Yacht Delivery of ‘Whydah of Bristol’ 60ft Gaff Schooner .
We’ve just completed a fantastic delivery for John and Di Edwards.They needed their beautiful Gaff Schooner returned to her home port of Bristol from Brest. Whydah is commercially registered and they have been successfully chartering her for a number of years. Now on the market, they decided to bring her back to the U.K.
Upon arrival, we could tell this would be an interesting trip. Built in 2001 but based upon a New York Pilot Cutter from the 1850′s – designs that led to the building of the yacht “America” of Americas Cup fame. She has been well built and beautifully fitted out.
The delivery itself was tricky for a number of reasons, the main one being the Bristol Channel and entrance to the River Avon. Having the 2nd highest tidal range in the world, it needed very careful planning and implementation.
The milk run across the channel went as expected and as a result we got to Lands End to catch the back eddy at HW-3 which gave us an 8 hour run of favourable tide.
The Cornish Coast was as rugged and beautiful as expected, we had the usual dolphin escort for hours as well.
All that was left was the infamous Bristol Channel. We made great time to get there, but unfortunately we just missed a tidal window. We killed time in the channel, cleaning down below and tidying everything so that Whydah was in perfect nick for the handover to the owners in Bristol.
When the tide was right, we began our final approach. The entrance to the Avon, as you can tell from the fotos below, is very narrow with a tide of 5kts ripping through. We ferry glided in and then made our way down river.
All that was left was a lock and the handover to the owners.
Thank you very much to John and Di for the honour of delivering their yacht!
Submit your review | |
This was a job well done by a highly professional crew. Whydah of Bristol arrived back at her home port in excellent condition and ready for viewing by potential purchasers. Thumbs to Matthew, Douglas and Benedict.