On 27 May 2010 three intrepid amateur yatchsmen set sail from Ramsgate harbour to Calais for the 75th Anniversary of the Royal Naval Sailing Association. The yachtsmen were on HMY Sheemaun which was experiencing a similar anniversary, having been built in Frazerburgh in 1935. The yacht, Sheemaun, gained the title of "Her Majesty's Yacht" because it had been requisitioned during WW2 by the Admiralty, had had its foremast replaced by a Hotchkiss gun and had served in the Thames estuary on anti-submarine patrol. It is entitled to fly the undefaced blue ensign. As well as the RNSA event the Little Ship Club had organised a rally and the two organisations had arranged a number of social events afloat and ashore in Calais harbour. The RNSA had sent over a patrol boat, HMS Puncher which hosted many of the events.
27 May also saw the exit from Ramsgate of the little ships to Dunkirk celebrating the 75th anniversary of Operation Dynamo – the evacuation of 338,000 British, French and Belgian soldiers from French beaches. We would like to have be in Dunkirk for the celebrations but could not be in both places. Instead the skipper decided stay in Calais for the weekend and then sail up to Dunkirk on the bank holiday Monday. The plan was to return to Calais the following Thursday for a Fete de Mer where Sheemaun was to be an exhibit.
The passages from Ramsgate to Calais and from Calais to Dunkirk were uneventful. However, the same could not be said for the trip back to Calais. We had a steady breeze on the starboard beam and Sheemaun was sailing well under jib, stay sail and a mizzen. The skipper decided to experiment with alternative sail configurations and busied himself on the foredeck with the sailing master. I was at the helm which was astern of the wheelhouse and I could not see what was taking place forward. At this point I should explain that the skipper was a retired orthopaedic surgeon and the sailing master a retired solicitor.
Various sails were hoisted and lowered. At one stage a square sail on a boom was raised which gave the boat an interesting appearance but did little for its sailing characteristics as it fouled the stay sail. After 5 minutes it was lowered. Unbeknown to me in an attempt to get the square sail to set better the two on the foredeck had slacked off the port backstay which was secured to the deck by a runner. On lowering the sail they forgot to tighten it up again.
We continued our voyage under a steady force 4 wind until we reached Calais. We passed the harbour entrance and the skipper told me to bring the boat round to port so that the wind would be on the port quarter and we could sail into the harbour. I did as I was told, the boat came round, the main boom and the mizzen came across slowly, the two on the foredeck hauled in the starboard sheets, the boat started to heel on her new heading, then there was a load bang as the fore topmast snapped and came down bringing with it sails and rigging.
We hove to and considered our predicament. We could continue under engines into Calais harbour where we would be a most unusual exhibit or we could return to Ramsgate. We chose the latter course of action and berthed in Ramsgate that evening having made the crossing under engines. So ended Sheemaun's 2010 cruise.
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