The RESCUE AND REFIT Story of an 80ft former Whitbread Race Yacht (Ep. 1)
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- Опубликовано: 23 май 2020
- A short 12 minute 'glimpse' of the 3 1/2 years we spent restoring the former Whitbread Maxi 'Creighton's Naturally' also known as 'FCF Challenger' and 'Ocean Greyhound'.
Now known as 'Camara', she was built for the 1981/1982 Whitbread Round the World race and was the first of 10 Ocean 80's built by Southern Ocean Shipyard in the UK. She is a David Alan-Williams & Doug Peterson co-design.
When we bought the boat, she was in very sad shape and neglected condition. We knew the only way to do the job properly was to start right back in the beginning which saw us strip the boat to bare hull and start again.
With no sponsors, a limited budget and only the two of us working on the boat, it became the biggest project of our lives!
There are things we would have liked to do different if we had had no time or budget constraints and there certainly are still many 'projects' we have planned on 'Camara', but we are proud of what we have achieved and hope it gives others the motivation to take on a 'project boat' and breath some new life into a deserving yacht in need of TLC.
Please note that Peter is a qualified boat builder and rigger which obviously played a huge part in the outcome of the rebuild.
Please also note that there were many different stages, projects etc that are not all shown in the video but I tried my best to show the many stages along the course of the project to give you an idea.
Music:
‘Driven to Success’ by Scott Holmes - licensed under Standard license by Scott Holmes Music - www.scottholmesmusic.com
‘Where We Are’ & ‘Mission Ready’ by KETSA, licensed with permission from the Independent Music Licensing Collective - imlcollective.uk
#projectboat #yachtrefit #boatrebuild
Actually insane when you think about the pictures shown for 3 seconds entail countless hours of hard work. You guys pulled of a master piece here. Incredible how she looks.
Thank you so much ☺️
off*
Lovely to see a boat restored to better than former glory. Enjoy her after all that work.
Thank you so much ☺️
My name is Marius Aggenbach from South Africa having built 4 yachts and cruised in the Caribbean and the Med for some time I can appreciate all the work done on your yacht. Congratulations you have done a fine job and I wish you happy sailing and enjoyment.
Saw her for sale when she was at Gulf Harbour... dreamt of doing what you’ve actually achieved. What an incredible thing you guys have done
my name is Ge’iff thank you 🙏
What was the price at that time?
@@thomasbonde2118 1st saw it at $110k then below $100k, it was even on TradeMe
@@ross82 I remember seeing that and wondered if it was built for the race, I couldn't find any info but figured that any maxi built at that time would have been for the race
It's lovely to see a racer restored to a live-aboard with legs. She surely needed your help. Thank you for letting us watch.
Beautiful...a Masterclass in skill and an eye for detail..
bowpilot55 thank you so much ☺️
The transformation of over 3 years of work into just over 10 minutes is so incredible but really too short to demonstrate the quality and effort of your work and ideas. Truly inspiring. Thank you so much for giving us a glimpse into what it takes to restore an 80 footer.
Thank you so much! In hindsight we just have just filmed/documented the refit better than we did but we were too consumed by getting the job done. Maybe next time 😂
I’m gobsmacked what a brilliant piece of engineering restoration your dedication is incredible you should be very proud of yourself what a beautiful boat she is Fairwinds and following seas ❤️👍
the amount of work it must have taken the two of you is just remarkable, amazing.
Sailed her across the Atlantic, Hamble to Caribbean, winter '82 with skipper Les Williams, son Gareth, Jaques Redon and a couple of others when she was Challenger.
Sailed on Creightons Naturally, years ago sad to see the boat in neglected state but what a wonderful job has been done on her I am sure everyone will enjoy this rejuvenated boat. I can remember may trips to the mast head and still have the photographs take from up there.
Alan Bayne thank you so much ☺️ It still amazes us just how many people’s lives she’s been a part of 💙
Man what a blast from the past. I remember this boat from my childhood in the golden era of the Whitbred. Really enjoyed that ride.
