Raph - Gauloise.

- Good old boats. One of my favorite things is to visit boatyards. The main reason being to wander in the back alleys where the skeletons are. A treasure to be found, memory to rekindle, and sometimes despair over the vision, the dream of what could, would have been before neglect and age send you to the cemetery.

- One of the relics is the aluminum 56' designed by Andre Mauric. Raph is the original name, sponsored by the new marina at St. Raphael in the South of France for the Singlehanded Transatlantic Race and skippered by Alain Gliksman. Originally rigged as a Ketch, I sailed on her shortly after her launching on a quick hop in the Bay of St. Tropez. She is a Thoroughbred and her lines are pure Mauric, the architect from whom I learned a lot. A  mathematician and geometry head, to design good looking boats over a long career. A particularity was, on Lines Plans to draw the diagonals normal to the sections to best guess the water flow direction over the hull.

- The boat went on the Withebread Race around the world under the name of Gauloise. Unfortunately, a good friend of mine, Dominique Guillet went to his death when thrown overboard by a wave in the Southern Ocean.

- Further on  legacy is vague. I remember that 20 plus years ago, on this side of the pound she was owned by  Tony Lush and then by Harry S. She is alone now, growing no seaweed but all of the same around her.

- France has a way to retrieve old famous boats of a special kind with the idea of rebuilding the vessels. Maybe.

-After a few demands about the situation with the boat, I am still trying with the yard to go through the legal ownership.

-Meantime, I have received this e-mail from Alain Gabbay.
" Bonjour Yves-Marie".

- Je ne sais pas si tu te souviens de nos discussions passionees et sans fin autour du sujet des ULDB il ya plus the 30 ans, moi oui et tu vois l'avenir nous a donne raison.

- C'est super que tu est retrouve 33 Export. C'est un plan Mauric avec un borde developpable, et une carene en forme, c'est assez precurseur. A l'origine gree en ketch car il a ete dessine pour la transat 1968, pour Alain Gliksman. Son premier nom fut Neptune de Saint Raphael puis Raph.

-Il abandone en 1968 pour manque de preparation.Il est rachete par les freres Millet et skippe par Dominique Guillet] qui tombe a l'eau au large des Kerguelen en 1973 sous le nom de 33 Export.

- Il court ensuite le triangle Atlantique avec les freres Millet sous le nom de Tat express.

- Quand je le recupere, aide par 33 Export le bateau est une epave. On detruit tout l'interieur et on remplace au minimum par du  nid d'abeille, on change 10m2 de borde et on rajoute des lisses a l'avant.On passe le bateau en sloop 7/8 du coup on simplifie le plan de pont. Bref on modernise et on gagne du poids.

- Premiere etape on casse tout et on finit dernier en 52 jours ce doit etre le record de l'enteur.

- Deuxieme etape on gagne a Auckland.

- Troisieme etape en bagarre avec Gauloise 3 pour la victoire, a 600 miles de Rio c'est un equipier qui se casse la jambe.

- Quatrieme etape on passe du mauvais cote de l'anticyclone et on finit quand meme 3 eme.

- A l'arrivee nous sommes debarques comme des malpropre par l'intermediaire indelicat qui gerait le projet.

- Il confie le bateau a Alain Gliksman. Puis cet indelicat devant de l'argent au pilote de f1 Jean-Pierre Jarrier, il lui donne le bateau en echange. Quand quelques annees apres Jean -Pierre vend le bateau, nous en perdons la trace j'usqua ce que Bernard Rubinsteine nous ramene quelques photos il y a 4 ans.
Voila, rapidement.

- J'ai un chantier naval a la Ciotat, si tu passes dans le coin se sera un vrai plaisir de te revoir.
Amicalement Gabbay".

Got a few more pictures. According to the N.E.B Shipyard; make an offer based on the scrap value.

- UPDATE: November 22, 2017.

- The boat has been sold. The first step to a long renovation. Pictures were below taken yesterday.
I wish you the best Stanton P.

- By the way, the rudder is missing. Any information from a photo, an article, or any other sources welcome. Get in touch with me. Thank you.

New paint job. December 2017.