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Elsa II
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Life has gone full circle for Elsa II, which was built at Thornycroft's in 1929. Now she is owned by a former Thornycroft apprentice, Fred Bourne together with his wife Sheila, who is the secretary of The Thames Vintage Boat Club.
Elsa II is one of the many ships whose presence at Dunkirk is well docu-mented, but no detailed records of her achievements survive. However, she has one of the oldest brass commemorative plaques given to Little Ships even before the A.D.L.S. came into being. She took part in the 1975 and 1980 returns to Dunkirk and, on the earlier occasion the owner, John Bailey and his wife rather cheekily asked the Mayor of Dunkirk if he would come aboard for tea. When the Mayor arrived with his entire entourage, he found that Elsa II was only 32ft. long and there was hardly room for himself and the owners inside the cabin!
From 1967-1988 Elsa II was owned by a syndicate - all friends - who used their own efforts and skills to maintain her in perfect order without professional help. Many of those who own Dunkirk Little Ships have to rely on their own resources, otherwise maintenance and overhauls on classic wooden boats can run away with many thousands of pounds a year.
Elsa II has survived particularly well and has hardly been changed since she was built. Of course there have been moments of peril, like the time when she got stuck on a sandbank eight miles off the Dutch coast. Everyone expected her to break up under the relentless pounding of the waves. Then, suddenly, she was lifted clear and floated away to safety.
During the next three years, she helped to conduct sea trials of new life-saving radio beacons in the Channel for Kelvin Hughes and International Marine Radio. Her 'Handy Billy' petrol engines were converted to paraffin but paraffin is no longer freely available at marine filling stations. So they had to resort to pushing supermarket trolleys laden with 5-gallon drums across cobbled streets in Holland to where she lay in the harbour.
Under Fred Bourne's ownership at Weybridge, Elsa II is in good hands. He is a yacht chandler and keeps her at the bottom of his garden where he is getting ready for new adventures on the inland waterways of Europe.
Source: 21
Updated: 28/07/99