Sheila1905.com

Sheila is the oldest Albert Strange yacht in commission and to keep her credentials she needs attention over the winter.
We are worried that rot might have developed under the mizzen mast, at the stern of the boat, from rain water leakage. We are under the impression we will have to restore the stem post and the whole stern area. As much as possible we are obliged to do this keeping the structure and the planking which are original.
We will have to remove the ballast keel and this is an oportunity to sand blast this massive piece of metal.
And finally, we do not want Sheila’s hull to dry too much. So we have to manage everything in 4 months.

Cheers from France, this is week 1 of the project !

“Nous avons le plaisir de vous informer que votre bateau a reçu le label BIP (Bateau d’Intérêt Patrimonial) lors de la commission d’agrément du jeudi 17 octobre 2024. Votre navire a également été distingué par les experts de la commission 2024 qui lui ont décerné leur “coup de cœur 2024.”

”We are happy to inform you that your boat was awarded the BPI label (Boat of Patrimonial Importance) during the certification commission meeting of Thursday 17th October 2024. The experts of the 2024 commission distinguished the vessel with the award of their “coup de coeur 2024”.

Votre navire, les informations et les photos le concernant, figurent désormais au registre des BIP. Ce fichier fait référence pour les bateaux du patrimoine français. Il est accessible sur le site de Patrimoine Maritime et Fluvial , rubrique “Rechercher un BIP”.”

I am very happy that Sheila receives this label. There is no money or tax break attached, and it is only glory. The highest level for the French authorities would be “monument historique” – but the tax incentive comes with an export ban and many additional administrative constraints.

The “coup de cœur” means even more and I am very grateful to the experts committee and their President, Gerard d’Aboville. With this award our beloved Princess Sheila gets recognition in France. And the Albert Strange Association and the deserving professionals in her Court will benefit from her increased visibility.

Cheers from France !

On Sunday 13th of October, we had our last opportunity to sail Sheila in 2024.

It took us the whole day to round “Ile aux Moines” – some 20 NM in very light airs. Sheila was sailing the same course as the “catagolfe” with more than 120 small multihull dinghies. Quite a number of DNFs there.

We left at 11 in the morning when the wind was picking up, full of confidence in the weather forecast and our tide calculations, and at 4, we were rowing to round Pointe du Trec’h just as the tide was reversing. We entered Auray river again at 7 and dusk was approaching. We were lucky to “hitchhike” a tow ride for the last mile against the tide.

When we picked up our mooring and attempted lowering the main, we discovered the peak halyard block had given. After an attempt to climb the mast and some wiggling, the peak finally came down. It will stay down until the block is changed, so next year.

Sheila has been sailed 30 times or so, and although she started her season with many warnings to be easy on the boat considering her condition, she has delivered her season. Many thanks to the crew – at least 10 of you shared the experience.

Next step : get everything sorted out before she is out of the water early November.

Greetings to the Court of Princess Sheila !

I am glad to report that Sheila raced with a selection of the best sailors of the “Société Nautique de la Trinité-sur-Mer” on August 17th. The fleet included an Imoca 50 so I do not need to explain that we were not the fastest on the race course. In fact she was the smallest as well and needless to say the star of the day.

Sheila received a wonderful welcome from the other members of the club and I am very grateful to them for being so kind with us.

Now Sheila is back to her mooring in the Golfe du Morbihan with great memories.

Sure, boats are made for sailing, not to be pampered and treated like a chimney-piece.

Sheila has been sailed hard these days (but mostly gently) and she will get the fundamental maintenance she needs after the summer. Still I am trying to maintain her beauty, and, as Mike would put it “gild the lily” each time it is possible.

Here are a few enjoyable details :

Gold is back

Sheila got her cove-line back, in (almost solid) gold. I must pay tribute to Gérard d’Aboville, my neighbour, lover of “Lady Maud” and President of “Patrimoine Maritime et Fluvial” for helping me find out how to do it.

The helm also got a bit of gold paint, although I need to find a different formula.

Leather and bronze, rather than heavy metal

The support for the boom needed varnishing, but it was also damaging the deck. Now it is just beautiful.

It is so hard to remove everything stainless steel. Stainless steel is very useful, but is not period for Sheila. The same applies to cruciform screw heads. All the shackles (with very few exceptions) are now bronze again.

The main challenge was with the standing rigging and it was very conspicuous. The shackles and the eyes on the stainless steel shrouds were just too visible. A solution was to replace everything with dyneema. This would have looked much better than shiny cables while not being period either. Sheila has spent her allowance for this year so I made leather protections which are operating as covers.

