Alistair Tyrrell

No longer for sale – ELSA – Seal 22 NOW SOLD in September 2019 Seal 22 mk.II lifting keel cruiser built in the mid 1970s, GRP, white with blue deck, sloop rigged with new outboard engine fed by external tank. 4 berths. Small bottled gas camping style cooker. Plumbed in flushing sea toilet. Littlehampton Harbour dues paid to March 2020. Ready to sail. This boat won the Pennant Rose Bowl trophy in 2015 and won the Owers Race in 2017! Fun and easy to sail, uncomplicated, no inboard engine, no electrics, an ideal first cruiser for a sailor used to a dinghy and wishing to go larger. Use your own handheld VHF and GPS. 350kg iron keel lifts into the saloon table via a manual winding mechanism. With the keel raised she can take the ground and sit on her keel stub. She also has beaching legs. Keel last painted Spring 2015. Hull last jet washed and antifouled spring 2018. Mainsail by Hyde Sails new in 2017. Older mainsail age unknown but serviceable as a spare. Roller furling genoa unknow...

7th April 2019 I left Elsa in the water over the winter and took the engine home, and painted the rudder blade. In March I put her back together and Georgia helped me put the sails back on. I knew she was pretty much ready to sail so I went along ready for the first race of the season. Sunday was quite sunny and bright but the forecast was for light and variable winds backing from E round to S at about F2. After I got the boat ready, and being on my own, I hung around the clubhouse and found a couple of guys keen to go sailing. Steve I know slightly and Jonathan was there for his first time. I was not going to stay out for long and Steve had put his dog in his car so the plan was to do the race start then retire and come back in.  With three of us aboard we set off about 1145 and motored out into the sunshine with the main up. There was a big ship due out later and we listened to the radio as the race officer deliberated on where to set the start line, away from the harbour, an...