say, life jackets are 

always a must. 

I believe I had as much fun planning and 

preparing the boat for our granddaughters as 

those brave sailors preparing for an ARC. I 

find myself smiling whenever I see the hardto-find 

small nautical quilts I chose especially 

for them. I loved selecting the books for their 

onboard library, all of which are about the 

adventures of sailing and life on or below the 

sea. Often, little girls are the heroines in these 

books. The little bears I collected dressed in 

sailor attire even give Peter a chuckle. The 

focsl is Lucie’s domain. She loves her 

"bunkie bed". Who wouldn’t? Fun quilts and 

soft pillows in cheerful colours, sailor bears, 

and interesting books make for a cosy 

retreat. I also supplied a flashlight for use 

after lights out, an accommodation I can’t 

remember making for her mother and aunt 

when they were little girls. So far, it’s been 

very effective. No scary creatures sighted yet. 

Although I suspect there have been more 

than a few books read after taps. 

Securing sleeping toddlers was not as easily 

managed. After an exhaustive and futile 

search for the appropriate bedding, I 

surrendered. I was often told, sometimes with 

a whiff of disapproval, that very young 

children do not belong on yachts and would 

be best left at home. Granted, a yacht is not 

the most child-friendly environment for little 

ones. However, the Savages travel en famille. 

Necessity being the mother of invention, 

Peter and I designed a canvas "crib" for the 

port cabin. The local sail maker happily 

constructed it for us. It attaches to the lee 

cloth eyebolts, which are already in place, 

works beautifully and stows easily. 

I mention potentially boring stories about my 

granddaughters only to illustrate one 

doesn’t have to circumnavigate the globe or 

undertake high adventure to justify and fully 

enjoy the luxury of an Oyster. Although 

Oyster Yachts have an impressive history of 

many such trips, the primary considerations 

in planning a major voyage are the same as 

less ambitious outings for family and friends 

Kit Williams of SYS, Peter, Renee and John during a visit to see Venture in build at Southampton Yacht Services 

- safety, reliability, and comfort. Our Oyster 

meets those requirements and more. It has 

accommodated adventure seekers, as well 

as more restrained, fun loving, day sailors. 

In fact, I attribute whatever modest 

advances I’ve made in becoming a sailor, in 

large part to the sense of security I have 

onboard VENTURE. 

We’ve sailed the length of the east coast of 

America including the west coast of Florida a 

couple of times and made more than a few 

friends along the way. Correction, Peter and 

his buddies do the more difficult blue water 

sailing. I meet them at whatever destination 

we’ve planned and enjoy the day sails and 

easy overnights to interesting ports. My sea 

legs are getting stronger every day, and I’ve 

only had one or two encounters with my 

nemeses. My ultimate goal is to make some 

if not all of those transits with Peter next 

year. Did I really say that? 

Although I’m not yet as seaworthy as I would 

like, I am improving and my skill set and 

vocabulary is gradually expanding. Among 

other things, I’ve learned to call things by 

their proper names – most of the time. Not as 

many " You know, dear, those orange 

THINGIES over there". I’ve stayed on board 

alone rather often, and managed quite well 

with the yacht’s systems. I even lived to tell 

the tale of some thunderstorms, 

accompanied by serious rock ‘n roll swells 

rippling through the anchorage, while I was

OWNER REPORT 

"The primary considerations 

in planning a major voyage 

are the same as less 

ambitious outings for family 

and friends - safety, 

reliability, and comfort. Our 

Oyster meets those 

requirements and more." 


alone – an unimaginable situation prior to 

Oyster. I handle the dock lines, drop and pick 

up and secure a mooring – preferably with 

my sailing gloves on. OK, I’m still a bit prissy! 

But a girl does have to protect her manicure. 

Absolutely best of all, I’m no longer fearful. I 

feel safe and comfortable which allows me to 

share in my family’s love of sailing. There was 

a time in other boats when the site of large 

waves or a large wake would make me 

cringe. No more. Our Oyster slices thru 

wakes and waves like a hot knife thru butter. 

While heeled and catching more than a bit of 

ocean spray, I can now confidently cuddle 

my granddaughters in my lap, as we squeal 

with delight "YEEEHAAW! Ride ‘em 

cowgirls". Terrific fun! These are modest, 

perhaps even laughable, achievements. 

However, for me, and those who know and 

love me, they are major accomplishments. 

When we first began this adventure our 

family and friends were a little apprehensive 

for me, as was I. Our younger daughter, 

Renee, only half teasing, asked her father if 

his intention was to "keep Mom drugged for 

weeks at a time" for the extended periods we 

planned to be on board. Tempting as that 

might have been for him, fortunately it wasn’t 

necessary. 

My girlfriends thought I’d gone loopy for 

agreeing to live on board a boat – any boat – 

even for a little while. One or two still think I 

need rescuing, as if a cult had cast a spell on 

me, which quite possibly it has – the cult of 

happy Oyster owners. Their husbands, also my 

good friends, gave me kudos for attempting 

what was for me a gutsy challenge. I suspect 

they felt in their hearts, as I did, I would regain 

Playing at the Nav station Venture's beautifully fitted and spacious saloon 

my senses in short order, and return home to 

my much loved California. After all I’m not 

now, nor have I ever been the rough and 

tumble tomboy. I appreciate my comforts and 

small luxuries. Much to everyone’s surprise 

including my own, I’ve managed quite happily. 

Truth to tell, one doesn’t need to be rescued 

from our Oyster 62. 

From the very beginning Peter treated this as 

OUR project, not his private, self-indulgent, toy. 

He took my suggestions and preferences very 

seriously without being condescending, and 

quietly went about implementing them. He 

respected the fact that this was a major

adjustment for me and went out of his way to 

make everything as lovely and comfortable as 

possible, to the point where beautiful flowers 

arrived for me on VENTURE the morning after a 

difficult night I’d spent alone onboard at the 

mooring. He gently encouraged, instructed, 

and never forced. He allowed my natural 

curiosity and desire to learn evolve on its own. 

His sense of humour, and the fact that he is not 

now and never has been a screamer, smoothed 

out potentially difficult situations. We’ve had 

only one, ok maybe two, "Don’t take that tone 

with me!!" conversations. In short, Peter’s 

abilities, which are considerable, combined 

with a superior Oyster yacht created an 

environment from which everything else flowed. 

Peter and I have many years of experience 

running a business, albeit in extremely 

different arenas. Peter’s area of expertise is 

cutting edge high technology. Mine is interior 

design. They’re obviously very different 

disciplines. However, the connecting thread 

is good people. We’ve both learned, 

sometimes painfully, people can make or 

break a business in a myriad of ways. We 

share the belief that a business is only as 

strong as its people. Fortunately for us, 

Oyster has both an excellent product and 

excellent people. Oyster distinguishes itself in 

so many ways from the pack of 'Oyster 

wannabes'. However, in my opinion, aftersales 

customer service is one of their most 

valued strengths. Will White, the man on the 

scene, is an owner’s dream. He’s a delightful, 

multi-talented, and highly able dynamo. I 

want to adopt him! In providing a network of 

support, which engenders confidence in me, 

the Oyster people have unknowingly 

contributed to my growth as a sailor. 

Lest you think this a cloying Valentine to 

Oyster, I will admit we had our differences 

right from the beginning, some more serious 

than others. Although we speak the same 

language, there were moments, albeit very 

few, when neither side understood the other, 

due in part perhaps to subtle differences in 

our cultural experiences. Conversations 

sometimes ended with one or the other side 

scratching their heads in puzzlement or 

irritation. Fortunately, those were few and far 

between and, without exception, they were 

settled amicably and in short order. Our 

respect and affection for the people at Oyster 

and Southampton Yacht Services grew with 

each interaction. 

The luxurious owner's cabin 

Alan Brook, Oyster’s Managing Director, was 

true to his word when he promised at the 

signing of our contract that Oyster wouldn’t 

just build a yacht for us, collect their money 

and vanish. He assured us that their after 

sales service would be as outstanding as 

their construction of our yacht. He was 

correct on all counts. 

We have so many wonderful memories of our 

experience before and after we took delivery 

of VENTURE. It would take more time than I 

have here to share them all. Suffice it to say, 

the Oyster group has been lovely to work 

with and I, the former sceptic, do not have an 

ounce of buyer’s remorse. I would repeat our 

Oyster experience in a New York minute. I’m 

still a bit disbelieving that I’ve loved it all as 

much as I do. I realize all of this may sound 

like an obsequious paid advert as the Brits 

might say. No matter. I have nothing to gain 

from singing the praises of Oyster Yachts 

except the pleasure of sharing good news 

the way a convert might, and encouraging 

those faint of heart, as I once was, to give it 

a go. Oyster makes the challenge easier. 

Peter and I are happier with our Oyster than 

we thought possible. Perhaps, this is a 

Valentine after all. 

I’m delighted this Sceptic could be 

persuaded. Think of all the fun I would have 

otherwise missed. This truly has been 

An Affair To Remember. 

Katherine Savage 

Oyster 62 Venture

16 www.oystermarine.com

Richard Matthews 

on the Builder's 

Trials of Cygnus 

THE OYSTER 82 FIRST TIME OUT 24 FEBRUARY 2004 

There’s 

only ever 

one first 

time!

THE WEATHER WAS 

DECIDEDLY WINTERY WITH 

SNOW SHOWERS 

FORECAST AND A BITINGLY 

COLD 20-KNOT NORTHERLY 

WIND BLOWING. 

Cygnus, the first of five Oyster 82’s on order, 

is no stranger to North Sea waters as she 

had already passaged from Southampton to 

Rotterdam under power, on route to the 

Düsseldorf Boat Show. Due to very low 

rainfall there was insufficient water in the 

Rhine to motor her to Düsseldorf, so Cygnus 

was craned onto a huge barge for the voyage 

up river. By the end of the show, the rain had 

fallen and there was just enough water for 

Cygnus to get back down the Rhine and 

make a very rough crossing of the North Sea 

back to Oyster’s HQ at Ipswich for rigging 

and commissioning. 

For the first Builder's trials on Cygnus, the 

Oyster commissioning team was joined by 

Paul Bennett, who will skipper the yacht for 

her owner; Alan Boswell from the Oyster 

design team; Alan Brook Joint Managing 

Director of Oyster and designer Rob 

Humphreys. When not behind the camera 

lens, I was also onboard, having never 

missed the first sea trial on any Oyster yacht 

in the last thirty years. 

It’s crunch time, time to get off the pot, it’s 

the $64,000 question and at this stage talk 

is cheap! 


The sails are set and Cygnus goes bow 

down into the breeze to load up the rig on a 

broad reach. She’s off and our little photo 

launch is already on the plane to hold station. 

We haven’t calibrated the log yet but the 

GPS is showing SOG, that’s speed over the 

ground, of 10.2 knots and we have 1.5 knots 

of spring flood tide against us - Wow! 

The weather is deteriorating by the minute 

but I get a few snaps of Cygnus passing 

under the Orwell Bridge. Not exactly your 

tropical atoll background, but it does help to 

get some sense of scale. At 82 feet this is a 

big yacht. More luff tension is called for on 

the headsail and a half turn put on the 

Stoway mainsail to flatten the outhaul, which 

hasn’t been set up properly yet. 

Once outside Harwich Harbour we are into 

open sea, I hop off our photo launch and now 

have my first trial on the helm. We are hard on 

the wind in 23 knots of very cold apparent 

wind. Cygnus knows it’s time to deliver and 

we shoulder our way upwind at a very 

respectable 8.5 knots, jammed hard up to the 

breeze. Bow down she will easily pick up to 9 

knots but these are Builder's trials and we 

need to check helm balance; not so easy to 

get right with our protected skeg-hung rudder. 

Now for the good news – this yacht's 

balance is one of our best ever. I actually 

manage to steer this yacht of 65 tons, hard 

on the wind, with just two fingers. Rob 

Humphreys is so impressed that he snaps a 

photo for his own collection. 

While being light on the helm the 82 is stiff 

too, carrying her powerful rig with no problem. 

To be fair, at 23 knots apparent, we probably 

have as much heel as most owners will want, 


but this is biting, cold, winter wind and I’d 

expect 23 knots of warm, summer wind to feel 

a good deal lighter. On the way out of the 

river, on a fetch, we went through a few quite 

fierce squalls; despite this there was no 

tendency to head up to the breeze. Fair 

enough, this is a big yacht, but she really does 

track well. At present we are carrying very little 

fuel and by the time tanks are topped up and 

gear stowed the yacht could easily weight 

another 3 to 4 tons. This will put the bow 

down a little, which Rob Humphreys says will 

give us even better tracking, but right now I’d 

say we don’t need it anyway. 

We make a few tacks and deliberately hold 

the yacht into the breeze until over 8 knots of 

forward momentum fades away. Bearing 

away in full control is no problem. A few 

more tacks followed by a gybe or two and 

we are convinced – the Oyster 82 is 

exceeding all our expectations in the sailing 

performance and handling departments with 

ease. This is a good moment, since we know 

that there is no hiding from lacklustre 

performance and if we love the yacht our 

owners and future owners will too. 

Powering back up the River Orwell on a close 

fetch the wind is down to 17.5 but we are still 

showing 10 knots on the clock and 11.5 on 

the GPS, indicating we still have some tide 

assist. It’s been raining hard most of the 

morning and it looks like the rain will soon 

turn to snow. 

For the final leg up the river we are under 

power and I try stopping the yacht with a 

judicious, but careful, slide into reverse. Our 

big 3-blade Maxprop grabs Cygnus like an 

invisible hand and, in not much more than a 

boat's length, we are at full stop. Running 

gently astern we can turn to port or 

starboard without difficulty and here the 'just 

right' gearing of the steering system gives full 

authority, while keeping the helm gentle. This 

manoeuvre isn’t going to be needed very 

often, since all slow speed handling under 

power will be assisted by our 30 horsepower 

retractable bowthruster. But these are 

Builder's trials and we have to check the 82’s 

ability to handle and steer going astern 

without thruster assist. 

The pitch on the Maxprop has already gone 

up a notch and, given that we are topping 

out at just over 10 knots, I suggest to the 

commissioning team that we should try 

WE HAVEN’T CALIBRATED THE LOG YET BUT THE GPS 

IS SHOWING SOG, THAT’S SPEED OVER THE GROUND, 

OF 10.2 KNOTS AND WE HAVE 1.5 KNOTS OF SPRING 

FLOOD TIDE AGAINST US - WOW! 

another notch up, maybe two. I expect this 

will give the yacht a little more pace at the 

top end, while helping to optimise low rpm 

cruise. Unsurprisingly, in this weather, there 

are no other yachts on the river or we’d be 

surging past them even at half throttle! 

Inevitably with her clean lines and long 

waterline the 82 has long legs under power. 

We are chilled to the bone and, by the time 

we are alongside our berth at Fox’s Marina, 

it’s raining hard and the weather is truly foul 

but it’s been a really good trial. We have 

crossed an important hurdle and can say 

with confidence that the Oyster 82 really is a 

great sailing yacht.

