Brat spat: did SA’s oldest yacht really rescue soldiers from Dunkirk?

A 107-year-old classic yacht said to have rescued soldiers from the beach at Dunkirk has “washed up” in a vineyard overlooking Hout Bay — rescued by a SA businessman. She is SA’s oldest known yacht.

But the 11.5m Brat of Dunkirk isn’t out of the firing line just yet. A British historical association has questioned the yacht’s claim to fame, casting doubt over whether she ever sailed to French seaport Dunkirk, where Allied soldiers were rescued from advancing German troops during the early days of World War 2. 

Despite her name, the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships (ADLS) says Brat of Dunkirk is not on the “official” register of the hundreds of small boats that rushed to Dunkirk in May 1940 to pluck about 300,000 soldiers off the beach and ferry them across the English Channel.

Sunday Times Daily visited the boat at her new home at Hout Bay Vineyards, where owner Peter Roeloffze had started an ambitious restoration project aimed at preserving what he claims is SA’s oldest yacht. Roeloffze remains convinced of the vessel’s link to Dunkirk, based on his detailed research of the vessel’s historical ownership and personal contact with numerous previous owners. “It’s a little bit of a grey area because unfortunately she was not registered as one of the boats that officially took part (in the evacuation),” he said.

The boat is an unusual sight at Roeloffze’s front gate, perched on a trailer next to a duck pond. To accommodate the vessel, a Camper & Nicholson design, he had to remove a patch of vineyards and build an earth gabion.

May 6 - June 4 1940      Dunkirk evacuation

198,000 - number of British troops evacuated from the French seaport

140,000 - number of French and Belgian troops evacuated

—  Battle of Dunkirk trivia

Responding to queries, the ADLS — the organisation for owners of vessels accredited to have taken part in the evacuations — said maritime records suggested Brat of Dunkirk had not taken part. A 1947 Register of Ships shows the vessel listed simply as Brat, not Brat of Dunkirk: “Unfortunately, I can find no reference to a vessel called Brat taking part in Operations Dynamo, Aerial or Cycle,” said ADLS archivist John Tough. “She (Brat) has a draft of 6’1”, so it’s not surprising, as the requirement was for shallow drafted vessels,” Tough said. “She is not listed in the Ministry of War Transport list, so she wasn’t commandeered at any time during the war. She still had her official number 132008 in 1947 which confirms this, because commandeered vessels lost their numbers during the course of the war.”

Roeloffze, however, insists the vessel was part of an “unofficial” flotilla of boats that also answered the call to evacuate Allied forces: “All indications are there. Immediately after the evacuation she was bought by military guys who became the owners and then she was renamed Brat of Dunkirk.”

“Discussions with the last British owner corroborated this version,” said Roeloffze, who has displayed some of the historic documents on a signboard next to the vessel. “The stories handed down to him were always about the boat’s participation in the evacuation. We are happy to accept that it is a fact,” he added.

“We know that some 850 boats took part (in Dunkirk), but only once the evacuation was under way did one of the military guys realise they need to record the event — and they ended up only recording 500 or so boats.”

It is beautiful to restore something so famous.

—  Bruce Tedder, former owner

He said confusion around the vessel’s remarkable story since its launch in 1914 added to her air of mystery. She arrived in SA via Rio in 1968 with a new owner at the helm, having suffered damage to the forestay about 80km off Cape Point. For many years she disappeared from view, only to turn up marooned in a backyard in Port Elizabeth, where she was bought by marine supplier Warrant Fraser. 

“A client got hold of me and said, Warren, the boat is too much to handle — she deserves better. What can you do?” Fraser said in a recent interview published in a boating newsletter. “I said, hang on, this is a barn find. You will never get another opportunity like this or find another one. Ever.”

Roeloffze bought the boat last year and decided to restore her on his wine farm, where he hopes to involve local artisans or attract support from maritime stakeholder. “We will build a shed over it. Now that she is here we can start the process of restoration.”

I said, hang on, this is a barn find. You will never get another opportunity like this or find another one. Ever.

—  Peter Roeloffze, Brat of Dunkirk owner

“She has been out of the water for four or five years, which is a terrible thing because these boats don’t want to be out of the water. A lot of the rot we are seeing in the keel planks is because freshwater has gone and sat there.” Many of the planks and frames would need to be replaced, he added.

“We’ve not managed to ascertain that there are any boats in SA that are even remotely close to her age,” he said.

One of the former owners, Bruce Tedder, the chairperson of the SA Boat Builders Export Council, said the vessel was historically significant regardless of whether she participated in the Dunkirk evacuation. “She could be one of the vessels that was undocumented,” Tedder said, adding Roeloffze’s project could help arrest the decline in local wooden boatbuilding skills.

“It is beautiful to restore something so famous. To have someone investing time and money and passion in a beautiful old sailboat is great — really exciting. We would all love to help and get the industry behind him so that we can get the boat back in the water and sail.”