"S.V.II Bob's Worth"
On December the 14th 2015, we gave our son Andy, a Drascombe Lugger 19ft, for his coming of age and turning 21.
The Drascombe come from a good mate Peter Matheson, who purchased her new and imported her from the UK, where she was made at Honnor Marine, Totnes, Devon.
Peter enjoyed sailing her around Moreton Bay and Hervey Bay in South East Queensland.
Peter had known Andrew since he was born and was pleased to strike a deal which would allow the boat to stay within friends and family.
The plan to gift the vessel was put in motion.
Peter took Andrew out for a few sails to show him the ropes, tips and tricks. A quick sail from Wellington Point on a glorious reach too Peel Island sealed the deal.
Andy has been involved in sailing all his whole life with the family yacht a 40" sloop, "SV Antipodes II", competitive dinghy sailing with Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, and his secondary school sailing club.
We
decided to gift the vessel to Andrew for his 21st Birthday, and
rename her in the traditional manner.
As
is the custom to begin calling of Poseidon to amend his “Ledger of the Sea”,
with generous toasts to the boat, previous owner, Poseidon, Greek god of the
sea, Aeolus Greek god of wind, and the new owner Andrew.
The challenge was on for a name, Andrew
eventually came up with the name for her II (2)Bobs Worth, Aussie slang for
Having your say i.e.. Putting your 2 bobs worth in. Also Andrews dog is called Bob, a real character, and he has a
tag that Andrew and Rian used in the design of the name. A pirate
dog...Arrrrrr.
 The Boats name Bob the Dog |
We
also required information on her so we could arrange insurance and information
on how to maintain and sail her. I fortunately managed to make contact with Sharon Harwood of Churchouse Boats , the Drascombe agents and
builder, in the UK
www.drascombe.co.uk
In 2011 we had a major flood in Brisbane
and Peter’s house went under water and he lost all his belongings to the water,
amongst this was all information relating to the Drascombe. Sharon upon hearing
of my plans came to our rescue with information on the build and all the info I
needed for insurance and registration.
Sharon also put together a wonderful birthday present to Andrew of a
Drascombe polo shirt, a beautiful gold pin, a Drascombe manual, Drascombe UK magazine, a very good read!
Plans were made for a function to be held
on Sunday the 13th December 2015 at RQYS, we were also allocated a
berth directly in front of the boardwalk where we were holding the ceremony and
function.
Work began on re-oiling here timbers,
varnish, replacing lines, making her look smart and knew as it was her day as
well. A gold coin, struck in the same year she was built was placed in front of
her mast; this custom is for luck and to show her that her new owner will look
after her.
The day came, the morning was bleak, wet
isolated showers filled the morning. The forecast was to clear, so we arrived
at RQYS, unsure how the day would play out, around midday the grey scud
disappeared and replaced with blue skies, the Gods are smiling!
As our guests arrived they were greeted
with food and drinks, we had kept the name a secret as custom requires.
With
the ringing of the Bell we began, friends and family charged their glasses and
made their way to the marina arm where she was moored with her name covered.
We
started the ceremony by Ringing of the Bells and calling Poseidon and Aeolus and to a toast to
the previous owner and to the boat. Proceeding on we asked Poseidon to remove
the old name from the “Ledger of the
Sea”, a ingot / metal tag bearing the old name was tossed into the sea off the
bow.
Next
we call Poseidon to add the new name ‘SV II Bobs Worth” to his ledger and with
this a half a bottle of Champagne was poured from west to east , over the bow,
the remaining half bottle was toasted to the ship by the new Master, Andrew, and
his Mate.
Poseidon
and Aelous are called next for the for the blessing of the winds to assure you
of fair winds and smooth seas. Each wind is called by name, Great Boreas, ruler of the North
Wind, Great Zephyrus, ruler of the West Wind, Great Eurus, ruler of the East
Wind, Great Notus, ruler of the South Wind, with the calling of the each wind a
glass of champagne is tossed in the air in the direction of the wind.
After the
ceremony is through I thanked everyone for coming and formally handed over the
vessel to Andrew and unveiled the name. Drinks and food continued well into the
evening.
A good
time was had by all!
The next
day Andrew and his mate Rian set Sail for a 4 day adventure in Moreton Bay
a trip to Saint Helena island, where they sailed back to manly then we
travelled to Cleveland where they sailed to Peel Island where they spent 3 days
sailing, diving , fishing and having a good time.
|
 |
| Andy wearing his Drascombe Polo Shirt from us at CBL
|
Our
thanks to everyone who made this a special day; you can watch the naming ceremony
on utube at https://youtu.be/R7Y2PQUSGYg
Churchouse Boats are very proud to have been part of helping Andy celebrate his 21st Birthday, along with a printed Lugger manual, polo shirt, pin badge, we are also paying for a years membership to the DA for Andy.
We wish Andy all the very best in the future, and hope he has many happy years sailing in his Drascombe Lugger.
