CLASSIC YACHT ANITRA – WHERE IS SHE

Over the weekend WW was contacted by Paul Knight who was trying to find out more details about his fathers sloop – ANITRA, that he owned in the 1950’s. Other than her name he only knew her ‘class’ and sail number – E 60.Paul supplied the two photos above – a very sporty looking yacht.
With my grey matter being very limited when it comes to yachts from this period, I introduced Paul to Robin Elliott. With Robin’s permission I have reproduced his note to Paul. It gives us a good insight into the difficulties in joining the dots.
So woodys if after reading this and viewing the photo of ANITRA, you have a light bulb moment, please let us know.

ROBIN ELLIOTT

“We know very little about Anitra. (she looks like a really nice little yacht)

She turns up around 1943 and is entered in the E-Class of the 1944 Auckland anniversary Regatta by E.R. Harold. By the 1944 Regatta she is entered by A.J. Horton who also enters her in the 1946 Victory Regatta.

V.R. Knight is the registered owner from 1948 through to around 1952 or 53 when she disappears from record, possibly renamed.

Her entries in the Regatta programmes are the only record in print that I have seen (apart from the photos you sent to Waitemata Woodys)

It’s possible she was older than 1943 and we know her as something else but so many domestic events went unreported during WW2. Newsprint and space for pleasure pursuits was scarce so yacht races, new yachts, yacht sales and ownership changes went largely reported by word of mouth.”

AND MORE

“You need to find someone who actually laid hands on her. Our own researches are almost entirely reliant on a boat appearing in print media to fix it at a point in time. Word of mouth is frequently unreliable but in the absence of anything else …….. it can be a start.

The best person to talk to is/was probably your father.

Why did he buy it?, what did he know about it when he bought it? why did he sell it?, who did he sell it to? Get a name and begin ploughing through the phone book looking for connections and subsequent owners.

There is no print record of her after your father’s ownership so either she was taken offshore (possible) or was renamed (very possible) and we know her as something else. 

Her registration number E-60 was never re-issued so it’s possible she was just cruised and never made into print anywhere. There  are many ‘ghost’ boats out there that never raced, never registered and don’t do anything more dangerous than cruising.

In 1969 all sail numbers changed to a nationwide sequence. Anitra’s NZYF number would have been 460 but it was never allocated and stayed vacant, eventually being issued to a Canterbury double-ender, Taikoa in 1976. 

Needles and haystacks.”