Early Lloyds registers show Valerie as being owned by yard owner, Thomas Stow himself and still registered at Shoreham two years after her rebuild, in 1897/98. That she was registered to one of the yard’s owners perhaps implies that Valerie was built as a stock yacht, but, even though this was during the yard’s busiest periods (23 vessels built in the decade between 1890 and 1899), it would represent a hugely speculative investment to make with no specific owner in mind. More likely, maybe, is that a potential buyer pulled out of the sale leaving the yacht in the hands of the yard.
At some stage early on (perhaps, in 1912) she was transferred to Ireland, where information becomes yet more sketchy. Hearsay around Valerie’s hometown of Shoreham, has it that she crossed the Atlantic in 1912 and was used in 1916 to run guns for the IRA along with Erskine Childers’ Asgard, but there is no information to substantiate this.
It’s believed that in 1922 she returned to UK ownership to be kept in the West Country in the hands of an Alexander Cochran, CBE. Cochran, according to historian John Leather, had been a Naval Architect at the Burns Shipyard in Bombay. In 1936, Valerie is listed as still being owned by Cochran lying in Dartmouth. Lloyd’s register shows that Valerie was converted to cutter rig around 1939.
Following Cochran’s death in the late 1950s, Valerie changed hands many times before ending up in the ownership of Richard Biddle, a Somerset-based solicitor who bought her in 1972. Richard Biddle purchased her from a location on the Isle of Wight before transferring her to Port Hamble Marine for some remedial work. Her copper sheathing was removed disclosing serious deterioration of her planking, leading to the replacement of 80 per cent of this in pitch pine.
It is unknown at what time she was converted to schooner rig.
By 1991, now rigged as a schooner, following a spell at the now-defunct Exeter Maritime Museum, Valerie was back at Shoreham, from where she was purchased by John Timms, supposedly in sailing condition. But, on transferring her to Liverpool, John soon became aware that a great deal of work was still required.
She was sold to boatbuilder Scott Metcalfe, in 2006, following a move to his yard in Bangor in 2004. Read the story here.
Valerie was relaunched in April 2013 after an extensive rebuild and is now for sale.
The story of her rebuild is told here.
With great thanks to yacht historian, Theo Rye.
Stats (2013)
Designed by HT Stow.
Built in 1895 by Stow & Sons of Shoreham, East Sussex. Rigged as a gaff yawl
LOA: 47ft
LOD: 44ft
LWL: 33ft
Length over Spars (to end of mizzen boom): 62ft
Beam: 10ft 2in
Draught: 6ft 4in
Sail area (intended): 1,059sqft (inc topsail)
