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On my domain colin-archer.no Jeppe Jul Nielsen, Risør, Norway

VESTA 1892

Designed and built by
Chr. N. Lautrup, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Loa 16,90 m (55,4 feet)
Beam 4.47 m (14,7 feet) - Draft 2.74 m (9 feet)
Lead keel 12,3 tons
Sail area original gaff cutter = 285 sqm

See VESTA on Facebook Vesta 1892


I think I first heard of and saw a photo of VESTA when she was advertised in approx. 2010-2013 laying in the Mediterranean. She was advertised as a Colin Archer design which I could see it wasn't. The only resemblance is being a double-ender. And it's history shows it is not even influenced by the Archer type. VESTA has characteristic lines that document Denmark and the boat builder.

In April 2026, a photo from 1938 with some boats was posted on a Norwegian FB page. I recognized the lines of VESTA and found the photos I had from 2010 that verified the same boat, and started searching the history. With newspaper search and Lloyd's register of yachts, I found all owners back to 1901 and quite a bit of the owners history. That the owner was Wm Vett in 1938, explained why this Danish boat visited Norway, and especially at Bjarne Aas' boatyard at Isegran in Fredrikstad. Wm Vett had a 6 mR built by Bjarne Aas and another 6mR designed by him, but built in Denmark.

Next luck was a google photo search that led to VESTA's current FB page. I sent a message and got in touch with the crew member who manages the page. Her partner has been crewing and maintaining the boat for the current owner since 2013.
She had a summary of the boat's history quite well told, provided to her by Evert Verkerk, the owner of VESTA 1979-1985. Much of the history came from a brochure about the boat written by Aage Hempel, owner of the boat 1947-1976.

There were a couple of mysteries in the boat's recorded history.
    The building year was first registered as 1901. But the owner in 1938, Vett, changed it to 1892. Was this intentional by being told something about the boat's origin, or was it a register mistake? I searched in Yacht registers, but could not find the boat, or a similar boat, before 1901. If built in 1892, where had it been since launched?
     The other mystery was that it was said that the boat had been transported on a trailer and lifted with a crane to be launched. Why wasn't it just launched normally?
    If these stories were correct, they must have been written about in newspapers and boat magazines, and maybe later in books.
And the boat-builder Lautrup I knew nothing about, i had just seen his name mentioned a few places in Norwegian magazines.

By searching in Danish newspapers the boat's story slowly emerged. And by searching more on the owners and their other boats, also showed some interesting things. In the newspapers I have now also found quite a bit on Lautrup and his yards. More might be written in Danish books, and maybe old photos excist, so maybe some day, we can fill in a bit on the story.

So here is VESTA's history so far by 10. July 2026.

Christian Nicolai Lautrup (1835 - 1913)

Lautrup was born 7. April 1935, dead 19. Nov. 1913.

Lautrup married Anna Rebecca Elizabeth Scheel 1870. They got 2 children, but unfortunately the 34 year old wife Anna died just after just after second birth, and the son died a few month later.
- Daughter 7. Nov. 1872 Cathinka Rebecca
- Son 10. feb.1874 Jørgen Hjorth; died 3. June same year.

Lautrup married again in August 1875 to Elenore Andersen. They had 5 children, but unfortunately 2 died young.
- Son 27. June 1876 - - Jørgen Hjorth Ferdmand
- Daughter 21. May 1878 - - Agnes Emilie; died 13 months old
- Daughter 15. Aug. 1880 - - Agnes Emilie; died after only 3 days
- Son 10. Sept. 1882 - - Johan Nicolai
- Son 14. Oct 1884 - - Erling Leonhardt.

Lautrup and his family lived in a house that was next to the yard:
«Anyone who has walked along the promenade along Langelinie will have noticed the small, cozy pavilion, which is located just off the road on the left, when you go out and have passed Engelbrecht's Bathing House.
The square building, which consists only of a living room and a loft, looks so completely idyllic that you can't help but wish its inhabitants happiness in life. Shipbuilder Chr. Lautrup lives here, and on the other side of the road, is his shipyard.»
The address was Strandpromenaden 7, a walkway along the beach, and the house was called "Lille Ejegod", see map. Perhaps that is the house depicted on several postcards. The house was located just outside the famous Classens Have. The house and the promenade were a favorite motif, see more about the house here.
They rented the house from 1874.
When the new harbour was built in the 1890s, the house was demolished, maybe after  1894, and today this area is inside the railway and lies at the corner of Classens gade and Strandboulevarden.

. - - Boat builder and sailor

Lautrup educated in England and early became a famous boatbuilder.

He had two shipyards, one in Hellerup a little north of Copenhagen, and one in Copenhagen's harbour, where he also lived. (Click on the map for larger version).

He was a passionate sailor and one of the founders of the Copenhagen Sailing Club as
vice-chairman in July 1871.

He built many yachts for customers that performed well in races.
Several were also among the largest in the yacht club, and nicely furnished for wealthy people.

He also had a large number of private boats, some from other boat builders and designers
and several of his own design, and he of course participated in races.

. - - Favoured the double ender type "Kragejoller"

Lautrup favoured the double ender type over the counter stern for his own designs. In Eastern Denmark the double enders were called "Kragejoller". These have a characteristic stern that bends forward at the top, and the rudder top enhances this curvature.
"Kragejoller" were originally small boats, but Lautrup scaled his up considerably.
In 1874 he is mentioned with his own design the 4.2 ton THYRA in a regatta without anything being said about the hull shape.

In 1879 he participated with the new boat ARIADNE which is mentioned in the newspaper Nationaltidende 18/8:
«For connoisseurs this race was of particular interest in that Mr. Lautrup's "ARIADNE" is a new attempt to adapt the usual Kragejolle-shape after the English cutter lines».
Thereafter, in 1882, he had the 35 foot cutter SUSS built by N. H. Nielsen in Skovshoved.
.
In autumn 1882 Lautrup started to build a new boat to himself,
the 43 feet DRYADEN.

Several newspapers reported mid January 1883:
    «Boatbulder Lautrup is now building a "Kragejolle" [double ender]
which is going to be the largest built her [Denmark]
as it will have a length of 41 feet with 12,5 feet beam.»
.
DRYADEN in light wind with other boats. Stern and lines are very similar to VESTA's. (Click on image for larger photo)

Being busy with customers boats, the building took time, and it was not launched untill August 1884.

The length over deck became 43 feet with beam 12,8 feet and became a very successful yacht.
It was kept until he started building the 56 foot VESTA.

DRYADEN is sailing today under the name KONG BELE.

As a comparison, the famous Norwegian double-ender builder Colin Archer's largest double-ender in 1884, was only 36 feet. See Colin Archer's building list.

. - - Cutter ILWO 1886

In 1885 he got an order from Royal baker J. L. W. Olsen on a cutter designed by the famous English designer Beavor Webb. It had a length of 57,7 feet, beam 10,8 feet and a lead keel of 13.6 tons. This means about same size as DRYADEN just with a longer deck because of the counter stern.
ILWO was as usual bronze fastened, copper sheeted and described as a luxury yacht.