Seeing the sheer volume of work involved in the refit and the quality of the outcome is nothing short of mesmerizing. Fantastic work.
I'm so impressed that the two of you could do this alone. Wow. Gives me hope. Wish I could crew for a while.
I am with you there. I think that most boat builders should take note of what these amazing folks managed to accomplish WITHOUT THE NEED FOR AN ELABORATE RARE WOOD INTERIOR .... I love the final product. My dream as well but I lost my partner which put an end to our dream to Cruze the great expanse of our oceans and seas. I have an add to find someone with the same dream, potentially gutting a storm damaged boat together, chartering people, (backpackers) from South America to one of the Caribbean islands. A blast, hardly a job but its lucrative a friend did it to survive but it ended up making him over 1000 in a 5 day week...that's what lit the fire under my ass.... also finally settling by purchasing a sailors,, motor yacht marina with rooms for backpackers and travellers a like. Guatemala, panama, never Belize it's a bloody coke highway pit stop, so many deaths it's hard not to think of the insane residents such as McAfee.....whom had gone (CLEARLY) off the deep end that fellow. The riches he has collected and still reaps the rewards (financial of course.) from the sales of his out dated security software. He has squandered his fortune away and in a ten year period he had lost his mind, his money and most recently his ownership of his beachfront 6000 sq foot monstrosity. Today, his mansion stands looking like a ruin, the locals have cleaned the place out. A vacationer watched as if they were worker ants. I'm sure most of you have seen a shot of thousands of ants carrying items heavier than themselves...well now replace the ants with the locals that's what it looked like from afar ..busy busy ants ( locals) leaving with the last item, a framed picture of McAffie nude with a kg in his lap...idiot.
Free ( renaissance ) sailer: FREE auto or manual muted, invisible crew member that can cook, clean, repair, mechanical and human beings, both mental and some physical. naturopathic knowledge, psychotherapy, as hard as this is to believe i actually hold a degree in one of the aforementioned (highly exaggerated,) list of qualifications. Will obviously take orders from both Captain and the co-captain. Will live in anchor, chain, and rigging locker. How can you argue with that? Muskoka, ON. Canada
OMG what a superb effort . Ex yacht builder , developer, builder, yacht owner ,racer, charter skipper, 63, sailing since in utero , tired of the sea.
Amazing job. Looks fabulous. Huge spacious interior, and, by the look of it, sails beautifully.
A Beautiful job well-done folks. I have an Alice Whitbread in my family as an ancestor from the 1600s. They must be looking down on your beautiful work with approval.
Absolutely incredible you guys. Saving an old girl and repurposing her as a fast cruiser is just amazing. We also sailed to NZ and live in Auckland before we return to the cruising life. Your film was inspirational. BZ
Toby Norman thank you 🙏
Awesome, 'Creighton's Naturally' is a name that I have heard so many times in the media it feels like finding an old friend. Exciting, nice job!
Very impressive!
What a gorgeous looking boat thanks for showing the rebuild from start to finish. I am not very patient and this was perfect.
Such a huge undertaking and commitment. My hat is of to you. Great job and she looks nice.
I knew John Chittenden and his crew when they rebuilt her in Hull for the 1989 Whitbread. It's quite amazing to see how much of their internal structural work looks as good now as when they built it! Your refit has much of the same spirit of DIY pragmatism that theirs did. Well done!
Hi, I know John as well, sailed with him on Royalist and I did days sails during Cowes week in the early 90's on Crieghton's Naturally to help John out I was working on Astrid then, happy memories.
Ahh, the Whitbread! Great memories of Peter Blake winning it in 1990 with Steinlager 2!
