Charlie Barr Project

I am very excited and honoured to be collaborating with a good sailor friend of mine Alasdair Purves. I met Alasdair whilst sailing on the three masted schooner Atlantic at San Tropez in 2018. Alasdair is the Great Grandson of Charlie Barr the three times winner of the Americas Cup and one of the most illustrious names in yachting history. Alasdair is currently working on a film project to tell the story of his famous ancestor. I was so excited and honoured when he asked if I could produce a series of paintings that would help tell Charlies story.

Charlie captained and raced in some of the most famous yachts ever built. He raced Minerva the crack 40 footer that swept all before her in America , Then Herreshoffs 46 footers Gloriana and Wasp not to mention racing Navahoe against the Kings Britannia in England in 1893.

In 1895 he raced Vigilant against Defender in the Americas Cup trials. He so often getting the best of Capt Hank Haff of Defender that it was thought he should have helmed Defender in the Cup that year.

In 1899 and 1901 he Captained Columbia in the victorious Americas Cup campaigns of those years before moving on to the mighty Reliance of 1903.

In Response to the Kaisers challenge for a Trans Atlantic Race in 1905, Barr was placed in comand of Wilson Marshalls three masted schooner Atlantic. A yacht. with which he won immortal fame winning the race and setting a record that was to remain unbroken for nearly a hundred years

When Nat Herreshoff’s new schooner Ingomar raced in England in 1906 it was Barr in command sweeping the board in both the solent and against the best of the Kaisers schooners at Keil.

His final command was Westward with which he famously administered successive defeats on the fastest schooners in England and Germany. In one race he refused to yield his right of way simply because the Kaiser expected him to.

Capt Barr died rather suddenly died at Southampton in 1911 on the eve of departing with Westward to do battle with Herreshoff’s new schooner Elena.