ILWO in Stockholm

The newspaper Kjøge avis wrote about the launching of ILWO 28. June 1886:
    «Anyone who has walked along the promenade along the Langeline will have noticed the small, cozy pavilion, which is located just off the road on the left, when you go out and have passed Engelbrecht's Bathing House. The square building, which consists only of a living room and a loft, looks so completely idyllic that you can't help but wish its inhabitants happiness in life. Shipbuilder Chr. Lautrup lives here, and on the other side of the road is his shipyard.
    This is not an old establishment — Mr. Lautrup is still a young man — but in recent years some of the best yachts, who are in the "Danish Yachting Association", have come from here.
    Again yesterday one of these were launched. It was a yacht, built for royal baker Olsen from a design by the English engineer Beaver Webb, who also provided the design for wholesaler Bunch's "Fulvia", which is well known in the world of yacht racing. The newly built yacht will certainly become a dangerous competitor to the "Fulvia", perhaps even its superior.
    As it stood on its berth, it was a real pleasure to see its beautiful harmonious lines, which appealed and caught the eye from whatever angel you looked at it. She is 60 feet long on deck and 10.6 feet wide; in the keel she is 50 feet long, and her draught will be about 8 feet, her deadweight about 38 tons.
    She is built entirely of oak of the choicest material; everything above topsides are made of teak; the winches, galleys, etc., have come from England, and the workmanship thereof is a non plus ultra in perfection. In her keel the yacht has no less than 36,000 Pd. of lead [16.3 tons], which is considerably more than any other vessel of similar size has.
    A classy party attended her christening; what she was to be called was a secret until the last moment. Finally the owner came, the painter present received a note with the name and wrote on the starboard bow: Ilwo. Ilwo? What is that name, is it Russian or Polish or English — what does Ilwo mean? — No one could guess it, but it was quite simply the initials of the owner's first and last name: I. L. W. Olsen.
    Everything was now clear, a bottle of champagne hung on a string of the bow, the supports had been taken away, a lady had grabbed the wine bottle, and when Mr. Lautrup commanded: "Cut the lines!" the bottle was swung and the champagne flowed down the bow of the Ilwo, and out the proud ship glided into its proper element under the jubilant cheers of the assembled crowd and a thunderous salute of nine shots. These last came as a bit of a surprise; no cannons had been seen at the shipyard, and there were none. The shots were produced by bombs, which were thrown into the water and exploding, sending a high jet of water into the air.
    Yachts anchored in front of the shipyard and in the harbour, greeted the new colleague with flags from mast top to rudder and bowsprit. Royal hunter Benzon's schooner, the "Tumleren", was particularly noted; this one, which had recently returned from a voyage to Africa and South America, had its flags so ready that at the same moment as Ilwo's three split flags were hoisted, the "Tumleren" was also covered with flags from top to bottom.
    Such a pleasure yacht as Ilwo costs about 40,000 kroner. It is the largest pleasure yacht located here, and everyone agrees that it does its builder the greatest honour».

In the 1891 Lloyds Register of Yachts, Lautrup's yard had 7 yachts listed.

Replica of a 90-foot 3-masted 17th-century frigate.

In 1885 Lautrup got an order to build a replica of king Christain 4's 3-masted frigate 1642-1676 TREFOLDIGHEDEN.

This was going to be a main attraction at the "Art and Industrial Exhibition" in Copenhagen in 1888. The frigate was 90 feet long with 22 feet beam and was built at the exhibition site, and launched in a pond in the middle of the exhibition area.The exhibition site was mainly the well-known amusement park Tivoli.

The frigate was named ST. GEORG after the Catholic Saint George (275-303), who is particularly known for his legendary rescue of a princess from a dragon. A depiction of his battle with the dragon was painted on the ship's stern. The name also refers to Tivoli's founder Georg Carstensen.

The newspaper Kjøge Avis wrote this when the ship
was completed in July 1887:
«Now "St. Georg" is finished and looks truly both brilliant and impressive. - One only needs to mention the names of the contributors for it to be clear to everyone that the frigate is a masterpiece in its workmanship. The ship was built by shipbuilder Lautrup, whose shipyard and small idyll out on the "Strandpromenaden" I have previously found the opportunity to acquaint the readers of Kjøge Avis with.
Mr. Lautrup has worthily maintained his good name and reputation as a shipbuilder by building the frigate, which was carried out under the artistic direction of marine painter Chr. Blache.»

The frigate served as Tivoli's landmark during the exhibition. During the day it was decorated with flags and in the evening it was illuminated. It had a restaurant and rooms for art exhibitions. There was also an aquarium and musical entertainment.
The frigate was located in the middle of the lake, so guests had to be rowed onboard.

The Frigate lasted until 1901, destroyed a cold winter by ice, and probably rot. It has been replaced twice: No. 2 from 1933-1940 and no. 3 was built in 1993 and is still there. No. 2 & 3 were built with steel hull below waterline and the design modified.

Norwegian double-ender designs in Denmark

Lautrup also built boats to designs by the famous Norwegian naval architect G. A. Sinding, Colin Archer's fierce competitor.
Sinding's boats had done well in races and in 1889 the 28-foot ELSE was built in Oslo for a Danish customer. At the same time, Lautrup  built JUNO, also to a Sinding design. JUNO was 36 feet, so quite a bit larger than ELSE.

As can be seen from ELSE's sections, Sinding's boats had a very deep and narrow hull with an extremely wide and heavy balalst keel. It could be said that they were the double enders' answer to the English "plank on edge". Stability is entirely provided by the ballast weight, not the shape or width of the center frame. Stability increases the more the boat heels until the mast is in the water.
This meant that the boats not only had great sail area, but also an unusually high rigging. The sharp and slender hull moved just as easily with a large list, so a large sail area could be kept alos when the wind picked up. The sharp bow and slender hull easily cut though a coppy sea without the boat having much pitching motion and the sails pulled well.

As a curiosity, it must be mentioned that these boats were notorious for being able to stand on land/slipway without side supports! This was due to the wide ballast keel and the low center of gravity. Practical to be able to remove the side supports when the ship's side or bottom was to be painted!


ELSE's waterlines. Sharp in the bow!

ELSE was finished first and had made a name for herself in races. In mid-June 1889, JUNO was to participate in her first regatta. The sailing community was excited to see how this year's new boats would fare, and not least JUNO, and the newspaper Nationaltidende wrote on June 15.
«With the greatest excitement, however, "JUNO"s Debut is awaited. This new yacht, which the well-known sportsmen, the brothers Bunch had have built this winter, has proved to be a fast yacht during the trial sailings, and as it will undoubtedly capture the interest of many at the Capsailing tomorrow, we should here give a brief description of the vessel.
The drawing for it was made by the well-known Norwegian engineer G. A. Sinding, and it can almost be described as a large modern Norwegian "Kragejolle".
It was built by Shipbuilder Lautrup and is a representative of the ballast keel type.
"JUNO" is 36' 4" long, 9' 7.5" wide and 5' deep. It carries 18,000 Pd. [8.2 tons] in the ballast keel, and is built of oak, beech, pine and teak. The rigging is unusually high, and its sail area is approx. 1700 Sq. Foot [160 sq m].
In addition to the forecastle, it has 2 cabins, a crew cockpit and a steering cockpit and is therefore suitable not only for racing, but also excellent for pleasure sailing.»


JUNO a quiet day on the fjord.

JUNO won the regatta and on 17 June Dags-Telegraphen_(Copenhagen) wrote:
«The race for vessels between 10 and 15 Tons was met with great interest. Not because one didn't know who would be the vinner, but because one were curious to see what the new lion "JUNO" could achieve.
"JUNO", on the other hand, did not put the expectations to shame. She sailed absolutely excellently, and in elapsed time she beat the "NAJA II", which is 12 tons larger than her, by almost 6 minutes, and taking the handicap into consideration, she beat everything, as her corrected time was 10 M. and 52 Sec. better than "ILWO". Her corrected time was 2 H. 38 M. 4 Sec. and was thus the fastest vessel of the day and will no doubt bring her owners similar good results»

JUNO asserted herself in most of the regattas that year, and the beginning of 1890. But to Denmark at the end of July 1890, came Colin Archer's 1889 built cutter MIGNON (later in 1896 bought by Lehnsbaron Gyldencrone, Aarhus).
She was wider, shorter in the waterline, and to everyone's surprise, she beat JUNO.

