''Gulvain'' is a ocean-racing

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular ...

named after the mountain

Gaor Bheinn Gaor Bheinn, also known in English as Gulvain ( gd, Gadhail Bheinn), is a mountain in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It is in Lochaber, south of Loch Arkaig and north of the road west of Fort William (from which it is usually climbed). It ...

(or "Gulvain"). Designed by Jack Laurent Giles for

Jack Rawlings John William "Jack" Rawlings (18 June 1923 – 21 September 2016) was an English amateur footballer who played as an inside forward. Career Rawlings played as an amateur for Enfield, Hayes and Hendon. He also represented touring team Middlese ...

, she was based on the earlier boats '' Maid of Malham'' and '' Myth of Malham''. She was built in Shoreham by Sussex Shipbuilding Company, owned by Rawlings, and launched on 27 June 1949. She was made from

Birmabright Birmabright is a trade name of the former Birmetals Co. (Birmabright works in Clapgate Lane, Quinton, Birmingham, UK) for various types of lightweight sheet metal in an alloy of aluminium and magnesium. The alloy was introduced by the Birmid Grou ...

, making her the first ocean racing yacht to be made from an

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in AmE, American and CanE, Canadian English) is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately o ...

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductilit ...

. Aluminium was used for strength, not weight: she displaces and weighs , including

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, ...

. She was one of the first boats to have a metal

mast Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio mast ...

. Her

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

has a reverse sheer, and she has a

Masthead rig A masthead rig on a sailing vessel consists of a forestay and backstay both attached at the top of the mast. The Bermuda rig A Bermuda rig, Bermudian rig, or Marconi rig is a configuration of Mast (sailing), mast and rigging for a type of s ...

. She proved to be a very successful boat, winning her maiden race from

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes ...

Dinard Dinard (; br, Dinarzh, ; Gallo: ''Dinard'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department, Brittany, northwestern France. Dinard is on the Côte d'Émeraude of Brittany. Its beaches and mild climate make it a holiday destination, and th ...

and back. She was forced to retire from the 1949

Fastnet Race The Fastnet Race is a biennial offshore yacht race organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club of the United Kingdom with the assistance of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the City of Cherbourg in France. The race is named after the Fast ...

, but performed well in the

Newport Bermuda Race The Newport Bermuda Race, commonly known as the ''Bermuda Race'', is a biennial, 635 nautical miles (1175 km) sailing yacht race from Newport, Rhode Island to the British island of Bermuda. According to its website, the Race is the oldest re ...

in 1950, and was first home in the first postwar

transatlantic race Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...

from

Bermuda ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

immediately afterwards. She was skipped for both races by

Humphrey Barton Humphrey "Hum" Barton (1900–1980) was an English yachtsman who was influential in the development of deep-sea cruising in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known as the founder of the Ocean Cruising Club. He was an author who wrote books abou ...

, and amongst the crew was Tim Heywood. She was bought by

John Tassos John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

in 1965, and by

Robert Schyberg The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, h ...

in 1988. She was renovated in 1991 and took part in her second Fastnet Race in 1991.

External links

Gulvain's websiteHumphrey Barton
from the

Ocean Cruising Club The Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) is an international club for cruisers. Members are identified by a distinctive blue and yellow burgee with a stylized Flying Fish on the blue part of the flag. Founded in 1954 by the late Humphrey Barton after his ...

(PDF, 3 pages) Sailing yachts designed by Laurent Giles Individual sailing vessels 1940s sailing yachts Sailing yachts of the United Kingdom Sailing yachts built in the United Kingdom {{Boat-stub