YACHT unknow.

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aukepalmhof
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Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

YACHT unknow.

Post by aukepalmhof » Sun Dec 29, 2013 8:55 pm

South Africa issued on 20 July 1983 a set of four stamps which depicts sport, only the 25c is interesting for the ship stamp collector.

In Watercraft Philately Nov.-Dec. 1983 page 36 I found the following article written by Mr. W. Grütter:

The 25c yachting stamp at first glance looks fine, but on close examination shows some ambiguity about the sail setting. The yacht, running before the wind, has spinnaker, genoa, and main up on the mainmast, which is fine. On the mizzen, however it looks as if two sails are set and sheeted to the booms, which is, of course impossible. Perhaps it was intended to show a mizzen staysail between main and mizzen.

In a personal conversation the designer, Ms Sheila Nowers, told him she had no help from the Postal Authorities in researching her subjects and relied upon her file of reference clippings. The yacht she draw is based on a photograph of a ketch from the National Geographic, which she associates, in her memory, with Captain Allen Villiers, the sail number, therefore, is spurious. (For the record, it belongs to a South African sloop).

(Allen Villiers wrote some articles for National Geographic and he was for some time captain of the Wales Outward Bound training yacht WARSPITE, which was ketch rigged, can not find any photo on the net of the yacht or in my books so I am not sure she is depict on the stamp.)

South Africa 1983 25c sg547, scott599.
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