A DESIGNERS VIEW 

Notes from Rob Humphreys 

In an ideal world one would like a brand new 

boat’s first outing to be in a soft but building 

breeze, taking things gently through that 

settling in phase and then into progressively 

more wind so that issues like balance and 

stability can be assessed. When the boat in 

question happens also to be the first of a new 

design then one’s hopes of just such a day 

have a more poignant ring to them. 

Of course it seldom turns out this way, but apart from the bitter cold our first sail on the new 

Oyster 82 produced just what the doctor ordered. We left the dock with little more in the air than 

an atmosphere of anticipation, allowing us to get the sails rolled out in fairly sedate fashion. 

But much as it is important to get the feel of a new boat, it’s also important to get the first 

photographs, because the maiden sail of the new Oyster 82 is nothing if not newsworthy. And 

when the first (and only, it transpired) bit of sun beams through almost immediately, then you just 

have to grab the opportunity and concentrate first on saying ‘cheese’. 

It was a touch comical really. Posing to camera and trying to get the boat in the right setting and 

backdrop, working in a very confined stretch of water that is the River Orwell and handling what 

came almost to order as a fast-building, puffy breeze, and the one blurred head in the first photos 

is yours truly, as I constantly snatched backward glances to see how the helmsman’s fingers 

were having to deal with each enforced course change, each gust that came through. 

Unfortunately for a designer, even the merest such glimpses can make or break his day, 

depending on what his own shutters are telling him. Paul Bennett, Cygnus' Skipper, didn’t seem 

to be having any problems at all, so perhaps it was time to take in the scenery, and then of 

course to take one’s turn at the wheel. 

Once the camera was put away we were out into a bit more space and a bit more wind, and I 

have to say Cygnus was a joy to steer. Upwind, even in the puffs, it wasn’t so much one hand as 

a couple of fingers, and when one needed to duck and dive around the navigation marks it was 

very easy to pull her bow down even without calling on the trimmer’s help. Of course we were not 

set up and calibrated to properly assess her VMG, but she clearly wanted to march upwind, and 

as a platform she felt pretty rock-steady, giving a powerful account of herself. 

Of course there are a thousand and one ways to assess a new boat, but three questions tend to top 

the list by a country mile. Is she balanced? Yes. Is she stiff? Yes. Is the designer smiling? You bet. 


“ONCE THE CAMERA WAS PUT AWAY WE WERE OUT 

INTO A BIT MORE SPACE AND A BIT MORE WIND, 

AND I HAVE TO SAY CYGNUS WAS A JOY TO STEER”


“OF COURSE THERE ARE A 

THOUSAND AND ONE WAYS 

TO ASSESS A NEW BOAT, BUT 

THREE QUESTIONS TEND TO 

TOP THE LIST BY A COUNTRY 

MILE. IS SHE BALANCED? YES. 

IS SHE STIFF? YES. 

IS THE DESIGNER SMILING? 

YOU BET!” 

Following her East Coast sea trials, Cygnus 

returned to the Solent where several of these 

photographs were taken. 

Photos: Alan Brook, George Johns 

and Beken of Cowes 


21

OWNER REPORT 

great autumn 

migration of boats 

from Europe to 

INthe 

the Caribbean, 

many yachts pass close to the 

Cape Verde Islands in their bid to 

reach the trade winds as quickly 

as possible. A few stop briefly in 

Mindelo or Palmeira for fuel and 

provisions, while only a tiny 

number make an effort to cruise 

these islands. The great majority 

miss out on the tremendous 

opportunities that these islands 

offer for cruising with a 

distinctively different flavour. 


CAPE VERDE ISLANDS 

Santo Antao 

Fogo 

Boa VIsta 

Praia 

Dakar 

AFRICA 

Freetown 

cape verdean 

I N T E R L U D E 

BY STEPHEN THOMAS OYSTER 66 MAGIC DRAGON 

Although we had wanted to include them in our itinerary on our last 

Transatlantic in 1995 we had eventually, but reluctantly, decided to stay 

with the pack and press on with the passage. In 2003 we decided to 

take a more circuitous route to the Caribbean via Brazil, thus taking us 

directly past the Cape Verdes, and this time we set aside the time to 

visit the islands properly; a decision we were not to regret. 

Geographically the islands are very similar to a hotter version of the Canaries, but lying 650 miles 

SSW of them. Of the ten major islands, the western islands are mostly mountainous and green, 

while the eastern islands are hotter, drier and flatter. Independent of Portugal since 1975, their 

consequent exclusion from the EU has caused severe economic difficulties and the nation has 

been more closely allied to the West African countries of Guinea-Bissau and Senegal than with 

Europe. Many Portuguese left at the time of independence, so the islands now have a largely 

West African cultural heritage. Significant financial support comes from the many 

Cape Verdeans who have migrated to the USA particularly from Brava, which 

had close links with the US whaling industry. The official language is 

Portuguese, although most local people use Creole as their dayto-day 

language. English is rarely spoken. 

Approaching from the NE, we had the choice of Palmeira 

(on Sal) or Mindelo (on Sao Vicente) as ports of entry. 

We chose Palmeira and, although the major navigational 

lights were not working, the periodic illumination of the 

airport landing lights provided a reassuring confirmation 

of the island’s presence after our fast run down the trade 

winds from La Gomera. Palmeira harbour is 

straightforward and secure, although the presence of a 

couple of wrecks in mid-harbour is, perhaps, 

discouraging! Anchoring alongside about twenty other 

(mostly French) cruising yachts, the entry procedure was 

quickly completed by the friendly port captain, although 

immigration clearance required a quick trip to the 

international airport five miles away at Espargos in one of the

Magic Dragon at anchor in Funa Harbour 


OWNER REPORT 

Chris with his 25kg tuna 


local ‘aluguiers’ (pick-up truck taxis) universal 

in these islands for public transport. The 

islands have a poor reputation for excessive 

officialdom, but we found little to complain 

about. Arrival and departure from the three 

major ports (the third being Praia on 

Santiago) required visits to the port captain 

and to the police (plus immigration on first 

entry and final departure from the islands) but 

in each case we were able to process arrival 

and departure simultaneously. At all other 

islands and harbours the local port captain, 

where there was one, appreciated a courtesy 

visit and the payment of miniscule harbour 

dues of $2 - $3, but there was little other 

presence of officialdom. 

Like many cruisers, we decided to miss 

out the rather bleak, hot and dusty 

eastern islands of Boavista and Maio. 

After a brief visit to Santa Maria on the 

south end of Sal to sample the worldfamous 

wind-surfing beach there we 

headed west on an overnight passage 

to Tarrafal on Sao Nicolau then, after 

several days, across to Mindelo on Sao 

Vicente via a lunchtime stop at Santa 

Luzia. After sampling the delights of the 

‘big city’ for a few more days we 

headed SE overnight once more to Tarrafal (a 

different one) on Santiago, pausing only to 

drag a 25kg tuna on board (after an hour-long 

battle) soon after leaving Mindelo. Our 

destination was then Praia, at the southern 

end of Santiago where we formally checked 

out here before heading to Brava, the most 

southwesterly island, and our point of 

departure for Brazil. We were sad to miss 

making a visit to Fogo, an island consisting 

of a single spectacular volcanic cone, but the 

only anchorage offered poor shelter in the 

prevailing swell. 

Swell is a constant factor around these islands 

and choice of anchorage is often dictated 

more by the need to find shelter from the 

prevailing swell than from the wind. During the 

normal ‘winter’ sailing season, the trade winds 

blow consistently across the islands at a 

steady 15-20 kts and most anchorages are 

simply shallow, though entirely adequate, bays 

on the leeward side of the islands. Sailing 

around the islands, one needs to be conscious 

Village house - Sao Nicolau 

Palmeiro harbour, Sal

On tour in Sao Nicolau 

Local house, Sao Nicolua 

Local hazard 

of sometimes fierce acceleration zones around 

the ends of them and equally the extensive 

wind shadows in the lee of the high 

mountains. Having said that, gales are rare in 

the normal cruising season and we 

experienced more calms than stronger 

breezes when in close proximity to the islands. 

We soon fell in love with Sao Nicolau. Tarrafal 

is a poor fishing port sheltering beneath 

fierce-looking bluffs of sun-scorched red rock 

stretching up towards the central mountains. 

However, a spectacular cobbled road wound 

up into the hills from here into the verdant 

central crater and down into the main town of 

Ribeira Brava. Like most roads in these 

islands, it had been paved with tiny cobbles, 

each one lovingly cut by hand from nearby 

rock and painstakingly slotted into place. 

Even the ‘white lines’ had been set using 

lighter-coloured stones. In Tarrafal, we were 

soon taken in hand by ‘Henny’, a Dutch excruising 

sailor who had decided to settle in 

this remote place in a brightly-painted house 

with a retinue of local boys. Henny acted as 

our guide for a gruelling but very enjoyable 

day-long tour of the island in a charted 

aluguier, bumping along endless serpentine 

mountain roads up and down mountain 

valleys under the hot sun. The interior of the 

island was split by spectacular jagged 

mountain ridges between which nestled 

fertile craters and tiny verdant valleys. These 

fertile patches were intensely farmed for 

maize and sugar cane, but the small thatched 

stone houses revealed a tough struggle to 

live here and most domestic water had to be 

fetched from wells by women and children 

carrying huge buckets on their heads. Many 

houses and some whole villages had been 

abandoned altogether in the constant 

struggle for survival. Most of the houses and 

a number of the villages were accessible only 

by cobbled donkey trails and these provided 

opportunities for tremendous, if strenuous, 

walks around the island, using the passing 

aluguiers to travel to and from points 

along the way. We had amazing 

walks from Tarrafal to Hortelao 

and from Faja de Cima to 

Estancia de Bras via 

Covada and Ribeira 

Funda. A further 

unexpected treat here 

was the opportunity 

to watch the 

England versus 

Australia World 

Rugby finals on TV. 

A completely 

bemused, but cable- 

TV owning local bar 

owner, was persuaded 

to open early one morning to allow the crew 

of the two British boats present to cluster 

around the bar for the occasion, the final 

touch being (after a considerable amount of 

imaginative sign-language) the serving of 

eggs and bacon at half-time! 

We had been warned about Mindelo as being 

a den of thieves and pickpockets, to be 

avoided if possible. In fact, it was our 

favourite large town of the islands with a 

certain faded, but raffish, colonial charm. We 

certainly found it no more threatening than 

many a town in the Caribbean. Local boat 

boys jostled to mind our dinghy for a small 

consideration and another youth rowed out to 

offer his services as our ‘agent’ – and did in 

fact considerably expedit our port clearance 

process as well as help us to re-fill our gas 

bottle, all for a few escudos. The town is an 

exotic mix of former colonial elegance with 

more recent West African influences. 

Crumbling but brightly-painted 17th Century 

buildings line the streets filled with noisy 

vegetable markets, fish markets and street 

traders. Hard-core gamblers gather under the 

shady trees near the market to play serious 

games of cards and dice. At night many of 

the bars and restaurants feature live Cape 

Verdian music. Sao Vicente island itself has 

little of interest, but is close to the island of 

Santo Antao which is famous for its scenery 

and walking opportunities, although lack of 

any available anchorage ruled out a visit for 

us. Mindelo was undoubtedly the most 

popular with other cruisers and more than 50 

yachts lay in the huge and very well-sheltered 

harbour, nearly all making a pit stop en route 

for the Caribbean. The ‘Club Nautico’ bar 

near the dinghy dock was a popular and 

multi-cultural meeting point for the many 

cruising folk in town. 

Mindelo certainly scored more highly for us 

than Praia, the official capital of the islands on 

Santiago. Although similar in many ways to 

Mindelo, with its colonial centre perched high 

on a bluff over the harbour, the city had a 

more aggressive edge to it which made us 

feel less comfortable there. The harbour too 

was much less protected and a large swell 

rolled in continuously. Ominously, several 

large wrecks decorated the margins of the 

harbour. We were much more taken by the 

ruins of the old city, Cicade Velha, a few miles 

away on the coast. This had been the original 

site of the city before it was abandoned in the 

face of constant assaults by Sir Francis Drake 

and other official pirates of his age. These 

days the restored ruins of the cathedral and a 

mighty hilltop fort dominate only a small 

fishing village outside which we anchored 

precariously for the afternoon. 


OWNER REPORT 

Fact Box 

GETTING THERE 

TAP: www.TAP-AirPortugal.pt 

TACV: - International flights and 

Internal flights between Islands 

Tel: (+238) 608200/71 

E-mail: marketing@tacv.aero 

www.caboverdeairlines.aero 

www.tacv.cv 

PILOTAGE 

Atlantic Islands by Anne Hammick, 

Published by Imray Laurie Norie 

and Wilson. 

CAPE VERDES TOURIST 

INFORMATION 

www.caboverde.com 

VISAS 

Visitors require both a current passport 

and visa.. For further information on entry 

requirements contact the Embassy of 

the Republic of Cape Verde 

Tel: +1 202 965 6820 

www.capeverdeusa.org 

Overseas, inquiries should be made to your 

nearest Cape Verde Embassy or Consulate. 

CURRENCY 

The local currency is the Cape 

Verde Escudo (CVEsc) 

Credit cards are not accepted 

and ATMs are unavailable. 

COMMUNICATION 

Telephone communication to and from Cape 

Verde is generally reliable. Likewise, cellular 

telephones and Internet connections are 

generally available. 

FURTHER INFORMATION 

Cape Verde Islands by Aisling Irwin 

and Colum Wilson Published by Bradt 

Travel Guides 

The information shown is believed correct at time 

of going to press however readers are advised 

to make their own enquiries before travelling. 

Our favourite island was undoubtedly Brava, 

our final port of call. Only a few miles across 

and poorly-served by links to the other 

islands, Brava’s inhabitants are fiercely 

independent. The main harbour, Furna, is, 

unusually, on the windward NE coast and is 

formed by an almost complete flooded 

volcanic crater. Aside from the small ferry 

berth, the tiny harbour has just enough room 

to accommodate four or five cruising yachts 

anchored in very close company, each with a 

stern line to bollards on the small slipway. The 

main town, Vila Nova Sintra, lies 1500ft higher 

up along a steep and tortuous road, hidden 

away in the verdant shelter of the main crater 

in the centre of the island. The hair-raising 20 

minute ride in the back of an aluguier up to 

the town was worth every bit of the $1 it cost 

each time that we did it. 150 years ago many 

Boston-based whalers used Brava as a base 

and recruited many crew here, bringing 

greater prosperity to the island which extends 

to this day. This small island was once 

densely populated and every slope is covered 

with dense, but abandoned, terracing and 

many fine old stone and tile houses. Tiny 

villages, many now abandoned, cling to the 

tops of the airy mountain ridges above the 

fertile volcanic craters. Repeated droughts 

drove many people to emigrate to the USA. 

