Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2013 | Page 46

ON THE WATER

which Island sailor Shirley Robertson
sailed to a gold medal at the Sydney
Olympics in 2000, and the shocking
pink Lady Penelope, formerly owned
by jet-setters of the 1950s Lady
Docker and her husband, who were
severely reprimanded by Prince Rainier
for driving it too fast around the
harbour at Monaco!
Also among the 60 or so boats that
have been gathered is an airborne
lifeboat, which was dropped by five
parachutes from an aircraft into the
English Channel during the Second
World War to rescue British airmen
who had been shot down. The boat,
designed by iconic Island yachtsmen
the late Uffa Fox. It was designed and
built – from drawing line to water
line – in just 21 days, and helped save
more than 200 lives!
The airborne lifeboat on display
in the museum has been lovingly
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restored, and since its salvation was
revealed, artefacts and memorabilia
from all over the country have been
donated – even down to cigarette
packets - to help return it to just as it

sailed some 70 years ago.
Also on show is Britannia, the boat
rowed single-handedly across the
Atlantic by John Fairfax in 1969 –

the first to complete the crossing. He
completed the row on the day man
first landed on the moon, and even
received a message of congratulations
from the astronauts in space.
Britannia remains just as it was
when it completed the trans-Atlantic
crossing and portrays the difficulties
John Fairfax must have encountered
through massive waves on his epic
journey. Close by is a Caribbean
fishing boat, while at the other
end of the scale Miss Britain IV
highlights supreme British technology
as the speedboat that reached a
record-breaking 124mph on Coniston
Water in 1982. Indeed, each boat
really does have a story to tell!
Museum volunteer Sonya
RigaudBarrett explained: “The
museum has been in existence since
1996. The founder was Maurice
Wilmot who had a few boats of his