Pen Duick a story out of the ordinary

The sailing ship Pen Duick, Eric Tabarly received from his father in 1952. The only problem is that this magnificent yacht has been rotting since 1947 in the inner harbor or on a mudflat in the Trinité-sur-Mer. If the boat had ended up there, it was because it only became impossible to sail safely on a poorly maintained sailing boat over 50 years old.

Pen Duick, Eric Tabarly took care of it all his life, he spent all his money on it, and it was also on this boat that he loved so much that he lost his life. The story of this sailboat is incredible. It all began in Ireland at the end of the 19th century with a stroke of genius from William Fife and by sailing along the Breton coast.

The story of the sailing ship

The name of the yacht is intimately linked to an exceptional sailor. It is also a love story between the French and the world of sailing. Eric Tabarly used to say of Pen Duick, it is only a boat… Nevertheless, this 15 meters long Fife plan is a work of art that belongs to the history and the imagination of the French. This great sailboat is therefore logically classified as a historical monument.

A sailboat that had a life before being welcomed by the Tabarly family.
This boat designed by William Fife was built in 1898, one year before the Shamrock, another yacht designed by the same architect for America’s Cup.

The sudden disappearance of an exceptional sailor

But the story of Pen Duick is also tragic navigation of June 1998. Eric Tabarly was on his way to an old rigging gathering in Ireland. The wind became quite strong, and the sail had to be reduced. Taking a reef on an old rig is always a bit perilous. The boat is facing the wind, and the boom sweeps the deck. In these conditions, the ship is brinquebalé in the swell because it no longer has the power of the sails to support its passage through the waves.

A tragic reefing

On the night of 12-13 June 1998, when Eric Tabarly sent all his inexperienced passengers back to the saloon, he found himself alone on deck in the Irish Sea. As he lowered part of the mainsail, he was hit by the boom, slipped on a trunk, and ended up drowning.

Inside, the passengers don’t have much room to sail. It must be said that this sailing boat is not really designed to float in the swell. After some time, not seeing Eric Tabarly come back and not hearing his steps on the deck, the passengers are worried. The boat continues to be battered by the waves, and the maneuver goes on forever. Looking outside, the “crew” passengers understand that something terrible has happened during the reefing. On deck there is nobody left, Eric has probably just gone overboard.

We would all have liked to have been at sea at that moment. To see Pen Duick in the distance, to get closer to admire the boat, and to rescue Eric Tabarly.

But with the swell and 14-degree water, it is difficult to survive in such conditions. And it will be almost impossible for the passengers to turn back to find a man overboard. At the age of 67, a great sailor went away, but it seems that legends never die.

The rebirth of Pen Duick

With Eric Tabarly and the saga of his racing yachts, Pen Duick has become a brand and a legend. But behind its perfect lines, this sailboat hid its game well. Because for many years, this boat had been suffering from a structural problem. To such an extent that it became almost impossible to find an insurer to insure the vessel. Sailing in these conditions became impossible – either on land or a proper restoration, a complete and expensive renovation.

The first renovation of the hull

Eric recovers his father’s boat, it is damaged and needs to be renovated. To do this, he chooses to go to Indochina to do his military service because the military pay is twice as high there. When he returned from Indochina, he went to see Gilles Constantini, a friend. And to avoid spending too much money, Tabarly decides to upgrade it with modern techniques. He turns his sailboat upside down and applies a layer of polyester resin and fiberglass on the outside of the hull. And on the inside, he replaces damaged wooden frames with glued frames, for example. This is how Eric Tabarly became Pen Duick’s second architect.

In the 90s, a journalist from FR3 came to interview Eric about his sailing boat and asked him a question. “He said: “We see you sanding the deck of your boat, do you like to maintain your boat? Eric replied from the taco-tac “No, I don’t like it, but it has to be done right”.

What we won’t necessarily tell you about the renovation of 1958 – 1989

A small arrangement with the mechanics of the forces could have been fatal to the boat. When Eric Tabarly identified a structural defect in the keel, he installed frames to consolidate this mythical boat. Repairs are not necessarily taught in naval architecture schools, but they hold up. With a system of laminated frames fixed to the hull, Eric reinforces the structure. And when the D system shows signs of fragility, he adds new reinforcements by stacking new shelves that are fixed to the hull higher and higher. That’s when the ship’s hull begins to show signs of weakness.

This imbroglio of reinforcements finally leads to a deadlock. Total reconstruction is then necessary.

The renovation from 2017 – 2019

To redo the structure of the yacht, the carpenters will apply epoxy resin on the outside and install frames on the inside. The edges are actually thin pieces of ash wood glued together. It is these frames that are the base of the ship’s structure.

At the 2018 Paris Boat Show, the yacht was exhibited. An unhoped-for opportunity to take unique photos. The story of “Pen Duick 1” continues. A jackpot was launched online, which made it possible to finance part of the renovation.

The technical data sheet of Pen Duick (ex-Yum)

Characteristics of the hull

Architect: William Fife Junior

Construction site: N&J Cummins and Bros.

First launch: 1998 in Carrigaloe, Ireland

Overall length: 15.40 meters

Flotation: 10.04 meters

Hull length: 10.04 meters

Width: 2.95 meters

Draft: 2.15 meters

Total weight: 11 tons

Ballast 6 tons

Boat sails aera

Type of rigging: auric

Upwind area: 162 square meters

Mainsail area: 76.5 square meters

The surface area of the wing jib: 20.13 square meters

The surface area of the Staysail: 17.20 square meters

Road jib surface area: 19.6 square meters

Air draught: 14.7 meters

Various information about Pen Duick
Registration number: LO D30190

Home port: Cité de la voile de Lorient

photo credits: Yann Vernerie