Through the work that I do as the skipper for the mental health charity Sea Sanctuary I have had the opportunity to sail with clients on a number of different classic wooden boats. I have seen first hand the positive effect that this type of boat has on the people we work with.
Our clients often arrive with high levels of depression and anxiety, low self esteem, and little hope for the future. The program we provide is based around psychological education, providing training in Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), to allow the clients to start to take control of their lives. An essential and integral part of the program is to take them sailing on classic boats, though many of our clients have never been to sea and some have even been housebound for a number of years. Being on the sea gives them a change of perspective, a chance to get some exercise and benefit from the fantastic marine environment we have in Cornwall.
Since the charity started up we have used a range of different boats for the program and we have observed a significant benefit from using classic wooden boats rather than modern GRP. Today we use a 43ft wooden bermudan cutter, Leopard of Falmouth (see history below). There is an intangible but noticeable effect from the feeling created by well crafted wooden boats. We feel that the organic material of the boats creates a place of wonder, which is very distant from the white walls of a psychiatric hospital where many of our clients have spent years of their lives. The craftsmanship, focus and time needed to create a wooden boat leave the vessel full of a spirit of purpose and care. Is it the strength of the wood, the thickness of the hulls, the smell of varnish or the colour of bright work? I certainly know that old oak and mahogany makes me feel calmer than modern quickly grown pine. We cannot put our fingers precisely on the reason, but the magic of a wooden yacht cannot be disputed!
In some way the existence of wooden boats allows our clients to realise that there are valuable natural elements in the world outside their own worries and fears. This allows them to look beyond their own problems and start the process of self-nurturing. Perhaps somewhere, buried in their deep subconscious mind, is the realisation that with careful maintenance, effort, love and enthusiasm, anything can be brought back from the brink of despair and ruin; even them!
However it works, we have found the environment created by sailing on classic wooden boats invaluable in our programme. We are keen to build the programme so that we can help more people, and are looking for funds to help us buy a larger boat: classic and wooden of course.
Sea Sanctuary is a charity (No 1117038) and if you are interested in what we do have a look at our website, www.seasanctuary.org.uk or give us a call on 01326-378919.
Leopard History
Leopard was one of five Morgan Giles 43s built for Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth in the late 1950’s. Intended to be used as a sail training vessel for the cadets at the college, the design brief was for superb yachts with outstanding sea-keeping abilities.
Leopard herself was built in 1959, and along with the other four Dartmouth yachts – Pegasus, Martlet, Wyvern, and Gryphis – she was based there for over twenty years. Two other Morgan Giles 43s – Galahad and Gawaine – were based in Plymouth.
In the late 1960s concerns about the large sail area carried by the Morgan Giles 43s led to their masts being shortened by eleven feet or so, and the booms by three feet or so. The Dartmouth yachts were finally all sold in the early 1980s.
Leopard – becoming Leopard of Avon – passed to a partnership of two owners who kept her in Salcombe where she became a familiar sight. They also cruised her far and wide, from Scandinavia to Spain.
Over the years, literally thousands of naval personnel sailed on the Morgan Giles 43s, inspiring respect and admiration for the superb yachts that they are. Even today it is difficult to tie up anywhere without someone coming forward saying, “I know that yacht…”
Come the Millennium, Leopard – like most of the other Morgan Giles 43s – was getting a bit tired after 40 years of active service. She was bought by a specialist traditional shipwright concern and given a thorough refit. During the refit the sailing school, Select Sailing, became involved and in due course bought Leopard.
She is now owned by the mental health charity Sea Sanctuary (see above) and has been renamed Leopard of Falmouth.
History courtesy of Morgan Giles Yacht Register