MIGNON's midship frame had more in common with both Norwegian double enders like Archer's VENUS 1889, and the Danish "Kragejoller".
Although Lautrup had built JUNO and seen its success, he had more faith in a midship section with more shape stability combined with a down-swept frame shape for a narrower but heavy ballast keel.
That was what he based his design on when he started on his dream boat VESTA in the fall of 1889.

In 1891, the Danish Yachting Association celebrated its 25th anniversary. They then changed their name to the Kongelig Dansk Yachtklubb, KDY, Royal Danish Yacht Club, and of course had anniversary races, and the participation was great. The development of hull shapes had then gone several steps further and G. A. Sinding stated the following after these regattas:
«Overall, the results show that the deep, narrow hulls fell through compared to the wider types.
It seems reasonable to conclude that the lighter and wider vessels has danced the waves better, has taken less water over the deck and has split the waves more easily than the hard heeling boats.»

Sinding mentions an important thing here that the wider boats "danced the waves better" and took less water over the deck. As pleasure boats, Sinding's narrow boats had a bad reputation for being very wet in high seas, and I don't know of any them still around. Now it must also be mentioned that Sinding also designed many of the wide and lighter type, fully on par with Archers and others.

1889 VESTA takes form

In 1889 Lautrup wanted a larger yacht. DRYADEN was sold to Oscar Ekman. As part payment Lautrup got Ekman's smaller Norwegian spritsail double-ender ODD, built 1883. This gave him cash and still a boat to sail.

On April 29. 1890, the Copenhagen newspaper Dagbladet carried this announcement:
«New Pleasure Craft.
- At the shipyard of shipbuilder Lautrup, a new vessel is under construction. It is to be a boat of essentially the same type as the DRYADEN, but a dozen feet longer. The vessel, for which the keel and frames are already finished, is being built at Mr. Lautrup's own expense; it will probably not be completed until the autumn.»

"A dozen feet longer" than DRYADEN becomes 56 feet. This shows Lautrup was taking the double-ender design even another step further. Colin Archer's largest double-ender in 1890 was 39 feet with deep V-sections and thus of a much higher displacement. See Colin Archer's building list.

. - - New harbour, and new yard

Copenhagen had for several years been discussing to enlarge the commercial harbour "Frihavnen". This is just where his boatyard was situated, so his boatyard would become inland and blocked by commercial ship quays.

The smaller harbour for industry would be moved, but it was not decided where to. Many bought land in different places in the hope to have bought in the right area and thus make money by selling to companies or to the council. Lautrup also bought land for a new yard. When the council in 1891 eventually decided where the harbour should be, Lautrup was among the lucky ones who had bought at the right place.
The new harbour was quite a bit further north than where Lautrup had his old yard.

The council made breakwaters all around the harbour and water was pumped out so one could work on dry land to make the harbour.
Lautrup made 5 slipways, the largest could take 300 tons so he could service the local steam passenger ferries. It was also a careening site for sailing ships and a space for wintering yachts.
He invested 250,000 Danish crowns, a huge investment as can be understood when a fair size yacht probably cost 20-40,000 crowns.

. - - 1893 - VESTA left on dry land inside the new Freeport

When the harbour work started, VESTA was not ready to be launched, so she ended up on dry land, well innland from the water.
28. april 1893 the newspaper Dannebrog writes that water will be let into Lautrups harbour tomorrow.
And 29. April 1893 the newspaper writes this:
«Copenhagen's largest pleasure craft.
    In the yard of shipbuilder Lautrup's old shipyard, a nearly completed, new, large pleasure craft is currently standing, yearning to enter the water from which the Freeport facility has so mercilessly cut it off.
    Work on this vessel, which Mr. Lautrup has built at his own expense, had already begun six months before the bill on the Freeport facility was passed in the Riksdag, so it has been necessary to complete the boat on the site where begun.
    However, the vessel is now almost finished and must therefore enter the water, which is easier said than done, as it must now be transported overland to Mr. Lautrup's new premises at Tuborg, which is why one must also look around for some large cranes that can lift the quite acceptable weight of 70-80,000 pounds [35 tons] that the boat now has. In this connection we may add that the largest crane in the city is the Navy's, which can take 120,000 pounds.
    From the weight alone you will see that it is not such a small pleasure vessel, but it is also 34 register tons, and calculated in yacht tons, the number is 44.
    The vessel is not so much intended for racing as for becoming a pleasant and capable pleasure vessel, which, from what we can now see for the time being, it will certainly also be.
    The boat is handsomely furnished, and in all ease you can have a large party on board without having to lack any convenience whatsoever. There is excellent space inside; the cabins (there are two, a men's and a women's cabin) are 7 feet high with six berths in one and four in the other, but there is also room for four in the front.
    There is a large galley with an oven and four cooking holes, and there is also a full service for 18 people on board, so you can see that it is all well laid out.
    The vessel, which is a cutter rig, is 57 feet long, the greatest breadth is 14 feet 8 inches, and it has a 22-inch [56 cm] wide lead keel, weighing 27,000 pounds [12,3 tons].
   The lower frame parts and keelson [mast step] are of iron, otherwise the ship is built of oak and bolted with pure copper. The bulwarks lumber is of Yarrow, a new kind of wood from Western Australia, first introduced to this country by Grosserer Schwitzer.


The vessel's draft is 7.5 feet, and if one wants to talk about what is typical about it, one must say that the bottom, which is very sharp, with a large load-bearing capacity over the middle, is most similar to the English cruisers, while the topside is most similar to the Danish "Kragejoller", so it has no counter or transom, but is double ended.
    The still unchristened vessel will probably begin its journey to the new shipyard in about 3 weeks; how quickly it will be able to make this trip is not known, but it is unlikely to be done with giant strides.»
.
The photo above clearly shows that the midship section has a strong S-shape, well "tightened". This provides good form stability and with the frame turning downwards so that the ballast keel is deep down. With VESTA, begun in the autumn of 1889, Lautrup was early to introduce this hull shape on such large boats. The midship section has much in common with Colin Archer's NANNA built in 1898.

. - - Pulled on a sled to Kalkbrændrihavnen

VESTA had been ready for launch at the end of 1892, but had to wait for the filling of the new free port and Lautrup's harbor to be completed. At the beginning of September 1893, everything was ready for transport to Kalkbrændrihavnen to be lifted into the sea there. The weight of the boat meant that the first mentioned "blokvogn", i.e. a wagon with wheels, could not be used. So a cradle was made like a sled that could slide over planks smeared with tallow and green soap, the usual way for boatbuilders to move boats to storage areas.
But the boat was heavy, so it required muliti-sheaved blocks/purchases, buried anchors, many people and 4-6 horses to pull it.
Transporting such a large boat so far overland was special, so it attracted many spectators during the 5 days the transport took.

On 12 September 1893, Aftenbladet (Copenhagen) wrote (shortened a bit);
«A Voyage over land -
These days, a large and beautiful yacht "sails" from the now closed Lautrups Plads along the
Strandpromenade or Gefionsgade out to Kalkbrænderihavnen. The cutter was completed more
than six months ago, well stored in a large, tarred shed. But the ship had to get in the water,
and Mr. Shipbuilder Lautrup had to get it out to the Kalkbrænderi harbour, as the Freeport
harbour has completely engulfed his old shipyard and forced him to build the new and
magnificent shipyard out at Tuborg.