What a great race that was! Those were the days when we listened to every radio sports bulletin for an update on the yacht positions! Great times!
goodness me, there are heaps of restoration-rebuild projects on YT, but the scale of this, the finish, and the fact that you did it on your own is mind boggling. Bloody well done, your boat is second to none
Thank you so much ☺️
Absolutely stunning rebuild. I have a old friend who sailed on her as Ocean Greyhound/FCF Challenger, Gareth Williams, his dad was Skipper Les Williams. I also have some pics when she was out of the water in Moody’s boatyard on the Hamble UK. Even have an old life jacket from FCF Challenger days. Great to see her sailing again, she looks amazing. Fair winds. Andy UK
Andy UK - SY Corrival - Rival 32 thank you ☺️ I’m sure his wife has reached out to us before on Facebook!
I had the privilege of doing my first trans Atlantic with Les (and Janet), a great teacher and mentor.
This boat was his entire life for so long, I feel like I’m seeing an old friend again in Challenger being reborn.. (Please say “Hi” to Gareth form David off Limbara.)
Coincidentally I also happened to actually be looking directly at Creightons when she got T-boned by a ultralight at Antigua SW in 1995, hurt the ultralight a lot more than her!
Fantastic to see this storied boat rise again.
David S thank you so much for sharing your memories and for your comment - it means a lot ☺️
@@Camarasailing
You guys have done a magnificent job, I helped out on some fundraising daysails in the Solent in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s as child, I feel very connected to her. Definitely looking forward to seeing more on You Tube in the future.
(One correction. When I recalled the collision in Antigua, I had it the wrong way around. It was a charter crew racing you vessel that T-boned the ultralight - the result was spectacular - commenting on You Tube too early in the AM taxing my memory.)
@@davids1716 Hi David, when did you do the Atlantic with Les. I was crew in winter '82 when we took her from Hamble to St Lucia / Antigua. I still see Les and Janet.
She’s beautiful! You guys did a fantastic job .
A big compliment for this beautiful project. You have combined liveability and functionality in a fantastic way. Sailboat interior designers can learn a lot from this. I wish you an inspiring sailing life and many beautiful journeys and discoveries.
The transformation is amazing she's so clean you guys achieved greatness and is inspiring
So great to see a part of sailing history refitted to that amazing high standard.
Phil Chitty thank you ☺️
Wow, what a beautiful job you've done.
It looks amazing 👏
dunkie976 thank you 🙏
Thank you. Absolutely amazing. I know the video doesn't capture the amount of work and love that went into restoring the boat. Congratulations on making it happen!!!!!
What a great story. Another grand boat SAVED! Bless you and your husband for taking it on. The design, integration, and execution was top notch. She's enjoying a well deserved pinnacle retirement thanks to you guys. BRAVO! -and enjoy. You worked hard and it shows. (My favorite part was after gutting the innards. A blank canvas!)
OCnStiggs thank you so much ☺️
wow sailed on a couple of retired maxis and they are huge... tremendous job
Gavin Ferguson thank you 😊
That is an amazing project. Dedication for sure :-)
You both have Great Vision to go from what she first looked liked into what she is today! Pure Magic! All the best Richard
Cars 2 The Max by The Britishboy thank you so much ☺️
Massive project, I admire your tenacity and workmanship. A beautiful piece! Now time to enjoy her.
Amazing effort. Should be proud. Such a lot of effort for an extended period.
You both have amazing skills... beautifully done!
Saskia Groen-in't-woud thank you 😊
you two are amazing! what a great project! I've spent my share of time redoing 3, one 5oft. nothing this large and beautiful and elegant. Wow!
What a beautiful yacht you have after all that hard graf. Well done and thank you for sharing.
What an incredible amount of work and an excellent result!! Well done!
Thank you so much ☺️
Wow, some project! Happy sailing :)
Christopher Lynch thank you 😊
Beautiful boat! I've just bought a 60 ft steel sailer. Got a whole lot of work to do too. Thanks for being an inspiration!
Lots of hard work and commitment to a vision. Very well done and she's beautiful on the water.
great job you are one of the only people i know that could have pulled that off well done cap RON emotion 2
Ron McCabe thank you so much 🙏
Hats off to you sir, what a great achievement 👍
Gregg Butler thank you 🙏
Thank you for sharing that. Your yacht looks amazing! Beautiful job restoring her.
