“Altricia” to set classic hearts on fire at the 2016 London Boat Show
The sleek McGruer classic 8m cruiser-racer “Altricia” will make her debut at the 2016 London Boat Show in January as she takes to her own stage fresh from full restoration by the master shipwrights of Mylor Yacht Harbour’s Marine Team.
Altricia has just emerged picture-perfect from her Mylor shed to complete sea trials where she proved herself as swift and technically brilliant under sail as she is beautiful – a full fifty years after she took her maiden voyage on the Clyde.
She is the shining apple of the eye for her distinguished seafaring owner Peter Methven OBE who will join Mylor Yacht Harbour’s Marine Team to show her off on stand G150 at London’s ExCeL exhibition centre from January 8 – 17 2016. Visitors coming to admire Altrica will be able to climb on board for a guided tour, as well as to enter an exclusive prize draw for the chance to win a winter’s shore-storage at Mylor Yacht Harbour* near Falmouth.
“Altricia’s sailing trials where a real success,” says Henry Goldsmith, Project Manager of the Marine Team. “Bear in mind that none of us, Peter included, had ever sailed her before the trial and it was anyone’s guess how she’d perform. Fortunately she put our fears to rest: she pointed well, she was fast, powerful and steady. I think she wants to be sailed quite hard, heeled right over with rails in the water, and when she gets in the groove she absolutely charges!”
Altricia is a 40 foot McGruer classic yacht – built of African Mahogany in 1965 to the 8 metre cruiser-racer formula. She arrived at Mylor Yacht Harbour in 2013 and in the seasoned hands of shipwrights Chris ‘Ollie’ Oliver and Reed Downing initially had everything below her waterline repaired. She has since undergone an intricate method of teak deck board and king plank fitting which involves no nailing or screwing, just gluing plank by plank – a process which maximises both the water-tight integrity and the smooth beauty of the deck.
“She is looking amazing and there are hardly any other yards in this country who could have laid her deck to this standard,” says Peter Methven. “McGruer yachts were so well built and I feel proud to have been in the position to know what I wanted and to work closely with the Mylor team to bring this lovely vessel back to her former glory.”
“We have the skills to match any vessel – ancient or modern – but to be entrusted with a rare classic yacht like Altricia is a real privilege,” says Mylor Yacht Harbour’s Managing Director Roger Graffy. “Our master craftsmen have decades of experience between them and a project like this allows us to nurture younger talent to make sure we take those brilliant classic skills into the future.”
In Altricia’s case the Marine Team’s skills were put to redesigning her mahogany cockpit, replacing her windows and converting her to a wheel steering system. She has had a full electrical rewire, installation of new electronics and systems, deck fittings and fairleads, rigging, hatches and winches – and a new mast and set of sails which take her back to her original rig plan. In other words, under Altricia’s beautiful exterior is a formidable sailing machine.
“The project as a whole was challenging,” says Henry Goldsmith, “not least keeping up the pressure over a number of years. It was brilliant to be involved with working on such a beautifully built boat and to work alongside some really talented guys. Seeing her come out of her chrysalis after all that graft was a really proud moment.”
Peter is Gloucester-based but far from hands’ off – consulting with Altricia’s project team every step of the way: he is a qualified yacht and boat builder with a naval background and experience spanning every sector within the industry worldwide. He was awarded an OBE in 2009 for his services to the Marine industry.
“Mylor Yacht Harbour is in a beautiful part of the world with some of the best sailing waters and all the help I need right on hand, so Altricia will be berthed on the Mylor Marina for the foreseeable future,” says Peter.
“But first we want to show off the amazing work that the team has done on her to the sailing world and where better than to welcome visitors in at the London Boat Show.”
Read Altricia’s full case study HERE>