SHIPWRIGHTS STORY
My 40 year journey as an old shipwright and modern boatbuilder, pictures and stories of past restorations and house building projects
URBS UCRA
The 30 foot mahogany top to bottom Berlin Mueggelsee build “Urbs Ucra” …lol… which is still sailing with us now board on the Haff Lagoon. Front in the companion way as a look out under the sail because of the narrow entrance.
}{ Barbara Kaethe Fronz, later Juncker }{
Just look at my mothers body posture and of course proud helmsman Uwe Juncker, my 88 year young dad, or Vati as we call him…amongst many many other things he was elected twice Commodore of the “Ueckermuende Yachtclub”, by whizzing quickly back into the river Uecker or Ucra having won jet another trophy after the race. Dad made Commodore twice in his lifetime and I am making sure he is standing for a round of thirds, at least at the bar.
Another lovely green GRP sailing dinghy for our four children Sylke Beate Nils and Ulrike. “Flying Pommer” my then girlfriend Susann Wenzel later many many times on Hiddensee. We christened it, by suggestion from her Hamburg visiting Uncle on the little river Zarow west off the river Uecker. Only about three miles west.
And again of course our another real small children’s learning trapeze shaped wooden optimist called “Smiet Üm”. Still in the club.
RESTORATIONS
When I started unskilled in the pomeranian town of Lassan on the Peenestrom I was helping to finish a 12 Meter fishing smack for the then still active fishing fleet of the GDR (German Democratic Republic) in 1988.
……fast forward… after my three year apprenticeship in Berlin Koepenick and working alongside my fellow boatbuilder in 1994 at Victoria Rampart/Westerly on the river Hamble in Warsash I basically time tralled.
None of my colleagues had ever touched wooden boats and certainly nobody in the western hemisphere was building wooden fishing boats for a working fleet!
I went to Bursledon Car Boot Sale and got myself a black pushbike. Later found out it was an old police bike.
Riding upriver with my black troby hat and ended up chatting in my broken school english with Anthony Graham Blair.
Anthony or short Toni Blair, (this canandrum led later into an article of mistaken identity about three different Toni Blairs in the Sun newspaper by Murdock baked runner upper Toni Blair. Never mind he later instigated the selling of UK gold reserves and striking up the Irak war with lies.) and purchased “Rona” of the London Sailing Project at Universal Boatyard and was just in the middle of putting back the copper sheeting on the 1895 Shoreham by Stow & Son build 79′ ketch.
Actually build with teak planks on oak frames with an 2 1/2″ teak deck. Commissioned by a Midlands Family into weaving cloth. Hence the plague of a weaver bird that still remains on the aft facing bulkhead of the saloon in Mahogany and birdseye maple.
But coming back to “Rona” at Universal Boatyard in Summer 1995. Exactly a hundred years later She was build. (I told you I am a time traveller)
With having taken off the old copper sheeting Toni was left with about 10.000 little holes from the copper nails and clever as he is (living on a croft in Eyreshire now) had organised boxes and boxes of wooden peggs used by shoemakers.
So She and I am using the royal She, because “Rona” is my beginning of a long line of restorations, looked like a hedge hook down below. Inside I could have played table tennis with spare space for my none exsistant five girlfriends but one from Eastleigh Southampton.
I will add at some point in the hilarious and funny story how Toni & I after the boat builder fashioned Friday night pub crawl wrecked my by my parents two years prior given to me new blue Golf Mark III on the way into Universal Boatyard.
And the double-t steel starboard pillar of the yards entrance has to this day the mark as a silent witness.
When the inertia of impact lifted me gently up in the air and back down again i though I was flying. ((later I did gain my PPL….lol…ldl…(lautes deutsches lachen…))
After scrambling out of the car we both were amazed by the still running engine and I had the true german orderly sense to switch off and take the key out of the ignition like a good boy. Just in case the totalled wreck got stolen……to be continued.
I ended up full time signing on the dole office and helping Anthony who basically bank corrupt himself and not just loosing his lush property at Tamerton Foliot Plymouth ||Cornwall with its own well probably dug out in roman times but also his marriage and turning him into a full alcoholic.