I don't know one thing about boats, but this was amazing. What a stunning vessel. Bravo.
Thank you so much ☺️
This is so incredibly inspiring
Greart video thanks for sharing and what a transformation!
David McArthur thank you ☺️
I saw the first photos and thought, oh, they will sweep and mop, NO!! They stripped her bare!! WOW! Would love to see a 30 minute version of this, more time and explanation of each photo. Very impressive work and timeline!! A "boatload" of work!
Thank you so much! We’ve been thinking of doing a longer version with perhaps some FAQ’s answered at some stage, just have to catch up on some video editing first 😉
I like the before, during and after pics of individual sections...easy to follow and good work!
Amazing work u have made...Respect....wishing u happy days
Qrap's Vineyard se7ftw thank you 😊
Fantastic. You're my inspiration
WOW, I only came across your post by accident and what an achievement you have done. Congratulations seem to be insignificant in looking at what you have done, beautiful job.
Words fail me, it is so beyond impressive what you both accomplished. The video is impressive, also. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Thank you so much ☺️
Great job. Well done. I'm very happy to see this boat so beautifully restored and given a new lease of life. I hope you and your family put many happy miles under her keel.
I was briefly involved in a chapter of her history, when Les Williams got FCF Challenger to the finish of the 81-82 WRTWR with a broken mast. A few of us Ship Science students at Southampton Uni helped Les and his sidekick, the hilarious Jacques Redon, (Claire Francis' ex-husband) to prepare Challenger for the two handed Round Britain race, which he did with Bob Fisher. Preparations were complicated by Moody's marina dropping and damaging the new mast (which was a masthead rig, smaller than the original fractional stick), which made it very tight getting the boat to Plymouth in time for the start. Les was a nice guy, and one of the first to get big bucks sponsorship into yacht racing (with Burton Cutter). Ocean greyhound was a very ambitious project, but there was a perennial shortage of funds.
giles goulding thank you so much for sharing! It always amazes us just how many lives she has been a part of!
Good to see Creighton's restored (I'm ex Whitbread...one of my sailing buddies raced the Whitbread on her...)
Stunning. Top shelf video and project. Thanks for sharing. Stay safe and sail on.
Beautiful job! Fascinating to watch. Thanks.
Simply superb, well done. However, not much change from a million dollars.
And the wife has been nagging me to jet wash the drive for weeks!! This has inspired me lol!
Hello hello hello !!!! Haha that made me laugh ;-)
Ditch her for one who likes boats. Simple.
Beautiful job, looks like a real labor of love and huge commitment............. well done
WOW! What more can be said about the job you two did to refit and complete the rebuild. BEAUTIFUL! You have quite the sailing ship. Enjoy the worlds oceans. Can't wait to see some of the trips you are going to go on.
Thank you so much ☺️
great job, do a walkthrough of the finished product
Brad Kelly good idea!
I designed some parts of the original boom. 'Nice to see the boat being cared for. I don't like the shed on the deck at the back, though !
See what you mean. Built for functionality, not that traditional look.
A labor of love and a great deal to be proud of. Beautiful workmanship.
Tom Conces thank you 😊
She looks absolutely stunning, an incredible amount of work, done to what looks from your film to be done to a great level of detail with high standard of workmanship. No doubt you are as proud of her as we are impressed :-)
Thank you ☺️
I once had the pleasure of sailing out of Falmouth with very ( 7 gusting 8 occasional 9 ) strong due south wind . The lifeboat came in from an exercise and past us at black rock ... with a finger to the temple . Took an age to get out into the bay. I have some pictures somewhere of the entire gunnels under water , the skipper grinning and all the passengers looking very green . Fabulous boat run by the Dutchy at the time . We even woke few sleepy RN types moored in the Halford when the skipper ran up a royal ensign 😉
I believe you meant the Helford River, or the local Halfords? And what is a “royal ensign”’ please?
@@billfromgermany I did mean the Halford ( blame that on the wine ) A royal ensign is a flag flown on British Royal Navy ships .. on this occasion we could fly one ourselves as the boat was owned by the Duchy of Cornwall .. by association owned by Prince Charles.
