Ness Yawl Clodia

Many of you have already met Giacomo de Stefano. Hes the intrepid traveler who made a self propelled trip on the river Po, Italy in a Ness Yawl. That trip was conceived to raise awareness of the environmental condition of the Po and other major industrial rivers. Giacomos perspective, from sea-level (literally) is a very emotional one and the boat he chose reflects the spirit of the endeavor perfectly.

On his upcoming trip he will leave from the UK and make his way to Istanbul, using another Ness Yawl.

The boat Giacomo is using for this journey is Clodia, professionally built by Roland Poltock in Venice and Villa del Conte, Italy.

Designed by Scottish designer Iain Oughtred, the boat is 19 ft.LOA(5.6m) and similar to those the Vikings once used for fishing and transport and also related to those the fisherman from the Shetland Islands still use.



Clinker built, planked with mahogany plywood, she’s light but very seaworthy and good for both rowing and sailing.
She is built of 9mm okume plywood, italian oak and larch with pine for the floor boards. The beautiful tanbark sails are made by Core Sailmakers in Venice.





Clodia is designed to sail and row from London to Istanbul for a project called Man On The River, 5300 km by oar and sail, to promote the concept of a sustainable way of traveling with respect for overburdened European rivers.

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Bristol Channel Cutter Baggy Wrinkle

The early pilots of the Bristol Channel earned their living by seeking merchant vessels approaching land and using their detailed knowledge of local navigation, pilot them safely into port.

The Pilot Cutters would race westwards to meet the incoming ships. The pickings were rich if you could get them, which meant being the first out to the incoming ship, racing and outwitting other pilots. The results were unparalleled seamanship and the evolution of very fast, able boats.





The cutters were usually crewed by a skipper, a "boy" and the pilot on the outward journey. Once alongside the incoming ship the boy would row the pilot to the merchant vessel, where the pilot would scramble aboard.














Baggy Wrinkle is a British Channel Pilot Cutter built in 1982 at the Northwest School of Boat Building. Her home waters are the western US and though far from her ancestors, she is very well suited for the ravages of the eastern Pacific Ocean.

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