Page 38 - Yachter Spring/Summer 2022

38 TRUST REPORT
RSYC TRUST
Young Carers experience a true working yacht on the 112-year-old Golden Vanity with the RSYC Trust
The lockdown of spring 2020 prompted
all kinds of unusual purchases. People bought puppies, bikes, hot-tubs... Not
many opted to buy a 23-ton, 112-year-old wooden cutter, yet that is exactly what Southampton-based charter operator Charlie Tulloch of First Class Sailing did when he purchased Golden Vanity.
There is some logic to it. Golden
Vanity offers his existing customers a very different kind of experience, while her heavy construction provides a steady platform for beginners.
But the real reason Charlie bought
the boat was emotional rather than rational.“I did some relief skippering on Provident, Keewaydin and Golden Vanity a few years ago, and I liked the ethos of getting young people involved. I loved the boats, the history, the wood, the teamwork, the skills, the look, smell and sound of them. My livelihood is in GRP yachts, but my heart is in these old boats.”
Golden Vanity’s beginnings
The yacht was commissioned by Arthur Briscoe in 1908 when he was just starting to make a name for himself as an artist. He had previously owned an 8-ton gaff cutter which he, his wife May, their son William and their terrier Jock lived on for eight months of the year, cruising extensively on the East Coast, the English Channel and in Holland and Belgium.
On the way, Briscoe sketched continuously, gathering material for his paintings which depict mainly working boats and their crews, in what turned out to be the last days of working sail. He held his first solo exhibition of mostly nautical paintings on Bond Street in 1906, to rave reviews.
Two years later, when he was 35, he commissioned a new boat, funded by his mother.This was an era when cruising yachts tended to be closely based on working boat types, and Briscoe was in no doubt what boat he wanted: a ‘Mumble Bee’, the little sister of the famous Brixham trawlers he loved so much.
Briscoe designed the boat’s rig himself but left the design and construction of the hull to WA Gibbs and J Sanders & Co in Galmpton, on the River Dart – one of the most prolific builders of Brixham and Lowestoft trawlers in the country.
Briscoe named his new boat Golden Vanity after the eponymous shanty set in the ‘lowland sea’ – an appropriate name for a yacht that was destined to spend a great deal of time in the lowlands of Holland.
The Trust has found that getting young people out sailing in dinghies has always been
a challenge as winter approaches with strong winds and low temperatures. This year the Trust has worked with Charlie at First Class Sailing to arrange day trips on GoldenVanity.
Her sailing credentials and history have impressed the young people, including several transatlantic crossings under her keel including entry in the Observer Single Handed Trans-Atlantic Race in the 1980s.
On Sunday 24th October ten New Forest Young Carers and members of staff went
on board Golden Vanity for a day’s sailing in Southampton Water and the Solent. Our thanks to Charlie Tulloch who arranged
the day and to skipper Paul Pilsworth who kindly volunteered his time to enable this to take place.
The children learned about the history of Golden Vanity and also something of what it was like to sail such a vessel.They all took turns at steering and hauling on lines to get this grand old lady sailing.
We organised other days for some of our other beneficiaries during November.
We thank our donors and members of the 50:50 draw who provide the funding to allow us to organise such day trips.
The Trust hopes to continue working with First Class Sailing in 2022 and arrange for many more young people to experience sailing on Golden Vanity.
Graham Tracey RSYC Trust - Trustee