PATNA
“Everything was tired and worn. The bilge was thick with black, oily gunge”
Far left: The Victory WC. Left: The curved companionway, post-restoration. Below: Patna’s original gaff Marconi cutter rig
This curious arrangement became redundant when a smaller engine was installed in the late 30s, leaving room for a cockpit. A wheel then replaced the original tiller. In 1929, Patna evidently had a major overhaul with all the
brass fittings removed and chromed – the new fashion – and the rig altered from gaff Marconi cutter to bermudan. Fred purchased Patna in 1974 and made an epic voyage
to Newfoundland and back across the Atlantic during 1982/83, surviving eleven gales. Now, lying in Heybridge Basin near Maldon, she floated serenely, still rigged with sails ready and the ageing electrical navigational instruments of her previous passages now silent. Everything was tired and worn. The bilge was thick with black oily gunge and an interesting angle-iron construction had been concocted around the mast step and up to the shroud plates to hold things together. There was verdigree around the electrics and ancient lead-covered wiring. The decks were green and grey, and the black of the bilge seemed to have permeated every locker, as well as the sail covers and hatches, which were piled with chafed ropes on deck. At 55ft (16.8m) on deck with a 12ft (3.7m) bowsprit, this
was a lot of boat, but Collinette at 22ft (6.7m) LWL was a squeeze for family cruising with Katie and my son Rupert and perhaps a friend. Patna would no doubt be a magnificent sight with her original 2,508sqft (233m2
) rig recreated, but she would be totally impractical for cruising; yet I wished to CLASSIC BOAT MARCH 2012 17
TOM BENN
TOM BENN
BEKEN OF COWES
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