Fritha is a Victoire 822 and was built by the Vader shipyard in Alkmaar, Holland, in 1975. She is the 15th to ever be built and is, bluntly put, one of the best boats out there. Despite her age she is in exraordinary condition and on many occasions I have had real trouble trying to persuade people that she is now 40 years old. Her lines are classy, not like the "floating caravans" that modern shipyards are churning out. She can handle anything you can throw at her, which several rough passages have proven. Another good feature (alhough my dad disagrees!) is that she is the inland version, shorter mast and shorter keel. She won't sail so fast but I'm looking forward to exploring the lochs of the Scottish west coast once she is there. 

 

We bought her in 2000 after seeing her on the market and falling in love with her straight away. At the time she was in quite a bad state, the electronics were faulty, she was dirty and grimey and, in typical Victoire style, only the sheets could be controlled from the cockpit. 
Since then we have put in a lot of effort into making her a perfect cruising boat. We led the halyards and reefing lines back, bought a new mainsail, had a sprayhood and tent made, rewired her and fitted her out with technology which make navigating easier.

In May 2015 I took her over from my parents and spent a week doing some work in her while she was in the water. On taking her out however, the true extent of the work needed doing was apparent. In the subpages you can read up on what we did to her in the past and also which major jobs need to be done to make her seaworthy again.

 

Fritha now has her own Facebook page where you'll be able to see pictures of projects and sailing as well as hints and tips for doing work on a boat and a youtube channel where videos of passages and repairs will be posted. Check them out here: