News Items

Below are some items that may be of interest to members and visitors alike. We welcome contributions to the new section of this site. More importantly we welcome any feedback to the items posted.
Where possible I will attach links to those interested parties, but if there are issues arising from the items that members wish to share please don't hesitate to contact the editor at: hillyardyacht@ntlworld.com

Where is Beltane - 1937 - 14 ton Hillyard

Anthony Burdon writes:-

I wonder if the owners of Beltane, a 1937, 14 ton, (now) cutter rigged Hillyard are members. My late grandfather owned her in the late 1940s and possibly from new. His daughters, my mother, is still alive and living in Devon. She remembers the boat fondly and we live almost overlooking where Beltane was moored in the river Dart just after the war. It would be marvelous if we could see an up to date picture of her as we only have one old black and white shot of her under sail.
Any news of her whereabouts, history, photographs please contact 
anthony.burdon@virgin.net


Hythe Event September 2010

Dear all.

Just to let you know that a Hillyard gathering is planned at Hythe Marina (Southampton Water)on the weekend of 11th-12th September.

Hythe Marina is my 'home marina' and for those who don't know it, Hythe is situated on the Western side of Southampton Water, approximately five and a half miles upstream from Calshot.
The marina is accessed via a lock.

The plan is to raft some of our boats in a designated area, and depending upon numbers, other berths will be available as close to the main group as possible.
A special berthing discount has been arranged, with 20% off the standard rate of £3.25 per metre (up to 12.5m).

Although no 'formal' evening meal on the Saturday is planned as such, it is likely that a good few of us will eat in the Italian Restaurant (La Vista) which is located on the marina itself. Booking is advisable, and this should be done direct with the restaurant (02380 207730).
Alternatively, Hythe village (4 or 5 minutes walk from the marina entrance) has a choice of 'eateries', such as pizza parlours, pubs, an Indian restaurant/takeaway, a Thai restaurant and a Chinese takeaway.

Our H.O.A. Commodore (Steve Tiffin) and his wife Liz will be hosting a pontoon drinks party from their 13 tonner, Ianthe, on the Saturday evening. Timings and other details will be confirmed nearer the time, or as people arrive (I will be about, to assist wherever possible).

The Southampton Boat Show starts that weekend, and Hythe is well placed for this, as the nearby Hythe Ferry goes to Town Quay in Southampton, which is next door to the show entrance.
For those perhaps wishing to take in a visit to the show, or just wanting to make more of a weekend of it, berths will be available from the Friday (10th).

All are welcome (whether by road or sea) and it would be great to see you all!

I would ask in particular, that anyone coming by boat to please let me know, either by letting me know via this site, by personal messaging(in the HOA Handbook), or replying directly to this post (In Yahoo Group) , or by phoning me on 07790 655774, as I would need to have an idea of numbers, for arranging berths. I will also provide you with any further information that you may require.

Finally, I would ask you all to please make any other Hillyarder friends you may happen to know, aware of this event, as there will be no mailouts for it.

Any further information required, please don't hesitate to give me a shout.
It would be great to see you all!

Best Regards,

Doug


Where is She Now - ILLAWARRA

Richard Blomfield Writes
I don`t know whether Illawarra is still afloat. I certainly hope so She is not listed in my last edition of Lloyds (1979).
My father,Capt N C Blomfield owned her for a number of years in Jersey during the fifties having bought her from Lt.Col.Stevenson,of Gorey.She was built by Hillyards in 1929.
Illawarra Gorey harbour
Illawarra - Gorey Harbour

I enclose two photos  one of her at anchor in Grouville Bay taken from the pierhead and Gorey Harbour and the other of her after she had been brought home By Capy.Bolitho`s motorboat "Onward" after having hit the Flat Rock a few hundred yards off Gorey Harbour entrance. A willing party of helpers came to assist,as you can see. My father is the shirtless one in the cockpit. He should have known the exact position of the Flat Rock as he had been sailing out of Gorey for ten years at that time. The fact that he had the particularly attractive wife of a colleague on board at the time may have meant that his attention had been diverted for a moment!!

Illawarra Grouville Bay Jersey
Illawarra - Grouville Bay Jersey

I would be interested to hear any news of the old girl.She sailed well,particularly well as I remember when her jackyard tops`l went up in the right breeze.
I hope these snaps may be of interest to some of your members.
Regards



QUAESITOR NO. 166161

I have joined your yahoo group in order to trace the whereabouts of a boat which was made by Hillyards for a relative of mine, AA Rowse, and registered at Littlehampton July 16th 1938. The boat was then called VALMARA, and her registration was 166161. My relative died in 1959 and VALMARA was sold on.

She was classified as a Bermudan Cutter, a single masted wood pleasure yacht, gross tonnage 28.13, with 6 bulkheads, and sometime between 1966 - 1971 her name changed from VALMARA to QUAESITOR.

