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| CLASS | Atalanta |
| BUILT | November 1960 |
| HULL No. | 118 |
| Condition | Sailing |
| Location | Ditzum, NW Germany |
Trientje P Boat Blog Posts
 | A124 To Friesland 2024 March -
A124 travelled to Friesland for a new life sailing in the Ems estuary and around the Friesian Islands. She joins A112 and A90 who are already in the area. The journey was uneventful. We look forward to reading all about her adventures in the future. Comments: |
 | Helene is for sale – £4500 or best offer – SOLD 2023 August -
A124 Helene — a British Classic with a Big Personality — is offered for sale. She is sound, well looked after and a pleasure to sail. Very comfortable cockpit. Helene has benefited from extensive work and improvements over the last 15 or so years, all of which are well documented. Most recent improvements include: work ... Comments: |
 | Alde & Ore Rally – Diversion 2023 July -
We left Wrabness at 4 on Thursday and spent the night in Hamford Water. Weather fantastic and the Backwaters magic.This morning we sailed out and up the coast choosing to divert to the Deben given SWly wind forecast for Sunday Monday. Fantastic sail to the Haven buoy sailing into the river at half tide. Up ... Comments: |
 | Two Atalantas on the River Stour together on Midsummer’s day 2023 June - A89 Colchide and A124 Helene arranged to meet on the River Stour on Midsummer’s day. Is this the first time two Atalantas have sailed together this year?
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 | Helene’s cabin update 2023 May - This spring the painters and decorators had a go at updating Helene’s cabin. Interesting comparison with Nick’s 2015 photo below.
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 | New mylar keel gaskets 2023 May - Following work this spring to address water ingress along the bottom of Helene’s keel boxes, new slot gaskets were installed using Hawk 150mm mylar gasket material obtained from RS Sailing. The badly corroded steel bands running along the sides were replaced with 1 inch grey PVC convex keel rubbing streak from Seaware. The same material ... Comments: |
 | Centre line repairs 2023 March -
Over the last several years water has leaked into Helene’s forward cabin. The amount was relatively small – more annoying than anything else – but something was not right. Everything pointed to the sand keel and what was beneath it, so in the autumn it was removed in its entirety. The screws holding the sand ... Comments: |
 | Winter Quarters, 2021/22 2022 November - This is a late, but nevertheless. Helene was lifted on 18 October 2021 at Mistley Marine on the River Stour in Essex. It proved to be a somewhat quirky but very pleasant winter quarters.
Over the next 6.5 months the following works were undertaken:New top-loading primary fuel filter & new fuel lines installed under port-side cockpit ... Comments: |
 | A124 Helene reaches new heights 2022 May - I popped by to help ready Helene for final fitting out tasks – putting her ‘in the air’ for work inside the keelboxes on the new posts at the rear.
It is both humbling and delightful when a prized possession you have passed on is taken to new heights of care by the new owner.
I thought ... Comments: |
| The Wrabness tender mystery. Part 2 2021 September -
On taking over a boat it is common to inherit a certain number of “special” items. Dredged from the depths of locker or lazarette, damp and probably rusty, their identity and role is anybody’s guess. With no immediately obvious use, they are apt to be re-interred and forgotten about. But we are getting ahead of ... Comments: | |
 | The Wrabness tender mystery. Part 1 2021 September - The plan was for an overnight to Pin Mill or the Walton Backwaters. We left Manningtree under sail around 1130 anticipating the ebb, without even a cat’s paw of breeze. The sun soon burned away what remained of the morning mist, and the upper reaches of the River Stour, smooth and sparkling, opened before us. ... Comments: |
| Cockpit comfort – orientation and curves 2021 July -
Since the mid-1990 I have owned a number of small boats including a Devon Yawl, Cornish Shrimper, Cornish Crabber (Mk 1), Kingfisher 22+ (jink rig), Anderson 26 (lifting keeI), Golden Hind and Frances 26 (cutter). They all had their special qualities, but whether wood or GRP, not one had a particularly comfortable cockpit.