@@petersavage4207 OK, thanks. Do you mean what I would call the White Ensign? I know that the RYS and the Dartmouth yachts are entitled to fly the White Ensign, but it sounds logical that a Duchy Yacht should have the same privilege.
@@billfromgermany Yes and yes .... I think the crew of the minesweeper were a little surprised to see one 😀
Ive sailed with Skippers like that ~ so I became one ~ Flag etiquet never our strongest point
You made the typical refit on a production boat seem like child's play in comparison. What incredible work, scrupulous attention to design, purpose, and execution. Once I heard your husband works in the trade, it all suddenly became clearer. One day- merely for the shock value- please estimate how much YOU would have charged to do this amount of work on a customer's yacht. Cheers!
That’s probably why nobody else wanted to buy her because if you had paid someone to do the work you’d probably be left with a bill bigger than what you could ever recover...we just took it as an opportunity to carry on with the lifestyle we love 😉
@@Camarasailing You were in an ideal position to save her, and did! Also explains the fine work. Well done!
Absolutely superb. I remember when Ocean Greyhound was launched, she was the sexiest boat on the water! Congratulations on the rebuild and wish you every success in the future. Fair winds.
RHP9898 thank you ☺️
Never was so much work and effort put forth to take it easy... absolutely awesome yacht!
That’s commitment! Wish you all the best sailing her.
C Mosca thank you 😊
Awesome task, beautiful result. And, it only took 12 minutes! Actually, I can't imagine the labor hours and expenses that went into this labor of love. Maybe you will share that info?
DocuMetrics, Inc. it took a little longer than 12 minutes 😉 It took us 3 1/2yrs, of course there are still the odd projects we do now but then you are never ‘done’ on a boat! We were lucky that the boatyard my husband had worked at offered us a space at the back of the yard for free which was a huge savings and factor in whether we could do it. Due to him working in the industry we got most our materials at very reduced or cost price so it’s hard to put a dollar figure to that that’s realistic for anyone else but be assured we spent all the proceeds from our house sale on this project!
@@Camarasailing _ I did think that you must have professional boatyard experience to take on stripping out a maxi and doing a complete rebuild from scratch. Looks absolutely awesome
thank you for sharing your refit. Obviously you two have the fortitude to understake such a large project. Many people have no idea what it takes to build an interior of a boat. Nothing is straight, plumb, or square. Think about that fellas. Every piece of wood has to adjoin the curved hull at exactly the right spot. You have no idea how much skill that takes to do and outstanding joinery work as seen performed. I love what you did to this boat. I stern mods....the cabin top for weather protection...tankage....the keel rebuild....tasteful color blends..subdued and easy on the eye....a nav station to die for. I recently talked with a skipper who was selling his 55 foot Chris White Trimaran. Asked him about the cost of he furling Genny and Headsail and Solent. He stated he bought the best he could buy from North Sails out of UK for over 80 K.....gulp.....
alan smith thank you so much 🙏
Very Very impressive rebuild. I can not take away your skills at this work.
I remember Creightons very well.
She crashed into us just off Cowes breaking off our bowsprit and putting a two foot hole in her own port side a midships.
She managed to sail off and compete finishing 3rd while we had to abandon the week.
Sad they renamed her !!!
skippy One wow that’s one memory and story of her! She’s been renamed a few times actually. She started off as Ocean Greyhound, then FCF Challenger, to Creighton’s Naturally and we named her after both our kids 😉
@@Camarasailing I remember seeing her racing side by side with another boat famous at the time called "Mistress Quickly" if my memory serves me right!
I might have a pic somewhere of them both with Spinnaker's neck and neck going past the Needles heading for Poole!
YOUR bowsprit, HER midships??? ...... sounds like YOU were the one doing the 'CRASHING.'
@@gregtaylor6146 Depends who was the stand on vessel....
@@jamesrichardson476 Good point. A hit on "Creightons'" port side indicates she was clearly the stand on vessel, unless she was overtaking.
