The prototype for all Vertues. Commissioned by Dick Kinnersly in 1936. Built by Moody’s on the Hamble of Pitch Pine and Oak with an Iron keel. Originally a gaff rig, though she was later converted to a Bermudian rig. She cost £400 in 1936.
Apart from being the first Vertue, her claim to fame is that in 1937, she cruised to the Bay of Biscay, covering 856 miles in 23 days. This was at a time when, on the whole, ocean cruising was carried out by yachts that would be considered extremely large by today’s standards (“a foot of waterline for each year of your life” was the general rule).
In 1996, on the 60th anniversary of the Class, on Friday 16 August, twenty-three Vertues ranging from pre-war early boats to the latest GRP representatives gathered off the Folly Inn on the River Medina in Cowes. On Saturday the fleet set off for Lymington in numerical order of sail number with the birthday girl Andrillot leading.
She was based in Falmouth in the 1970s, owned by Peter Quilter. I found a race result for the Falmouth Classics race held by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club in 2013, where she competed in the Q Class race, with Andrew Butler at the helm. So she is likely still based in Falmouth.
Drumler 