CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2023

CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2023

JUNK RIGGED VERTUES In the Spring Newsletter earlier this year I briefly mentioned three Vertues, whose owners had chosen to rig them with 'chinese' junk sails, each set on a single mast. They were called Speedwell of Hong Kong, Jilly and Chu-Fa. However, this autumn I was contacted by Craig and Rebecca, whose boat Caber was also junk rigged. Since then, they have very kindly provided lots more information about Caber, as well as one of the three boats, Jilly, who wasn't called Jilly at all! We have also been joined by Ute…Read more
AUTUMN NEWSLETTER  OCTOBER 2023

AUTUMN NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2023

HERE is the beautiful Wanderer III lying peacefully in Ocean Harbour, South Georgia. We are delighted to be able to bring you some more treats to enliven these dull, northern autumnal days. Firstly we are concluding the amazing story of Bill Nance's single-handed doubling of The Horn with Cardinal Vertue. It is this kind of inspiration that fires the imaginations of all Vertue owners, especially those in the midst of restoration projects. So it is fitting to be able to report on three of these, currently under way in the south of England…Read more
SUMMER NEWSLETTER JUNE 2023

SUMMER NEWSLETTER JUNE 2023

This Newsletter seems to be taking on a somewhat retrospective feeling, responding as they all do to the material that you kind Vertue enthusiasts contribute. This time there is also a certain amount of input from 'the archives' and it is from there that this wonderful photograph of the magnificent Dyarchy, taken by Eric Hiscock, has been resurrected. Before coming to this, the latest of the occasional episodes of the Vertue Design Dynasty story, we are also really delighted to be able to put into print the first part of an insightful account…Read more
SPRING NEWSLETTER MARCH 2023

SPRING NEWSLETTER MARCH 2023

Here are Island Vertue and Tui (above), alongside one another in Hobart, 'lending tone' to one of the world's great traditional sailing festivals. We are lucky to have so many keen Vertue owners in that corner of the world, some of whom have very kindly sent full reports of the proceedings. Meanwhile, we are always trying to improve the Vertue database that is easily 'searchable' on this modest website, so I have included another appeal for information on one of the elegant grp Vertues: please contact me if you can help, with this…Read more
AUTUMN NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2022

AUTUMN NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2022

WoodenBoat Magazine have just released one of my articles about Vertues onto facebook https://www.woodenboat.com/vertues I am really grateful to them for doing this as it will introduce our little website to an even greater worldwide audience. VERTUES FOR SALE It has never been my intention in developing this website for Vertue enthusiasts, to use it for commerce. However, just as I try to report on all aspects of the boats, they do change hands from time to time, so it would therefore be inconsistent not to include some information about this activity. Unusually,…Read more
SUMMER NEWSLETTER JULY 2022

SUMMER NEWSLETTER JULY 2022

Mea bravely beat her way right around Britain! Here at VertueYachts we are just amazed at the valiant effort put in by Matteo and his two crew, Paolo and Mahoney, who each joined him for different legs. They drove Mea onwards whilst she had to beat nearly all the way, from Plymouth to Plymouth, making good around 1900 miles. Every time she started a new leg the wind had gone ahead, and Matteo was only able to use his spinnaker for a few hours in 36 days! For all the details, please see…Read more
MEA V89 Is Racing Around Britain! Even later Spring Newsletter 2022

MEA V89 Is Racing Around Britain! Even later Spring Newsletter 2022

Mea charging west out of Plymouth Sound today, after the start of the Round Britain and Ireland Race: 29th May 2022. Good luck Mea! (With thanks to Jon Dunsdon, owner of Hippo, Vertue 213, for the use of this splendid photo. Note that Mea is disguised as Sumara (V 198) thanks to the kindness of Alasdair Flint who has lent a mains'l for the race!) _________________ The last time a Vertue crossed the starting line of a race in Plymouth Sound was when Cardinal Vertue did so at the start of the Observer…Read more
NEWSLETTER  SPRING 2022

NEWSLETTER SPRING 2022

The first green leaves are uncurling from within the brown buds on the trees outside my window, urged on by the warm spring sunshine. I'm ashore for a bit of a refit just now, awaiting some new plumbing to the ticker, and dreaming of fair winds and blue seas............ like this lovely photo of the Tegra sailing up the Sir Francis Drake Channel off her home port of Nanny Cay, Tortola. So, I'm afraid today's Newsletter will be rather short. ________________________ I've always had a particular admiration for the gaff-rigged Vertues, as regular…Read more
2021 DECEMBER NEWSLETTER

2021 DECEMBER NEWSLETTER

Welcome to our fourth Newsletter this year! MERRY CHRISTMAS! A SPECIAL AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND FEATURE! In 1962 Bill Nance worked his way into Fremantle aboard Cardinal Vertue under jury rig, after 'running his easting down' from Cape Town and losing some of his mast on the way. It was one of the most audacious passages ever completed with a Vertue, although what happened to him and the boat next was not the proudest moment for the Australian bureacratic machine. By that time, at least four other Vertues were already afloat on the…Read more