It is the largest yacht that has so far been built in this country, and there is hardly any doubt
that it is a first-class fast sailing yacht. It is built of oak with copper bolts.
Deck and superstructure are made of teak.
The cutter is painted black with a narrow Gold stripe, which runs around the entire vessel.
The journey out to Kalkbrænderihavnen is going somewhat slowly, it started yesterday morning and will not reasonably be finished until Friday.
The cutter rests on an extremely solid wooden sled, and this can - - when well lubricated with green soap and the necessary force is applied - - slide on solid planks, which are placed on the road. A "Blokvogn" [wagon with wheels] will not be able to carry the heavy yacht.
When the cutter finally comes out to the Kalkbrænderihavnen, it is fitted with slings of thick wire, a pair of heavy iron chains are placed around its bow, and then the Navy's large steam crane takes it by the neck, lifts it and carefully lowers it into the water.»

The national newspaper explained the move of the boat as follows:
«The vessel stands upright Keel on a kind of sledge, and is then hauled with the help of the multi sheaved blocks towards its proper element.
To tow it, 4 horses and approx. a dozen men. The capstan which the workers use, is held in place by a very heavy iron chain, which is fixed to two large anchors, which are buried in the ground and are moved gradually as the ship moves closer to its goal.»

. - - Launched Saturday 16 September 1893

On 17 September, Aftenbladet (Copenhagen) was able to announce that the boat had been launched:
«The new pleasure cutter -
Mr. Shipmaster Lautrup's new pleasure cutter reached Kalkbrænderihavnen on Friday. One had to increase to 6 horses for it in the end, to get it move faster.
Yesterday morning, the Navy's large steam crane, led by Marine Lieutenant Kofod, made for the quayside. Two mighty iron chains, wrapped with cloth, were placed under the cutter, and fixed in the crane's pulley blocks.
At 11 o'clock everything was in order, and Machinist Bredow on command let the steam do the work. The pleasure cutter was lifted a few inches from its base. The steam crane slowly slid a small distance out from the quayside, and then the cutter was lowered carefully towards the water surface.
When the keel touched the water, the numerous Spectators broke out into tremendous cheers. Moments later, the Cutter probably proudly and easily moved by the waves; now in the environment it can easily manage!»

. - - Launched, but little progress in finishing the boat

The boat was launched, but work on her did not seem to be making any progress.
He seem to have been very buzy on the new yard. Several boats were built - PRINCESS - VEDET - LEIF - IRENE, and maybe more. And the 5 slipways probably gave quite a bit work.
And at his yard in Hellerup, he was from January 1896 busy with building the 76 feet yacht GALATHEA to Johan Ludvig Grandjean, owner of the estate Vennerslund. GALATHEA was designed by E. Benzon, rigged as yawl and was a luxury yacht that eventually cost 70,000 crowns.
    Grandjean also had a yacht built by Lautrup in 1885, the 35 foot BACCHUS.
After 15 months building time, GALATHEA was launched in March 1897 and many prominent people attended the event. (GALATHEA was sold to Germany after two years and renamed GALATEA.)
.
In April 1897, Lautrup's wife died, 43 years old. She had attended the GALATHEA launching party in March, so her death might have been unexpected.
Lautrup was then 62, and the 4 kids were 12, 14, 16 & 21 years old.

. - - Lautrup sold his shipyard June 1898

In Hellerup, a neighbouring yard was expanding to build larger steel ships and needed more space. Negiotations had been going on for some time and in June 1898 the yard in Hellerup was sold for 300-350.000 crowns. Lautrup's yard in Copenhagen Kalkbræderihavnen was mainly slipways and winter storage area, so this meant the end of his boat building.

The newspaper Natinaltidende wrote 29. July 1898:
«Lautrups Værft. - Among both shipowners and ordinary sailors, "Lautrups Værft" has always been a good old acquaintance, and the owner, shipbuilder Chr. Lautrup, who was himself a professional sailor, has been connected to our domestic pleasure sailing in several ways.
The yachts from his workshop have a good name, such as the pioneering "Mabel", just as he has had a large part of the Copenhagen yachts in winter storage for many years.
But now "Lautrups Værft" is out of the saga. It has kept up with the times and has now become a limited company. The newly founded "Hellerup Skibsværft og Maskinbyggeri" has taken over Mr. Lautrup's large areas out near Hellerup with ship- and boat-building, storage areas and workshops, and the business will be greatly expanded.
Whether the company will also engage in the construction and repair of yachts, and whether Mr. Lautrup will be associated with the company, we do not know; but both for Mr. Lautrup's own sake and in light of his many old customers among the shipowners, for whom he has often been a comfort in difficult situations, we hope that he has not completely given up his old business, but will also continue it in the future, either as the company's representative or as an independent businessman.»

I don't know if Lautrup kept working on the slipways in Brænderihavnen, or just retired.
When Lautrup died in 1913, it is told that he became a farmer at Ballerup after the boat building. Lautrup's family had farmland at Ballerup for generations, so maybe a family farm became available to him and he found that a nice place to retire. I don't know when he moved to Ballerup.

With two shipyards, Lautrup had many employees. The trade unions were also beginning to make themselves felt at that time. In 1875, another shipyard received a large order and the workers wanted higher wages. This was refused, and they went on strike. Lautrup then had many orders and employed 25 of them during the strike.
But in 1893, it was Lautrup, who at his new shipyard, had problems with the workers' wage demands. The trade union writes in their 50 years anniversary book:
"This year an attempt was made to raise wages at Lautrup's yard. At a meeting held for the ship carpenters who worked at Lautrup, it was agreed to send Lautrup a letter urging him to raise the daily wage from 3.20 DKK to 3.50, but it was received very unfriendly by Lautrup, who even fired the two men who delivered the letter to him, S. Hansen and F. Nielsen. When the union now took action, the salary was eventually raised, and Lautrup was forced to hire S. Hansen again, but he did not want F. Nielsen anymore.»
In 1896, the unions wanted higher wages for overtime work and negotiations were held with the shipyards. The union writes in their book:
«This year we managed to get increased wages for overtime and Sunday work, first at the winter storage yards, later at Arentz and Rosenfeldt.
Negotiations were then held with Lautrup, who was so reluctant that they stopped overtime work with him. It is a sign of the difficult working terms that improved wages were mainly only achieved on work on the steamships.»

With more focus on steel steamships, and many years as manager of two yards, and being 63, he might have wanted to just completely retire after selling the yards in 1898.

Crown Prince Christian's yacht RITA & Hjardemaal

In 1892 Lautrup's sold his private yacht ODD to Lauritz Hjardemaal, lawyer and Barrister for the Court of Appeal, . 
In 1894 Lautrup built a new racing yacht to Hjardemaal. It was 44 x 10 feet and designed by A. W. Bonnesen.
Hjardemaal named her PRINCESS and Hjardemaal did well in races.

In 1899 Hjardemaal sold PRINCESS to Crown Prince Christian. The prince renamed the boat RITA.
Prince Christian became king in 1912 and had several more sailing boats, all called RITA.


1901 - Hjardemaal with friends new owners

It might be shortly after Lautrup sold his boatyards in 1898, that barrister for the Court of Appeal, Lauritz Hjardemaal, contacted Lautrup to find a solution to get VESTA sailing. This might also be the reason why Hjardemaal sold his yacht to Crown Prince Christian in 1899.

In 1901 Lauritz Hjardemaal (1862 - 1926) appears as the owner.
Later sources say that the boat was sold for, or cost completed, 50,000 crowns.

. - - Named CARMEN

In the sections above, I found it most convenient to use the boats present name VESTA. In late May Hjardemaal named the boat CARMEN. One newspaper thought the name was little original and thus boring. Why not call the boat PRINCESS II?

On May 25, the newspapers can inform that the boat is ready to sail,
and that it looks great on the water, especially with the harmonious rig.

