Cautious Clara

( ex Itchen )

An Invited Friend of the Harrison Butler Association
The Gaff Rigged Cutter built in 1910 to a design by H Gale

The Boat of a Former Honorary Treasurer of The HBA
This grand old boat belongs to the former HBA's Honorary Treasurer and his partner, Peter Crook and Elspeth Macfarlane. Originally called Cautious Clara, she carrier the name Itchen between 1949 and 2001 before reverting to Cautious Clara. She is being lovingly restored by Peter who successfully relaunched her in 2016 as shown in the photograph below. The image above is of her in her prime, many years ago.

Peter explains the name; “A ship called Cautious Clara features in Dickens's Dombey and Son (1846) as does the Little Midshipman used as a logo by Imray's, 'the oldest publishing house in Europe'. Dombey's daughter Florence had a true and faithful servant called Susan Nipper so it seemed appropriate that we should call Cautious Clara's tender (a clinker-built Ian Oughtred 'Auk 8' sailing dinghy) Miss Nipper”

Cautious Clara Statistics
Built : 1910 by H Gale of Cowes, Isle of Wight
LOA : 30' 3"
LWL : 29' 7"
Beam : 10' 0"
Draught : 5' 9"
Displacement : 11 tons TM
Lloyd's Register : N° 149309
OGA Boat Number : 0629

Cautious Clara Custodians & Home Ports
Peter Crook & Elspeth Macfarlane (?-2006-2019...) Devon
DR Brightwell (1967-1980-?) North Fambridge, Pin-Mill
HRG Percival (1965-1966) Southampton
WA Sambell (1962-1964) Southampton
KA Harwood (1957-1961) Southampton
Dr WD Brown (?-1949-1956) Southampton
FJF & PF Dibben (?-1939-1947-?) Southampton
Sir Lancelot H Elphinstone (1937-?) Southampton
Henry H Farmer (?-1934-1936) Southampton
Lionel de Rothschild MP (?-1923-1924-?) Cowes

Honorary Treasurer, Peter Crook, afloat
in Miss Nipper, a clinker-built Ian Oughtred 'Auk 8' sailing dinghy 

Cautious Clara Links
• Cautious Clara's page on FaceBook

Page last updated : December 2019

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