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Displaying items by tag: HMS Victory

Scientists have discovered that a replica of the figurehead from the warship Admiral Nelson commanded in the Battle of Trafalgar dates from just years after the event.

Unfortunately, the 10-foot-tall sculpture was cut up by chainsaw into six pieces more than a decade ago under the mistaken belief it was a modern recreation, as the Independent reports.

Experts working with the National Museum of the Royal Navy, which took stewardship of all material related to HMS Victory from the UK’s Ministry of Defence in 2012, took another look at the destroyed sculpture two years ago.

And they discovered that it was actually made in 1815 as a replacement for the original that suffered damage during that key naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars in 1805.

Now its remnants are set to be displayed to the public for the first time alongside the surviving HMS Victory in Portsmouth, once pandemic restrictions allow.

The Independent has more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update

The Dragon was designed by Johan Anker in 1929 as an entry for a competition run by the Royal Yacht Club of Gothenburg, to find a small keel-boat that could be used for simple weekend cruising among the islands and fjords of the Scandinavian seaboard. The original design had two berths and was ideally suited for cruising in his home waters of Norway. The boat quickly attracted owners and within ten years it had spread all over Europe.

The Dragon's long keel and elegant metre-boat lines remain unchanged, but today Dragons are constructed using the latest technology to make the boat durable and easy to maintain. GRP is the most popular material, but both new and old wooden boats regularly win major competitions while looking as beautiful as any craft afloat. Exotic materials are banned throughout the boat, and strict rules are applied to all areas of construction to avoid sacrificing value for a fractional increase in speed.

The key to the Dragon's enduring appeal lies in the careful development of its rig. Its well-balanced sail plan makes boat handling easy for lightweights, while a controlled process of development has produced one of the most flexible and controllable rigs of any racing boat.