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Regatta for Homebuilt Boats |
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| by Chris Partridge - Fishbourne,
West Sussex - England |
We don’t have a tradition of messabouts here
in the UK, so when Alec Jordan of Jordan Boats suggested
an informal ‘regatta’ for home built boats
there was instant interest from builders round the
country.
The event took place at the Cotswold Water Park, an
incredible network of gravel pits that is gradually
being transformed into a leisure and nature area.
The scale is huge – nearly double the size of
the Norfolk Broads – and promises to be a great
place for boating in the future.
It’s already pretty good. The lake the first
Home Built Boats Regatta was held in has an artificial
beach which makes launching and recovery easy, a picnic
area and facilities for washing and changing.
No fewer than 21 boats turned up over the two days,
including a surprising number of maiden voyages. Some
varnish was still tacky….
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The line
up on the beach on Saturday – Alec
Jordan took the picture.
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I couldn’t make it for the Saturday, unfortunately,
but Alec Jordan’s picture (above) shows the
impressive line-up on the beach. The sky was overcast
but the wind was brisk.
 A
rarity in the UK, a Stevenson Weekender
brought by Ken & Grace DaSilva-Hill.
Lata Nobes built this Ranger 8 canoe "Dunnock"
herself, and here she starts on her maiden
voyage watched by justifiably proud father
Peter, who also built the Selway Fisher
Waterman 16 "Serafina" in the
foreground. |
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On Sunday, the sun came out but the wind died away,
so we swanned about with grace and elegance, but very,
very slowly.
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Paul Hadley
had his Lynx 14 "Millibee",
designed by Selway Fisher, under sail
for the first time at the rally. Here
he is being interviewed for a ‘how
to build your own boat’ DVD.
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But it didn’t matter. It was great just to
see other people’s boats and shoot the breeze.
Everyone had a massive time.
| Matt Newlands
of Swallow Boats brought the impressive
new Storm 15. |
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Going home, I passed a huge queue of stationary
cars trying to get home from the Southampton Boat
Show, where everything is plastic and they drink gin
and tonic, a disgusting concoction. I certainly had
a better time.
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Any boat
designed by Iain Oughtred has to be lovely,
and Graham Neil's Whilly Tern "Caitlin"
is a peach.
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For a complete lineup of the boats at the event,
see
www.uk-hbbr.co.uk/uk/index.htm.
Alec Jordan has also set up a forum where British
boatbuilders can discuss future rallies, and from
the enthusiasm shown so far, there should be several
happening round the country next year.
| Wayne Oliver
did a lavish black and red enamel paint
job on his Oystercatcher "Ever
Hopeful", which had her maiden
voyage at the rally. A Conrad Natzio design. |
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Sweet
Mist certainly looks the part as
she glides over the water.
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| Just to prove
I was there, here’s Nessy,
my Conrad Natzio-designed Sandpiper, with
the Storm 14 (and one of the Toppers that
a bunch of kids were having great fun with). |
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Into the
water for the first time - Richard Gardner's
Yamato Boat, designed by Selway Fisher.
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| Tony Sluce's
Highlander 12 "Fraoch"
was originally built as a tender to a much
bigger boat. |
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More articles by Chirs
Partridge:
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