Having sailed Helene ... Comments: |
 | The times they are a changing, dear Maurice 2021 July - To escape the worst of the expected heatwave I thought I would visit what has quickly become my favourite anchorage, and do some relaxed mud listening. After a beat down the Stour in a light breeze, a quick passage through Harwich harbour, and a broad reach down toward the red No 2 off Crabknowe Spit, ... Comments: |
 | Keel bolt covers: “Sikaflex – Ugh!” 2021 May -
This will be my last post on Helene’s Boat Blog as owner. In fact although started before the sale it is being published after handover to Jim, the new owner. Due to a variety of factors including Covid-19 and a house move I had the pleasure of working with Jim on fitting out. I ... Comments: |
 | A124 meets A1 – not for the first time? 2020 July - A124 Helene was launched at last on Monday (with much thanks to Mike Dixon for driving miles to assist).
It felt good to have water under the keel again and looking forward to some great sailing in the rest of the season.
A124 has managed to borrow a berth right by A1. I suspect they have met ... Comments: |
 | A124 Helene gets new electrics panel 2017 July -
Helene had been professionally rewired before I bought her. There were one or two aspects I didn’t like, mainly that some of the cable routing was very visible, the sockets provided were of the DIN format and there was no volt meter or ammeter. I also managed to damage one of the switch fuse ... Comments: |
 | A124 Helene gets her old boom back with slab reefing 2017 June - Helene’s previous owner had invested in the hope of a return in silverware. Helene (3/4 rig, wooden mast) had been set up with new sails and gear for racing. This included leading main halyard and topping lift aft to the cockpit. A significant downside in this approach for me was the aesthetic blight of an ... Comments: |
 | A124 Keels and their mechanism 2017 May -
The keels, keel brackets and clamping plates all looked in excellent condition but I wanted to get them out to check. I got the boat in the air and prepared to remove the first of the bolt-covers and discovered that they were glued in place. The person who had last had them off ... Comments: |
 | A124 Replacement Windows 2017 May -
The windows on Helene were very cloudy and needed replacing. There is a lot of excellent information in bulletins about how to replace them so I got stuck in. The only variation to established practice I adopted was the use of closed cell sealing tape in place of the more usual butyl tape. ... Comments: |
 | Lifting the boat from the trailer 2017 April -
I adapted a methodology for lifting the boat off the trailer that I have used for other boats. It involves a cross-beam with a jack at each end. In the past I have dropped the nose of the trailer, positioned a cradle under the stern of a boat, and then used the beam to ... Comments: |
 | A124 Engine Tidy Up 2015 May -
The engine was not in bad condition but needed a tidy and paint up. Some of the ancilliaries and pipework were a bit untidy. I removed the cockpit floor and the engine to clean up the engine bay. The whole of the engine way is lined with 35mm foil backed sound insulation which is ... Comments: |
 | Blister Repairs 2015 May -
The join between the deck and blister was distressed at the forward end. Upon investigation it was clear that the laminated ‘quadrant’ in this corner was delaminating and there was evidence of water ingress on the centreline at the forward end of the blister. There were also cracks in the surface near the centreline of ... Comments: |
 | A124 Foredeck Repairs 2015 May -
The foredeck didn’t seem too bad away from the Blister (coachroof). However on investigation it transpired that the top veneer was breaking up in a few areas, particularly in the corners on the ‘uphill’ side of the deck slats. Treatment was relatively simple as there were no complete holes. The ‘king plank’ ... Comments: |
 | A124 Helene Aft Deck Repairs 2015 May -
The decks appeared to need some paint. Sadly on investigation it turned out that areas were delaminating and that the stern deck on the starboard side had been badly repaired in the past and was shot! The deck framing, although not generally rotten, was also weak and at some point a post had been ... Comments: |
 | A124 Helene – Renovations 2015 April -
I bought Helene in 2007 expecting to do some light renovation of the decks and then get sailing. I got her home and started the work.And then I made my first mistake…..I built a large ‘tent’ around he from scaffolding and tarpaulins so that I could work in the dry. The second ... Comments: |
 | A124 For Sale in 2007 – Eastern Yachtbrokers SOLD 2007 December - Extensively restored in 1999-2000 and then used on the East Coast.
For sale in Essex having been stored for a couple of years.
The ‘For Sale Details’ and a 2006 Survey can be seen in this document.
‘Click’ on a photo for a slideshow.
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 | A124 Helen’s Folly 1970s Restoration 1977 June - Helen’s Folly was restored from a garage of bits in the late 1970s
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