Welcome Aboard New Owners Judith Martin and Mark Roberts, Wysteria 41LN04

The following is from a 26 September email from Judith Martin:

I would like to join the LN41 owners forum. Mark Roberts and I have recently purchased the Wysteria hull #4 from a broker in Kemah, TX. We are located in Monroe, MI and plan to sail around the Great Lakes area, mostly Lake Erie for now. Wysteria needs some work done first. Just hauled out for the season and am looking forward to next summer.

Wysteria has an interesting pedigree. According to her hull number (XSA004041081), specifically the prefix (XSA), she's a Hans Christian!  Actually, Tommy Chen, who owned the Hai-O yard that built the boat, was concurrently building Hans Christian 38 Mark IIs. Wysteria being among the first, if not the first Lord Nelson 41, was simply given the same identifier (XSA) as the Hans Christians. It wasn't until 41LN11 that things were sorted out and the Lord Nelsons started carrying an HAO (for Hai-O--which means seagull in Mandarin) prefix. The prefix changed again, from HAO to OEY, in the summer of 1984 when Hai-O was closed down in favor of the new and larger Ocean Eagle yard .

LN Spotting: Le Garage 41LN49

Here is Le Garage 41LN49 on her mooring in South Bristol, Maine (http://www.lnoa.org/41ln49).  Spotted by Sally and Allan Seymor from their Lord Nelson Tug, Sally W. 37VT42.

Embla's Atlantic Crossing

Embla arrived in the Chesapeake Bay the end of July, after an uneventful Atlantic crossing via Tenerife, St. Marten, Nassau, then up the east coast offshore to the Chesapeake Bay and Annapolis.

Seagull 41--The Design that led to the 41LN

Last month Tommy Chen showed me his original, vellum Lord Nelson 41 and 35 drawings.    What became the Lord Nelson 41 Tommy originally called the Seagull 41.  It's interesting to note that he drew these plans before starting his own yard.  It's also interesting that the name of his first yard, Hai O, means seagull in Mandarin.   

Tommy Chen, holding the 41 blueprints and the original sales brochure. Photo taken aboard Polar Mist, a 49' Lord Nelson Victory Tug.  Tommy is even wearing a Victory Tug hat.  Ask him though and he'll tell you his first love is the sailboat.

The Seagull 41 hull lines.

 The signature block on the drawing.

Close-up of the hull lines.

When Plan B Becomes Plan A

Jan Chapman and Sean Kelly have sailed and owned boats for many years.  In the early days, like many, they chartered.  Their fondest memory is of Sue Lynn 41LN51 which they chartered in the San Juan Islands. So much did Sue Lynn capture their imagination that owing a Lord Nelson became their Plan A.  Many years later they bought a 1979 CHB trawler.  This wasn't exactly Plan A so they named her Plan B.  They sold Plan B having convinced themselves that 'charter is smarter'.  Then, completely by chance, a yacht broker showed them a sailboat named Equilibre--it was the old Sue Lynn.  Plan A had come to fruition.