As on Sao Nicolau, a dense network of 

cobbled donkey tracks criss-cross the island 

and provide many wonderful 

opportunities for walkers. Most of 

these are still in use and throngs of 

chattering children make their way 

to and from school twice a day 

over immense distances and up 

and down steep mountain ridges. 

Also in the bay during our visit 

was a 75ft home-built yacht of 

extraordinarily narrow beam. We 

were lucky enough to meet its 

owner, Joe, an ex-pat Cape 

Verdian who had returned from 

the US in his boat (the narrow 

Praia market 

Catherine and James, Praia harbour 

beam, he explained, was due to the width of 

his backyard). Joe proudly showed us around 

his island in his imported SUV, bumping 

along rugged tracks to reach suitable 

vantage points. Joe had recently run for 

mayor of Brava and insisted on shaking the 

hand of everyone that he met as well as 

introducing us to many of his hundreds of 

‘cousins’ on the island. We met a number of 

returned ex-pats like Joe, many of whom 

have returned to the island on retirement to 

restore their old abandoned family homes. 

Another part of our experience in Funa was 

our visit to the local school. The standard of 

education in the Cape Verdes is high, but 

many children are poor and have difficulty 

supplying their own school materials. Toni, a 

young manager of the local school in Funa, 

made an effort to assist visiting yachtsmen in 

any way that he could and in return asked for 

donations of materials to help these children. 

We were able to provide a bundle of biros 

(particularly prized) and pads of paper and in 

return had the fascinating experience of 

being given a tour of the school. It was 

delightful to see the children diligently 

working and showing extraordinary 

politeness towards their teachers. 

We left these islands feeling that we could 

have spent much more time here and that they 

deserve to be on the itinerary of many more 

cruising sailors. They seem to suffer from an 

undeservedly bad press within the cruising 

community for difficult sailing conditions, 

burdensome paperwork and petty crime. We 

found all of these issues had been exaggerated 

in our experience and had few unexpected 

problems other than any of the usual issues 

facing cruisers in distant lands. We left the 

islands with a genuine feeling of regret. Our 

advice would be to go now before more 

people discover these fascinating islands. 

Stephen Thomas 

Oyster 66, Magic Dragon of Wroxham

Pelagos Yachts 

International Yacht Consultants 

Expert navigation through 

the yachting world 

Leasing • VAT and Tax Services • Marine Finance • Insurance 

Commercial and Private Yacht Registration • International Safety Management 

Project Management • Yacht Management • Crew Employment 

Pelagos Yachts Limited, Auldyn House, 7 West Quay, Ramsey, Isle of Man, IM8 1DW. 

Tel: + 44 (0) 1624 819 867 Fax: + 44 (0) 1624 819 887 

Email: info@pelagosyachts.com www.pelagosyachts.com 

OYSTER BROKERAGE 

FOX’S MARINA IPSWICH 

SUFFOLK IP2 8SA ENGLAND 

TEL: +44 (0) 1473 602263 

FAX: +44 (0) 1473 603192 

EMAIL: brokerage@oystermarine.com 

www.oysterbrokerage.com 

OYSTER BROKERAGE USA 

5 MARINA PLAZA GOAT ISLAND 

NEWPORT RI 02840 USA 

TEL: +1 401 846 7400 

FAX: +1 401 846 7483 

EMAIL: info@oysteryachts.com 

O YSTER 

BROKERAGE 

Specialists in Pre-Owned Oyster Yachts 

SPRING 

BROKERAGE 

SHOW 

7-9 MAY 

Oyster Brokerage invites you to our Spring 

Brokerage Show from the 7th to 9th May at 

Fox's Marina, Ipswich. 

As the definitive source for pre-owned Oyster 

Yachts, we have an impressive selection of 

Oysters available for inspection, allowing you 

a fantastic opportunity to step aboard some of 

the brokerage yachts we currently have 

available, from 43ft to 61ft, here in the UK. 

Open daily from 10:00 to 17:00


keeper 

of the 

castle

At noon on a weekday last September I found myself sitting in a small room on 

the second floor of the Royal Yacht Squadron’s "Castle" in Cowes, England, 

having lunch with Lord Amherst – (William) Hugh Amherst Cecil -- who is in his 

third year of a four year term as the Squadron’s 18th Commodore. The Castle’s 

common rooms are replete with museum-quality antiques, trophies and models, 

heavy draperies, nautical art, and oriental rugs, all slightly faded with history. But the bright 

little chamber in which we sat was painted white, with white wainscoting, and simply 

furnished: writing table, a couple of side tables, a nautical painting or two, and three chairs. 

This could be the Commodore’s office (there was no sign on the door), or just a place for 

an informal discussion of the sort we were having. 

Of medium build and height, Lord Amherst is an affable, good looking man in his 60s. Roly Franks, 

a sailing friend and Squadron member who was found seated in the windowed alcove at Boodles 

Club in London that Sir Winston Churchill favoured, describes Amherst as "an eminently suitable 

person." Another of Amherst’s sailing crew says he is charming, a perfect diplomat, "a centre of 

stimulation who never dominates." Amherst’s thick crop of graying hair is parted on the side and 

combed back with leading-man flair. He is dressed in corduroy slacks and navy blazer, with a 

freshly ironed checked shirt open at the neck. His eyes are very blue, and the ruddy glow on his 

boyish face is more from salt spray, sun, and wind than 21st Century stress. 

A steward entered the room and placed an ample plate of 

smoked salmon and egg salad sandwich triangles on the table. 

Amherst had a glass of Chardonnay. I had a Coca-Cola. He 

advised me to dig in. "I’m quite aggressive when it 

comes to a plate of sandwiches." 

I returned his smile because I was mentally chuckling to 

myself that I, an American whose Separatist ancestors 

had escaped England in 1620 on a 180-ton galleon 

called Mayflower, was inside The Castle. When this 

club was founded in 1815, one prerequisite entitling a 

"gentleman" to become a member was ownership of 

a vessel "not under 10 tons." I can do "gentleman." But 

my one-design weighs barely one ton. My blazer and 

necktie suddenly seemed inadequate cover. My Coca Cola 

(with ice!) was a dead giveaway. I ate quickly. Any moment 

they would realize their mistake and escort me 

to the street, or perhaps the dungeon. 

OWNER PROFILE 

The Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron is The 4th 

Baron Amherst of Hackney, known to his shipping 

friends as Hugh Cecil 

BY ROGER VAUGHAN 


29

‘ Of medium build and 

height, Lord Amherst is 

an affable, good looking 

man in his 60s. Roly 

Franks, a sailing friend 

describes Amherst as 

"an eminently suitable 

person." Another of 

Amherst’s sailing crew 

says he is charming, a 

perfect diplomat, "a 

center of stimulation 

who never dominates 

’ 


The Yacht Squadron is, in fact, the hub of all 

matters having to do with yachting on the 

Solent Channel because it is located on the 

most northerly bulge of the shoreline of Cowes 

town on the Isle of Wight. At high tide, the 

Squadron’s waterside foundations are awash in 

the Solent, and with deep water carrying to 

within 100 feet of its mossy stone exterior, The 

Castle is the perfect stationary end of an allpurpose 

starting line. To race in the Solent, that 

busy body of tidal water separating the Isle of 

Wight from Britain’s south coast, start here. 

Henry VIII built the original structure in 1539 

as part of his coastal defence system. 

Originally a round block house flanked by two 

rectangular wings, with semi-circular 

battlements facing the Solent and a 

protective stone wall running along the back 

of the grounds, it has been expanded over 

the years. A large, colorful flower garden dips 

steeply to a wooden fence along the 

waterfront. An elegant glass pavilion is 

perched proudly on the crest of the lawn, 

facing the sea. The original structure still 

resembles a little fort, but its single, two-story 

tower carries the visual signature of a castle, 

the name that has stuck for centuries. 

Like any good fortification, The Castle looks 

formidable. Its guns were only fired in anger 

once, during the Civil War in 1642, and there 

are no indications those rounds did any 

damage. But its very presence deterred those 

who might consider acts of aggression in the 

1500s, and it served as an American 

command center for the D-Day invasion. 

Today it effectively presents an impenetrable 

facade to all but the 1000 yachtsmen and 

women who can boast membership of one 

sort or another (only 475 can vote in Club 

matters). Exclusivity is one thing, but castles 

conjure murky moats, drawbridges, and 

casks of boiling oil dumped from above. 

I first laid eyes on the Royal Yacht Squadron 

in September of 1979, 24 years ago to the 

month. The Castle was the focal point of a 

confusion of boats wrestling with nasty, short 

waves kicked up by strong wind against a 

wicked current - a typically gray, blustery day 

on the Solent. Rapid Red Funnel ferries were 

jetting cars and people back and forth to 

Southampton to the north. Tankers and 

freighters were steaming in and out to and 

from all parts of the world. A thousand small 

boats, gathered for the annual Cowes Week 

Regatta, had introduced chaos. And a 

hundred or so ocean yachts were preparing to 

start a race around Fastnet Rock off Ireland 

that would claim the lives of 15 sailors. 

From the deck of the maxi, Kialoa, as we 

prepared to start the Fastnet Race, I studied 

The Castle through binoculars. Aside from its 

unique architecture, what I remember best is 

the cadre of nattily attired officials who were 

manning the battlements, ties snugged into 

the stiff collars of white shirts, double 

breasted blazers buttoned, visored military 

caps in place over sober faces, backs 

straight as ram rods. This was our race 

committee. The other vision was the 

gleaming row of polished cannon (that once 

armed HMS Royal Adelaide) fanned out on 

the semi-circular stone patio below the 

barbican. A fellow in a sailor suit fired one of 

them, and we were off, some of us for good. 

Over our sandwiches, Lord Amherst 

recounted squadron history, how "The Yacht 

Club," as the Squadron was first known, was 

founded in 1815; how the first Commodore, 

the Earl of Yarborough, served for 20 years; 

how the Prince Regent became a member in 

1817, and three years later when he became 

George IV, "Royal" was added to the 

Squadron’s name. With that distinction came 

the authority to fly the Royal Navy’s white 

ensign. "Originally," Amherst said, "the club’s 

sailing involved following naval procedures 

and patterns. Yachts would go out and 

emulate naval manoeuvres on the command 

of the Commodore. If an owner could find a 

naval frigate to engage in a speed duel it 

was his lucky day. If he overtook the naval 

vessel, chances are the Admiralty would

copy his boat and the owner would be 

greatly flattered." The execution of 

manoeuvres required "The Yacht Club" to 

produce a thick manual of its own signals, 

including 6,500 words, 2000 sentences, and 

90 proper names. The system was so 

complicated the RYS eventually reverted to 

the International Code, sadly losing such 

signal gems as "Can you lend me your band; 

Send out 100 prawns, a soup tureen, and 

300 oysters; I am landing my ladies now, 

would you like to land yours?" 

In an age when such matters were 

newsworthy, The London Times got on the 

Squadron’s case, calling for fewer 

manoeuvres and more swift sailing. The club 

responded, hosting the first Cowes Week 

regatta in 1826. Two years later, the 

Squadron introduced the port /starboard right 

of way rule all sailors live by. 

But history, albeit glorious, aside, Lord 

Amherst’s charge is today. Being RYS 

Commodore is so demanding a job it is 

important to select a man with both time and 

the disposition to diplomatically manage the 

outside politics as well as the internal 

demands of membership. Amherst, who 

retired from the shipping business in 2001, 

has both. "Right now the Medina River 

(which empties just east of The Castle and 

runs south to the town of Newport) is having 

a face lift," Amherst says. "There are three 

other clubs on the river, and because we 

share the territory, we all understand that we 

will sink or swim together." 

Amherst also has a modern marketing eye for 

the job, promoting a short schedule of 

regattas that link quality brands to the 

Squadron. "We’ve had Ferragamo/Swan 

regattas here, and Rolex/Farr 40 meetings, 

and we have a UBS/Oyster regatta coming in 

July, 2004." An Oyster owner for 15 years, 

Amherst is looking forward to that. 

Peter Seal, managing director of Blenheim 

Shipping in London, remembers Hugh 

Amherst when he first came to work at the 

well-known shipping firm of Galbraith 

Wrightson as a trainee in 1964. Amherst had 

graduated from Eton, and after failing to 

convince his parents of the benefits of 

shipping out on a tramp steamer, he joined 

British India, a subsidiary of P&O Lines, as a 

cadet trainee. Those were the days of 15,000 

cargo liners requiring crews of 40 (today’s 

100,000-tonners get by with half that many, 

thanks to automation and electronics). 

Amherst sailed on various ships for two 

years, doing the dirty jobs, and is glad of it. 

"It makes a difference if you understand 

shipboard routine when you are involved in 

delivering a ship," Amherst says. "You can 

talk to people in a way that shows them you 

understand how ships work." Mainly he loved 

being at sea. It runs in his veins. "My family 

has been sailing for as long as you can 

trace," he says. 

Amherst’s great great-grandmother was the 

daughter of Admiral Mitford, one of Lord 

Nelson’s officers. "I have the log book of one 

of his ships," Amherst says. "I also have a 

citation given to him by the tenant farmers of 

his estate in Yorkshire on his 70th birthday, 

referring to him as a courageous Admiral in 

the world’s greatest navy. I expect they were 

telling him all the things he wanted to hear so 

he wouldn’t put the rents up." 

After two years, Amherst came ashore. He 

did a stint with H. Clarkson Marine Insurance 

in Norway, then two years with BP Tanker 

Company where his job involved giving 

chartered ships their loading and discharging 

orders. He hardly ever saw a tanker, let alone 

the sea, so when he was head-hunted by 

Galbraith Wrightson Shipbroking he gladly 

accepted a starting position. Because the 

potential of becoming a fully-fledged broker 

was there. He quickly learned that having a 

title was a disadvantage, particularly in the 

Far East. Asians thought he was a Royal, and 

refused to disturb him at night, ringing a 

OWNER PROFILE 

‘ Being RYS commodore 

is so demanding a job it 

is important to select a 

man with both time 

and the disposition to 

diplomatically manage the 

outside politics as well as 

the internal demands of 

membership 

’ 


31

‘ We’ve had Ferragamo/ 

Swan regattas here, and 

Rolex/Farr 40 meetings, 

and we have a UBS/ 

Oyster regatta coming in 

July, 2004. An Oyster 

owner for 15 years, 

Amherst is looking 

forward to that. 

’ 


computer instead. In the meantime, his 

growing attraction for a young woman named 

Elisabeth Merriman, from Surrey, resulted in 

their marriage in1965. 

"I got to know him opening the mail," Peter 

Seal says. "In those days we had 

communications by cable, but most 

everything was done by mail, and every 

morning there was a huge pile of mail 

dumped on the conference table. There 

would be Hugh and me in this grand room 

with 20 leather chairs, opening the mail and 

sorting it by department. In those days one 

started at the bottom. Then we moved on to 

the decoding of cables, because everything 

was in code for security and brevity. We used 

to complain to one another over lunch." 