Hjardemaal did not buy the boat himself. It was a consortium with two more; Wholesaler Axel Nigel Goldschmidt and Wholesaler Rudolf Petersen.
    "Dagens Nyheder" wrote 11. feb. 1901:
«This is the large yacht built by shipbuilder Lautrup, which after Mr. Lautrup ceased to operate the shipbuilding business, was sold at an auction to Barrister Hjardemaal. The yacht is now being completed by a consortium, rigged and equipped for pleasure sailing. It will be rigged as a cutter and comfortably furnished. The cutter has a length of approximately 55 feet from bow to stern. It is a very spacious vessel that will certainly also prove to be a seaworthy, beautiful and comfortable pleasure boat.
The consortium that owns it, consists of the following gentlemen: Wholesaler Nigel Goldschmidt, Attorney-at-Law Hjardemaal and Wholesaler Rud. Petersen.»
    "Dagens Nyheder" wrote 2. May about the boats that were getting ready for the season:
«The largest newbuilding is the approximately 50-ton cutter of Barrister Hjardemaal, manufacturer Petersen and wholesaler Goldschmidt. It was built in 1890, but has been lying at Lautrup's yard for the last 10 years without being completed. At an auction in the autumn, the above-named gentlemen bought the boat, which was cleaned up, fitted out and rigged during the winter.»

These articles shows that the boat actually was bought the autumn 1900. Hjardemaal had sold his boat in 1899, so maybe he had been communicating some time with Lautrup on how the get VESTA finished and sailing. Maybe Hjardemaal thought it important to keep the boat in Copenhagen so Lautrup also could sail her, the crowning achievement of his design and boat building career.
The "consortium" was maybe formed to finance this, and maybe to keep it from being a one man's boat.
.
According to another newspaper notice, the ownership was arranged thus:
«"Ship Consortium CARMEN", Copenhagen, consisting of Barrister Lauritz Hjardemaal and the wholesalers Axel Goldsmidt and Rudolf Petersen, all of Copenhagen, is the owner of the cutter CARMEN of Copenhagen. Owners' representative is Barrister Lauritz Hjardemaal, Copenhagen»

So in the yacht registers, here Lloyds, Hjardemaal appeared as the owner.

. - - Building year registered

In the Danish ship register, the building year was set to 1892. The boat was launched in 1893, but since the boat was ready for launch in December 1892, that year was chosen.

.

But in the yacht registers such as KDY and Lloyds, 1901 was chosen as the building year:


Perhaps 1901 was chosen as the boat was then ready to sail, and it also saved them from questions about the boat's early history not sailing.
The year of built 1901 in the yacht registers was kept until the owner in 1938 chose the official year 1892.

In 1903 Lautrup had 12 of his boats appearing in Lloyds Register of Yachts:


.

. - - The name CARMEN and Hjardemaal's fiance, pin-up singer Dagmar Hansen

I don't know why Hjardemaal choose the name CARMEN, but it could be after the opera.

At the time of purchasing the boat, Hjardemaal was dating the famous pin-up singer Dagmar Hansen(1871-1959). She had her stage debut at 11 and she matured physically early and by 14 won critical praise in the press for her enjoyable singing voice, charming presence, and well-developed figure.
    In 1899 she, at age 28, was banned from performing in Copenhagen for morality reasons with her sexual appearance showing too much of her legs. But she performed in most other countries in Europe and was very successful, making a lot of money. She wanted to build a house in a Copenhagen suburb, but it was denied for moral reasons. But then the King of Denmark, Fredrik VII, supported her, and a house was built.

. - - Theater involvement and marriage announced

    In January 1902, both the directors' theaters "Kasino" and "Dagmarteatret" had financial problems. Hjardemaal was engaged by the theater director, and Hjardemaal achieved a good lease agreement for "Kasino" between the director and the theater owner.
In March, Hjardemaal established a consortium to buy the other theatre, "Dagmarteatret", which still had financial problems. This was not carried out, but Hjardemaal was employed as financial manager for the two theatres. He was going to get well paid, provocative well paid some of the actors thought, and 8 of the best actors quit.

In December 1902, Dagmar Hansen was again allowed to perform in Copenhagen at the "Scala" theater as long as she behaved morally correct. This permission came from the ministry against the police's recommendations. She was to be well paid, NOK 5,000 a month.
At the same time, the couple announced that they were engaged and that they would marry within six months.

In May 1903, she had a farewell concert because she was going to stop performing late nights due to her marriage to Hjardemaal, which again, should be within six months.
    The press watched their moves, and in June the newspapers could report that Hjardemaal had anchored in Kalundborg harbour with CARMEN and that Dagmar arrived by train to join him.

. - - Theatre problems, "divorced" and CARMEN sold

In June 1904, both theaters had economic problems. They could not pay the actress wages. Rumors were going that Hjardemaal's finace was going to invest and save the theaters, but this was quickly denied. Rumors that Hjardemaal's father was going to invest were also denied. However, the director managed the same evening to get investors so they could continue.

Rumors had been saying that Hjardemaal's fiance was going to perform at the "Dagmarteatret", but this never materialized, and Hjardemaal denied it.
However, in March 1905 Dagmar Hansen started to work for Circus Orlando, and the marriage was cancelled.

In January 1906 the director disliked a person Hjardemaal had employed at the theater. They had also for some time disagreed on the type of report, and Hjardemaal was fired. Hjardemaal then sued him for not having paid him in the last period, and other losses he claimed to have had. It was a large sum, approximately 28,000 DKK. The discussion went on during the spring and eventually the director's answer was to sue Hjardemaal for approximately the same sum, claiming he had paid himself double wages.

Maybe the above mentioned problems, and changes in his life, made him to sell his share in CARMEN.

. - - 1906 Valdemar Nielsen, but sale reverted after 6 months


29th August 1906 Hjardemaal college, barrister Valdemar Nielsen, bought Hjardemaal's share for 10.000 kr.
He lived at Guldborg, and gave the boat the same name.

Late December 1906, the theater director and Hjardemaal's court case came to conclusion, and no one won. Hjardemaal had to pay a "smaller" sum only.

In january 1907, the other part owner, Rudolf Petersen sold his part in CARMEN for 15.000 DKK to Valdemar Nielsen.
Hjardemaal claimed this was not according to agreements, «completely illegal», and threatened to take them to court if he did not get the famous boat back.

In the articles about this, it is nice to read the description of the boat:
«The famous sailboat» & «The widely known sailboat».

Hjardemaal got the boat back and renamed her CARMEN.
If he then became sole owner, I don't know, but it is likely.

The newspaper calls this a «rather sensational case» but no explanation why.
I think this may have something to do with, as I have previously suggested, that Hjardemaal had special wishes for the boat's use. Perhaps that it should be in Copenhagen and available to Lautrup as the boat probably meant a lot to him. Valdemar may have wanted to take the boat on longer trips.

. - - 1910-1914 economical problems for Hjardemaal

Hjardemaal became in 1910 owner of a large warehouse building. It was financed with a couple of investors and a bank. A German warehouse rented the building, but they soon saw they did not make money, and withdrew. A Danish group was formed for a warehouse, but that also did not last long.
   A third warehouse, the well known "Magasin de Nord", hired the building. But they found it to be too big and not suited, so they also quit soon.
By coincidence, the son of one of the owners of "Magasin de Nord", Mr. Vett, was to become the owner of CARMEN 26 years later.

. - - CARMEN sold 1912

In 1912 Hjardemaal was facing a huge loss, and CARMEN was sold.

Hjardemaal fought for his economically survival of his investment for the next two years. He accused the bank for faulty transactions and tried 3 times to take them to court, but failed.
Hjardemaal's accusations against the bank when he failed to prove anything, caused a lot of criticism of him. This was so hard for him that he became mentally ill and ended up in hospital.

