Pen Duick is an auric rigging cutter born in 1898 from the plans of the great architect of the time William Fife Junior. Purchased by Guy Tabarly in 1938, it was on board that Eric Tabarly learned to sail, before making his own boat in a few years later. Pen Duick will be the first of a beautiful series of avant-garde sailing boats.
After two renovations - 1958 and 1983 - the beautiful sailboat needs a new refit. The boat that used to sail six months of the year to train young sailors is no longer in a position to go to sea. For 20 years - and the disappearance of the sailor - it has been managed by Eric Tabarly's family - Jacqueline his wife and Marie his daughter. It is in this sense that the Pen-Duick Association was created, whose objectives are to ensure the management and proper use of private and public funds paid for the maintenance of the boat.
The boat was classified as a Historic Monument in 2016, the association was able to benefit from assistance from the DRAC, the Morbihan Department and the Brittany Region. But since the amount needed for the renovation was not reunited, the family decided to launch a crowdfunding . To date, the sum raised is 64,765 euros out of the 250,000 euros requested.
"It's a love story between a man and a boat that I shouldn't let go because it's also our love story together that I'm pursuing despite its disappearance" explains Jacqueline Tabarly
Afterwards the Route du Rhum and the meeting with the many admirers of the boat and the sailor, Tabarly's widow decided to continue her awareness campaign. Pen Duick will be exhibited at the Nautic (December 8 to 16, 2018) in Hall 1 at G59.
After the Route du Rhum, the boat had reached Brest - it is being restored at the Guip shipyard - and now the missing structural parts inside are in place.
In Paris, members of the Pen-Duick association will be present to answer questions from the public, explain restoration techniques and, of course, collect donations from those who wish to contribute to the project by purchasing works by artists reproduced in posters and on stretched canvases as well as some Pen-Duick pieces dismantled during the work.
Finally, a photo exhibition in homage to Eric Tabarly on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his death will be installed at the entrance of the show.
