It is December and a cold and windy day. I am standing on the bank of the River Medway at Hoo, looking out across the bleak mud flats that the receding tide has left bare. From where I am standing by Buttercrock wharf I can see lying high, but not dry, the hulks of numerous wooden ships, once a thing of beauty, now just bones. I can see a Thames barge, a Schooner or two, a trawler, an admiralty pinnace and several long dead wooden yachts. It is a sad fact that so many wooden boats rotted away after their appointed span of 25 years and a wonderful thing that nothing less than pure altruism has kept so many of these old hookers afloat and a glory to behold!
This is the story of Lone Gull, a yacht that has survived several of these 25-year crises and has had many adventures along the way. Maurice Griffiths who did so much to popularise “Yachting on a small income” designed LG. She was built for him by Johnson and Jago at Leigh-on-Sea in 1938. It is of course not just a tale of wood and metal made glorious by the skills of craftsmen but more the story of the people with their dreams and aspirations that owned her.
Since 2000 Steve has sailed in waters from the Arctic to South America and has crossed the Atlantic several times, including solo. For these and other voyages he has won awards from the Royal Cruising Club, the Ocean Cruising Club and the Cruising Association. He now writes pilots for the RCC Pilotage foundation and is the author of “South Biscay” published by Imray Norie and Wilson.
He is also author of “Rambling under Sail” published by Amazon.
This is the story of Lone Gull, a yacht that has survived several of these 25-year crises and has had many adventures along the way. Maurice Griffiths who did so much to popularise “Yachting on a small income” designed LG. She was built for him by Johnson and Jago at Leigh-on-Sea in 1938. It is of course not just a tale of wood and metal made glorious by the skills of craftsmen but more the story of the people with their dreams and aspirations that owned her.
Since 2000 Steve has sailed in waters from the Arctic to South America and has crossed the Atlantic several times, including solo. For these and other voyages he has won awards from the Royal Cruising Club, the Ocean Cruising Club and the Cruising Association. He now writes pilots for the RCC Pilotage foundation and is the author of “South Biscay” published by Imray Norie and Wilson.
He is also author of “Rambling under Sail” published by Amazon.
