Seafly 58

I was the last owner of Seafly 58. Bought the boat damaged and with no mast – underside holed from trailer, hog showing signs of rot – and repaired her. Cut down an old Wayfarer mast to class and rigged her with centre main. Spinnaker chute already fitted and came with not bad sails.

Completed my early ‘learn to race’ in her, crewed by my two sons – 6 and 4 at the time, on the river at Saddlebow, King’s Lynn. This is the sailing water of the Ouse Amateur Sailing Club. 2 years later the boys moved into a Cadet and I switched to a Phantom, keeping the Seafly as a family runaround. In this time it made the trip to Lake Biscarosse in Gascony and we spent 2 weeks pottering about the lake with wine tied to the transom dragging behind us to keep it cool. I also sailed in a couple of regattas at Blakeney in this time, finished second in one with a regular Blakeney Seafly sailor (I will try and remember the name!) crewing for me after my crew failed to turn up and he had broken his centreboard on launching. Very blowy if I remember correctly and only 3 boats completed the weekend.

I refurbished her again in about 1993 and we were on our way out for a jolly at Brancaster Staithe when she was hit by a weekender in a port tack Wayfarer. This put a large V shaped hole in the bow. The guy just sailed off and I had to wait around to collar him when he came ashore. No insurance and not willing to pay up, so small claims was looming when she was the victim of vandalism, along with 2 other boats, at my then club Leziate Park. Boat was torched – they were trying for a ‘Viking Burial’ effect I think – and I was left with the front 12″ and lots of charred bits of metal.

A sad end to an excellent boat.

Adrian Tebbutt (April 2010)