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The first…
Pen Duick, the
first in a series of six famous yachts, would accompany Eric Tabarly
throughout his life. It was on board Pen Duick that he started his
sea apprenticeship in 1938, learning everything from maneuvers to
racing. Having been abandoned at different periods and fully restored
twice, with brand-new sails, this centenarian was more beautiful than
ever in 1998 when her master finally left her forever. Today it is
the family of Eric Tabarly that sails on the legendary boat. In accordance
with her father’s wishes, Marie Tabarly became the owner when
she turned 18 in August 2002.
A
respected hundred-year-old cutter.
Pen
Duick and Tabarly formed an inseparable couple, a perfect union. The
physical difficulty of maneuvers on board, together with the configuration
of the rigging and total absence of winches, were reasons for Eric’s
affection for her. The exceptional fame of the yachtsman no doubt
helped contribute to the fame of the yacht. But the reputation of
the black cutter also stemmed from other factors. She is of a rare
esthetic beauty with her sheer hull, her cutwater bow and her large
trysail, mizen and lug sails; her modernity is surprising as her polyester
hull dates back to before the polyester era; she was already extremely
fashionable long before her renovation in the 1980s by the famous
British architect William Fife. In many ways she already had many
of the assets that would go on to make the later Pen Duicks real works
of art. Alongside yachts designed to sail across the water as fast
as possible, cut off from the fine technological developments of production
yachts, Pen Duick tirelessly continues to transmit a certain idea
of pure navigation under sail inspired by a few master craftsmen.
Spectators still applaud her as much as before whenever she casts
off.
History
A family yacht born in Scotland
Guy Tabarly,
Eric’s father, bought Pen Duick in 1938 from the Lebec family
in Nantes. At the time yachting was in its infancy in France and there
were very few yachts available. The Breton name for the yacht is the
“Black Head” of coal tits. She was designed in 1898 by
the Scotsman William Fife under the name of Yum. At the age of 41,
Fife was already one of the best-known naval architects of his day.
His talent would give rise to many other yachts, most of which were
built in the hangars of Fairlie, a small village to the south of the
mouth of the Clyde. Yum, however, was built at the Gridiron and Workers
Carrigaloe shipyard, near Cork in Ireland for her first owner, Adolphus
Fowler.
When Eric Tabarly bought Pen Duick from his father in 1952 he became
her fifteenth owner. He was 21 years old. From this date on he would
never leave her. While he was studying at the naval college in Brest
the “coal tit” was moored at the foot of the school in
Lanvéoc-Poulmic cove. When he returned from his circumnavigation
on board Joan of Arc where Eric finished his naval apprenticeship,
his father came to meet him in the narrows of Brest with the faithful
Pen Duick. He took part in the first RORC races on board Pen Duick
in the60s. In between voyages around the world and major races, he
always came back to charge his batteries on board.
As his experience grew, Tabarly touched up Pen Duick to make her the
unique yacht we know today. Heavy surgery helped save her a first
time in 1958. By giving the rotten hull a platic covering at the Costantini
shipayrd in la Trinité, Tabarly became the owner of the largest
polyester yacht of the time. This operation would be a deliberate
obstacle to her being classified as a “historic monument”,
but would save her from destruction and make her hull particularly
strong and resistant for the rest of her days.
As he took part in more and more races around the world, Tabarly unfortunately
subjected his yacht to too many years of bad weather. The plywood
deck and superstructures were totally destroyed. Twenty years later
a new intervention became necessary. In 1983 Pen Duick was towed from
Crouesty to St-Malo by Pen-Duick VI to undergo renovation work at
the Raymond Labbé shipyard. For six ans, starting with the
fittings, the Labbé yard completely restored the boat little
by little according to Tabrly’s means at the time. Pen Duick
was relaunched in 1989 at the ‘Voiles de la Liberté’
show in Rouen. Now based in Bénodet, she continues to adorn
the blue sea of southern Brittany. In the 90s, she tasted the pleasures
of Mediterranean competition in the prestigious regattas of Monaco,
Cannes and St-Tropez where she lined up against other yachts from
the same design team all virtually celebrating their centenaries!
In May 98, for her real centenary celebrated in Bénodet by
a crowd of admirers and friends, Pen-Duick was more elegant than ever.
“She has never had such a fine coat of paint on her hull ”
stated Eric. In the manner of a Breton wedding, the anniversary of
Eric Tabarly’s first and last boat lasted three full days. Eight
yachts from the turn of the century, all designed like Pen Duick by
the architect William Fife, joined in the festivities. The highlight
of this unique celebration was a triumphant voyage up the Odet in
a bosky bower with a springtime aroma of blood-red rhododendrons.
Under storm and fore stay sails, Pen Duick performed a majestic trip
up and down the river with her sisters, saluted by the watching crowd
and the sound of distant hunting horns echoing along the banks. A
week later, Eric decided to take part in the celebration being organised
for the boat’s architect Fife. He cast off on what would be
his final voyage. Despite the absence of skipper on board, a crew
of close friends completed the convoy. Pen Duick arrived in Fairlie.
As they watched her sail proudly amongst her peers, the emotional
spectators could all see her missing master at the helm.
Today
Pen Duick
is the property of the Tabarly family. Carefully taken apart, spending
the winter in the Bénodet hangars, she is launched each spring
under the leadership of Jacqueline and Marie Tabarly. During the racing
season the boat takes part in several ‘classic yacht’
gatherings in Brittany. She sometimes sails as far as the Mediterranean
to take part in the Cannes and Saint-Tropez regattas with boats of
her race.
On
board Pen Duick.
The spray
that rises over the bow covers the cockpit. The sun is omnipresent
to dry our wet hair. We’re passing through the Birvideaux, en
route to Groix. The wind has freshened up again and Eric is sat in
front of the cockpit. With crossed arms, he contemplates his old companion.
Is he thinking about the stampede of the hydrofoil at thirty knots?
Or the equatorial calm of the Sargasso Sea? Or is he just savouring
the moment? His face is impenetrable. Suddenly a strong wave crashes
against the stem, showering the entire deck and washing the helmsman
away in an instant.
A squall rises as black clouds form. To begin with Pen Duick accelerates
then lists severely. By lowering the sheets a little the rig is momentarily
stabilized. Eric hesitates about maneuvring. But the wind is still
rising and the deck is now invaded by the sea. There is more and more
list and we start losing speed until we literally ground to a halt.
Righting herself, the boat suddenly tilts the other way. She is now
on the opposite tack. We start by pulling on the halyard to soften
the fall, but the damned mainsail is huge. Like a stubborn horse that
no longer wishes to obey its master, Pen Duick is no longer responding.
We have to throw in the towel and haul in the sails. The topping lift
is stiffened and the yard is brought in to horizontal with the deck.
The cutter is finally righted. Under fore stay sail alone, upwind,
she cannot make any headway, but the rigging is lifted. She slowly
picks up speed as she casts off. In this mad hullabaloo, a moment
without runner-tackle, the pitchpin mast has held firm. The dark squall
continues to Quiberon where light reappears with a manageable breeze.
We once again head for the port of Groix under mainsail with one reef
and fore stay sail. Unflagging, touching the water with her boom,
Pen Duick and her eleven tonnes move on.”
Daniel Gilles, Navigation Memories, May 1990.
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