The Yacht Pen Duick

This is the story of a 130 year old yacht many owners, many names, and years of disrepair, followed by a long process of renewal.  Finally, she has experienced a long, loving relationship with the famed Taberly yachting family that has continued for more than 60 years.  

                                                                                         Line drawing of 1989 Pen Duick 

The Pen Duick was a gaff rigged cutter designed for racing by William Fife of Fairlie, Scotland.  She was built in Cork Harbour, Ireland by Gridiron & Marine Motor Works.  As built she was 49.5 feet long, 32.75 feet at the water line, had a 9.5 foot beam, and carried 160 square meters of sail. 

She was originally named Yum.  She was renamed Griselidis after being sold four years later.  After a short period she was sold again. She was named Magda in 1907, then Griselidis again in 1909.  She sat idle for four years during World War I.  By 1933 she had also been named Astair, Panurge, and Butterfly.  She was given her current name, Pen Duick,  in 1935.

Pen Duick prior to restoration

Guy Taberly had acquired the Pen Duick in 1938. During the Second World War she was decommissioned for fear of being requisitioned for the war effort. For several years she lay in disrepair on the the banks of the Loire river and in a shed at La Trinite-sur-Mer in France. In 1952 Eric Taberly became her 14th owner as a gift from his father. Her hull was rotted and she was unable to be put on the water. Eric undertook to restore her and rebuild the hull out of fiberglass using the original hull as a mold. The restoration was completed in 1958 and she was again sailing 60 years after her original launch.

Restored Pen Duick under sail

                                                                          

                                                                                         Eric Taberly in 1997

Eric continued to sail the Pen Duick and raced her in the 1962 Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race.  Although he didn't win the race, it inspired him to build several new yachts.  Those yachts were named Pen Duick II through VI.  Eric disappeared off the coast of Wales in 1998 while ferrying the Pen Duick to a gathering of William Fife designed yachts in Ireland.

Pen Duick fully restored on display

Taberly's daughter inherited the Pen Duick after Eric's death.  It seems fitting that Eric died aboard the Pen Duick 100 years after her launch iwhile returning her to Ireland.  She can now be seen as one of the main attractions at the Cité De La Voile, Lorient, Fance.  This museum is dedicated to Eric Taberly's memory and houses three of his Pen Duick yachts.

                          27" Quality Ship Model of Yacht Pen Duick with painted hull

ShipModels Online offers three quality scale ship models of the Pen Duick one 24" inches long, one 29 inches long, and one 27 inches long with a painted hull (currently out of stock).  Additionally, Ship Models Online carries a large catalog of other quality model yachts, schooners, tall ships, ocean liners, fishing boats, and canoes.