Those in shipping are quick to let you know it 

is the world’s second oldest profession, and 

they wear on their sleeves the pride of the 

history, tradition, and adventure that still 

surrounds it. Gone are the days when the 

success of every voyage was uncertain. But 

in spite of all the electronics, and deterrents 

like the Automatic Identification System now 

required for ships between 300 and 50,000 

gross registered tons, pirates continue to 

stalk the shipping lanes with a startling 

degree of success. And storms wreck havoc 

with older vessels. 

As communication improved, the management 

side of the business got tougher. Even in the 

1960s Peter Seal recalls frequenting the Baltic 

Exchange with Hugh Amherst, where all 

shipping deals had been done in person since 

the 1700s. Amherst had become a broker, 

buying and selling ships at Galbraith 

Wrightson. At The Exchange, owners, brokers, 

shippers, and insurance principals met over 

coffee (or brandy) to parlay bits of valuable 

information, match available ships with cargo, 

and drum up all manner of deals. But with the 

rapid succession of telex, fax, email, and the 

cell phone, the grand congeniality of the 

business evolved into a more stressful, 

breakneck pace. 

"It’s a very competitive business," Peter Seal 

says. "You need a killer instinct, because at 

the end of the day you do have to win. Big 

money is involved. One of our ships recently 

sold for $18 million, with a commission of 

1%. A new 100-tonner costs $40 million. And 

the clients are worldwide. From New York to 

Tokyo someone is always awake and ready 

to make a deal. It breaks some people. They 

begin drinking heavily. Some broker’s wives 

sleep in a separate room so they won’t be 

disturbed when the phone rings at all hours. 

The cell phone helps. Before, you always 

worried when you left the office." 

After Amherst moved to E.A. Gibson, Seal 

says he did a lot of deals with his old friend, 

who he says is a tough competitor. "If I could 

convince Hugh about a deal, that meant I 

could convince the owner," Seal says with a 

laugh. Most memorable were the deals they 

didn’t do. Seal recalls being in Italy on 

holiday having told Amherst not to worry, 

there would be no business done while he 

was away. But an owner rang him about a 

specific ship he heard was on the market. 

"There were certain areas Hugh wasn’t 

involved in, and this was one of them," Seal 

says. "So I bought the ship for my client. 

Hugh had a bloody fit. He screamed at me 

on the phone. ‘Why didn’t you tell us!’ I told 

him the perfect ship was right there in front of 

me. He protested, said he could have come 

up with an alternative. He was emotional if he 

lost a deal. It wasn’t just the money. He’d lost 

the game." His sailing friends say that 

Amherst’s killer instinct can also reveal itself 

over a game of table football.

He grew up cruising with his father on the 

Norfolk Broads, a unique system of shallow 

"ponds" formed by the River Bure 20 miles 

inland of Great Yarmouth, on England’s east 

coast. This is marshy, flat land requiring 

patience and cunning of sailors who race 

graceful, over-rigged sloops in the light, shifty 

winds that prevail. "My father had a 7-ton 

cabin cruiser," Amherst recalls. "It was rotten, 

having been too long in the barn. But it was 

an instant hit with a young boy. I could sit on 

the bunk and dangle my feet in the water that 

seeped in. I thought it was great. My father 

learned the mariners’ trick of sleeping with 

one hand over the side of his bunk so he’d 

know when to pump." 

His father, also a Squadron member, built a 

Contessa 32 at Camper Nicholson. Hugh 

raced and cruised on the boat with his father 

and brother from age 18. The Contessa was 

a particularly popular class, with as many as 

50 boats showing up for Cowes Week. After 

their marriage, Hugh and his wife, Lis, raced 

an IOD, and then a Daring, a 5.5 knock-off 

built of fibreglass that well-known British 

sailor Owen Aisher promoted as an Olympic 

trainer. It was a hot class, and Amherst was 

in the thick of it. 

Racing around the buoys was fun, but it was 

impossible for Hugh Amherst to resist the 

lure of the open ocean. The four Fastnet 

Races he participated in were more to his 

liking. In the 1980s, he took leave from E.A. 

Gibson to make Atlantic crossings under 

sail. He’s done four all told, twice each way, 

three as skipper. When asked about the 

passages, Amherst indicates the more recent 

ones he made in his Oyster Lightwave 48, 

purchased in 1988, were the best kind of 

crossings, "Completely uneventful, pleasant 

sails, as indeed one would expect from an 

Oyster." When pressed, he admits in his 

understated way that the first crossing he 

undertook a few months prior to the delivery 

of his Oyster was a bit of an adventure. 

When asked specifically about an article he 

wrote about that trip for Contessa magazine, 

he reluctantly handed it over. 

The Contessa editor’s note reports (with 

tongue in cheek) that Amherst "pawned 

house, wife, and dog to buy a Moody 47 that 

he planned to sell on his arrival in Antigua. 

Amherst named the boat, Solent Venture. 

The crossing began with a leg south from 

Falmouth across the Bay of Biscay to Lisbon, 

which turned out to be fraught with gales and 

a close encounter with the great October 

hurricane of 1987. By their third day out, 

according to crew Carole Bigland’s report 

(also in Contessa), "It was blowing a steady 

force 9, showing 45 knots on the clock...by 

evening the waves were 30 feet high...by 

midnight the wind was screaming through the 

rigging and the wind speed was off the 

clock...at 0100 hours Hugh took the decision 

to run before the storm back to Ushant." It 

was a smart move. Venture went on to Brest, 

where Optimist dinghies were being flung 

around like potato chips when the gale hit. 

Solent Venture’s crew feared the cleats might 

pop off the deck. 

Solent Venture’s passage to Antigua began 

with moderate breeze and toasts for "our 

cousin (an Admiral), the Navy, its traditions, 

and the weather for respecting its traditions," 

Amherst writes. A bit later, during some nasty 

going, Amherst made a discovery any skipper 

would value: "If we played Handel’s Hallelujah 

Chorus out of the cockpit speakers, Michael 

(crewman Michael Ball) would drive singing 

and shouting with delight, impervious to cold, 

fatigue, pelting rain, or the seas now frequently 

breaking over the stern." 

Mainly the trip was plagued by light wind or 

none at all. After 11 days they were still 1,100 

miles from Antigua. Because of a failed 

warning light, they had inadvertently used up 

all 120 gallons of water on board. Then the 

engine refused to start. Then the bad news: 

no more cigarettes in the locker. But there 

was hope. "Down to starboard lay the 

blackest and most evil cloud imaginable 

‘ It’s a very competitive 

business, Peter Seal 

says. You need a killer 

instinct, because at the 

end of the day you do 

have to win. 

’ 

OWNER PROFILE 


33

The Royal Yacht 

Squadron will host a 

UBS Oyster Regatta at 

Cowes, England, on July 

6-10. We’ll need 

volunteers at that time to 

help rescue Vaughan, 

who was still being held 

in The Castle’s dungeon 

when this went to press. 


....of such a color and density as to fill one 

with considerable foreboding." They made 

for the cloud, rigged the sail as a water 

catcher, and collected 10 gallons of the 

precious stuff in buckets. 

Still hundreds of miles from Antigua, with 

wives having already flown out to greet their 

arrival, they sighted a ship. "Over the 

horizon came a red funnel bearing a yellow 

scallop shell on top of an enormous white 

bridge. It was an AFRAMAX (125,000dwt) 

owned by Y.K. Pow of Hong Kong, which I 

knew was on bare boat charter to Shell for 

five years." Amherst hailed the ship, 

identified himself, and arranged for calls of 

reassurance to Antigua. 

"Weeks later," Amherst says, "back in the 

office I received an invoice from the 

Shipping Manager of Shell addressed to me 

in my full style for L10,000 for two crates of 

vintage champagne, 6 kilos of caviar, two 

crates of 40 year old port, and so on, transshipped 

in mid-Atlantic, which delayed the 

tanker a whole day for which they also 

wanted payment. The whole bill was written 

in old English – His Lordship this and His 

Lordship that. They sent a copy to my 

OWNER PROFILE 

managing director and all my clients and 

everyone, except perhaps me, thoroughly 

enjoyed the joke." 

Hugh Amherst is a private, reserved person. 

Some of that might be occupational hazard 

leftover from 40 years in the tight-lipped 

shipping business. Some surely emanates 

from his position as one of England’s titled 

gentry. His peerage dates to 1892, and one 

of his ancestors is Jeffery Amherst, who after 

serving as Commander in Chief of British 

forces that defeated the French in America, 

was created "Earl Amherst of Montreal." The 

family lineage includes two great-great 

grandfathers, the 1st Baron Amherst and the 

Marquess of Exeter, both Squadron 

members. That’s a heap of maritime heritage 

to lug around, but Hugh Amherst seems to 

bear it with a light heart, and a smile. While 

he has strong political opinions, and while he 

has spoken in the House of Lords, he would 

much rather be running the Royal Yacht 

Squadron....or sailing. 

Amherst has sailed his Lightwave 48 for 15 

years from the Baltic to the Caribbean and 

most places in between. "They only built 18 

of them," Amherst says, "mostly for the US 

market. I have the only one rigged as a 

cutter." He and his wife, Elisabeth, delight in 

finding quiet, out of the way anchorages 

where they can relax unfettered. They had 

discovered such an idyllic Caribbean spot 

one balmy evening when another sail boat 

arrived and dropped a hook nearby. Soon, 

the visitors’ dinghy was launched, and the 

skipper came rowing alongside. "He was 

excited because his boat was named Pal, 

and my Lightwave is named Hal," Amherst 

says. "He said his boat name came from his 

and his wife’s initials, Paul and Laurie. I 

didn’t have the heart to tell him Hal is 

named after Prince Hal from Shakespeare’s 

Henry VIII. So I said, isn’t that a 

coincidence. My boat is named for my wife 

and me: Hugh and Lis." 

Roger Vaughan 

Photographs: by kind permission of Lord Amherst 

Additional photographs: Roger Vaughan

UBS is Main Partner of Alinghi, the Defender of America’s Cup XXXII. 

Unbiased advice. World-class wealth managers. An investment strategy as individual as you are. At UBS Wealth 

Management, we pair a dynamic advisory process with the vast resources of a global financial services group. The former 

ensures that we understand your needs and expectations. The latter that we meet them. It’s the best of both worlds. 

Personalised proactive service. Worldwide opportunities and expertise from one of the world’s leading wealth managers. 

The ideal combination to deliver a customised solution and to ensure you feel confident in your decisions. 

For information about UBS in the UK, 

please contact Sean Goodlet on 020 7568 3758 

www.ubs.com/uk 

Command the 

capabilities of our 

world-class crew. 

UBS is a premier global financial services firm offering wealth management, asset management and investment banking services to individual, corporate and institutional investors. 

UBS is headquartered in Switzerland and operates in over 50 countries and from all major financial centers.

ARC 

2003 

The world's most popular transatlantic event, the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, (ARC) now 

in its 19th year, set sail from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria in November. 

Since the event began, Oyster yachts have been the most prolific participants and in the 2003 

event, fourteen Oysters made the crossing, twelve on the Las Palmas to St Lucia route and two 

joining the Rubicon Antigua Challenge, starting in Lanzarote and finishing in Jolly Harbour, Antigua. 

CUSTOMER CARE FOR EVERY OWNER 

In the hectic days running up to what is, for many, their first ocean crossing, owners were 

reassured to receive a visit from Oyster's Service Team, on hand to provide a complimentary 

check-up, inspection and support to every Oyster owner, irrespective of the age of their yacht. 

Headed up by Oyster's roving Customer Care Manager, Eddie Scougall, the team arrived in Las 

Palmas nearly two weeks before the start, allowing plenty of time to give each yacht a 

comprehensive inspection, working through a pre-planned check list including rig, engine 

bearers, stern gear, steering, electrics, etc, etc. We know from the comments received that this 

service is much appreciated by our owners and the envy of many non-Oyster owners . 

OYSTER CHEER ON ENGLAND RUGBY TEAM 

Over 120 guests, owners, their families and crews attended Oyster's traditional party. Held in the 

bar of the Santa Catalina Hotel, the Oyster party embodies the camaraderie and friendship found 

within the Oyster fleet. The day before the start coincided with a rather important date in the 2003 

English sporting calendar – the Rugby World Cup Finals in Australia. 


 

Atlantic Rally for Cruisers 

Each year the ARC attracts entries 

from over 20 different nations 

Another successful Atlantic

Aldo Mariotti's, Oyster 53, Bellamare Oyster Lightwave 48, Boysterous crosses the finsh line 

crossing for the Oyster Fleet 


37

Oyster 56, Blue Destiny 


The Oyster party embodies the camaraderie and 

friendship found within the Oyster fleet. 

Oyster's Joint MD, Murray Aitken, a 

hardened rugby supporter (albeit Scottish), 

was not going to let the small matter that 

none of the locals in Las Palmas seemed to 

have any interest in this event, preventing 

him and a large number of the Oyster fleet 

from watching the match. 

With the exchange of a few Euros, he 

managed to persuade a local bar to open 

up for the match and some 100 Oyster 

owners, supporters and crews cheered 

England on to victory. 

AND THEY'RE OFF... 

With moderate winds forecast and sunny 

skies, conditions were near perfect for the 

start of ARC 2003. The atmosphere in the 

marina was one of excitement and 

anticipation, with plenty of crew hurrying 

around finishing off last minute jobs. By 

1030 the last boat had checked out and, at 

the final count, 212 boats were scheduled to 

cross the start line. The weather forecast for 

the day was NW force 4-5 decreasing 

during the morning to NW force 3-4 by start 

Winner of the Oyster Trophy, Oyster 56, Roulette 

time. At 1200 the Committee Boat, the 

Spanish Navy vessel "Medas" was in 

position on the start line. 

The Cruising Division started at 1300 and 

having watched the racing division start the 

majority of boats chose to favour the 

committee boat end of the line. The cruising 

boats took a more cautious approach than 

those racing and only five spinnakers 

crossed the line at the start. By 1800, the 

majority of the fleet had reached the south 

of the island, enjoying some lovely nighttime 

sailing in around 10 knots of breeze. 

After a near perfect start, with pleasant NW 

winds and warm sunshine, most ARC crews 

settled down to their first night at sea, trying 

to establish a routine following the excitement 

of the start day. Some of the yachts hit a calm 

patch off the south of Gran Canaria, whilst 

others reported a few hours of headwinds. 

However, as darkness enveloped the fleet, the 

forecast wind appeared, scudding the yachts 

through the surf at good speeds on their 

adventure to a St Lucia.

