Lufra

Lufra
Rig Class.Yawl, then a Ketch
Year built:1865
General characteristics
Ton:222 tons
Beam:

  • In1878 she is shown as having been built by Ratsey of Cowes in 1865 with sails by Lapthorn.  She is listed as 173 tons Registered, 208 tons Thames Measurement.  It's not unusual for the tonnage to vary over the years, hence the difference between 205 and 208 tons.  She was 102.1 feet in length, 22 feet beam and a draught of 12.4 feet.  She was registered in Cowes and was owned by James Houldsworth of Coltness, Lanarkshire.  At the same time, he owned an iron screw schooner of 134 tons registered and228 Thames Tons called Maida.
  • He still owned her in 1885 but the 1886 Lloyds shows her without an owner.
  • In 1887 she was owned by the Duke of Rutland and had been converted to ketch rig and had grown to 131 tons registered and 222 Thames.
  • In 1888 she was owned by the Executors of the Late Duke of Rutland.
  • In 1889 she had been acquired by Lady Miles of Leigh Court, Bristol and 73, Cornwall Gardens, London SW.
  • In 1896 Sir Cecil Miles Bt, also of Leigh Court, Bristol became the owner, but he died in 1898 at the age of 25.  At a wild guess, it seems possible that the Lady Miles mentioned above was his mother as I believe Sir Cecil didn't marry until 1896.  Maybe the yacht was a wedding present from her.
  • In 1899 the yacht was acquired by Rob E Loesener, renamed Crisia and was re-registered to Hamburg.  Herr Loesener lived at Baumwall 3, Hamburg.  He was a member of the Imperial German Yacht Club.
  • In 1901 Crisia came back to Cowes under the ownership of George Henry Marvin of Medina Road, Cowes.  He owned five other yachts that year as well as Crisia, many of them quite substantial.
  •  In 1902 she was owned by Lt Col Æ M B Gage of the Cavalry Club, Piccadilly, London W, another RYS member.  He renamed her back to Lufra.
  • In 1903 she passed to Sir John H Johnson of 5 Whitehall Gardens, London SW, a member of the Royal Thames Yacht Club.
  • Sir John still owned her in 1907, but I lose track of her after that.  it seems possible she may have been scrapped as she'd have been an old lady by then.

Owners

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