Corribee

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Corribee[1]
L.O.A. 20' 9" 6.63m
L.W.L. 16' 3" 4.94m
Maximum beam 7' 2" 2.19m
Draft (fin keel) 3'0" 0.92m
Draft (bilge keel) 2'2" 0.67m
Displacement (laden) 2,000 lbs 908kg
Cabin Headroom 4'8" 1.36m
Engine (Outboard) up to 7.5hp
Engine (Inboard) up to 12hp

The Corribee is a model of sailing yacht with good sea keeping ability. It was chosen by Ellen MacArthur to sail around Britain and by Katie Miller, Johnny Moore and Jack Daly.

The boat has also made longer voyages across the Atlantic Ocean by Sir Allen Toone.

Mark 1 Corribee

Mk 1, Clinker

The first Corribee was designed by Robert Tucker in 1964. Around 10 wooden Corribees were clinker built before production moved to the fibreglass Mk 1. The early Corribees have a centreboard which gives them a minimum draft of 1'11" (0.59m), shallow even compared to the bilge-keeled later models which are themselves favoured for their shallow draft. With the centreboard lowered, the Mk 1 Clinker corribee draws 3'3" (1m). Raised and lowered by means of a winch in the cockpit, the centreboard is housed in a small fin which protrudes from the hull of the boat, as such it does not intrude on the cabin floor. [2]

Corribee number 1

The first Corribee built was called Corribee, eventually lending its name to the whole class of boats. Bearing sail number 1, she was made by Mallon Boats on Lough Corrib, and launched on the Medway in 1965. After being completely rebuilt by Yallows Yard and relaunched in 1998, she is now kept in Cowes.

Mk 1, Fibreglass

In the early 1970s, production of the Corribee moved to Newbridge Boats Ltd who built it in fibreglass. Known as the Newbridge "Corribee 21" in the brochure, she was sold as "a fin keel version of the original centreboard clinker boat". The Mk1 was also built as a twin keel boat which has a shallower draft than the fin keel version and has the advantage of staying upright if run aground or kept on a drying mooring.[3] Compared to the later Mk 2 and Mk 3 Corribees, the Mk 1 has a few distinguishing features. The Mk 1 has a circular cover on the lazarette, the coachroof is wider than on later models and consequently has narrower side decks and more room below.[4]

List of Marks

  • Mark 1 - still a common sight, recognisable by the timber cockpit coamings.
  • Mark 2 - early - grp superstructure moulding.
  • Mark 2 - late - similar, but more headroom in the cabin.
  • Mark 3 - similar again, some small changes to the deck moulding.
  • Corribee, junk rigged - the same superstructure as the standard Corribee.
  • Coromandel - junk rigged, but with a different cabin moulding.

Significant voyages

There have been a number of significant voyages completed in Corribees, including a number of circumnavigations of Great Britain and Transatlantic crossings.

In the 1970s Alan Toone made a double transatlantic crossing in a Corribee [5]. In 1983 Mike Spring, a paraplegic sailor, sailed single handed to Ponta Delgada, Azores in his Coromandel 3M Mariner. [6] In 1995 Ellen MacArthur circumnavigated Great Britain in her Corribee, Iduna.

More recently Katie Miller emulated Ellen MacArthur's voyage in her Corribee, Elektra; she made the circumnavigation to raise finds for the Ellen MacArthur Trust. In recognition of this voyage she was awarded the 2006 Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year award.[7]

As part of the 2008 Jester Azores Challenge Roger Taylor sailed from Plymouth to Praia da Vitória, Azores in his junk-rigged Corribee, Mingming, finishing in just under 21 days. [8]

In the summer of 2008, Jack Daly completed his single handed circumnavigation of Great Britain via the Caledonian canal in Padiwak; the voyage took him 12 weeks.[9]

Voyage attempts

In 2006 Roger Taylor retired from the Plymouth to Newport Jester Challenge. He sailed his junk-rigged Corribee, Mingming, a total of 2,500 miles non-stop from Plymouth back to Burnham-on-Crouch, retiring only due to a slower than expected boat speed meaning he'd be at sea well into hurricane season, something Taylor described as "a risk too far".[10]

In 2008 while Jack Daly was on his circumnavigation via the Caledonian Canal, Jonny Moore retired from a complete circumnavigation of Great Britain via the Pentland Firth in his Mk 2 Corribee Casulen II. His effort was still successful in raising money for the Kendal Sea Cadet Corps.

Notes

  1. Measurements quoted from the Corribee 21 Mk 2 brochure specifications page, found at http://corribee.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/mk2plan.jpg
  2. Clinker Corribee brochure found at http://corribee.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/20090625_woodencorribbeebrochure_mikegregory_page_2.png
  3. Mk 1 (GRP) Brochure Page 2 on the Unified Corribee Website http://corribee.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/20090625_grpcorribeemk1brochure_mikegregory-_page_2.png
  4. Unified Corribee Website, Corribee History page http://corribee.org/history/corribee/
  5. Practical Boat Owner, May 1979 p.57-60 and June 1979 p.62-65.
  6. Mike Spring's log from his single handed voyage to Ponta Delgada, Azores http://02c1289.netsolhost.com/AZORES.HTM
  7. Katie Miller takes top sailing award, 09 Jan 2007 http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/?article=24540
  8. Jester Azores Challenge 2008 Entry List http://www.jesterinfo.org/jac2008entrylist.html
  9. Jack Daly's circumnavigation website http://www.sail-the-dream.co.uk/
  10. Roger Taylor's account of his 2006 Jester Challenge http://www.jesterinfo.org/rogertaylorjc.html

External links