History:
Originally she was called
Esmerelda and her inside was designed by her original owner; Herr Seigler, a famous German
interior designer (now retired).
She was renamed Mary Constance 'E'
by Jean and Paul, Jos's parents who had had five boats previously all
called Mary Constance. Why Mary Constance? Dad inherited a will
left to generations unborn by a man called Benjamin Bennett who
married Mary Constance Anstee. It was her dowry which helped create the
Bennett estate and thus enabled the purchase of the first boat.
When Dad died in 2003, Mary
Constance's fate started to look quite bleak. She lay in Port Gallice
directionless for a while. Then it was decided that she should be sold
and this was when fate intervened. Being a family cruising boat
she only really appealed to a certain sector of the market and on the
Rivera the faster and more plastic a boat is the quicker it sells.
So, Mum decided to toss a coin between Lovell and I and
astonishingly we won her. Thus came the decision of what to do with her.
There were three choices; either ship her to Oz - too expensive, get her
skippered - too tricky or sail her ourselves. Well the rest as they say
is history. And pictured in all her glory above the chart table is the
picture of Mary Constance as well as the coin which was so lucky for us.
Mary Constance in the Atlantic