2003 ATLANTIC RALLY FOR CRUISERS – OYSTER FLEET 

Model Boat Owners 

Oyster 39 Songster Brian and Jackie Palmer 

Oyster 406 Boysterous Colin and Naomi Hall 

Oyster 435 Lhasa Chris and Carol Evans 

Oyster 47 Moonshadow of London Peter and Liz Mantle 

Oyster Lightwave 48 Boysterous Phil Fleming 

Oyster 53 Janus Aram Shishmanian 

Oyster 53 Infinity Ken Williams 

Oyster 53 Bellamare Aldo Mariotti 

Oyster 55 Capriccio of Rhu Michele Colenso 

Oyster 56 Blue Destiny Richard Morgan 

Oyster 56 Roulette Trevor and Ann Silver 

Oyster 61 Galapago Mark Carmichael 

2003 RUBICON ANTIGUA CHALLENGE – OYSTER FLEET 

Oyster 62 Eve II Stephen and Eva Byrne 

Oyster 62 Oystercatcher XXIV James Flynn OBE 

Class winner, Oyster 53, Janus 

Oyster 53, Infinity 

LINE HONOURS FOR OYSTER 

53 JANUS 

Owned by Aram Shishmanian, the justlaunched 

Oyster 53, JANUS, took line 

honours in Class C, winning the St Lucia 

Air & Seaports Trophy 

“ I took delivery of my new New Zealand 

built Oyster 53, Janus (the Roman god of 

new beginnings and transformations) in 

October 2003. What better way to give her a 

shake-down than to cross the Atlantic by 

participating in the ARC! 

During the passage we experienced a wide 

range of conditions, from the choppy and 

cold North Sea, to Force 9 across the Bay of 

Biscay and dead calm mid Atlantic. Other 

than minor issues with the radar, prior to the 

start of the ARC (which were promptly 

resolved by the Oyster Service team in Las 

Palmas) the boat performed magnificently. 

She was sturdy, comfortable and fast. So 

much so we won line honours for our class. 

Over the coming year, we plan to enjoy the 

Caribbean and the eastern seaboard of the 

US; beyond that we will let the Roman god of 

new beginnings guide us. ” ARAM SHISHMANIAN 

OYSTER RESULTS 

Aram Shishmanian and crew 

Winner of the Oyster Trophy for the first 

Oyster across the line on ARC handicap was 

Trevor and Ann Silver's Oyster 56, Roulette, 

who crossed the line in 15 days 20 hours. 

The Oyster 53, Infinity, owned by Ken 

Williams was second with a crossing time of 

16 days, 22 hours. 


39

ARC FACTS 

• Since the event began,182 Oyster Yachts 

have taken part in the ARC, logging over 

half a million sea miles between them. 

• The 2700 nautical mile crossing will take 

most of the Oyster fleet between 15 and 

20 days. 

• The pre-start service and support Oyster 

provide is free of charge and available to all 

participating Oyster yachts regardless of age. 

• The ARC is run by the World Cruising Club, 

part of the Challenge Business, founded by 

Sir Chay Blythe 12 years ago. Information on 

current and future events can be found on 

www.worldcruising.com or contact Jeremy 

Wyatt on Tel: +44 (0) 1983 296060 


The Oyster 61, 

Galapago, 

making her third 

ARC crossing 

Peter Mantle's Oyster 47, Moonshadow of London 

2004 ATLANTIC OYSTER FLEET 

As we go to press over 100 yachts have entered this year' s events, with a fleet of 18 Oysters, 

including the first of the new Oyster 82's, scheduled to cross the Atlantic in both the ARC and the 

Rubicon Antigua Challenge. 

Oyster Lightwave 395 Amandla Kulu Bob Jones 

Oyster Lightwave 395 Rainmaker Julian Nichols 

Oyster 435 Lady Menai Fred & Robin Kay 

Oyster 485 White Wings Klaus Schuback 

Oyster 49 Adesso Gerald Goetgeluck 

Oyster 53 Jarina Henry van der Hoven 

Oyster 53 tba Jan Matthews 

Oyster 53 Flica Marilyn Kenworthy 

Oyster 53 Gualin of Cowes David Parson 

Oyster 53 Tallulah of Falmouth Tim Brettell 

Oyster 56 Pearl Fisher Michael Williamson 

Oyster 56 Moana Rolf Herlig 

Oyster 56 tba Brad Redmayne 

Oyster 56 Ananda Nick Hewson 

Oyster 56 Baccalieu III Mike Hill 

Oyster 62 Carpe Diem Keith Hamilton 

Oyster 66 Sundowner Lurelle Verplank 

Oyster 82 tba John Fruth 

The Oyster Service Team

The 

2004 

Oyster 

Fleet 

Oyster offers a range of ten modern designs from 46ft to 100ft, 

all based on the Deck Saloon concept we introduced to the world 

of cruising yachts over a quarter of a century ago. 

Our yachts are comfortable, very well built and have an 

abundance of practical, seamanlike features. Their sailing 

performance is amply demonstrated by an overall cruising class 

win in the 2001 ARC, 5 x 1st places in Antigua Week 2002 and a 

class win in the 2003 Marion-Bermuda race. 

Like our design, build quality and attention to detail have evolved 

and improved, audited by rigorous quality control. We are proud of 

our global After Sales service, which we believe is second to none. 

In a world of compromise there are many reasons why an Oyster is 

the preferred choice for serious cruising yachtsmen. If you are 

considering a quality yacht we’d like to tell you about them. 

OYSTER MARINE LTD 

FOX’S MARINA IPSWICH 

SUFFOLK IP2 8SA ENGLAND 

TEL: +44 (0) 1473 688888 

FAX: +44 (0) 1473 686861 

EMAIL: yachts@oystermarine.com 

OYSTER MARINE USA 

5 MARINA PLAZA GOAT ISLAND 

NEWPORT R1 02840 

TEL: +401 846 7400 

FAX: +401 846 7483 

EMAIL: info@oysteryachts.com 

WWW.OYSTERMARINE.COM 

46 

49 

53 

56 

62 

66 

72 

FastTrack 

72 

82 

100 


41

HANNAH 

STODEL 

Sponsored by Oyster Marine, 

Eighteen year old Hannah 

Stodel becomes the first 

British woman selected to 

sail at a Paralympic Games. 


MIAMI OCR 2004 

The Miami OCR is a very important event for both the Olympic and 

the Paralympic teams. It is used as an early indicator, as well as 

qualifier for some countries. We arrived to find very little wind, which 

as all the locals told us was very unusual, but that’s sailing! All the 

top teams from the Worlds were there, meaning that competition was 

extremely competitive and would be tight. 

We started the event well being consistently in the top five of our fleet. 

Unfortunately, our luck changed half way through the week and John 

our helm was taken ill, meaning that he couldn’t sail. Our coach Mark 

Barron sailed with us so we could continue racing, but some of the 

other countries that were competing were not very happy with this as 

we were beating them without our proper race crew. So unfortunately 

we had to retire from the rest of the event. However, the experience was 

useful, and we now have an indication of how the other teams are doing 

and can predict who we will be racing against in the Paralympics. 

3 SAIL WORLD CHAMIONSHIPS 

After the Miami OCR, we travelled to St Petersburg, Tampa for the 

able-bodied 3 Sail Worlds, where we enlisted the help of former Laser 

Youth Squad sailor, 22 year old Mark Addison, to sail with us as the 

fourth crew. We knew that the sailing was going to be of the very 

highest quality and we weren’t really expecting much, merely using the 

event as a means of training against some of America's top sailors. 

However with only one day remaining we were lying 2nd behind the 

American Paralympic representative. The able-bodied sailors got the 

shock of their lives! We raced consistently, proving that we are an 

equal match for the able-bodied sailors, assisted by Mark and his 

stunning work on the foredeck. Unfortunately on the last day, there 

was really thick fog in the morning, meaning that the racing was 

postponed. However, not to be beaten, the principal race officer sent 

us out, where we spent the next two hours trying to find the committee 

boat and not crash into each other. With five minutes to spare and five 

general recalls later, we had started. Disappointingly we were over the 

line, and even though we went back, we still got a 20% penalty and a 

disastrous last race. Unfortunately with all races to count this pushed 

us down to 5th overall and the second Paralympic boat. 

NATIONAL OFFSHORE ONE DESIGN REGATTA 

This event ran directly on from the 3 Sail World Championships, by 

which time we were all very tired. After the disappointing end to the 

Worlds, we were determined to do better. The racing at the NOOD is 

over longer courses, and rather interesting as you have to share your 

course with seven other types of one-design boats. After some very 

tight racing in 25 knots of breeze, the disabled sailors were still 

proving that they could be as competitive as the able-bodied sailors. 

We only managed to complete four races due to the ever increasing 

breeze, with three 4ths and an 8th place. Again we were 5th overall 

and were beaten by just one point for Paralympic honours. 

In March we will be returning to St Petes to take part in the Disabled 

Midwinters, which looks like being as competitive as the World 

Championships. Doing well at this competition has always been our 

main goal and we will be doing our best to win gold at this event. 

All of this of course would not have been possible without the 

support of Richard Matthews, Oyster Marine and many of Oyster's 

owners and suppliers. Having been invited to attend the Oyster 

owners London dinner, little did I realise that in the space of a couple 

of hours my total funding requirement for the year would be raised. 

Everybody was so generous and I am very grateful to you all. 

My Paralympic dream is now very much a reality and, along with the 

rest of Team GBR, we will be Sailing for Gold in Athens 2004. 

Hannah Stodel 

For more information about the British Paralympic Association see: 

www.paralympics.org.uk

ROLLS 

the 

ROYCE 

of yachts 

BY BRIAN LONG 

OYSTER 56 CHINOOK 


“ TODAY, WE ARE ANCHORED 

SNUGLY IN THE INNER BAY 

OF PORTOFERRAIO, THE MAIN 

AND BEAUTIFUL PORT OF 

ELBA, JUST OFF THE WEST 

COAST OF ITALY” 

There is a Mumm 30 World Championship Regatta this week and the 

marina has been taken over by a fleet of 40 or so 30 foot one-of-a-kind 

racing yachts. Paul McCartney’s US Tour CD is playing on the stereo and 

a warm sun is shining through the cockpit windows. However, the 

barometer is sitting at 1001-1002 mb’s and the anemometer is measuring 

gusts well over 30 knots. 

Yesterday we sailed from Capraia, in the Italian Tuscan islands. We had 

started out for Calvi, on the east side of Corsica, where Doreen and I 

expected to pick up a vital part for our onboard computer, we had 

arranged to be shipped there. On route, seas started building and the 

wind gradually increased to sustained mid thirties, with gusts into the mid 

40 knots. We were in a tough beat and, as I adjusted the sail trim and 

course to accommodate the 5 to 6 metre waves, Doreen looked a little 

tense. I sought to relax her by remarking how smooth Chinook was riding 

and apart from the odd thump, here and there, we were dry and quite 

comfortable. I recalled a conversation, which took place the day before in 

the Village of Porto Capraia. 

We had located the only Internet point on the Island, in a Pizzeria/Bar, high on the hill overlooking 

the bay and were checking our emails, when a very big guy, with a pigtail, approached me as he 

was leaving with a group of friends, after a good lunch. "Is that your Oyster in the marina" he said 

with a strong accent. It sounded almost like a challenge and I wondered if I had inadvertently 

transgressed his sea room at some time or perhaps splashed him with water as I washed the salt 

off Chinook’s decks the day before. "Yes" I quietly admitted somewhat reluctantly, trying to 

squeeze a smile. 

"I told them!!" He chortled! "I told them it was an Oyster!!". I relaxed a little. "My friends, they 

don’t know too much about boats" He gestured to them "but I told them it was an Oyster". 

"I told them Oyster’s are the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of yachts" he bellowed. 

"They’re the best sailing boats in the World ". "They’re Fantastico" He continued to sing the 

praises of Oysters in the loudest of voices, until Doreen and I became slightly embarrassed by 

him telling the Bar patrons, now focused entirely on us, how lucky we were to own such a fine 

yacht. We were relieved when they finally left but now I wore a different kind of smile! 

Back on board and checking our position on the chart plotter, I could see our tacking point was 

well over an hour ahead and, as the wind and waves continued to rise, the reality of making Calvi 

in daylight continued to fall. In fact, the chances of making even the East Coast of Corsica were 

correspondingly disappearing. 

Our Raytheon Chart plotter showed our reverse course was a direct line to Portoferraio, on the 

island of Elba, about 32 nautical miles to the south and downwind. We had managed without our 

computer for about three weeks and another few more days couldn’t hurt. Anyway we were 

planning on spending a few days exploring Elba, where the little General had been exiled by the 

British. A reverse course also afforded some lee shelter from Capraia and Corsica. So we turned 

around and enjoyed a great sail in diminishing winds and waves until the wind quit altogether 

about nine miles from Portoferraio. 

The inner bay here is amazingly well protected and Chinook, fresh from an overnight shower, is 

dancing gracefully on a long anchor chain in only five metres depth, where there are hundreds of 

tiny whitecaps, but little chop despite massive howling gusts. The 40 or so racing boats never left 

the dock today and although the centre of town is only a very short distance away and looks 

agonizingly attractive in the sunlight, I think I’ll leave the tender on the davits today, sit back and 

enjoy our ‘Rolls-Royce’ of Yachts.

FOX’S PROVIDE GREAT SERVICE FOR OYSTERS 

(and other yachts too) 

“ I acquired 'Arabella', a 1988 built Oyster 53, through Oyster Brokerage in 1997. 

She immediately went through a major refit at Fox's, including re-caulking the decks, refitting 

the deck saloon windows, new running and standing rigging and repainting all spars. After 

20,000 miles sailing I returned to Fox's from the Caribbean for her second major refit 

including the fitting of a custom high performance keel, modified rudder, stretched stern (to 

make her a '55') and a new generator. The keel was a particularly demanding exercise. 

Three years later after a 600-ton dredger tore into 'Arabella' on her mooring I returned to 

Fox's to repair a large hole in her starboard topsides, at the same time I replaced the engine 

and the complete rig after a spreader was torn off half way across the Atlantic. I chose Fox's 

because they have the expertise and experience to deal with difficult jobs and they were 

cost competitive. I have always found the management and staff good to deal with. 

Practical and fair with a boat building heritage stretching back generations... 

” 

Jonathan Baker - Oyster 55 Arabella 

6 February 2004 

TWO TRAVELIFTS 

TO 70 TONS AND 85FT LOA 

OSMOSIS TREATMENT 

6000 SQ FT CHANDLERY 

SPRAY PAINTING 

NEED WE SAY MORE? 

FULLY EQUIPPED WORKSHOPS 

REPAIRS • NEW DECKS • REFITS 

ENGINEERING 

FULL RIGGING SERVICE 

STAINLESS FABRICATIONS 

FOX’S MARINA IPSWICH LTD 

IPSWICH SUFFOLK IP2 8SA ENGLAND 

TEL: +44 (0)1473 689111 FAX: +44 (0)1473 601737 

foxs@oystermarine.com 

AN OYSTER GROUP COMPANY 

ELECTRONICS 

SALES SERVICE AND 

INSTALLATION 

ASHORE STORAGE 

ALL SERVICES UNDERTAKEN 

BY OWN STAFF

y Eddie Scougall - Oyster Customer Care Manager 

THE DELIVERY 

Antigua to Ipswich 

Being sent to Antigua to deliver an 

Oyster 53 back to the UK is not as 

bad as it sounds and, before letters of sympathy 

start flooding in, this is not the worst job I’ve had 

to do in my six years with Oyster Marine! 

