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The story of two NRSC octogenarians who don’t know when to give up and how they've brought Lovely Linda back to life.
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Tom purchased a small chalet on the Norfolk Broads in 1987 and in 1988 and bought a Leisure 23 called “Tranquility”. He had great fun cruising on her but bilge keels do not allow fast tacking. In 1987 he traded her in for a new Pegasus 700 which had been designed primarily for racing on Norfolk’s rivers.
Whilst he was pleased with the performance change his wife was never happy with the accommodation which was inferior to the L23.
Shortly afterwards they met two ladies who had purchased Tranquility, stuck in the reeds. They pulled them off and that started a long friendship. One of the Ladies was Alison McTaggart who later became the leading light with the LOA in Norfolk. Tom went on to buy a Pegasus 800 as it had larger accommodation.
Now, we move forward to 2023, Alison and Tom have had a great time sailing and racing on the Norfolk Broads and down the East coast rivers for 36 years. However, due to various ailments, mainly not being able to cope with the high stepping on and off the boats they both separately decided they had to give up sailing and sold their boats.
In late 2024 and early 2025 they were both becoming depressed missing sailing. Tom had friends with a motor cruiser in the marina at Bureside and sitting in front of them was a small yacht which hadn't moved for some years, looking neglected and going green. Tom had liked the lines of this boat as sometimes in small yachts the profiles look wrong with large cockpits and small foredecks. He asked the marina owners to let him know if at any time the owners wanted to sell. In February 2025 he got a call with the telephone number of the owner who was looking for a buyer because of illness in the family before the new seasons tolls and expenses kicked in.
Alison and Tom looked at the boat, a Leisure 20 named Lovely Linda, and decided they both needed a “project” which hopefully would lead them getting back on the water.
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The Jib had been furled for 3 years and was green, valeting caused the sacrificial strip to disintegrate and require replacement. The internals were near perfect with the owners having refurbished the cushions but never used them.
The most serious problem they had was that during pressure washing the rails holding the cabin cover disintegrated, Tom has been told by a boatbuilder that it was because they were oak and that deteriorates if saturated.
The yacht had a 3 hp electric e-propulsion engine which after a long deliberation they thought would suit them as they were only looking to sail on the Broads not the sea. They've subsequently discovered that this is perfect as it's silent and has the range, they need to get to the good sailing areas.
Tom and Alison have been surprised by the features of this yacht that are not obvious until you have sailed one and particularly if you are over 80 years of age.
The boat is solid and very stable so when in getting on and off and moving around it does not heel very far, so balance is not an obstacle. The step on, then down to the seat and then down to the cockpit floor are all very short so if you have dodgy knees, it is not a problem.
They​ had to replace the single step down into the cabin that was too far for them at our age, with a set of aluminium steps. they also had to instal a deck winch to help them get the mast up and down for the bridges
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The boat sails like a thoroughbred and the thing that has surprised them most is that it takes very little physical effort to sail as the jib and main are relatively small. The have replaced the main that came with the boat as the original was very small and they're convinced it was a leisure 17 main. It also had the wrong number on it.
They gained a lot of information from the LOA Facebook by asking questions
The new sail plan gives them over 5mph through the water and 30 degrees going to windward but they're still learning how to sail her properly.
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They thought they should rename her Geriatricus in view of their ages, but the name Lovely Linda is so beautifully painted on bow and stern that they've kept it.
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Tom says it's been a pleasure and great therapy getting her back into shape and they have already had a lot more fun sailing than we had last year.​​ In conclusion they thoroughly recommend you look at the Leisure 20 if you are having to give up a larger craft and they're looking forward to enjoying Lovely Linda on the Norfolk Broads into the future
Tom P and Alison McT
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