Colin Archer and nourishing coincidences

Posted on July 26th, 2012 by James Higham

RS1 Colin Archer and Karoline – November 26, 2011

To co-author Moggsy, please take note that I am delighted to say I was wrong on a number of counts on the matter of the Colin Archer boats which I posted on some time back. ;-)    A letter and photos were received two evenings ago which I have permission to reprint and fascinating they are.   They’re from Per Gunnar Øen Jensen,Fredrikstad, Norway:

Karoline – May 12, 2012

After watching the nerve-wrecking last stage of le Tour de France on Sunday, my girlfriend and I sat down to discuss the rebuilding of our sailboat’s cabin roof. Later that evening I did a Bing search for “colin archer 47 foot” in hope of finding some new info about the original rescue lifeboats, which is a major interest of ours.

Arisholmen regatta – October 22, 2012 – RS32 Kragero

Among the results I was happy to find your article about Colin Archer on the Nourishing Obscurity blog site. Out of curiosity, and before I read your article, I took a quick look on the main page to find out a little more about the web site. What I found was your short article on the Tour final, and I thought that “Aha, another cycling and sailing enthusiast”!    J


Cristiania

Then I went back to read the Colin Archer article. I recognized some of the photos from other web pages, but the photo at the very bottom of the article was quite a surprise: The small sailboat in the picture is our very dear “Karoline”, the boat my girlfriend and I bought last December, and which we are now in the process of repairing and restoring.

Arisholmen regatta – October 22, 2012 – RS32 Kragero (2) … this one’s large so click for the glorious view

This is a 26 foot Hvaler boat (named from its origin at the Hvaler islands outside Fredrikstad) built around 1880. This older, spar rigged, and very seaworthy boat type was one of the main inspirations when Colin Archer constructed his pilot and rescue vessels. So despite the size difference there is a very direct link between the two boats in the photo.

This may be the photo Per is referring to

I noticed that the photo has been tagged “another archer copy”, which is not quite correct:  The larger boat in the photo is actually “RS1 Colin Archer”, constructed by Archer himself and built at his shipyard in Larvik in 1893. This 30 ton, 47 foot ketch has been carefully restored and is today one of the finest remaining examples of Colin Archer’s original rescue boats. [Error noted, Per though I think that might have been embedded in the photo when I uploaded.]

Arisholmen regatta – October 22, 2012 – RS32 Kragero (4)

By the way: Colin Archer was a Norwegian, not a Dane. His parents immigrated from Scotland in 1825, and Colin was born in 1832 in Larvik, Norway. It was also in Larvik and the neighbouring towns along the Oslo fjord he built most of his boats and ships.  [Oh my goodness - I've called a Norwegian a Dane.  I'm mortified.  Humblest apologies.]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Archer

Arisholmen regatta – October 22, 2012 – RS32 Kragero (5)

I have attached a few photos taken during the last few months. (Feel free to use the photos in your articles!) In some of the pictures you will see the “RS32 Kragerø”, which is another beautifully restored 47 foot rescue boat, originally built in 1920 from Colin Archer’s drawings,  J.

Arisholmen regatta – October 22, 2012 – Koster boats and Colin Archers

Delighted, Per, to be able to set this matter straight, which is also just an excuse for me to run another post on Colin Archer.   Looking through these photos [enlarged] I realize one of the main reasons for this blog to exist.

Filed under: Art, History & Culture, Leisure, travel & sport, Religion & Philosophy, Technology & ideas

6 Responses to “Colin Archer and nourishing coincidences”

  1. Moggsy, on July 26th, 2012 at 13:46 Said:

    Ah, But that is about a guy ^_^ and just about technical “guy” facts like how many cams a v 8 sooper dooper engine has or something. Not the same…


  2. haiku, on July 26th, 2012 at 16:54 Said:

    I note that you have been ‘running before’ in your time machine once again: pictures from a ragetta three months hence ?


  3. Per Øen, on July 26th, 2012 at 17:53 Said:

    Thanks, haiku, my mistake: All the Arisholmen regatta photos are from October 2011. :)


  4. James Higham, on July 26th, 2012 at 18:19 Said:

    Have to admit Rossa saw that some hours back and emailed about it. Prize of a free week’s trip on a Colin Archer is rushing her way now. Here’s what she wrote:

    Date wrong on all pics on your post about the regatta, James. You’ve got it as October 22 2012, which hasn’t happened yet!!

    Getting ahead of yourself with all the excitement :-)


  5. Rossa, on July 26th, 2012 at 18:26 Said:

    Ahhh….thanks James, but I’d only want a week’s trip on a Colin Archer with you at the helm, mon chere ;-)


  6. Per Øen, on July 26th, 2012 at 19:59 Said:

    I sent the photos to James with the wrong file names, but in a few months there will be another regatta with probably the same boats, so after that no one will notice. :) The regatta is held during a single afternoon and is part of an annual, very informal “bring your own boat” weekend on the Arisholmen islet outside Fredrikstad, for enthusiasts of traditional, wooden sailboats of any size.


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