Golden Fleece of Mersea

When Michael Wheeler discovered Golden Fleece in a sorry state in Durban, South Africa in 1999 he could not walk away and let her deteriorate further. He wasn’t actively looking for a boat at the time but recognised what she was, fell in love and bought her, against the advice of his surveyor who said: Michael, there are other boats here! But like most men who fall in love, he could not be deterred. He committed himself to restoring her to her former glory, not knowing exactly what this would entail. The first task was to get her back to England, but that was not all plain sailing and she did not arrive in Falmouth until August 2002. She sailed all the way from Durban to Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro (Cape to Rio Race), the Caribbean, Antigua, Bermuda, the Azores, Falmouth and West Mersea. Her restoration began in 2004 and was not completed until May 2009 — altogether it took over 10 years before Michael would reap the benefits of his purchase and a classic example of yachting history was saved. The story makes fascinating reading.

Golden Fleece is now based in West Mersea, Essex, UK and when not being raced is enjoyed by Michael and his family for cruising on the east and south coasts of England and the continent. To learn more of this amazing story please read on.