One newspaper tried to be nice and wrote this in 1913:
    «Barrister Hjardemaal was, especially a few years ago, a very well-known figure in this city. He became so by virtue of his strong zest for life, his large circle of acquaintances
- especially in the world of sailing
- his bold associations and his large and stately figure.
It will be easy enough now that Hjardemaal, at least for a long time, is out of the saga, to find points of attack against him; but it must be said at the same time that many of the friends he won by his bold and lively nature truly owe him thanks and experience with sadness that his enormous fighting powers have once been unleashed.»
    This was nice words, but his friends thought this was more like an obituary, and not nice to his wife and family.

But Hjardemaal recovered in 1914 and continued as lawyer and barrister. One year into 1st world war, he invented a new type of handgranate that he hoped to make money on! In 1921 he did something that got him suspended as lawyer for one year, and before the time was out, he was arrested and had to spend 8 months in a reformatory.

Hjardemaal died in 1926 at the age of 64.

1912 Named VESTA by Count Eggert Knuth

7 October 1912 the boat was bought by the Count of Knuthenborg, Eggert Christopher Knuth. Eggert Knuth (1882-1920) was Count of Knuthenborg from 1888, only 6 years old, and was of course extremely wealthy from birth. Knuthenborg is a manor house located 6 km north of Maribo on the Danish island of Lolland. The medieval manor house Årsmarke, with its more than 300 years of history, was once Denmark's largest private estate.

. - - Named after his former 112 foot schooner which he also renamed

Eggert had a luxury yacht, a 112 feet 3-masted schooner.
When he bought the schooner second hand it was named CHARIS.
He changed the name to VESTA, probably after the goddess Vesta.
Count Eggert Knuth married Sylvia Pio in 1903 at the age of 21. They had a son and a daughter. In 1910 they sailed on the Norwegian coast on the large schooner.


The schooner VESTA was sold in 1910 and he bought a 61 foot schooner, not renamed. Eggert Knuth was known as a long-distance sailor and had company with his well-known cousin Palle Rosenkrantz on many occasions.

In 1912 Sylvia and Eggert divorced, and he then bought the CARMEN.
He renamed her VESTA after his former magnificent schooner. Lautrup's boat perhaps fulfilled his dream of the right boat better.


He kept VESTA until 1917 and thereafter had built at Bandholm Shipyard, the 4-masted trading schooner KNUTHENBORG of 138 feet with a diesel engine.

Eggert died at the age of only 38 in 1920 when he and his wife were in Algeria when he fell ill with the Spanish flu.
The obituary states, among other things: «The Count was very fond of his estate. He himself farmed the land, which had previously been leased out, and he took a great interest in the work at Knuthenborg.»

But he was also a controversial person from a young age. In a long article in several newspapers in 1914, his escapades from a young age are described. It is written i.a. that he «has repeatedly made himself less fortunate with stories that would hardly have turned out so fortunately for him if he had not been a liege count.
Already as a boy he made himself famous for his abnormal disposition, and he probably should never have been declared of age. A stay at an English boarding school, where his family had placed him, seemed to help for a while, but one fine day he ran away from the boarding school, and together with a little English variety lady he fled to Paris, where he lived until his money ran out; then the lady left him, and he was sent by his family on a voyage around the world under expert supervision.
He reached America via Australia, where in Chicago he met the very beautiful young Sylvia Pio, daughter of Louis Pio, the first socialist agitator who had to go into exile in America, where he died in 1894.
On July 6, 1903, the wedding took place and the young 21-year-old count brought back to Knuthenborg as his wife the daughter of the man who, because of his ideas and sympathies for the labor movement, had to leave his homeland forever and die in a foreign land. Now his daughter came back to the old country as a countess and was accepted into the finest and most exclusive circle in Dannevang, the countess estate.»

He had also made a name for himself with reckless driving. «People on Lolland-Falster will still remember his car racing, where he was the terror of all road users, he drove like a complete madman who respected nothing. He paid the fines it cost, but was not stopped until one day he drove into the back of a vehicle on Christian the 9th's bridge at Nykøbing Falster. It was too fast, even for a count, and his driving license was taken; but people will tell how Count Knuth, by having his servant dress as a count and himself as a servant, continued his wild car driving on Lolland-Falster for a long time.»
He was also interested in flying, thought of training to be a pilot and wanted to build a small airport on his property. But first he wanted to race his car against a plane: «His old passion for cars came back to him on this occasion, and you will probably remember how he arranged a race with the German aviator Rob. Thelen to get from Nakskov to Maribo first, Thelen in his plane and the count in his car.»

In 1912 he caused a scandal: «Then, however, a story happened with some bathing young girls, while he was on a hunting trip to his uncle."
His wife wanted a divorce and he was sentenced to pay her 30,000 Danish kroner a year.
And Eggert drowned his sorrows by buying VESTA.

The next fling was with Anna Alexandra Antokolsky, daughter of the famous and wealthy Russian sculptor Mark Antokolsky. The family had moved to Paris where she was born and lived when Eggert met her. She was also called "Madame Louis Ricoy" after a previous marriage. She had converted to Catholicism, which presented problems with the marriage. When all the formalities finally were in order, Eggert did not want to marry after all. There were then legal proceedings as she had supposedly supported him financially. He was sentenced to pay 50,000 francs, but since she was so wealthy, she donated the money to Danish charitable institutions.

He thereafter married the daughter of the Danish painter C. F. Wennerwald.
VESTA was kept until 1917.

1913 Lautrup dies 78 years old

xxxx
.
The short obituary above was pulished 22nd Nov. 1913:

«Former shipbuilder N. Chr. Lautrup has passed away, well over 70 years old.
In the 1880s, Lautrup was a well-known and well-liked man in Danish sailing circles.
Many large and good pleasure yachts, such as "Juno", "Dryaden", "Ilwo", "Bacchus" and "Carmen", were built at his shipyard in Østerbro off Classensgade, some of which were also designed by Lautrup.
His work was good and meticulous, and he made many personal friends within his circle of customers.
Copenhagen's New Harbour Project displaced Lautrup from his yard, and he then bought an estate near Ballerup.
In later years, he seemingly encountered some adversity.» [Comment: He moved to Ballerup, but not because he had to move his yard; see below]

A longer orbtuary was printed in Nationaltidende 22nd nov:

«From the old shipyard:
Where many famous boats were built.
— Credit for an unlimited period.
— A real grand seigneur.
Shipbuilder Chr. N. Lautrup, who, as mentioned yesterday, has passed away at the age of 77 [78], was in his time a well-known man in the world of sailing.
    It was in those days when there was no royal yacht club yet, but simply a Danish association for yachts and the local association Copenhagen Sailing Club. Lautrup was then one of the leading figures.
    It was probably his love of sailing and the sailor's life that drove him into the shipbuilding profession.
    He was the son of the long-deceased Bishop Lautrup, and it was a completely different path than that of a shipbuilder, which his father had set out for him. But all who knew Lautrup in his heyday will know that he was not one of those who easily deviate from a decision once made.
    After having been educated in England, he opened his shipyard in the Kalkbrænderihavnen. Here the first modernized Kragejoller [double enders] "Skjold" and "Thyra" was launched. They had gaff sails but no boom.
    Later he built the famous "Ilwo" for Royal Baker Olsen and "Rita", which until a few years ago belonged to our present King. He also built "Sejr" for Director Rubow.
    The most successful of his boats was probably "Juno", which he built for the Bunch brothers, and which last belonged to Director Marstrand, who sank with it down in  Bøgestrømmen a few years ago.
    Of the larger pleasure craft he built the "Dryaden", which he used for some time himself. Later he sold it to State Councilor Hegel.
    In the days when the new port was being built, Lautrup was engaged in his greatest work to date — the building of the "Carmen". Although he knew that his shipyard would be trapped inland during the new harbour construction, he completed the vessel.
    It had to be transported with great difficulty and at considerable expense along a specially constructed rail track to his new shipyard in Hellerup [No; Kalkbrænderihavnen Copenhagen], where it lay inaccessible in the harbour for many years, until Attorney General Hjardemaal bought it. Lautrup valued the vessel at 50,000 kroner.
    As a businessman, he [Lautrup] was extremely impractical. It was a straightforward principle that he did not send people bills. Year after year he took boats ashore and put them in perfect repair in the spring without charging his expenses. There were shipowners who had not seen a bill from Lautrup for fifteen years, and when they finally got him to settle their accounts by outright threatening him, it was often thousands. It was a well-known matter, which was much joked about in sailing circles. On the occasion of a carnival at the club, a newspaper was published, and in it was, among other things, an advertisement from Lautrup's shipyard, which said:
"Long credit is granted - bill is only obtained by suing the shipbuilder".
   It is certain that Lautrup himself suffered considerable losses from this most strange business practice. When the old bills were finally settled, there was always a number of items that the customers could not remember, and Lautrup's answer was usually: — "You can pay whatever you like"!
    In reality, it was an ideal shipyard that he had out in Hellerup [and Copenhagen], and it could have given him a considerable income if he had been as capable a businessman as shipbuilder. When wholesaler Alfr. Christensen offered to buy it fifteen or sixteen years ago, Lautrup agreed, tired of the eternal nonsense with customers who absolutely wanted to pay, and who then still wanted a discount when they got their bill.
    He then bought a small farm near Ballerup [just outside Copenhagen, Lautrup's family farmland for generations] , which he had to give up after a few years. Here too, his ability as a businessman failed. He was a great animal lover, and he could not bear to sell or slaughter the herd, and with those kinds of principles, one cannot run modern agriculture.
    In recent years, things have gone downhill for him. Apart from a few faithful friends who helped him now and then, he had to admit that the magnanimity he himself displayed in bygone days had been misplaced. He could have been the owner of a significant Danish yacht yard, now he died poor, forgotten by most.»

"Kalkbrænderihavnen" is the inner part of the harbour "Nordhavnen" in Copenhagen's main harbour. This was where Lautrup had his new shipyard from 1893.
The road that passes inside is called "Lautrupsgade".
The quays in the "Kalkbrænderihavnen" are called "Lautrupskaj" on the west side.
So he is not totally forgotten! See Kalkbrænderihavnen.

1917 - Valdemar Nielsen, 2nd time.


.
On 31 May 1917 the yacht was sold to lawyer/barrister Valdemar Nielsen.
Valdemar Nielsen was the one that had bought the boat in 1906, but had to sell back to Hjardemaal.
So now eventually he got his dreamboat!

Valdemar Nielsen, called Jernskæg, was a capable sailor and popular captain.
Amongst his friends that crewed him, was Svend Johansen, a Danish painter, scenographer and illustrator.


Svend Johansen steering in the 1920s. The women to the right is Emilie, Svend's aunt and the wife of Valdemar.
.

1936 - Erik Reinhart

After the death of Nielsen, Erik Reinhart bought her on 3 July 1936 and he gave the boat the name VAGABOND.

One morning they found the boat standing on the bottom. What is said to have happened, was that a small rowboat passed at night and tried to move forward with a boat hook. By mistake the hook came in a lead drainpipe, made a hole in it and the boat sank.

It is a bit unclear whether this sinking was in Reinhart's ownership, or after he sold it. In any case, he had plans for a major restoration, but before he got started, the famous regatta sailor William Vett was interested in buying. 

1938 - William Vett, studied the boats history

William Vett (1879 – 1962) sold his schooner DORIANA to Ivar Lauritzen and became the owner of the VESTA on 10 June 1938. He immediately reverted the name back to VESTA.

William Vett's father started the warehouse "Magasin du Nord". William and siblings inherited it and were part owners.

William Vett changed the year of construction in the yacht registers to 1892. He must have heard of VESTA's early history and in the ship register he listed the ex-names the boat had had.

Vett immediately started a big restoration job on VESTA at Nordhavnsværftet in Copenhagen next to where Lautrup had his yard.
A new teak deck was laid.
An engine was fitted; a 4-cylinder Bergius and the tiller was changed for a wheel.
The rig was reduced from 283 sqm to 240 sqm. Probably shorter boom and gaff and a smaller topsail without spars.

One of the first trips went to Norway, to the famous boat builder Bjarne Aas' yard at Isegran in Fredrikstad.


VESTA at Isegran 1938. The stern of the Colin Archer to the left was Bjarne Aas private yacht, the ex rescue boat RS 15 LANGESUND II built 1901.

It was a special reason why Vett sailed to Bjarne Aas.
Vett was racing in the 6mR class and had taken part in two Olympics with silver medal in both. In 1924 as a crew member in BONZO & 1928 with his own boat HI-HI.

In 1926 Bjarne Aas designed and built him the 6 mR, the HI-HI. He bought several second hand 6mR so in 1929 he had DA-DU, in 1930 AA-AA also a Bj. Aas boat. Next was called DORI.
In 1935 he got a new 6mR, the DO-DO This was built in Denmark, but to the design again of Bjarne Aas. With the last boat he wanted to take part in the international regattas in the Med, but the second World War prevented it.

During WWII he left Denmark and left VESTA under the care of his nephew, Ernst Gustav Baron Wedell-Wedellsborg (5 Feb. 1901 - 24 Nov. 1983). He was a member of the Royal Danish Yacht Club and was a well-known builder of yachts. In 1937 he designed King Christian X's new yacht RITA VI. From 1942 he also sat on the board of "Magasin du Nord".

William Vett moved under WWII to the USA: From the Chicago Tribune - June 14, 1942:
«William Vett of Copenhagen, an exile living on the outskirts of Beverly Hills. Mr. Vett, one of the most debonair men in Europe, is a great yachtsman, pal and contemporary of the Danish king, who has cruised with him often in Mediterranean waters.
The newly married Vett was a widower and the wealthy owner of the largest department store in Copenhagen.
Being somewhat short of cash when the war broke and Denmark was invaded, he nevertheless has carried on at Beverly with plenty of stamina, cooking and doing his own housework with gusto, which is difficult to visualize, having known the elegant tycoon in his home town.
The new Mrs. William Vett is a Scandinavian, a former Swedish baroness, and like her husband, an exile from the war conditions in north Europe. - Also, refer to the article on Vett assisting British soldiers in WWI.»

VESTA had a berth in Copenhagen's "Skudehavn" during the war. "Skudehavn" is next to "Kalkbrænderihavnen" where Lautrup had his yard.
The complete rigging where destroyed during a sabotage at the yard, and he sold VESTA.

Silver plaques onboard

The owner of VESTA 1978-1985 Evert Verkerk has told that in the salon there were 36 silver plaques with prominent people's names engraved, many being of the Royal family.


Plaques seen along the lower part of coach roof. Photo from Theo Leegwater approx 1978.

There are several connections to the royal family and other nobles. Prince Christian bought Hjardemaal's sailboat, King Fredrik clearly knew Hjardemaal when he helped his fiance with a building permit, Count Eggert Knuth was owner no. 2, and VESTA was the "flagship" of the Copenhagen yacht club. Lautrup was also in the middle of the sailing community with his shipyard and his involvement in sailing and in the board of the yacht club.
So it is likely that many prominent people came to sail with VESTA.

I do not know who had the silver plaques made. They are said to have had some enamel on them, so that suggests a "more recent" production. It may have been Wilhelm Vett owner 1938-1947 who clearly found out about the boat's history by changing the year of construction and listing the boat's ex-name. It may also have been the next owner, Aage Hempel, who had the boat for a long time, 1947-1976.