Life sometimes is as blant like this and I will never minx words.
The sale part exchange to a Cardiff based Barrister left us with half wreck “Samphire”. A 69′ yawl build in 1896 at Shamrock Quay in Southampton by Summers & Pain. With Pain being the Designer and probably a right pain in the arse by changing design details last minute or past minute. As in too late and Summers having to do the work twice.
I never had the pleasure of voicing my opinion personally to this character and opportunist.
Say no more.
“Samphire” had three broken deck beams behind the main mast and rotten beams port and starboard of the cockpit. So off the deck came and in the Universal Boatyard workshop of Brian May we were cutting new beams out of solid Mahogany and then back on again in form if plywood substructure with 12 millimeter teak planks on margin boards fitted.
Almost then gutting the inside of this second Classic Yacht from the 1890ties as well.
When “Samphire” was finished at Hamble Point Marina and me living on her at Moody’s Boatyard we were ask by the new London based owners of “Tigris” to help the old Lady out
“Tigris” build on the Clyde after an Alfred Mylne design in 1898 and was a fixed feature on the Hamble for a local family for decades. A bit like “Rona”.
But this time we both were paid well and delivered our third restoration on the river Hamble to Port Grimauld were “Tigris” is still cutting the Mediterranian waves today.
Three restorations of 1890ties beauties in a row in the 1990ties by private individuals. Never been done before and will never happen again because are none left on the river.
“Rona” is in Batam Indonesia for sale for £150.000 and on the market for at least three years now. Price going down and down and down. Look up Berthon International and put Her name in their search. Maybe we all combined readers club together and buying Her back. And I am not joking. You got my contact details!!!!
“Samphire” was sold to Cork Ireland.
To be honest.
“Rona” is my star because She is the First.
“Samphire” the dearest because I became a master builder of Shipwrighting on her.
Although “Tigris” the most beautiful out of the three Grazien.
NOT JUST BOATS!
„I was born in Pomerania and born again on the river Hamble as a shipwright and boat builder with quite a unique skill set and mind set all together.
Have within me Germany as my fatherland and found my, missing since I was a child, half in England as my motherland.”
Juncker Marine Limited – Barton on Sea
Because after all it is a commercial website as well.
Also my plan of creating a stop over for Superyacht at Ueckermuende – Berndshof, harbour of the former brickmaking factory and also tying in Lurssen Bremerhafen owned Wolgaster Peenewerft GmbH & Co. KG. on the island of Usedom
Ueckermünde – Berndshof
To turn it into a future homeport for the luxurious 120 Meter fleet from Antigua & Barbuda ect. and the rest of the world perhaps to explore the entire pomeranian beautiful beigy sandy soft beaches on the very possible route through the russian enclave to end up along the ever so sunny and warm southern and shorter route in Saint Petersbourg…..
The Berliner Mauer fell and the cold war is over.
Why the west keep on pushing East I can’t quite fathom and instead give the very young democracy of the Nation Russia a chance to breathe. America had over 250 years!!!
Ukraine probably ends up in NATO, but what for?
To the go to the Artic and the Mongolian Planes and Japan to finish the pincer movement?
Very arcake and medieval behaviour of the West and completely unnecessary.
But I am meanwhile getting ready for the day then first Feadship 150 foot sails through, after dwarfing the russian patrol boat checking the papers ( poor russian navy fellows ) perhaps and me sitting in the Cremlin and drinking water and Wodka with Vladimir Illjitsch Putin and grinning across the long table in german…….lol….as a human hostage, so the Feadship doesn’t get compounded like all the russian once on the Thames or compounded on Antigua & Barbuda like the superyacht “Alpha Nero”, then “sold off” now running charter guests for a Neuchatel Schweiz based charter company. (I am really are biting my lips on commenting any further how the russian owners has bought back their own ships, because “Alpha Nero” is not the the only one in the fleet)
Hey ho……hey ham.
But basically Reestablishing the old trading routes along the southern coastline of the Baltic Sea.
Nothing more rnd nothing less. Just forget the petty quarrels of politicians and their backers.
