Cair Vie

An Invited Friend of The Harrison Butler Association
Converted Manx Nobby built in 1934

Cair Vie under sail in the Solent, June 2011
Photograph by Kevin Quick

Cair Vie : The Report of her Launch on Monday 28th May 1934
(From The Peel City Guardian 2nd June 1934)
On Monday morning there was launched from the yard of Messrs Watterson and Neakle a fishing boat built by that firm to the order of Mr Levi Greggor, of Stanley Road, Peel. The vessel is a beautiful model and suggests both speed and sea worthiness. She is 30 feet over all with a beam of 10 feet and she is fitted with an 18 hp National engine of the deisel type. She will be used for all types of fishing including lines, drift nets and seine nets and she will be at sea all the year round. All who have seen the vessel are delighted with her and the builders and designers are to be complimented upon such a graceful and well finished boat. The owner deserves praise for his enterprise and it is hoped that he will be rewarded with success. We hope that this vessel will prove a turning point in fishing off Peel and that others will be encouraged to follow in the wake of Mr Greggor.
After the launch on Monday the hull was taken down the harbour where with the assistance of the SS Cushag's gear the engine was put in place on board and the boat was then taken back up the harbour for the finishing touches to be carried out. 

Cair Vie In Context
By way of understanding what led up to the construction of Cair Vie, Nick Miller, author of The Lancashire Nobby, writes, “Manx's herring fishermen initially replaced their own indigenous drifters with copies of Cornish herring luggers that they called Nickeys. These were dipping luggers that needed large skilled crews. When crews became harder to find they went over to standing lug rigged boats, still double-ended. These were also called Nobbys as discussed in my book. When motors became reliable some were built with a canoe stern above a propeller aperture. Cair Vie is one of these originally built as a motor sailer. Only her rig and outfit has been changed from as built".
The change Nick is referring to had happened by 1952; No longer of use as a fishing boat, Cair Vie was reworked as a pleasure motor yacht. She now had a Bermudan cutter yawl rig, retained to this day. Since the 2011 photograph was taken she's been repainted a lighter blue. Photographs of her new livery can be seen on the Classic Yacht Brokerage website where she is (January 2020) up For Sale.
Other Nobby and Nobby related boats on this website include Anna Ellidi, Peggy, Harbringer, May, Juanita, Ploughboy, Naiad, Ziska and Ethel.

Cair Vie Statistics
Built : 1934 by Watterson and Neakle in Peel, Isle of Man
LOA : 36' 0" (including the bowspit)
LWL : 25' 7"
Beam : 10' 3"
Draught : 5' 0"
Displacement : -- tons TM
Lloyd's Register : N° ------
National Historic Ship : N° ----
SSR : N° -----
OGA : N° ----
Fishing Boat : N° ----
Sail N°
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MMSI : ---------

Cair Vie Custodians & Home Ports
Levi Greggor (1934-?) Peel, Isle of Man

Cair Vie Links
• Cair Vie For Sale (January 2020)

Page last updated : January 2020

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