Jan wrote:
Not sure how long this has been for sale but just came across Annie's first (?) boat, still going strong.... Would love to hear about your thoughts now Annie, comparing your expectations of the new boat to your memories of how the first boat performed.
https://yachts.apolloduck.com/boat/herreshoff-28/503766
In a nutshell, chalk and cheese. To be honest, I am not interested in a high performance boat, and that is what Sheila was. When we lived aboard, she had (to be generous) about a sixth the space of the SibLim design. She was a witch to windward, but very wet, and, with a 50% ballast ratio, 5ft 9in draught and the ballast all lead, she could roll the cups off the table. I have popped a couple of files for you to see her when we had her. It was we who discovered the Beken photo and indeed, had a contact print made from the 8x11 glass negative. We sailed her further than the Irish Sea, spending the best part of a year in the Solent and sailing along the S Coast of Ireland as far as Dingle. It was that cruise that made us decide that we need another boat!
I cannot imagine why anyone would put a gaff rig on her - she was designed for Bermudian and her bizarre, bent mast was her signature. I have a copy of Ian Rutherford's book, 'At the Tiller', which is still quite easy to buy second hand. It is a wonderful collection of accounts of Corinthian sailing at its best!