So much attention is being taken these days by the restored Albert Strange-designed transom-sterned gaff cutter Tally Ho, designed by Albert Strange (1855-1917) and the winner of the 1926 Fastnet Race, that casual observers could be forgiven for being unaware that Strange was best noted for his mastery of the canoe stern in cruising yachts.
One of the finest examples of this style was the 9-ton 36ft gaff yawl Nirvana of Arklow, built for Billy Mooney (who lived in and sailed from Howth from 1919 until 1943) by Jack Tyrrell of Arklow.
Billy Mooney had come by the unused plans of Nirvana in 1919, two years after Strange's death. And while the building was entrusted to Jack Tyrrell and his master shipwrights in 1924-25, the irrepressible Mooney was so closely involved that he chartered an Arklow schooner and sailed aboard her to Liverpool, there to personally select the timber to be used in the new boat at what was reputedly the best timber yard in Europe.
Nirvana's sweetness of line disguises the fact that she is an able seagoing cruising yacht
He sailed and cruised Nirvana extensively until 1934 before moving up to the new 16-ton ketch Aideen, also built by Tyrell. Nirvana meanwhile was sold on to Elizabeth Crimmins of East Ferry on Cork Harbour, whose 1934 cruise with her newly-acquired vessel resulted in her becoming the first woman member of the Irish Cruising Club to be awarded the club's premier trophy, the Faulkner Cup.
Making good steady speed, the hallmark of a proper cruising yacht.
In due course, Nirvana was sold into the northern ownership of RNIYC's Douglas MacIlwaine, and after a couple of further northern ownerships, she was sold to the east of England and the ultimate ownership of classic yacht specialist Peter Clay in Suffolk on that loveliest of waterways, the River Deben.
While graceful in appearance, Nirvana of Arklow has her own unmistakable jaunty style.
He put Nirvana through a meticulous restoration process, but this remarkable partnership was terminated by his untimely death after illness last year. Nirvana is now for sale at £75,000, and while she presents the challenge of continuing maintenance to Pete Clay's extremely high standards, surely in this her Centenary Year there is some enthusiast out there, ready and able to take on this exceptional chapter of Irish sailing history?
Nirvana at rest, showing the patient style that created a perfect canoe stern.
