CAITLIN

I had an unexpected e-mail on the way to Scotland yesterday. Maarten from Belgium got in touch to say he had just bought Caitlin the Oughtred Whilly Tern I sold away to The Netherlands six years ago.
She seems to be in good nick and its really great to know she's moved on to a family who will enjoy her.

Thames Raid 2

Now that autumn has arrived with its mists, and even the mellow fruitfulness has passed, the summer seems a long time ago. The latest edition of Water Craft magazine contains a pleasant reminder of the trip the HBBR stalwarts took down the River Thames during five days in June. 


We gathered at the Beale Park Boat Show where the Friday and Saturday were lovely sunny summer's days, however Sunday the day of our departure dawned damp and misty and got steadily wetter and windier as the day went on. There was talk of mutiny in the ranks, a postponement perhaps, or even a triumphal departure followed by a sneaky return under the fence and into the beer tent to wait for better weather, but schedules, camp-site bookings, and an appointment with a mini bus at the other end to get us back to the start and our cars meant it was now or never. 


So while visitors huddled under umbrellas and exhibitors started to pack up, we set off. Thankfully the weather did improve during the week, and we all had a splendid time, although its a long time since I've been as wet as that first day.


Here then is a brief slide show of the trip with a suitably damp soundtrack. Some of the photos are very low res. taken on mobile phones and some are just blurred through misty lenses, but I think it all adds to the general ambiance of wetness.   

  

My Baby's Done Gone.

There is an empty space in my heart and an even emptier space in my garage, Caitlin has been delivered to her new owner in Holland. This is the culmination of a series of events which started about five years ago with the boat building course in Lyme Regis. I always intended to see if I could build a boat and then sell it on at a profit. the choice of design, build method, standard of finish, sail maker and trailer were all chosen with this in mind. I decided to build the best boat I could and not to cut corners, and I think this has payed off. I never expected to sell the boat abroad so this has added an extra aspect to things. Having a prospective client fly in from Amsterdam to look at your creation is a terriffc buzz and its even better when he says "ya i think i buy your boat". I am really happy that she has gone to someone who I know will look after her, and I wish Willem many years of happy sailing.

The Beginning

The start of course starts way before the beginning(?) This is the modern boat building course at Lyme Regis where I first started learning the techniques needed to build caitlin. In the centre are Dick Phillips and Jack Chippendale both expert boat builders and excellent teachers. Jack was knocking on 80 at the time and as far as I know he's still at it although he has difficulty getting about these days. It was a real privelage to be taught by him. Between the eight of us on the course we managed to fix about four planks each side of this little dinghy, i wonder if she's ever been launched. We really did learn a lot in the five days and it gave me the confidence to get started.

Sea Trials

This picture shows me and Peter Skidmore taking part in the Ashlett Creet Festival of Sail in 2006. You can just see peter's arm on the helm. This was really the first proper sea trials for Caitlin. The wind had been blowing up force 5+ and I must admit i was bricking it a little at first. Peter is a self confessed adrenalin junkie and I wasn't going to let the side down so kept going. The wind had eased a bit by the time this was taken and she sailed really well.

Caitlin

In a few weeks I'm planning to start my next build. The jury is still out regarding which design i'll choose. In the meantime I'll post some info on my current boat Caitlin. She is an Iain Oughtred Whilly Tern 15ft 3in loa. She took about two years to build and was launched in 2005.