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When I restored Andante,a Pipedream 37 design at the RCYC little did I know that some thirty years later I would be both asked for information and find myself asking too.
Will Lau emailed me from New Zealand,he has a Pipedream 37 of his own and wants to find more about this classic design,so has posted its own web site at:
http://www.danger.co.nz/francis-kinney-pipedream-37/
I contacted Colin Farlam,the RCYC historian and asked him to refresh my mind on the boats built locally,there were two,Allegra and Andante,both built by different owners with some persons having worked on both it seems? I posted a very long reply on wills blog but its lost,so I will do it here and the info will be findable in the future I hope,maybe Will can copy and paste to his own web site later?
Colin Farlam tells me that Allegra was built on land near Lakeside or what is now named Marina Da Gama on the Cape Flats near Simonstown,False Bay,the boat was launched around 1969/70 ? the owner was a Mr Seddon Cripps,who had various skilled persons build the boat for him it seems,they used the book by Francis S Kinney as a guide,I was told that its possible a Mr Cupido worked on both boats,I know he worked on Andante which was built later and used Allegras lead keel mould.
Using my first edition copy of A history of the Royal Cape Yacht Club,which was signed and given to me by its late author J.S Rabinowitz,on the evening it was launched by Bill himself,the first mention I find of Allegra is in 1973 when she won a race skippered then by the new owner Harold Sender,then vice commodore and later to be commodore,this is on page 436,when Harold bought the boat from Seddon I have yet to discover,I saw Allegra around 1975,she sailed off some time later,I have no idea where to?
Andante was a good restoration project for me,repaint inside and out,remove the mast and five coats of clear varnish after it was completly stripped,Jean and myself went the the new owner and selling broker one July (?) night up to Saldahna,the Volvo engine was overheating at any more than 4 knots,so it was a long and very cold night.
Andante was built by her owner,his name I have yet to discover but two persons I know will tell me,one did the 1976 Cape to Rio yacht race on the boat,the owner/builder was the skipper.Mr Cupido was one person who worked on her,this I know as when it was found some required keel timbers (floors) were never fitted on construction,it was he who was called in to install them having worked on the boat prieviously,this was done in the RCYC clubs car park.This was after a dramatic start by a delivery skipper to Durban from Cape Town,they hit bad weather and the caulking at the keel was leaking so bad,they only just made Hout Bay twenty miles away.Once repaired the boat was delivered to Durban.
October 16th 2010 I met Derek Lourens one of the crew in the Cape to Rio race on the HBYC marina after a yacht race,he did the return trip to and tells me the owner then was Gert Van Dyk who now lives on the east coast of South Africa,it would be nice to make contact with Gert.
Frans Loots found this blog entry and has sent me the following information.
Andante.
You posed the question if Andante sailed to Rio.
Yep it sailed in the 76 Rio race and finished somewhere near the back.
In preparing for the race Andante had her IOR measurement inclination test done at the same time as we did the Navy's Centurion class sloops. I was based at the sailing centre under then Chief Petty Officer Bertie Reed (national service does not come better than that!) and we all helped Gert Van Dyk that morning because he was on his own.
Many thanks Frans.
Roy
