Bawley Yacht Storm – an appeal for information.
8th February 2021
We have owned Storm since Easter 2015. I have found quite of lot of her history, particularly from her early years, when she was originally named Lady Myra, and was well known at Leigh-on-Sea for doing well in local races. Eventually, after several changes of ownership, she was found in 1924 at West Mersea by Maurice Griffiths, who renamed her Storm and owned her twice, finally selling her in 1931: she went to Poole and was used for racing again by a Colonel Hulton.
Storm was not recorded in the Lloyds Register after 1937; the next known fact about her is when David Cade bought her from a John Derrick, who lived in Fareham, in 1961 or 1962.
Does anybody know what happened to Storm between 1937 and 1962: who owned her, and where was she kept?
David Cade wrote about the damage Storm sustained in an early 1970's gaffers’ rally at Cowes: it took him 15 years to effect the repairs (I can see the repairs to the stringers and doubled cut frames on the starboard side). At some stage, the cabin was lengthened by 18 inches and the cockpit reduced; and the cabin, which had been open plan when MG sold her in 1931, was divided with a bulkhead to create a forepeak. I wonder whether David may have done this during the rebuilding? David also wrote, in a mid-1990's Yachting Monthly article, about how the hull was raised by one plank: I can see no evidence of this, and I am sure it didn't happen.
If anybody knows the answers to my queries, or can confirm/deny my assumptions, I should be very interested to hear from them.
Ian Clarke, email: binnacledesign@hotmail.co.uk