Crackerjack had been taken in part exchange for a new Oyster and was to be returned to 

Oyster Brokerage for sale. A gap had appeared in the CCM diary and it occurred to me that 

I could save the full cost of a delivery skipper and make good use of CCM time by 

volunteering for the job. I was astonished and delighted when the proposal was ‘command 

approved’ and I was asked to find a crew. 

This wasn’t too difficult either. Mike Rose was first on the crew list. A veteran of 19 previous 

west to east crossings, with east – west, north – south, south – north, etc. too numerous to 

mention. Next, Jeff Robinson, a friend from the 1995 Trade Winds Rally and top engineer, 

who was looking for something to do before his next appointment as skipper of an Azimuth 

100 in the Philippines. Great! But the ace was still to be played. Richard Matthews gave me 

a call and asked if I would take Jo Chatterton on her first transatlantic as cook. I had met 

Jo, a life long sailor, during the 2003 UBS Oyster regatta in Antigua, where she had proved 

herself with honours. A cook too! With the exception perhaps of just being told to keep the 

boat, this couldn’t get any better! 


A TLANTIC DELIVERY 

THE CREW 

Eddie Scougall Skipper. Oyster Marine CCM. 

Mike Rose Mate and Guru. CPO RN Ret. Chairman and founding member of The 

Royal Naval Tot Club of Antigua and Barbuda. 

Jeff Robinson Class IV engineer and relief skipper. 

Jo Chatterton Cook. A short title for the most important crewmember of any boat, and 

a little understated for someone with a degree in European Politics! 

Handy for any international incident. 

THE JOB 

Crackerjack had been at her mooring in English Harbour for about three weeks before we 

arrived. Jeff and myself set about a thorough stem to stern check, and the servicing of the 

engine and generator. Jo made an appraisal of the galley; tinned and dry stores still in date, 

cooking utensils, etc. Mike was ‘Guruing’ magnificently. The batteries had to be recharged, 

the fridge and freezer chilled down. Jo and her boyfriend Nik borrowed some scuba gear 

and cleaned the hull (yes, a diving cook! Not the least of her many talents). 

THE DELIVERY: ANTIGUA TO THE AZORES 

Saturday 24th May 2003. Slipped our mooring at 1000 local time (UTC +4), Log 6490 miles. 

As the initial part of the route back to Europe would take us northwards, close to Bermuda, 

the decision was to leave Antigua via the leeward side, rounding Johnson’s point, up past 


47


Jolly Harbour, Hawksbill Rock, etc. A steady force 6 from the east gave us an average of 8 

knots with 50% Genoa and 50% main on a beam reach on a course of 020ºM to avoid the 

NW end of Barbuda. Not bad. 

The first few days were fairly uneventful, 170 to 180 mile days, as we settled in to the watch 

routine, 5’s and 3’s. A routine carried on from my days aboard David and Linda Hughes’ 

Oyster 55, Miss Molly, and devised by Linda. Basically, it means we did 5-hour day 

watches and 3-hour nights, split between myself, Mike and Jeff. Jo being excused watches 

in return for full galley duties. Mike had the first day watch, 0700 – 1200, Jeff 1200 – 1700, 

myself 1700 – 2200. Night watches: Mike 2200 – 0100, Jeff 0100 – 0400, myself 0400 – 

0700. The focal point of each day was 1800, at which time we had "The Tot" with a can of 

beer, not the usual Pusser’s Rum. Those readers who are Tot Club members will be familiar 

with this daily ritual. Only one can per day, no spirits at sea. 

On a course of 035˚M, by the afternoon of Monday 26th May, at 23˚ 13’N, the wind began 

to veer as expected. MPS up and down as required, even motor sailing when the wind died 

and speed dropped below 5 knots (it is after all a delivery). Jo had plenty of time to top up 

her tan in between preparing excellent meals. In fact, she even had time to think of a name 

for the crew. GOLDIE LOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS! No prizes for who Goldie Locks 

was. Myself – Grumpy Bear (me?!! Grumpy?!). Mike – Grizzly Bear (on account of his beard) 

and Jeff – Pooh Bear (don’t ask!). 

We started on a long slow curve to The Azores on Thursday the 29th at about 29˚ 40’ N. By 

Friday 30th the wind was a bit more solid and reliable. Mike listened in to Herb on the SSB 

‘12 Charlie’ every night for weather info. We tried to contact him directly, but without 

success, so we listened in on boats close (within 100 miles) to us. 

Thursday 29th May was the start of an amazing week’s run. Noon Thursday to noon Friday – 

190.6 miles, noon Friday to noon Saturday – 224.1 miles! However, our fastest 24-hour 

period was from 2000 Friday to 2000 Saturday – 230.3 miles under MPS and main. An 

average of 9.6 knots and frequently in excess of 11 knots. The following six days were all 

close to 200 miles or over. From noon Thursday 29th May till noon Friday 6th June (8 days) 

we logged 1588.9 miles, 198.6 miles per day average. Not bad for only one person and 

autopilot on watch, with help from the others as required. During this entire time, the wind 

was a force 4 and rose to a 5 for only four hours on Saturday 31st May. The sea state: slight. 

Saturday, we had the added treat of a beautiful sunrise while still doing almost 10 knots. 

Dolphins were in abundance. They were around most days, we never got tired of watching 

them speeding and weaving at the bow. Jeff spotted what we thought at first were strange 

low clouds on the horizon. The clouds turned out to be the plumes and splashes of some 

very large whales breaching in the distance, about three miles or so. They were too far 

away to identify or photograph. 

While motor sailing during a calm period, we managed to get caught up in some loose 

fishing gear in the middle of Mike’s night watch. I was woken up to: "We’re caught in 

something, speed’s down to 6 knots". We had a look over the back of the boat. There in the 

torch light, streaming out for about 20 metres was all kinds of bits of rope, net, some small 

floats and two large red buoys. To add to all of this, there was another buoy under the 

stern. Miraculously, nothing had caught in the prop, only on the skeg. The sea was fairly 

calm but there was no way I or anyone else was going into the water in the dark amongst a 

load of old net and rope. We shut the revs down and got the boat hook to attempt to poke 

the debris off. However, as the boat slowed to almost a stop we suddenly realised that the 

debris wasn’t following us any more. As we slowed, the sheer weight of the gear had 

allowed it to drop down the skeg, under the rudder and free us. Having not seen the 

floating debris in the dark, our speed had almost carried us clear over. It caught the skeg at 

the last second after clearing the keel. Thank goodness for the strength of a skeg hung 

rudder, otherwise the outcome could have been very different. 

A couple of days out of Horta the weather started to change. An enormous black cumulus 

cloud formed to the northwest. We were barrelling along at over 8 knots goose-winged, 

with the top end of a force 4 from the WSW. All of a sudden, the wind just stopped, the 

boat of course started to slow down, the sails hung lifeless for a few seconds then backed. 

The surface of the water took on what I can only describe as a prickly appearance and then 

the wind started to blow from exactly the opposite direction at about 5 knots. From sailing 

along happily at 8 knots to the wind doing a 180 and drifting backwards at about 1 knot, 

took less than one minute. With the change of motion and the Genoa flapping Mike got up 

to check what was going on, then Jeff and Jo popped up. We furled the Genoa, released 


the preventer on the boom, sheeted the main in and 

started the engine to motor sail for a while. It rained 

heavily, I mean RAINED HEAVILY. Visibility closed 

right down to a few metres, the rain all but 

smoothed the sea and the wind disappeared 

completely. That’s the way it stayed for the rest 

of the day. 

LANDFALL IN THE AZORES 

Land-trace on the radar on the 48 mile range, at 0045 

on Saturday 7th of June, at about 35 miles. The first real 

sight of Faial was at dawn. A welcoming sight after two 

weeks at sea. Three hours later we had rounded Peninsula 

da Guia with Pico’s 2351 metre peak to the east. At 1100 local 

time (UTC), tied up at the fuel dock in Horta. Log, 9113.7, making 

our passage from Antigua 2623.7 miles in almost exactly 14 days 

(Average 7.8 knots). Customs, immigration and port police are all in the 

marina office. All the officials were friendly and helpful, making it easier to 

wade through the otherwise impossible Portuguese bureaucracy. 

After checking in and finding our berth we spotted Evricka, the Swan 65 which had left 

Antigua a few days before we had. Darren Thompson, the skipper, and Jerry Ratcliffe are 

well-known Tot Club members. Excellent. Mike, Darren, Jerry, Jo and myself, makes five, 

enough, with one to spare, for a Tot on Tour. The Tot was duly held at 1800 sharp, with 

various guests. After the Tot, all retired to Café Sport, famous amongst transatlantic 

yachtsmen and women for it’s hospitality and accommodating owner. Café Sport also has 

one of the most stunning collections of scrimshaw and whaling memorabilia I have ever 

seen, in a museum above the café. After a couple of cleansing ales to clear the vision, an 

Oyster burgee (from the 66, Sarita) and a Tot Club pennant were spotted among the 

hundreds of flag and pennants adorning the walls and ceiling. 

Horta is a very popular stopover for yachts. It is a tradition to paint your yacht’s name on 

the wall before you leave. Departing without doing so will surely bring bad luck. Hundreds 

of paintings adorn the walls surrounding the marina. We spotted a few familiar names 

among them. Ocean Drive (Oyster 45), Celere (Oyster Lightwave), Sarita (Oyster 66), 

Thriller (Oyster 68), Harmony (Oyster 56), to name a few. Jo worked feverishly between 

rain showers the day we left to paint Crackerjack’s name on the wall. 

After the routine checks, cleaning, laundry and provisioning, a tour of the island in our hire 

car seemed in order. The countryside around most of the island is green and lush. The 

hydrangea hedges were just starting to bloom at the beginning of June. Because of the 

height of the island, there is a wide range of fauna, from sub tropical to Alpine, though I 

was surprised to see tree ferns and bamboo. We drove to a little restaurant Mike knew 

about to book dinner. Nick’s Hideaway or O Escnderijo. A very picturesque place with 

excellent food and hospitality. 


49

We drove anticlockwise round the island, visiting a number 

of coastal villages, checking out landings, etc. as yachties 

do. Valcao dos Capelinos is well worth a visit. An eruption, 

starting in the sea in 1957 and lasting a year, added 2.4 

square kilometres to the western tip of the island, near the 

village of Capelo. The lighthouse was surrounded by ash to the 

depth of the first floor and found itself about 1 kilometre from the 

end of the new western extremity of the island. The light was 

abandoned, fell into disrepair and a new one built. 

The Caldeira, the crater in Faial’s inactive volcano, is fairly spectacular, 

which is 1.45 kilometres in circumference and 400 metres deep. The rim is about 

1000 metres above sea level. Cabeço Gordo is the highest point at 1043 metres, a 

short distance to the south. The day of our visit was overcast and windy, so the view of 

Horta and Pico were not as spectacular as they might have been. 

We all wished we could have spent more time around the Azores, exploring all nine main 

islands. The people are friendly and if the other islands are only half as beautiful as Faial 

they’d still be well worth the visit. Trying to explain a two-month stopover during a delivery 

trip would have been tricky and, I felt, unlikely to be viewed with enthusiasm as a 

contributing factor to my long-term employment at Oyster Marine. 

HORTA TO DARTMOUTH 

We completed clearing out formalities on Monday, 9th of June, with the intention of leaving 

early on Tuesday the 10th. We eventually left at 1000, in the rain, Jo having completed the 

essential wall painting. 

What wind there was, was coming from the west accompanied by a three metre swell. 

We motored with the main up, north of Sao Jorge then to the south of Grasioca and the 

open sea. 

Whales were sighted almost every day. Some sightings were spouts, some flukes and some 

fairly amazing close ups. At about 0630 on Friday 13th of June (yes, Friday the 13th), at 

least four large whales came very close to the boat, one of which was longer than the boat! 

I stopped the engine and called down below "WHALES, BIG TIME!". No response. I didn’t 

want to miss a single moment of their visit so I banged on Jo’s hatch. She came bounding 

out of the companionway, thinking she had slept in for breakfast, to be stunned for a 

moment by the presence of our visitors. It’s hard not to feel overwhelmed by these 

magnificent creatures. They seemed to be interested in this strange floating object and 

stayed around for about 20 minutes, moving off after their curiosity had been satisfied. 

Still no sign of Mike and Jeff. They both slept through, a whale being less than 5 metres 

from the boat! 

The following few days were relatively uneventful, a ship passed fairly close on the evening 

of the 12th of June. We assumed he saw us, but you can never be sure. 

Sailing by day, MPS and main, motor sailing at night when the wind died. Portuguese 

men-of-war jellyfish started appearing in greater numbers. At one point they were like a light 


covering of snow on the water. A couple were splashed on to the deck and lay unnoticed 

for a while. When they die they stain the deck purple, the staining comes out with a little 

washing. The offending creatures, although deceased can still sting, and were carefully 

scooped up and committed to the deep. 

Saturday 14th June. A minor drama. At 0600, it was discovered during a routine inspection, 

that the pair of domestic alternator belts had given up and deposited themselves in the 

engine bilge. Well, not bad for 600 hours of use. Jeff (engineer) could barely contain himself 

after being told. Great something to fix at last! The repair was left for a few hours for the 

engine to cool down. Jeff was unleashed and swooped with new belts and turbo-charged 

spanners. Fifteen minutes later he had the belts fitted, the engine run up and the charging 

tested. Jeff emerged from the engine room like a junkie who’d just administered his latest 

fix. But it wasn’t over for him. Later, after dark, we discovered that the tri-colour bulb had 

blown. We sailed with the navigation lights, less the steaming light, till Dartmouth. Jeff was 

edgy, something else needed fixing. As if to make up for the greatest drama of the trip, 

there was an amazing sunset. 

Monday 16th June. Very little wind, motor sailed all night. As day broke, the sea was flat 

calm. We were now over the Little Sole Bank (49º 23’ N, 006º 18’W) on the edge of the 

continental shelf. Furled the Genoa as the wind had gone to almost nothing, motoring with 

main only. The sky was a bit dark to the west with heavy rain shower paints on the radar. 

We now had soundings, 162 metres. The closest we’d been to land for a week, but we 

didn’t want to go there. This flashed Mike into a recital of an old navy song: 

"We’ll rant and we’ll roar like true British sailors. 

We’ll rant and we’ll roar upon the salt sea. 

Until we strike soundings in the channel of old England..." 

Great stuff. I could almost feel a Hornpipe coming on. 


After lunch, we spotted some pilot whales. As we looked around we realised we were 

surrounded by numerous pods or family groups of pilot whales and dolphins for as far 

we could see. The engine was brought to a stop. As the boat fell quiet, several groups of 

whales came to investigate the boat. So close, they were more or less against the hull, 

close enough to touch. Jo took a direct hit from a spout as she leaned over the side. 

