Mel Stevens and the yacht called Astra,a Tumlaren

Astra's Story...
by Roy McBride - Cape Town, South Africa - ckdboats.com

... Plus a part history of The Lipton Cup and other long
forgotten sailing issues in South Africa.
© Roy McBride





Thats Astra to the left of the picture and you can see the old Cape Town waterfront as it was then,circa 1960?







Credit: INTERNATIONAL PAINTS, Cape Town, donated all the paints used in this restoration, that’s a 100% free supply, when and where we required them. For this I would like to say a very big “Thank You!”



We had a vist from Jeff Stevens of 'Gemini Inflatables' yesterday,he needed some information on laying genuine teak decking on some of their larger rubber ducks,up to seven meters long I think he told me? Jeff was driven from his factory to our own by his dad,Mel Stevens,a gentleman well known in local cape yachting circles,one of his sucesses being to start Gemini and probably he can rightly be called the father of rubber duck construction in South Africa,many years back I used to visit Mel at his premises behind the old Roeland Street Jail,now the State Archives,Mel used to service life rafts back then too.

Mel asked was it I who restored the Tumlaren called Astra,most know I did,that was over ten years back,she is on moorings in False Bay now at the FBYC,Mel then goes on to tell me he was at the harbour berth in Cape Town when Astra was off loaded from the whaling service vessel,it had arrived from Norway? he says he was about eight years old then,yes Mel is into his eighties now and looking well I think you will agree.Mel is one of very few I know who used to live on Robben Island,he and his brother Brian,mother and father lived there at one time.

Note,Mels son,Jeff is a fifth generation RCYC club member,I doubt many others can claim the same?

Astra was hull number eight at the time of her build in 1934,she arrived here in 1935,so was still a very new boat at the time,the RCYC club house back then was at the lower end of Long Street,probably quite close to where the CTIC convention center now stands,yes Astra,a Knud Reimers design is now seventy four years old!