Panther

In a setting of autumn peace and quiet, there was an impressive project going on in one corner of the yard. We met the owner of this early 1930s German training sail boat built in Belgium to avoid the World War I restrictions on German rearmament. Panther was one of four such craft, each with a cat name, Leopard, Lion, Tiger and Panther. These served to introduce the recruits to seamanship for the developing German Navy. Panther was brought back from Venezuela after a post-World War II flight of Germans from Europe. She needed a lot of restoration and care and fortunately Peter came along with his wife to pour their hearts into her restoration.

Rebuilding the Bow Sprit

Panther is a brigatimne sloop, meaning she is two-masted. She is square-rigged on the foremast and a gaff-rigged mainsail on the taller aft mast. According to AI, these boats were fast and maneuverable and were popular from the late 18th century to the 20th century. They were favored by privateers and navies, thus making these four boats favored as training vessels.

She is all iron. No fiberglass here! She is over 60 feet in length and draws about 8 feet. She is substantial. Peter says she can reach speeds of 11 knots under sail. She must be thrilling!

In Baltimore

The Panther suffered a direct hit from some enemy bombardment. Peter said the cannodade exploded, blowing a hole in her foredeck. The damage, a lot of twisted iron, was repaired and she continued in service. Today, Peter is doing a major refit, starting with tearing out the inside of the boat and rebuilding her to accommodate his wife and him plus a crew of perhaps eight crew. The preliminary work on this is being done here. Then she will move to Cambridge, Maryland next week to have the rest of the work done over the winter.

Bon voyage, Panther, in your new life!

Cheers,

Brio