As one group left, another would come alongside. Their high-pitched calls could be 

clearly heard through the hull. A conservative estimate put the numbers at 100 plus 

whales and about 20 dolphins. We moved gently among them for about an hour or so. 

A fishing marker indicated that the tide was flowing eastwards. Perhaps the flow from 

the deep ocean up onto the continental shelf made this area a good fishing ground. The 

markers and the appearance of a number of fishing boats later in the day suggested that 

this may be so. 

Lizard Point was raised at 1200 Z, 15 miles to the north. The wind, westerly 6-7. 

Crackerjack, goose winged averaging 9 knots. Great, we’d be in Dartmouth for a 

pint tonight. 

We were now in telephone range. Mike phoned fellow Tot Club member, Warrant Officer 

Danny Maxwell at the Britannia Naval Collage for a berth for the night. No problem was the 

reply to the Tot Club Chairman. Excellent. Jeff called his brother, Captain of HMS Edinburgh 

no less! "Could we stop in at Portsmouth to see my brother. If he’s got time he’ll show us 

round the ship". Too right mate! 

Since we were now calling in to Portsmouth, Mike’s wheels began to turn. "I’ll phone David 

Snelson. He’s a Tot Club member. We could have a Tot on The Edinburgh". Great idea! ... 

Who’s David Snelson? "Oh he’s a Rear Admiral now, Commander in Chief of British 

Maritime Forces; but he was only a Captain when I met him". Surely you can’t just invite an 

admiral unannounced on to someone else’s ship! "Oh he’s not coming in an official 

capacity, just as a Tot Club member". Yes, I’m sure Captain Robinson will see it that way! 

However, discussing the affair later with Warrant Officer Danny Maxwell, brought us up to 

speed on naval etiquette. Danny advised that Captain Robinson should definitely be 

informed. Jeff phoned his brother at the earliest opportunity to ask his permission to invite 

Admiral Snelson aboard for a Tot. Permission was of course granted, however, Captain 

Robinson’s initial reaction is not recorded. 

By 1900 the wind was falling light. The Dartmouth ETA and pint were getting further away. 

At 1930, we started the engine and motor sailed. ETA and pint now steady, but it was close. 

Crackerjack entered the River Dart at 2230, too late to go to the Britannia Naval College berth. 


51


We found a space at the end of the ferry pontoon. Berthing was the quickest, most perfect 

textbook stuff I’ve ever seen. There wasn’t time to do it again!. It was now 2245, 15 minutes 

till closing time! By the time I had locked the boat, Mike, Jo and Jeff were already out of 

sight. We just made it as last orders were being called. 

Next day, after a rig check, Wednesday the 18th of June was a day off in Dartmouth. 

Warrant Officer Danny Maxwell very kindly gave us a tour of HMS Hindustan, a 

decommissioned minesweeper permanently moored at the Britannia Naval Collage. 

Dartmouth is a beautiful old port with a long maritime history. Dartmouth museum is well 

worth a visit. 

DARTMOUTH TO IPSWICH 

A study of the tidal atlas revealed the best time for the remainder of our trip to Ipswich was 

to leave at 0200 the next morning, Thursday 19th of June. Everyone was up just after 0100 

and ready to go. We cast off at 0145. The wind was WSW F5 and a bit cold. As the sun 

rose, the English Channel we all know and love revealed itself, cold and foggy. 

We arrived at the SW Shingles buoy at the Needles channel around 1300. As we entered 

the channel Crackerjack was surfing at over 13 knots on a broad reach. I was especially 

pleased with this, since Mike had stopped ranting about his 12 point something knots in 

the Atlantic! 

As we approached Cowes a familiar sight appeared in the distance. J/K7 Velsheda! 

The magnificent J-Class yacht tacked ahead of us and sailed down our starboard side. 

It was like a pretty girl walking past a building site. Crackerjack’s crew, goggle-eyed, 

watched her powering gracefully past. 

Phoning ahead to Gosport Marina secured us a berth for the night. We tied up at 1520, 

plenty of time to get the ferry over to Portsmouth and HMS Edinburgh for the tour and Tot. 

I had never been aboard a fully active warship before and was really looking forward to it, 

as were the others. 

Captain Robinson met us at the dockyard gate and escorted us to the Edinburgh. She’s a 

Type 42 destroyer of 4800 tons, with a crew of 300 officers and men. Edinburgh is equipped 

with Sea Dart surface to air missiles, a 4.5in gun, Stingray torpedoes and the Vulcan 

Phalanx system as a last line of defence. Her helicopter, a Westland Lynx, also carries Sea 

Skua anti-ship missiles. Her combined Rolls-Royce gas turbine engines - two Olympus and 

two Spey - give her a top speed in excess of 30 knots. 

She was in the midst of a refit. Men seemed to be working everywhere. Because of the 

amount of work going on, and the near arrival of Admiral Snelson, our tour was quick but 

informative. How the Captain can know exactly what’s going on, in every corner of a ship 

of such complexity is truly awesome. The only disappointing part was that Captain 

Robinson didn’t seem too keen on letting any of us fire any of the guns! The Vulcan Phalanx 

system looked particularly exciting, being able to fire thousands of round per minute from 

its rotating barrels. 

Captain Robinson invited us all to his cabin for drinks and await the arrival of the highest 

ranked Tot Club member. Rear Admiral and Mrs. Snelson (David and Ruth) arrived a few 

minutes before the Tot was due. Even though he wasn’t in uniform, and I have never served 

in the forces, I still felt like saluting with both hands and a foot when he entered the cabin. 

The formalities done, everyone sat down for another drink while Mike prepared the Tot. 

Captain Robinson, of course, knew the history of the rum Tot, issued daily to British sailors 

prior to July 1970, but Chief Petty Officer Mike Rose RN (Retired) and the Royal Naval Tot 

Club of Antigua and Barbuda was something new. Who was this guy who looked like he’d 

just stepped off the front of a ‘Players’ packet and commanded the presence of Admirals? 

Mike gave a short history of how he had revived the tradition of the daily Tot in civilian life, 

of the Tot Club and how he and David Snelson had met in Antigua. 

What a day for Crackerjack’s crew. A sail from Dartmouth to Portsmouth, a 13 knot-plus 

blast past The Needles, a sail past by a J Class, invited aboard a British warship, met and 

entertained by the Captain and dined with an Admiral. I have to say, that doesn’t happen 

every day. Perhaps I should get out more. 

52 www.oystermarine.com 

LOG 

Total miles logged: 

4396.3 

Days at sea: 

23 

Average speed: 

7.96 knots 

Days Ashore: 

5 

Max speed: 

13.4 knots 

Best noon-noon: 

224.1 miles 

Best midnight-midnight: 

226.9 miles 

Best 24 hours: 

230.3 miles. 

Engine hours: 

235.6 (bearing in mind 

this was a delivery trip). 

Generator hours: 

44.2. 

Watermaker hours: 

34.5 (approx 2100 litres). 

Fuel taken on: 

1000 litres. 

Fuel used: 

710 litres. 

Average consumption (engine RPM 

kept to 2400. Assuming generator 

50% consumption of engine): 

2.76 litres/hour.

THE LAST LEG 

Crackerjack cast off at 1000 on Friday, 20th of June, for the last 180 odd 

miles to Ipswich. The sky was clear; the sea was calm with a force 3 from 

the west. Crackerjack motored with full main past the Horse Sand fort, 

through the Loo Channel and past Selsey Bill. By 1255 there was sufficient 

apparent wind to raise the MPS. This sail had made our relatively fast passage 

possible. Easily managed by two people in its ‘sock’. 

The wind started to go light as the day wore on. At 2020 a sense of déjà vu. The 

‘prickly’ surface and a 180º change in wind direction in less than a minute. Fortunately we 

had just taken the MPS down and were about to motor anyway, due to the lack of wind. By 

the time we passed Dover it was completely calm. We took the inside route round the 

Goodwin Sands. Buoy-hopping in the dark up the channel past Deal and Ramgate. Then 

the easy route round the sands in the Thames Estuary; Elbow – Kentish Knock – Long Sand 

Head – Cork Sand and the Landguard, arriving at the entrance to the Orwell at 0900 on 

Saturday morning. 

Felixstowe’s cranes and busy port on this sunny morning were a welcome sight. Almost 

home. The trip up the River Orwell to Fox’s Marina is no hardship either, especially on a 

bright windless morning, the river seemed even more beautiful than ever. Crackerjack 

berthed at Fox’s at 1000. Engine off at 1003, Saturday the 21st of June, the day of the 

summer solstice. Log: 10886.3 Total. 4396.3 logged from English Harbour, Antigua to Fox’s 

Marina, Ipswich. 

CONCLUSION 

A full understanding of the boat and its systems, proactive maintenance, careful monitoring 

of fuel, water and batteries is the key to a trouble free passage. We had almost no failures 

or breakages, just two alternator belts and a bulb. 


53

JUST Launched 

A selection of recent Oyster launchings 

OYSTER 66 VOODOO 

After display at the London Boat 

show, where she was the largest 

sailing yacht on show, the Oyster 

66, VOODOO, returned to Ipswich 

for a mid February handover to 

owner John Edwards - not 

something to be undertaken lightly 

given the typical UK weather at this 

time of the year. Following 

John Edwards handover, VOODOO set sail for the 

warmer climate of Palma, Mallorca, 

before sailing on to her base for this summer in Monaco. VOODOO is 

planning to join the UBS Oyster Regatta in Palma later in the year, 

before crossing the Atlantic to the Carribbean. Plans for 2005 include 

a Pacific passage back to John's homeport of Australia. 

As a keen rugby player and supporter, John enjoyed 

a significant amount of banter with the build crew of 

his boat about the Rugby World Cup. To celebrate 

the English win, the build crew presented John with 

a special the T-shirt. The wording on the shirt 

reads "We hope you enjoy VOODOO as much as 

we enjoyed Johnny..." As you can see John 

accepted this with true Australian humour 

and style. 


John, centre, with his 

brothers on handover trials 

Oyster 82 Cygnus 

OYSTER 82 CYGNUS 

Despite the bitingly cold December day, the 

first new Oyster 82 to hit the water, CYGNUS, 

was launched amid much anticipation and 

excitement at Oyster's Southampton Yacht 

Services Yard, in readiness for her première 

at the Düsseldorf boat show. 

Built for her UK owner, his third new Oyster 

yacht, CYGNUS will spend the next few 

weeks being commissioned before being 

shown at Oyster's Private View at St 

Katharine's Dock, London. She will then be 

leaving the UK for the warmer waters of the 

Mediterranean. 

CYGNUS, the largest sailing yacht on display 

at the Düsseldorf show, was designed by 

Rob Humphreys and the Oyster Design Team 

and features a stunning mahogany interior, 

conceived and styled by Oyster's Chris Lock, 

and finished to the highest standards by the 

renowned SYS joinery shop. CYGNUS 

attracted much attention and admiration at 

the show, where there was a steady queue of 

visitors to the stand each day. 

We look forward to seeing CYGNUS at some 

of the Oyster Regattas in the future, where 

she will make a very welcome addition to the 

regatta fleet. 

Oyster 66 Sistership

FALKA 

A RARE FIFE MOTOR LAUNCH 

THIS RARE EXAMPLE OF A FIFE MOTOR 

LAUNCH WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT ON THE 

CLYDE AT WILLIAM FIFE’S FAMOUS YARD IN 

1919. SHE IS 52FT LONG AND SERVED AS 

A SEAPLANE TENDER. LATER SHE SPENT 

MANY YEARS PLYING THE WATER OF THE 

INNER HEBRIDES. 

WE DISCOVERED HER IN A VERY SAD 

STATE IN A MUD BERTH AND KNEW 

IMMEDIATELY THAT SHE WAS FROM THE 

FIFE YARD. SUBSEQUENT INVESTIGATIONS 

CONFIRMED THAT SHE WAS INDEED FROM 

THE FAMOUS FIFE YARD. 

FALKA’S HULL HAS THE BEAUTIFUL 

CLASSIC LINES FAVOURED IN EDWARDIAN 

TIMES. IN OUR PROPOSED 

RECONSTRUCTION SHE MAKES AN I 

DEAL REGATTA SUPPORT LAUNCH FOR 

TENDING A CLASSIC UN-POWERED 

SAILING YACHT SUCH AS AN 8 OR 12 

METRE. ALTERNATIVELY, SHE WOULD 

BE PERFECT FOR PICNICKING AND 

EXPLORING THE SHORELINE. 

WE WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO TALK TO 

ANYONE SERIOUSLY INTERESTED IN THIS 

EXCITING OPPORTUNITY. 

CONTACT: PIERS WILSON 

FREE TO A GOOD HOME 

We will give Falka free to the person 

who commissions us to restore her! 

SOUTHAMPTON YACHT SERVICES LTD 

REFIT & REPAIR • CLASSIC RESTORATION • NEW BUILD YACHTS 

JOINERS & YACHT BUILDERS 

Saxon Wharf Lower York Street Northam Southampton SO14 5QF England 

Telephone +44 (0)23 8033 5266 Fax +44 (0)23 8063 4275 

email: enquiry@southamptonyachtservices.co.uk www.southamptonyachtservices.co.uk 

AN OYSTER GROUP COMPANY

Skyblazer on the jetty in English Harbour 


Rozlyn and Ray Walsh 

We launched late in the season and already boats were returning to 

be laid up for the winter. But this is one of the best times. We missed 

the scorching August sun and the hot dry winds. September is 

slightly cooler and the sea is at its most pleasant for swimming. The 

tourists are departing and we can enjoy the space and late season 

bargains. We had already spent a week in the yard commissioning the 

yacht for sea. I like the boatyard. You meet so many interesting 

people from all over the world. There are many intrepid explorers and 

there are a few who have their boat laid-up and that is where it stays. 

The transition from land to sea is a boundary they cannot cross. 

late season in 

I stand beneath the boat, nervously awaiting our turn to be launched. 

"Is she new?" a Swedish boat Captain asks me. 

"No, she is 13 years old but she still looks good." 

"Where will you go?" 

"We’ve sailed a lot of the Turkish coast but we have never been in Gökova Bay, the bay in which 

Bodrum lies." 

"Then you have left the best to last," the Swede assures me, "but if you are sailing in Gökova Bay then 

you must visit Captain Ibrahim’s restaurant at Çökertme." 

"What’s it like?" 

"You will see", his bright blue eyes are twinkling, "there is a show." 

He won’t tell me anymore. I’m filled with curiosity. Now I have to find out more. 

And so the moment comes to launch. The great travel hoist approaches, the engine noise ominously 

groaning and roaring like that of some ferocious prehistoric beast. My heart trembles and Ray 

disappears. He cannot bear to watch. Sky Blazer, waits like some mythical maiden chained to the rocks. 

Once secured into the leather and webbing sling, she is lifted easily and returned to the sea. 

Sailing again, I admit there is not really a lot to do. We sit in the cockpit and watch the coast pass by, 

enjoying the blue sky, the cooling breeze and the gentle sea. Ah! This is the life. Ray captains the boat, 

David is navigator and Caroline, my daughter, and I are crew. 

Cökertme (pronounced: cherk ert me) 

On arrival we decide not to anchor in front of the restaurant. There is a small jetty and some facilities 

but we think we are better off in the small picturesque bay. It is popular with yachts and gullets (the 

pirate look-alike wooden boats used for tourists day trips and charters). It is surprisingly peaceful. The 

water laps the rocks at the base of the pine-covered hill beneath where we are anchored. The water is 

crystal clear. 

As evening approaches we shower and dress ready for this night of adventure. We pick our way over 

the stony shore and arrive in the dark. The restaurant is already packed. We are given a table rather 

near to the orchestra. Well, I say orchestra because the volume of sound is comparable with a 

compliment of 50. In fact, this is a trio comprising of the three ugliest men in Turkey. Ray thinks they are 

quite good. They certainly have rhythm but the sound is like a strangled gargle. A table becomes vacant 

further away and we are able to move. 

Ray and David sit next to the wall. They are making sure they will be protected from the approaches of 

any stray belly dancer. Ray remembers the experience he had when he was lured to the dance floor and 

the belly dancer managed to induce him into a prone position then, starting at his feet, she wiggled her 

way along his body and ended by sitting on his face. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't enjoy it. 

Caroline and I feel quite safe. We are still waiting for the show. The other guests are fidgeting with 

anticipation. The volume of the music increases. (Is this possible, you ask?) There is a disturbance at 

the far side of the room. Suddenly we see him. Enter Captain Ibrahim dressed like a Mexican bandit, 

complete with huge false moustache, hat, rifle and revolver and mounted on a petrified horse. He rides 

through the restaurant, the horse’s hooves slithering on the tiled floor, eyes rolling in terror.

Rozlyn and Ray's daughter, Caroline 

GÖKOVA BAY 

BY ROZLYN WALSH 

There is a rush for the photo opportunity. Flash lights shatter the darkness and I am certain poor Dobbin 

will rear. Captain Ibrahim fires his rifle into the roof, a dead bird drops to the restaurant floor. One of the 

waiters rushes forward to collect it and, presumably, return it to the rafters for the next show. Captain 

Ibrahim dismounts and the horse is led from the restaurant. 

The show continues. Captain Ibrahim is a goer. The music changes to a dance rhythm and he begins a 

strange, in fact, very strange dance. He is about 4’ 11 and the same measurement around his girth. He 

hops onto one leg and holds the other suspended at a strange angle reminiscent of a painful pilates 

exercise. He approaches our table. Caroline refuses to dance, so does Ray and certainly David refuses 

too. I am his last choice but I feel it would be rude to let the fellow down. Now we are both doing the 

silly dance. This delights the other diners. Skilfully Captain Ibrahim leads me out of the restaurant. Now 

what? OH NO! He wants me to put on a Nancy Reagan mask. He wants to wear a Ronald Reagan mask 

and continue the dance. Well, I’m sorry folks. I’ve been a good sport so far but I’m not putting on a 

rubber mask. After all, I don’t know where it’s been. But our intrepid Captain is not put off. He reappears 

in his hideous mask (well, I think Ronald would agree, it wouldn’t have done either of them any favours). 

He continues to dance and he is obviously trying to terrorise the one small child in the dining room. No, 

the small child is not frightened. She’s obviously seen worse on TV. 

Flaming torches are lit on the sand outside the restaurant. Hubble Bubble pipes are brought in. There is 

no lack of volunteers to try these. I think they will be disappointed, it is just herbal – cooking herbal. 

Now dancing for everyone starts. Anything goes. A Gullet Captain does a sort of peacock dance and 

tries to seduce all the ladies – I think it is working. Everyone is dancing. It is an entertaining evening, 

ain Ibrahim and his wife are young at heart and full of innocent fun. 

Sögüt (pronounced: sir oot and means "sweet water") 

A lazy start to the day and a swim, then we are off for the next adventure. It is always so exciting going 

somewhere you have never been before. 

We are struck by the amazing beauty of Sö_üt. The lovely clear water is fringed with bamboo, pampas 

grasses and olive trees. Behind the village, the hills are covered with fresh smelling pine trees. They say 

the earth is special here. When it rains, the smell from the ground and the trees is fresh and pine 

scented. The water is renowned for its purity. This is the place to fill the boat’s water tanks. 

OWNER REPORT 

Navigator, David on the helm 


57

OWNER REPORT 


Rozlyn dancing with Captain Ibrahim The orchestra, Captain Ibrahim's Restaurant, Cokertme 

We sail towards the very smart Gökova Sailing Club. The grounds are manicured and the building is 

elegant and modern. The jetty looks new and inviting. After a slight interrogation by the owner, who is 

accompanied by four Alsatian dogs, we are allowed to tie up. The owner’s son, who speaks public 

school English, assists us. We are the only boat tied to the jetty. The Sailing Club has high walls and 

electric gates and we are given some exit instructions and also told on no account to touch the dogs. 

Something is beginning to feel "not quite right". 

Caroline and David hire a Pico sailing dinghy each and have a great time. Ray and I are keen to explore. 

Certainly the walks into the hills are wonderful. We smell the pine on the wind and experience that feeling 

of peace and inner calm. Further along the shore, on the waters edge, is the Paradise Restaurant. Here 

the jetty is full of gullets and small yachts. We think we had better book a table for our evening meal. 

It was not necessary to book. When we arrive we find that most of the tables are empty and they stay 

that way. We have a feeling that this is not going to be a very good meal. A lone diner sits some way off 

from us at the edge of the outdoor dining area. Out of the darkness the military police arrive, smartly 

salute the man and hand over a black plastic bag that is remarkably rifle shaped, salute again and 

vanish into the night. David warns us not to make eye contact. 

Should we have been suspicious that the restaurant was called "Paradise" and that the menu was 

priced in Euros and the bill was given in Turkish Lira, with a very unlikely rate of exchange? David is 

quick at maths; he soon has the waiter stuttering and looking guilty. The meal was average and the 

price exorbitant. The price is lowered and we don’t leave a tip. We should have eaten on board like the 

other yachties tied to the jetty. 

In the morning the owner of Gökova Sailing Club gave me a tour of his house. It was quite wonderful 

with every possible convenience, a beautiful nautical drawing room, four double bedrooms with ensuite 

bathroom and a sauna. Downstairs, another stylish nautical bar and outside terrace – just so lovely and 

so closely guarded. Sögüt is beautiful but there is a strange undercurrent of conspiracy. She has a 

secret we could not discover. 

Degirmen Buku (English Harbour) 

There are many marvellous anchorages in Gökova Bay and Rod Heinkel gives excellent description and 

information in his "Turkish Water Pilot", but we cannot visit them all. We have a week’s time limit for 

Caroline and David so we return to an old haunt. For us, probably the most romantic and also exciting 

place on the Turkish coast. 

English Harbour is beautiful, secluded and hidden behind many watery twists and turns from the 

entrance. It is sheltered and the holding is good, which makes for a very unworried night’s sleep. There 

is a naval history to this place. The English hid their gunboats here in the Second World War. There is 

still a Turkish military base here, which becomes evident from time to time. 

This place has magic all of its own. It is peaceful and there are only two restaurants and that is how it 

has always been. They own all the land around them so the area should stay unspoilt. Tonight though, 

we decide to eat on board by candlelight. David barbeques chicken and lamb chops, accompanied by 

rice, fresh green salad and cold white wine. 

The sky is dark and the stars are bright. The silken water reflects the half moon. By the shore, four men 

walk in the shallows carrying fishing lights and spears, giving the silent shore a primeval quality. On a 

Turkish boat someone plays a musical instrument and two women sing a lullaby. Perhaps it is a song in 

praise of the loveliness of nature.

This is our experience on this quiet September night. When we have been here before we have had 

different encounters. Once a General from the military establishment came to dine and the surrounding 

cornfields were filled with armed soldiers and the boats were searched, with the exception of ours. The 

relaxed restaurant suddenly displayed white tablecloths and all the waiters dressed in crisp clean shirts. 

Another time, it was local entertainment under the stars on the warm summer nights. A couple of 

Turkish guest played their violins. We were invited to join a group of German and Dutch sailing people. 

Soon a German yachtsman produced a guitar and we all sang English popular songs. Then a Dutch 

guitarist joined in. He was fantastic, probably a professional classical guitarist. He looked like a Greek 

God and played like an angel. The raki flowed and we lost our inhibitions. The dancing started, songs 

were endless and the night rolled on. A lonely Turkish soldier was having such a good time he wanted to 

contribute too. All he had was his gun, so he fired it into the air in time to the music. We all hit the 

ground and the party broke up. Before returning to our various boats we were sworn to secrecy. We 

must say we saw nothing. We heard nothing. It was long ago, so I feel it is safe to break my silence and 

tell a much-shortened version of a story of this most amazing night. 

In these two restaurants the food is delicious, the prices reasonable and there are some facilities now. 

There is a small shop, good showers and toilets. We could not swim this time, as the bay had been 

invaded with enormous golden-brown jellyfish, complete with barnacle-like skirts of black beads. 

Deceptively, they looked like a reflection of the sun in the water and they could move with 

considerable speed. 

Yedi Adalari (Seven Islands) East Creek 

Nothing to it really, as the owner of one of the restaurants in English Harbour said when he described 

Yedi Adalalr, 

"Yedi Adalari. Finish." 

The new marina at Turgetreis 

It is just a large bay scattered with islands. There are no restaurants, no ancient ruins, nothing. In 

places it is rather barren. The water is clear but deep, and it is good for swimming. We decided to 

anchor in the East Creek which is one of the inner most bays. What we did not appreciate at the time 

was that this anchorage offers excellent shelter from a SW storm. As we cooked our dinner the sky 

darkened. Boats that had moored at the entrance of the bay re-anchored and joined us in this 

sheltered inlet. We looked across the 35 miles of sea towards Bodrum. There the sky was black. 

Thunder crashed and fork lightening split the sky, hardly a second’s beat between electric bright 

flashes. The show was phenomenal. 

The wind reached storm force 11 with a speed of 55 knots. We did not know it then but Bodrum was 

experiencing a hurricane. We were told that the streets became rivers and trees were blown down. 

Chairs and tables left outside were picked up by the wind and blown at speed past restaurant windows. 

An outside pontoon in the Marina was torn free and the expensive motorboats tied to it were damaged. 

Two boats outside the harbour were blown against the rocks and sank, and there was countless 

damage to others. Holiday beach boats and wind surfers were blown out to sea. The power supply to 

the city failed and the water supply ceased, except for the deluge supplied by the vengeful hand of 

Mother Nature. For us the night was relatively calm. Our anchor was firmly dug in and we were 

completely sheltered from the wind. How lucky to be in The Right Place at The Right Time. 

Yedi Adalari to Bodrum 

Ray was becoming increasingly worried about the strong south westerly wind, so it was an early start 

next day so that we could have the best possible chance of a berth in Bodrum Karada Marina. If we 

could not get a berth, then it would be a further 15nm, three hours to the next suitable harbour – 

opened in May 2003 is Turgetreis Marina with excellent facilities, north of Bodrum. The strong wind in 

this unusual direction enabled us to make excellent speed towards Bodrum. We covered the 35nm in 

just four hours. 

On arrival, we were told that the Marina was full but we should anchor in the outer harbour. This is 

unheard of. Anchoring in the outer harbour is illegal. Even more surprisingly the harbour was full of 

boats jostling for positions, often bumping into one another. This was not an ideal situation. Ray and I 

took the dinghy into the marina. In the marina office we learnt of the devastation to Bodrum the night 

before. It took the rest of the day to negotiate with the manager but eventually we got a berth there. It 

was good to be safely tied up and be able to step off the boat and use the fabulous marble showers in 

the marina and get dressed up to eat on shore. Even more importantly, we needed to be near civilisation 

as Caroline and David needed a taxi to the airport. Sadly, their holiday had come to an end. 

Sadly this was our last sailing holiday on Sky Blazer. During last year, we sold her to Geoff and Maureen 

Florence and they are enjoying their first experience of sailing in the Bodrum area. We have had so 

many wonderful sailing adventures in Turkey and we wish Maureen and Geoff fair winds and calm seas. 

Rozlyn Walsh 

Skyblazer's new owners, Geoff and Maureen Florence 

Fact Box 

GETTING THERE 

Turkey has 14 international airports and 

there are several scheduled flights daily 

from Europe. Turkish Airlines has direct 

flights from many European capitals, 

including Manchester and London, 

to Istanbul. 

British Airways: www.britishairways.com 

Cyprus Turkish Airlines: www.kthy.net 

Turkish Airlines: www.turkishairlines.com 

PILOTAGE 

Turkish Waters and Cyprus by Rod Heikell. 

Published by Imray, Norie and Watson. 

MARINA INFORMATION 

www.turkeyyachting.com 

TURKEY NATIONAL TOURIST OFFICE 

UNITED KINGDOM 

Tel: 44- 207-355 4207, 629 7771 

Email: info@gototurkey.co.uk 

Web site: www.gototurkey.co.uk 

USA - NEW YORK 

Tel: 1-212- 687 2194-95-96 

Email: ny@tourismturkey.org 

Web site: www.tourismturkey.org 

VISAS 

British and US passport holders 

require entry visas to enter Turkey. 

These can be obtained on arrival 

at the port/airport of entry. 

For other countries or more 

information see: 

Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 

www.mfa.gov.tr 

CURRENCY 

Local currency is the Turkish Lira. 

Outside the main tourist areas Euros 

are not well known. 

FURTHER INFORMATION 

www.bookinturkey.com 

www.voyagerbook.com 

www.gototurkey.co.uk 

The information shown is believed correct 

at time of going to pres,s however readers 

are advised to make their own enquiries 

before travelling. 


59

New 

THE WORLD'S YOUR OYSTER 

46 Deck Saloon 

53 Deck Saloon 62 Deck Saloon 

49 Deck Saloon 56 Deck Saloon 

OYSTER MARINE LTD 

FOX’S MARINA IPSWICH SUFFOLK 

IP2 8SA ENGLAND 

TEL: +44 (0)1473 688888 FAX: +44 (0)1473 686861 

EMAIL:YACHTS@OYSTERMARINE.COM 

66 High Level 

Deck Saloon 

New 

O YSTER 

Double Queen’s Award Yacht Builders 

WWW.OYSTERMARINE.COM 

72 FastTrack 82 High Level 

Deck Saloon 

72 Deck Saloon 

New 

OYSTER MARINE USA 

5 MARINA PLAZA 

GOAT ISLAND NEWPORT RI 02840 

TEL: +401 846 7400 FAX: +401 846 7483 

EMAIL: INFO@OYSTERYACHTS.COM 

100 High Level 

Deck Saloon

Oyster News 52 - Oyster Yachts

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?