V 50 Kittiwake

V 50 Kittiwake

  • Posted on 23/03/2021

Kittiwake’s extensive passages from England to Australia under the ownership of Ed Bowden are legendary.  He spend years cruising the Pacific in the 1960’s but where is she now?  Peter Woolass wrote fondly of him in his book Vertue, published in 1973.

 

Category:

Description

Ed Bowden aboard Kittiwake with Bill Heard.

Kittiwake in Sydney.  She was a simple masthead bermudan sloop at this time with single mast spreaders, so probably a substantial section metal mast, no inner forestay or runners, and an ‘all inboard’ rig with backstays taken to the quarters.  There are no guardrail stanchions so the boat seems to have become essentially simple, in keeping with Ed Bowden’s philosophy for successful cruising.

 

Specification

  • Laurent Giles design No: 193
  • Builder: Elkins
  • Launch Date: 1952
  • Hull Material: Mahogany on Oak
  • Deck:
  • Engine:
  • Ballast keel material: Lead
  • Doghouse: Short
  • Cockpit: Short
  • Berths: Two
  • Rig: Masthead bermudan sloop
  • Mast: Wood
  • Heads'ls: Genoa and stays'ls
  • Backstay arrangement:
  • Home Port:
  • Current Owner:
  • Contact details:
  • Email address:
  • Other comments: Kittiwake is a very well travelled Vertue: from England to Australia and then all over the Pacific with Ed Bowden.