The postscript to our news of quote "Mooie Meid" in the latest Newsletter has proved to be far from correct.

We were pleased to hear from Mrs Lesley Andrews that she and husband Jon were the buyers from the Wets in August of last year and that, far from selling the boat on, Mooie Meid was now undergoing a thorough restoration at Webbs Boatyard, Pin Mill, keeping company with Noke Winder's Solaster.

Lesley and Jon have found a great deal to put right with a considerable number of cracked and broken ribs and much to be done to floors and knees. Keel bolts have already been replaced and it is their plan to have Mooie Meid back to the water and sailing on the Orwell before the end of this Spring. (Pictures are awaited).

The first item we have on record about the boat on our file is a letter from Laurens in February 1998 in which he tells that he bought the boat in Belgium two years earlier (1996?) at which time she was named Tempus Fugit . He had her recorded as built and launched in 1965, but didn t know where. The only previous reference we have for the boat is in the 1977 Ownership Directory, when she was listed to Mr Jackie Moens of Gent, Belgium, but called Kalinka . The Stella's designer Kim Holman (now retired), through his then business Holman and Pye of West Mersea, appointed Messers Tucker Brown of Burnham on Crouch as the licensed builder in 1959/60. Tucker Brown, in turn, appointed a number of sub-licence builders so as to meet customer demand and the other builders we have listed are Petticrows (Burnham on Crouch), Dan Webb and Feesey (Maldon), Rowhedge Iron Works (Colchester- who also made all the Stella keels), William Wyatt (West Mersea), Wrights (Ipswich) and Dickies of Tarbert (on the Clyde). We don t have listed any boats made by Webbs! The sail numbers were issued by Holman and Pye s office, through Tucker Brown (who were responsible for collecting licence fees from the other builders) . 110 sail numbers were issued between 1959 and 1972 although, we now know that some 6 boats (whose sail numbers would have been in the 90s) were never built so that number 100 could be provided to an impatient customer!

I have spoken today to David Cooper who now runs the Holman and Pye office, asking if he can throw any more light on the origins of Mooie Meid / Tempus Fugit /Kalinka . He has commented many times previously that Tucker Brown were not the best of record or book-keepers but his records show that the licence fees for a group of boats (#71 \endash 80) were invoiced to Tucker Brown in February 1964. #71/73/74/75/77 and # 79 we can confirm (because the owners still have documentation) were built by Tucker Brown in 1963.

#76 was built by Rowhedge. We have no listing for #78, nor listed builder for #80 (although believed Tucker Brown). Therefore we would suggest that Mooie Meid was built by Tucker Brown, but in 1963 not 1965 as thought previously. Perhaps a comparitive inspection of Mooie Meid s contemporaries could confirm this. #71 is based at Burnham, #73 at North Fambridge, #74 at Aldborough, #75 at Maldon and #77 at Orford. Noke Winder's Solaster is #24 and was also built by Tucker Brown.

Stellas were also built in Australia and our Winter 98/99 Newsletter relates the story. We have two Australian Stella owners as members of the Class Association, and know of the existence of three more (the most recent for sale last month in North Adelaide for Aus$3850). From records we think some 15 boats in total were built during the 60s. These boats are not included in the English register; Holman and Pye complaining that they were never paid any builder s licensing fees!

Noel Stanbury