ANNE MARIE

 

Simon Allan is a sailor and Yacht skipper from Cornwall. His passion for old sinking wooden boats is second to none!

Katie Allan is Simon's long suffering wooden boat widow, sorry I mean wife, mother, sail maker and cover maker.

Over the past 7 years they have been living and working on their boat Voluta, nearing the end of her long and arduous refit they bought a house aptly named Drop Anchor and had a baby girl called Florence. Florence was the latest edition to the family as Simon already had 10 yr old twins Noah and Hugo. During a family holiday to Canada visiting Simon's mate Kevin and his family they stumbled upon Anne Marie. Simon was captivated, so he left an email address and a note saying if you ever wish to sell your boat get in touch, then slipped it through a hatch and that was that, the ball had been set in motion. Several months later Simon received the first email from the then owner of Anne Marie stating that indeed the boat was in need of a new keeper and so a few months after that we bought her. This brings us on to our mission and aim for Anne Marie.

 

Our mission and aim is to sail Anne Marie down the west coast of the US, past Mexico and through the Panama Canal, stopping off in the Caribbean, possibly entering the Antigua Classics and then sailing her across the Atlantic back into European waters.

 

Anne Marie is a unique part of British Maritime Heritage, which, after spending several decades on the West Coast of North America, is preparing for a voyage home to the UK, where she will sail in her home waters which she has not visited now for over half a century.

 She will undergo full restoration before joining the busy European regatta scene, where she will once again race with competitors she last faced more than sixty years ago.

Having had an illustrious early history including being raced by the King of Denmark, she is now somewhat dilapidated after a few sorry years and she requires plenty of essential repair works before being fit for the arduous 9,000 mile passage back to the UK.

 

The task of preparing Anne Marie for sea is considerable. Fortunately her teak, elm and oak hull appears to have stood up remarkably well to her 105 years, no doubt largely due to her original high build quality, Lloyds special survey 18A1. She will still need to be hauled out, inspected, and anything not satisfactory put right.

Her rig has been cut down somewhat over the years, having had her mizzen mast removed, and around 8 feet from her bowsprit. To restore her to her original rig will be one of the main objects of the current refit, and it has been started by the previous owner, having had a new topmast, topsail spars, and squareyard built. However, she still needs a new Mizzen mast, along with a boom and gaff, possibly a new bowsprit, and possibly a new main boom.

This does not just involve the woodwork, but also blacksmith work for the traditional metal fittings, and traditional rigging skills for the wiresplicing, serving, seizing, and of course ropework.

There are many more jobs of a more mundane nature to be carried out on Anne Marie in this preparation for sea, electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, to name but a few. The challenge of restoring her original rig, however is the most exciting part. To accurately research and then build and fit the spars is a great project,  and it will pay dividends at sea as the boat will be a lot handier for the passage home, as well as restoring those classic good looks!