The S Cruisers built at the Shipyard at Ballyholme on the east side of Bangor are synonymous with their designer and builder, Bertie Slater. Several of these S cruisers are still in existence.
One in particular, Sorona, one of 22 built between 1946 and 1964, is now being carefully restored. She lay in a yard at Greenbank Industrial Estate in Newry at the head of Carlingford Lough run by Gerry Brennan's Silvery Light Sailing. The new owner, Colla McParland, is now refurbishing Sorona. It is a tale of circumstance and good fortune.
Sorona in 2015, when in the ownership of Eanan O Doherty of Drogheda
Gerry Brennan had bought Sorona to turn her into a Sail Training vessel, but that never happened.
After WW2, Slater designed the S-class cruiser, a superb, affordable sailing yacht built traditionally by skilled craftsmen. The S-class boats are sturdy cruisers well suited to Irish and Scottish waters. Many of these yachts are still sailing today.
Sorona lying at anchor in the River Boyne in County Meath
In 1958, Bruce Cowley, who had retired from HMRC, bought the yard. Cowley continued the production of S-class cars, building 22 in Bangor between 1946 and 1964.
The Silvery Light Newry yard stopped functioning and suffered a devastating fire. It closed after the fire, and by coincidence, Sorona survived and was seen by Colla McParland of the demolition firm F McParland of Jerrettspass, who were doing the demolition work on the yard.
Sorona seemed to 25-year-old Colla to be a likely candidate for restoration, so onto a low loader, it went to be cosily tucked under cover at his yard, awaiting what turned out to be a lot of work.
Colla is very pleased to have bought Sorona "The story of finding the boat was a combination of a near miss, plenty luck and unbelievable coincidences. I moved Sorona inside after purchase (and the boat will stay inside until restoration is finished), I have since completely sanded the hull of all of the old paint".
While working on Sorona, Colla has been ferreting out information about Sorona and trying to locate other S Class cruisers.
Previously, Sorona appears to have ended up in the ownership of someone in the Skerries Sailing Club near Dublin. Then, in 1987, the boat was purchased by Geoffrey and Ken Wilde, along with Kevin Coogan, and was kept on a swinging mooring in the River Boyne.
Sorona rescued and on her way to McParland's yard
Colla has also found that around 1989, Sorona and Seaquester (once owned by the Slater family) sailed together regularly. A reliable source tells me also that Sorona was cruised often in the company of another S Cruiser Shemdra owned by the Greenhalgh family of Ballyholme is in Kenny Smyth's boat yard at Whiterock on Strangford Lough. Colla also saw Schejenka in a field near Hillown in County Down.
Sorona topsides rubbed down
And Stealaway was once owned by Martin Pearsons, who says that she is now back on the market in Maldon on the East Coast of England.
Sorona's cabin prior to restoration