Hard top is not my thing, but otherwise this is a really amazing work!!
This is a live aboard cruiser now, albeit a fast live aboard cruiser. When I see people on who are full time cruiser's who don't even like to put up a Bimini, I question why. We all know the dangers of the sun and skin cancer and then you add in the reflection of the water too. I realize that for racer's they want the extra speed, but as much as I love sailing and all of that, not getting skin cancer is a bigger desire to me!
I agree it detracts from the lines, but of course it's so much more practical forr a cruiser.
She looks amazing! - Well done!
Thanks for sharing an awesome effort to rebirth this beautiful craft. May you enjoy the fruits of your labour for years to come.
Thank you 😊
Wow💙💙💙💙💙💙
Vulture Munchies thank you 🙏
Tracey Edwards started her whitbread race career on her as Creighton's naturally.
I think she was the navigator on the first leg
I think you'll find she sailed on with integrity the ex GBII
That was absolutely inspirational. GOD bless you all who brought Camara back life and GOD those fortunate enough to board her🙋♀️
Amazing restoration! Sooo much work summarised in a short video. Well done!
Im building a 9 ft ply dinghy.
are you living on it at the same time ?
@@jhollands68 Ha ha ha. Very good.
Don't forget the cabintop!
Roman Dybala don’t worry - I’ve been told size doesn’t count 😉
Brilliant job, but am i the only one who had trouble hearing the talking over the background music ,especially after 5.40 mins.
(i am 74)
MrSychnant thank you 😊 Nobody has mentioned it before but I will take it into consideration in the future 😉
Yes you were the only one.... I had no issues, maybe its the fact I’m on earbuds rather than speakers
Click on the (CC) button and you'll have direct access to the dialogue.
Yes it was awful, why do people add music?
@@BigRedNZ1 Enjoy the hearing you have now. It won't always be that good. We're all temporarily able-bodied.
Top notch, congratulations! It warms my heart to see neglected beauty like this brought back to its former glory!
Thank you so much ☺️
Thank you for sharing your dream with us.
Simply amazing!
Ranger
They pretty much built the entire thing from scratch
Imagining the ocean of cash poured into that boat almost killed my inner Scotsman.
Wow, Beautiful! Great work. Really, really impressive. :)
Congratulations on an outstanding achievement. Now that’s a yacht that dreams are made of!
Kevin Sweeney Thank you ☺️
Next time you make a video, please dispense with the loud background music as it is drowning out what you are saying or speak louder.
Tristan Mac Lennan noted - still acquiring skills on the video editing front 😉
What’s with the music background on most videos? It adds nothing and is very distracting
Who do you think you are Steven Spielberg?
@@Camarasailing No problem, we all start somewhere and from there we learn to get better
I quite enjoyed listening to the music in the background…👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 but you can’t please all the people all the time..
You will probably find that those that moan the most are the one that have never or very rarely upload a video of their own, hence why I never moan🤫🫣😜.
I wouldn’t know how to…..
Thanks for your hard work and effort, dead jealous of the yacht😬🥰
Beautiful ship, incredibly ugly hardtop!
The hardtop is fine and makes perfect sense for a live aboard family boat.
Such an enormous boat and that tiny propeller!🙀🙀😆😆😆. Beautiful job,my compliments to both of you.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you! We know, it seems crazy but the prop pushes her just fine. Though our 185hp is quite thirsty so we only motor if we have to, we try and sail as much as we can! Luckily she doesn’t need much wind to slip through the water. Thanks for watching!
Wow! Monumental project! I've been looking at your hull for weeks without realising what you went thru to float her. Congratulations! Very unique vessel...
Life of Pu thank you 🙏
That's probably the most impressive rebuild/ time lapse video on RUclips well done 👌👌👌
Beautifully done ! Cheers!
wow, very impressive result, congratulations. I will follow you sailing the seas from now on !!!!
mitzano deparetzack thank you 😊
Very nice job. Very special boat. Well done. Have fun!