The ledgers for the port of Littlehampton record: 'Registry closed 26 April 1974 on sale of vessel to foreigners (USA citizen). Certificate of registry delivered up. Advice received from Treasury Dept, Bureau and Customs, Miami, Florida.' However a search in the US Coast Guard database has failed to identify the vessel.

Can anyone help me find her?

With many thanks,

James Lucas

Please contact hillyardyacht@ntlworld.com if you have any knowledge.


Hillyard Yahoo Group

Daniel Eugenio, association member and proud owner of Malina (6 Ton) has very kindly set up a yahoo group for Hillyards owners so that we can communicate and exchange valuable information between the owners and interested parties.

To subscribe, just send a message to: hillyards-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and follow the instructions

This appears to be a great idea that will compliment the existing website, to which I will add an appropriate link. Give it a go. The more that goes in to the group the more we can get out of it.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hillyards

Lady C Pips Valsheda for Line Honours - See Sailing Yarns for photographic proof!!

We never intended to enter for the Antigua Classic race series but as we were so close we decided to come and have a look. Arriving in Falmouth harbour we dropped the anchor and the next day we walked around to The Antigua Yacht Club, in torrential rain, to see what it was all about. We were introduced to Kenny Coomes, the Regatta Chairman, who spent a long time explaining how the series worked and he assured us that we would have a great time. We provisionally singed up for all the races and the Concours De Elegance and having done that we set about making the old girl look respectable, which after all her cruising wasn't easy especially in the baking heat of the day. We also had to take lots and lots of measurements as she had to be rated to be able to compete. The entry was £125 and included free berthing in the marina at English harbour so once we had scrubbed up we went around to take up our position. We were to moor stern to on the first pontoon out from the club, a maneuver that is rather unpleasant in a boat with an offset propeller, but with a long line to the jetty we managed to drop the anchor from the bow and winch ourselves into pride of place right in front of the lawn of the yacht club. We were in the front line and best placed for all the activities, Panerai, the main sponsors had their hospitality bar set up about 10 paces away from us and they provided an incredible level of liquid and gastronomic delight for the duration of the races, including a breakfast bag and daily paper delivered to the boat each morning.  Gaynor and I have never raced and we were a little apprehensive about it although Kenny assured us that we would be able to take on crew without any problems. On the way back to the boat after registering we stopped for a beer and looking out of the bar I spotted Mike Frith, the artist from Chichester who sails his boat, Blue Eagle out of Itchenor where we keep Lady C. Mike was out her with his girlfriend Sandy and they had two more friends, Alan and Jenny arriving the next day, suddenly we had a full crew and they were absolutely fantastic. Walking around the pontoons that night to look at all the other boats was amazing and the beauty of the big boats such as Velsheda, Ranger, Rebecca and Windrose was awe inspiring. We wondered why we had entered the Concours but when the judges arrived the next morning they made very positive noises and that night we were awarded 2nd place in the privately maintained vintage boat category.  Friday dawned grey and cloudy and my nerves were jangling as we lifted the anchor and headed out to the start.  We were the second race to go off and thanks to Mike's cool hand on the helm we made a good start and headed for the first mark. It wasn't long before we could see the bigger boats charging up behind us and the two massive J's came past, one on either side in a truly magnificent display of speed and grace, their huge quarter wakes almost swamping us with what appeared to be two mini Tsunamis. After a great race we finished in third place and headed back to the wonderful party atmosphere in Falmouth harbour. Day two saw the start of The Butterfly race and there were lots of squalls coming through with prolonged periods of heavy rain, we were all totally soaked, but very happy to secure 2nd place.  Sunday, day three of racing, was The Cannon, straight out and back twice, a total of 24 miles on a broad reach . We were reduced to only four crew as Alan and Jenny, who had been a bit seasick on the first day, decided to have a beach day but we still managed a great days racing and came second in class, just pipping Velsheda across the finishing line. The guys on the  committee boat came around to see us and told us that they have a fabulous picture of us taking line honours from her, one for the album I'm sure. The race ended and we headed round to Falmouth Harbour for the parade of sail where we received some very flattering comments from the commentator.  Day four was a real toughie with an 8 mile slog to windward but by now the skies had cleared and the sun was shining and Lady C was obviously enjoying herself and appeared to be better balanced than she had been previously. We romped home in second place again and an elated ship and crew headed round to English Harbour to take up the offer of a further two nights free berthing right beside the prize giving arena. This has been a truly amazing experience and we have had such a great time racing with a fabulous crew and now have over a hundred miles of racing experience under our belts. Our final position is second in class and we've just bought the T Shirts with Lady Corinne listed as one of the participating Yachts, we real do feel very proud of her and this experience will be a memory we shall cherish forever.
 
LadyC and her Prize Winning Crew wish you all the very best from The Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta 2010

Folly Inn May 2009

Folly VVW

Folly VVW (1)

Folly 2009

Folly 2009 (1)

Folly 2009 (2)

Folly 2009

Folly 2009 (4)

Folly 2009 (5)

Folly 2009 (6)