I have been a member of the Dinghy Cruising Association for the last year or so. I find their forum informative, lively and well informed, populated by sailors who understand small boats and who have a high level of skill. The forum can be a little ‘tiring’ though as there is lots of off topic banter which at times can be strident and bluntly irritating. Well I find it irritating and so I exercise my right to tune out until it comes back onto boating topics. What I don’t find irritating however is the dinghy cruising association quarterly journal. Now that is brilliant, a mixture of rally reports and articles about dinghy cruising written by those who are experienced and knowledgeable. Authors have great skill in weaving stories with factual information. As a newbie, it is a mine of well informed discussion, instruction and insight. These are people who really know their ‘stuff’ and I would recommend anyone who sails a small boat to join. This year my new year’s resolution is to actually get over my fears and actually join one of their south west rallies. I say fear because I feel I don’t have sufficient skills to actually join those rallies and I’m likely to make a complete ‘ass’ of myself. I don’t row Arwen; I’ve never sailed her onto a beach; or off one for that matter. I’ve still so much to learn but then the argument goes – you join DCA to gain from the experience of others!
Any way the reason I bring this up is because of a great article by Paul Constantine about Robert Manry and his small boat ‘Tinkerbelle’in this quarter's journal. Together they crossed the Atlantic, Tinkerbelle, being a 13.5 ft boat, Robert a copy editor of a newspaper. The date was 1965.
Paul’s article was well written, informative and thought provoking. I won’t repeat any of it here but I did decide to do a little digging because this is a story I didn’t know about.
Robert Manry was born in 1918 in Landour, India, in the Himalayas and worked as a reporter in Ohio, and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Tinkerbelle was a boat he bought to work on. He added a small cabin, painted it and made some modifications.
I read that Robert Manry had dreamed of sailing the Atlantic for 30 years and although he had asked friends to accompany him they didn’t materialise and so he planned his epic journey as a solo voyage.
Yet when you look at Tinkerbelle, you realise it is a miracle that he ever survived the voyage. Her hull wasn’t deep enough. He didn’t have much breadth. Half the cockpit was open with little shelter from wind or waves. Tinkerbelle was a little wooden Old Town "Whitecap" sailboat, originally built by the Old Town Canoe Co. of Maine. Her official registration number painted on her bow was OH 7013 AR. Robert made various alterations to his boat, filling any space with foam for added buoyancy and fitting an emergency distress beacon, spare parts and enough supplies for 90 days at sea. I read that he taught himself to use a sextant
sitting on the porch outside his house.
Anyway he sailed from Falmouth in USA to Falmouth in UK. It took 78 days during which time he was woken by a submarine, knocked overboard several times by big waves, socialised with Russian trawlers, broke his rudder several times, feasted with a Belgian ship’s captain and received an armada welcome in Falmouth UK.
“…[an] armada appeared on the scene, this one English and headed south, straight for Tinkerbelle and me. It came towards us fast, turned and then swept us up into its bosom to escort us the remaining few miles to Falmouth; and as it moved along it continued to grow. It was a fantastic sight.”
Robert Manry
Sounds like an average day on Plymouth Sound in Arwen!
When he stepped onto land at Falmouth steps at the Old Custom House, his wife and children were there to greet him, having flown in from Ohio. Thousands turned out to welcome him, for his story had made the press on both sides of the Atlantic.
There is plenty on the net about Robert and his voyage. I found a really nice British Pathe clip here at http://www.britishpathe.com/video/tinkerbelle-land-ho
So, having done just a little research on Robert, I guess there is no more putting it off. I need to contact the various DCA members and sign up to one or two of the rallies this year.
Any way the reason I bring this up is because of a great article by Paul Constantine about Robert Manry and his small boat ‘Tinkerbelle’in this quarter's journal. Together they crossed the Atlantic, Tinkerbelle, being a 13.5 ft boat, Robert a copy editor of a newspaper. The date was 1965.
Robert Manry
Paul’s article was well written, informative and thought provoking. I won’t repeat any of it here but I did decide to do a little digging because this is a story I didn’t know about.
Robert Manry was born in 1918 in Landour, India, in the Himalayas and worked as a reporter in Ohio, and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Tinkerbelle was a boat he bought to work on. He added a small cabin, painted it and made some modifications.
I read that Robert Manry had dreamed of sailing the Atlantic for 30 years and although he had asked friends to accompany him they didn’t materialise and so he planned his epic journey as a solo voyage.
Yet when you look at Tinkerbelle, you realise it is a miracle that he ever survived the voyage. Her hull wasn’t deep enough. He didn’t have much breadth. Half the cockpit was open with little shelter from wind or waves. Tinkerbelle was a little wooden Old Town "Whitecap" sailboat, originally built by the Old Town Canoe Co. of Maine. Her official registration number painted on her bow was OH 7013 AR. Robert made various alterations to his boat, filling any space with foam for added buoyancy and fitting an emergency distress beacon, spare parts and enough supplies for 90 days at sea. I read that he taught himself to use a sextant
sitting on the porch outside his house.
Anyway he sailed from Falmouth in USA to Falmouth in UK. It took 78 days during which time he was woken by a submarine, knocked overboard several times by big waves, socialised with Russian trawlers, broke his rudder several times, feasted with a Belgian ship’s captain and received an armada welcome in Falmouth UK.
“…[an] armada appeared on the scene, this one English and headed south, straight for Tinkerbelle and me. It came towards us fast, turned and then swept us up into its bosom to escort us the remaining few miles to Falmouth; and as it moved along it continued to grow. It was a fantastic sight.”
Robert Manry
Sounds like an average day on Plymouth Sound in Arwen!
When he stepped onto land at Falmouth steps at the Old Custom House, his wife and children were there to greet him, having flown in from Ohio. Thousands turned out to welcome him, for his story had made the press on both sides of the Atlantic.
There is plenty on the net about Robert and his voyage. I found a really nice British Pathe clip here at http://www.britishpathe.com/video/tinkerbelle-land-ho
So, having done just a little research on Robert, I guess there is no more putting it off. I need to contact the various DCA members and sign up to one or two of the rallies this year.
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Thanks for taking a look at my blog. All comments and advice are welcome - drop me a few lines. You can always find videos about Arwen at www.youtube.com/c/plymouthwelshboy. Look forward to hearing from you.
Steve