Royal Mersey Rivers Class
Deva
Deva was owned by the Earl of Derby from the 1926 to 1938.. She was brought by Jon Wainwright’s father in 1962 and remained in Jon’s ownership till his death in 2007. Jon wrote “Only So Many Tides” about his ownership of Deva. Jon was a stalwart of the OGA (Association for Gaff Rig Sailing)
Boat statistics
- Built
- 1912
- Length Over All
- 23 ft (7.01 m)
- Waterline
- 19.5 ft (5.94 m)
- Beam
- 6.8 ft (2.07 m)
- Draft
- 2.9 ft (0.88 m)
- Weight
- 3.4
- Construction
- Carvel - Pitch Pine hull, Oak frames, Long keel slopping forefront
- Rig
- Gaff Cutter with two foresails (originally Gaff Sloop with one foresail)
History by Year
-
1912
Launch
-
1926
Brought by Earl of Derby
-
1962
Brought by Jon Wainwright's father
-
1966
Moved to East Coast
Crosses country by canal network
-
1992
First Crossing of North Sea
-
2007
Jon Wainwright dies
-
2018
Acquired by Tom Curtis
Full History
Early Years 1912 to 1926
Deva was launched in 1912. The first owners were N.A.Hall and John Jellicoe, a Yacht Broker who won a silver medal at 1908 Olympics as one of the crew of Mouchette in the 12 metre yacht class.
Deva came second in Rivers Class Series in 1913., her best result in her 25 year career with the Royal Mersey.
Sold to Captain W.Bond in 1919.
Brought by Miles Forwood. in 1921 Miles was the son of Sir William Forwood a Liverpool shipowner who played a major in fund raising for Liverpool Cathedral and obtained the Royal Warrant for Windermere Yacht Club. He owned Lindeth House, now a hotel above Bowness and was a future High Sheriff of Windermere. He went on to commission another Deva at Royal Windermere, which is still in existence.