The Maritime Museum of B.C. and the Ladysmith Maritime Society have new reason to celebrate Canada’s oldest-known sailboat that is still sailing.
The SV Dorothy, a 9.1-metre sailboat built in Victoria in 1897 that just underwent an extensive refit in Ladysmith, has won a Classic Boat Award, announced Wednesday, April 3, by the Royal Thames Yacht Club in London, England.
According to a press release from the Maritime Museum of B.C., supporters of Dorothy’s refit and continued sailing had been anticipating that the craft would win Best Restored Sailing Vessel in its category at the awards, administered by U.K.-based Classic Boat Magazine.
Dorothy, part of the Maritime Museum of B.C. collection and believed to be the oldest sailboat built in Canada still sailing, was designed by Linton Hope and built by J.J. Robinson for W.H. Langley, who sailed and raced the craft during the 47 years he owned it.
Dorothy was donated to the Maritime Museum of B.C. in 1995 and is described in the release by historian and boatwright Robert Lawson as “intrinsically beautiful in the perfection of her lines. She harks back to a time when everything was simpler, when sailing a small boat involved the sailor in a delicate and intimate relationship with wind and water.”
Dorothy’s most recent restoration, started in 2o22 by Ladysmith Maritime Society’s heritage boat restoration program, was a partnership project with the maritime museum. The craft is sailing again thanks to work by shipwright and artist Tony Grove and the volunteers at the Ladysmith Maritime Society led by Lawson. The project restored the vessel to its original 1897 sailing condition and it was relaunched last spring at the former Ladysmith Community Marina.
Richard Wiefelspuett, LMS executive director, in a separate news release, congratulated the museum and the volunteers involved for receiving international recognition.
Dorothy’s restoration “stands as a shining testament to the collaborative efforts of MMBC, LMS, and devoted volunteers, showcasing the enduring spirit of maritime heritage preservation … further exemplified by the generous support of the Pacific Coast maritime business community and countless private donations,” he said.
The museum’s collections and exhibits manager Heather Feeney said the boat’s history is “truly remarkable.” A large percentage of the vessel is original, she said, and the museum’s collection includes extensive documentation such as the orginal invoice, photos that are more than 100 years old, and trophies the boat won in regattas at Cowichan Bay and Victoria.
Dorothy will spend the summer sailing between festivals, youth sailing programs, and more in the lead up to the Classic Boat Festival in Victoria’s Inner Harbour on Labour Day weekend, Aug. 30 to Sept. 1.
For more information, visit http://mmbc.bc.ca/collections/vessels/dorothy.
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