The Princess Royal has re-commissioned a unique historic yacht for charity work in a special ceremony at Haslar Marina, Gosport.
The 40ft, 16 ton, junk-yacht Boleh, a registered national historic vessel, was designed and built in Singapore by Royal Navy Commander Robin Kilroy and Malay shipwrights after World War 2 and sailed to the UK with a Naval crew in 1950.
Designed for ocean cruising with a fusion of Eastern and Western traditions, Boleh has many innovative features, including a unique quadruped mast, a long-keeled sea kindly hull, teak decks and diesel electric motors. Among her most unique features are deck lights framed from the windscreens of captured Japanese WW2 fighter planes.
Following fire damage in the late 1970’s, Boleh was restored in Rye harbour by her new owner, Roger Angel and subsequently based in the Mediterranean. In 2008, she was acquired by Robin Kilroy’s family, who formed the Boleh Trust (www.bolehproject.com) and set up an apprentice school in Portsmouth to restore her again with Heritage Lottery funding.
Now based in Gosport, Boleh (whose name means ‘can-do’ in Malay) is operated by the Trust to provide charitable sailing programmes for disadvantaged young people and adults and for the Armed Services. This year Boleh has sailed over 260 young people, including Service children and Army cadets, as well as injured Service personnel andVeterans.
The Boleh Trust is staffed almost entirely by volunteers and during her visit The Princess Royal met Trustees and Volunteers, as well as those involved in Boleh’s restoration and representatives from groups using the vessel, including local schoolchildren.
Boleh Trust Chairman, Henry Middleton explained: “With The Princess Royal’s keen interest in sailing, she was fascinated to hear Boleh’s story and how the vessel is helping young and old today in the Solent area and along the South Coast. We are honoured that this re-commissioning by The Princess Royal has again put the spotlight on this unique vessel.”
“The Trust’s success depends on our volunteers and our generous funders, to whom we are all extremely grateful. We hope this joyful and historic event will help us attract more volunteers and more support for the Boleh project.”
During her visit, The Princess Royal carried out a traditional bottle ceremony to dedicate the restored Boleh to her new life of charitable service, followed by the unveiling of a commemorative plaque. During the ceremony the restored ship’s bell, cast in San Francisco over 70 years ago, was sounded for the first time.
