Whilst the work continues on Esliina, I have been trying to investigate her history. I bought her as a 6.4 kr 50 sq metre Seefahrtkreuzer and not being an expert on German yachts (or any other for that matter), that's what I assumed she was. First indications that she might not be a 50sq metre came from Michael Cudmore's book, 'The Windfall Yachts: A legacy of Good Will'. From what he was saying it was apparent that Esliina's dimensions are all wrong for a 50.
I have now received some old papers relating to Esliina from the former owner. Amongst these papers is a technical drawing of a yacht which would seem to be Esliina but with a different coach roof. This is labeled 'Bavaria'. Having asked some questions on the German Classic Boat site http://www.fky.org/ I have had some interesting replies. If indeed Esliina is Bavaria, she has an interesting provenance. A Dr Rudolf Hell was her former owner. Now I have to confess that I had never knowingly heard of him but I had used his invention on a regualr basis. Dr Hell invented the forerunner of the fax machine. Went on to build his own company based in Berlin. The factory was destroyed during the war but he started anew, moving to Kiel setting up a new company. It would seem that Linotype Hell still bears his name. He lived to a ripe old age, 101 only dying in 2001.
If I do have 'Bavaria' she was built not in Kiel as was suggested when I purchased her, nor was she built in 1936. Bavaria was built in Berlin by Berliner Werft in 1938. It would seem that Dr Hell was a member of the Kieler Y.C. (Kiel Yacht Club), so my hope is that they may have some old photographs that would confirm whether or not Esliina is indeed Bavaria.
Also in the documentation was a receipt for the purchase of Esliina in 1992 when she would seem to have been known as Pirol.
No comments:
Post a Comment