Unfortunately, the silver plaques were stolen from a warehouse where the boat's equipment was kept. In the warehouse was also a half-model of the boat, which also disappeared. The theft occurred around 1985-95 in Mandraki harbor on Rhodes.

1947 - Aage Hempel; new Bermuda rig

Aage Hempel (1898-1978) signed contract on VESTA on 23 October 1947.
He founded the company in 1933 were the importation of steel, batteries, meat and other commodities were the main activities.
Mr Hempel’s brother formed the Hempel paint company.


Hempel renovated VESTA and gave her the Bermuda ketch rig with bowsprit considerably shortened, here seen motoring.
Sail area was reduced to 158 sq.m. from the 285 sq.m. on the original gaff rig.

He had teak planks on the coach roof deck and the steering wheel came on the compass pedestal.
The old anchor winch's oak bollards were refurbished like new.

In the saloon the old cardanisch hanging kerosene lamps looked as new.
The 35 hp Kelvin engine was changed for a 100 hp Perkins.

VESTA was the mothership for Hempel’s "W" boat "Tumleren 5", the "Bjarne 6" and the 5.5 meter "Tumleren 2".

After the regatta time VESTA was used for sailing trips in Denmark and Scandinavian waters.
They also sailed to Kiel in Germany and took part in the "Kielerwoche".

1976 - Theo Leegwater

Theo Leegwater, a Dutch trader, was the next owner. He told in an interwiev in "Die Yacht", that he had seen the boat and liked it so much that he gave an offer. Hempel said the boat was not for sale, as he wanted to sail with the boat as long as health allowed, and thereafter sink the boat! (Like the English King George's dying wish with BRITANNIA). But when they met a bit later in another harbour, Hempel had changed his mind and thought that it would be better that the nice boat would be kept sailing.Contract was signed 16 September 1976 and Leegwater registered the boat in the Netherlands.

At the handover of the boat, Hempel arranged a solemn ceremony. Many prominent people and several newspapers were invited. After a cannon salute, the Danish flag was lowered and the Dutch flag was raised.

.
Leegwater therafter sailed the boat to Holland.

VESTA was also registered in Lloyds.


x

In Spring 1977 he sailed her with some friends to the Mediterranean - he was with many friends and family sailing the season of 1977. In May 1978, the German magazine "Die Yacht" was onboard in Cannes and made and article on the boat and the owner. The journalist saw VESTA hauled out and she looked very nice and interesting, so he was invited onboard. He also came on board after the launching for the interview.

Photo in Die Yacht. The plaques can be seen along the bottom of the coach roof side.

In the interview Leegwater said he was too busy to keep the boat, so it would be sold soon.

1979 - Evert Verkerk

In March 1979, Evert Verkerk bought VESTA with his wife Gonnie and daughter Marit. It was a kind of exchange against his Dutch charterlogger of 28 meters named ZONNEVIS. Theo Leegwater sailed ZONNEVIS to Holland and Evert Verkerk went with wife and daughter to St. Antonio at Ibiza.

The Verkerks sailed VESTA more than a year around the Mediterranean as far as Turkey. He maintained the boat well and renewed parts like a 1-cylinder Volvo generator fitted in the stern.

From Greece they had a great adventure with sailing VESTA back to Holland. They arrived 28 of June 1980 at the port of IJmuiden. From that time they were rebuilding the old logger SATURN from Nørresundby to a charter-schooner which got the name JOSEPH CONRAD.

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The plaques can be seen along the coach roof side. Gonnie Verkerk to the left and guest to the right. Photo Verkerk

In April 1982, the family sailed with VESTA and JOSEPH CONRAD with charter guests to Malta, and did charters during the season of 1982.
In the following year, the JOSEPH CONRAD was sold to a German lawyer and Evert Verkerk with his family went with VESTA to Turkey. Their daughter had to attend school in Holland so they left VESTA in the marina at Kusadasi Turkey in April 1984.
In 1985 the boat was sailed to Rhodes and was put up for sale.

. - - Verkerk's VESTA steel copies

Because VESTA was such a magnificent yacht, Verkerk wanted to build a new one, but in steel. 

He been thinking of this for some time and had taken the lines of the half-model of VESTA that was onboard.
André Hoek completed the drawings to build the boat.

The drawings were taken to a shipyard in Groningen and 4 hull cutting sets made.
One for himself, which became the new VESTA, and three to sell.


ATMOS above - Verkerk's VESTA to the right.

Loa 18,20 m (60 feet) - Beam 5,10 m - Draught 2.60 m
- Displacement 55 tons - Balllast 20 tons pluss tanks.

- Verkerks boat was built 1987 and was called VESTA. They sailed to the Med and later sold to an Austrian. This VESTA, now white painted hull, is still in the Med. 2026.
- ZEEAREND was built 1988 by GM Yachting Stellendam and Dörr Yachtinteriors, The Netherlands.
- ATMOS ex BLUE DREAM ex PHOCAENA (PHOCOENA?) was built 1996 by Coops & Nieborg Shipyards, The Netherlands, for the owner of the yard.
- No. 4 I do not know anything about.


ZEEAREND

1985 - Tony Ward, Australia

Tony Ward from Australia bought the boat in June 1985. He went back to Australia a few months later, leaving VESTA in Mandraki Harbour at Rhodes and he did not seem to return, and it is not known who looked after the boat. Unfortunately, after he left, the boat was used as a cheap place to stay for tourists and several things were stolen form the boat, including all the plaques, the half model and the dinghy.
At some stage, the boat also sank where she lay moored.

1998? - New owners, berthed in Rhodes and restored

The boat eventually had new owners who have restored the boat several times. The interior had been ruined when the boat sank before they bought it, so a lot had to be made new.

The current skipper of VESTA replaced almost all the frames and hull in 2019–2020 as part of a major refit.
The frames were originally oak, but the new ones are made of iroko since they could not obtain oak in the necessary dimensions. Iroko is like a mix between oak and teak, and as durable as teak.
The original hull planking was in oak, and was replaced with oak.
The floors, i.e. the lower frame parts, were made of steel that had become very rusty, and they were all replaced in steel.
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2023


Evert and Gonnie Verkerk onboard VESTA July 2015. They were so happy to see her in such good shape since the last they had seen her, was when she was a derelict abandoned in Rhodes in the 1990s..
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VESTA hauled out 2026.

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Sources

> Danish newpapers digitally at "Det Kgl. Biblioteks DR-arkiv": https://www2.statsbiblioteket.dk/mediestream/ .
> Danish photos at the Library "Det Kgl. Bibliotek" archive: https://soeg.kb.dk/discovery/search?vid=45KBDK_KGL:KGL .
> Danish photos at the maritime Museum "Museet for Søfart": https://billedarkiv.mfs.dk/fotoweb/.
> Norwegian newspapers and books digitally at the National Library's online library: https://www.nb.no/search
> Classens Have: https://www.classens-have.dk/classens-have-pa-osterbro/
> Lloyds Register of Yachts
> KDY- Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub - Royal Danish Yacht Club boat register
> Danish magazine (?) 15. June 1973 with the boat's history.
> The German boat magazine "Die Yacht" 10/5-1978

Not read sources:
> Vinden er vor - Kaj Lund
> Article in Danish "Ekstra Bladet" September 16, 1976

********************************************************************'''''''''

Written by Jeppe Jul Nielsen

Trebåt: Konstruktør & Konsulent - Wooden boat designer and consultant
Web pages: www.jul-nielsen.no  -&-  www.colin-archer.no
Mail: jeppejul02(a)gmail.com
Mobil +47 9077 8929 & Whatsapp
Addr: Tyriveien 1 - 4956 Risør - Norway

Tilbake til Colin-Archer.no

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