Moving to running rigging, there are not many knots to tie on Sheila, as most of the lines are spliced. Still a figure of 8, a bowline or a clove hitch are common and essential. Less common, but the jib halyard will not be of any help without it is the sheep shank. I had to learn it again.

Going by the book

Sheila does not carry her name printed on the hull, It should be printed on the stern, along with the two letters AY for her new maritime quarter. There is an exemption for ships less that 7m (and so she is.) The penalty is up to 3.750€. In 1905, it was a Board of Trade requirement to have it at the bow and the stern but Sheila was not carrying her name either, on the basis of an 1898 exemption granted to Humber Yawl Club members, their boats being small and pointed on both ends. But are the French Authorities aware of this ?

The penalty for not carrying a plaque inside the cockpit with all the registration details that paper pushers have deemed compulsory is steep as well – 1500€. So Sheila compromised on this one.

Dressed up

You might have read already that Sheila sports a boom and a mizzen cover made by my friend Yvonnic and his team.

The handwriting for Sheila is Robert Groves’.

Yvonnic also gave me some leftovers of the fabric he used, which I stitched into a mast step collar to limit water ingress.

And finally, I decided to include an improvement. It is an improvement for me because I need a chart table for pilotage inside the Golfe. Even when you feel you know the place inside out, you always have to go back and check the chart from time to time. And without an echo sounder you want to be quick and not take too many chances. Mike was writing in 1979 ; “Like old houses the interiors of boats are a very personal thing and Sheila’s had changed over the years to suit the tastes of her major owner to whom her survival is entirely due.” This area I used for my chart table was taken by his Taylors Parafin cooker which did not survive to 2024, so it was already slightly different from the original Sheila interior setup. The crockery area was also carefully removed and stored for different times.

Greetings from France !

On the 20th and 21st of July 2024, and on her 120th year, Sheila was racing and parading at Port-Navalo.

“Les Grandes Régates de Port-Navalo” were celebrating their 130th year.
Port-Navalo is the harbour at the entrance of the “Golfe du Morbihan” in the South of Britanny. The tide race in the entrance of the Golfe is up to 8 or 9 knots, which makes it an interesting harbour to enter under sails !

Sheila raced on the Saturday against boats which were both magnificient and much bigger than her.

Pen Duick 2 (14m Costantini schooner winner of the 1964 Ostar Race with Eric Tabarly) won easily. The Lys Noir (24m 1914 Yawl), Krog E Barz (15m Gaff Cutter), and 3 Frères (11m Sinagot) finished ahead of us as well, in a dying wind. No boat smaller than Sheila finished before her and a lot of bigger boats were behind.

We took a safe start, as a port tack was the only way to pass the line, in the strong tide. The management of tide currents was also instrumental to finish the race. With boats of such different speed capacities, after 10 miles, many of our smaller opponents had given up. The reacher was a great asset and we used it with the spinnaker pole used as a whisker pole. We did not use the spinnaker and the pole extension.

On Sunday we paraded in the tide, with west wind increasing to 26kn. Sheila was sailing under jib and mizzen during much of the parade, her signature look. We surprised many Breton boat watchers who discovered her and I believe they enjoyed the show.

Many thanks to the organization, we had a great week-end, and many thanks to my competent crew.

Cheers from France !

Greetings to the Court of Princess Sheila !

On the 13th and 14th of July 2024, we are training for next week regata in Port-Navalo with Vincent.

We want to try our two “regata sails”. The spinnaker is 200sq’ single luff, set masthead to stem-head with a 20’ pole. The pole is in the 2 parts, with a bamboo extension and is actually longer than the hull ! The reacher is set to the end of the bowsprit and sheeted direct or to the boom end. Sheila delivered beyond expectations and proved very fast in light airs. We have some minor adjustments to make and we look forward to next week !

Maybe you will notice that Sheila received some attention over the past weeks so that she is pretty for the summer with little details here and there. I will try to update you with those details later on.

Cheers !

The Court of Princess Sheila will be glad to see that she is back in shape.

We were blessed with one week of glorious weather. The efforts of the crew to get her back to sea water are just a memory and we are enjoying every moment. Still a lot to learn but we are improving our understanding of this wonderful yacht each time.

The next week was not as magnificient. But now Sheila is dressed for every occasion, thanks to Yvonnick and Karine.

Cheers from France !