Spirit of OysterhavenRef. VP260

Frederick Parker (1912-1984) was a succesful Yacht designer whose career started as an apprentice at the famous century-old English shipyard Berthon. A few years later, in the mid-1930s, he took up a position as a draughtsman in the firm of the famous naval architect Frederick Shepherd, whom he replaced on his retirement. Parker’s happier moment came at the end of II World War, when he designed an wide range of large motor yachts, very elegant, sturdy and seaworthy. His sailing yachts too brought him fame, with many victories in races and through the collaboration with major shipyards as Moody and Sons. Towards the end of his career, which came to an end in the late 1970s, Parker specialised in steel vessels, as wooden boats were gradually disappearing, displaced by fibreglass, which he did not like. In 1971, he received a request from a French client for a boat with ocean-going capabilities that could sail around the world in comfort and safety. The Senouire was born, a 67-foot schooner with a steel hull, built in England by the Joyce brothers' shipyard, well known to the designer. The finishing was done in France, in St. Malo, using top quality Burmese teak. The doors were made of walnut and the floors of teak and holly, very resistant to rot. The Senouire had a long career as a private cruiser, but in the mid-1980s she was sealed by the American Coast Guard after a raid on underwater treasure hunters. She was found there by her current owner who was looking for a boat suitable for the training of Yacht Master candidates in Ireland. The Senouire met all the criteria and soon changed ownership and name, and has since been called the Spirit of Oysterhaven, after her new owner's place of origin. Since then she has been in continuous service and continuously updated in every detail, in order to meet the very demanding Irish standards for training ships. Today, she could very well return to private service and be an excellent classic ship in enviable maintenance conditions and with an interior that is surprisingly luxurious in materials and workmanship. During her career she has amply demonstrated her seakeeping qualities and ease of handling, as the sails of her schooner rig are relatively small compared to any other type of rig on a ship of this size.