On the 8th February 2019 Dominic Dobson brings A90 all the way from Ilkley Moor to North Dorset and a bag full of ‘The Patience of a Saint’ !
Arriving after dark and no lighting in the barn, where Jenaka III was to rest for the next two years …. and counting … and COVID, we left her in the farmyard to come back next day.
Of course Dominic also brought, in the guise of A90, huge experience he gained from his extensive restoration of A90.
I knew A90 was the best example on sale at the time and had no doubt about her provenance of care.
The main bait of going for an Atalanta came about when I sailed into St Peter Port and came across A138 ‘Sweet Sue’ , and lo and behold there was the owner on board. But he was boarding his dinghy and pulling hard towards the opposite quay to gain his car.
A138 Sweet Sue in 2008 Guernsey 003
As is often the case, I was in the wrong place. Hurrying through the holiday makers, I raced around the harbour to gain a valuable insite about owning an Atalanta from Ryan Morley.
Back ‘home’ in Portland Harbour and on to winter storage at Clark’s yard and there stored forward of me was another Atalanta, this time A168 ‘Hullabaloo’.
Was Neptune talking to me ?
Next step was to have a guided tour around an Atalanta by an owner.
First contact made with some organisation or other calling themselves AOA !
Bless em, they came up with Richard and Carol Hall who lived not far from me near Bridport.
Being excellent hosts my wife and I were treated to a detailed exposition of A184 ‘Aquilo II’. Followed by tea and cake.
A184 1996 MDL Hamble eventA184 (2)
So that settled it. Off for a stay at beautiful Harrogate and an excursion to Ilkley to meet Dominic Dobson and a look at A90.
Arrival-449400f1
A90 Arrival at Sherborne
Ilkley Moor to North Dorset
Hi Doug
There are a lot of giants on whose shoulders we are all standing.
I’ll gloss over Uffa Fox, Alan Vines and Charles Currey….
And recall the Corinthian family sailors of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s who exploited the design virtues of the Atalantas to accomplish everyday and exceptional cruises and voyages…..
And the Atalanta carers and restorers of the 1980s, 1990s and since to whom we owe our boats,,.
I love hearing people’s stories of how they first tuned into Atalantas.
I was an admirer as a teenager on the River Medway where some of those Corinthian sailors were based. I bought Helene before having sailed one ‘to scratch an itch’ and benefit from the shoal water capability. My first sail happend on A71 Blue Jackaroo before I had got Helene afloat and that sail is still a benchmark – beating up the Medway in a stiff breeze against the tide – fantastic!
Giants – the designers, the sailors, the restorers.
And now Us….