Our Traditional Sailing Vessel
Built 1928 Calicut India
Length 85ft Beam 18.5ft Draft 10.9 ft
35 Tonnes Gross Guest berths 12 Crew berths 3
Tectona is a gaff ketch of solid teak construction with a Volvo Penta diesel engine. She can carry 2,000 square foot of canvas. She was built, with the help of elephants at the Calicut Shipyard in India in 1928, as a private yacht. During the Second World War the ‘Tectona’ was involved in Admiralty work and In 1958 she was recommissioned by Captain Tom Blackwell during which time she was chartered by Alan Villiers.
Between 1964 and 1980. the ‘Tectona’ was owned by the ‘Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Plymouth’. During this period she served as the training ship of the Plymouth School of Navigation.In 1980 she was sold to a French owner, and later to a Swiss Charity for sail training based in Barcelona. In 2007 ‘Tectona’ was purchased by Dr Roger Crabtree and sailed back to Plymouth to be used for to help people in Recovery and for sail training and. The ‘Tectona’ was operated by the Island Trust until 2018. Today Tectona is owned by the Tectona Trust and chartered to Sailing Tectona CIC.
Our vessel operator Sailing Tectona has also chartered 'Olga' and the two vessels are managed together as a fleet.
Built 1909 Porthleven, UK
Length 56ft Beam 13.6ft Draft 8.5ft
35 Tonnes Gross Guest berths 8 Crew berths 2
Olga was built by John Bowden of Porthleven, Cornwall, in 1909, and served as a pilot cutter out of Barry until 1917. She was equipped with Appledore roller reefing gear which enabled the crew of two to reduce sail quickly and easily.
Her first owner was Henry Edmunds, of Newport, who named her after his daughter, Olga Lilly Edmunds. Henry Edmunds was a double- licence pilot for Barry and Newport, and the boat was numbered 23. In 1917 OLGA was sold to a Swansea owner and registered as a fishing vessel for a year in 1918. She was then sold to become a private yacht, remaining so under a variety of owners until 1984. She was owned by Lt Col Patrick Phibbs, of the Royal Marine Barracks, Plymouth between 1947 and 1975 In 1984 OLGA was purchased by Swansea City Council for display at the Swansea Maritime Museum.
As of July 2019, Olga is under an innovative five-year partnership agreement that sees the historic vessel loaned to Sailing Tectona CIC. For part of the year ‘Olga’ operates as the ‘school ship’ of Mount Kelly School, Tavistock. Olga is listed on the UKs National Historic Fleet.