Name Gralian

GRALIAN was the fifth of eight Medina Class 45' motor yachts built by Saunders-Roe in Cowes, Isle of Wight, between 1935 and 1939.  Originally named JEAKELARD, she is of carvel construction with teak planks on oak frames.  Her tender is clinker built by Moodys in 1952 with an internal 1934 Stuart Turner one and a half horsepower engine.

She was a gift from Joyce Sherren, later mayor of Felixstowe, to her husband Wing Commander PC Sherren, a First World War flying ace who was killed in the King's Cup Race in 1937.  In 1939 she passed to Arnold Munns, Rear Commodore of the RTYC 1956-7.  She was requisitioned as a patrol vessel, serving on the East Coast and taking part in the D-Day landings in Normandy in 1944.  Her ship's bell is inscribed to her 'War Service Admiralty 1940-1946'.

She was renamed GRALIAN after the war and was cruised extensively in British and European waters by Munns and his wife Jane Gralian and later by the Bagshaw family.  In 1969 her two Chrysler petrol engines were replaced by Mercedes Benz OM314s.  She was bought by her present owners in 2010 and restored by Harbour Marine Services in Southwold with the help from National Historic Ships UK.

She was nominated by Classic Boat magazine for their Restoration of the Year 2011, being described as 'the epitome of the gentleman's motor yacht... immaculately restored.'  She is in near totally original condition both externally and internally, with her original superstructure, davits, vents, panelling, lighting, instruments and other fittings.

GRALIAN has continued under the purpose she was built and which she has served ever since: cruising. Her current owners have undertaken over 20,000 miles of cruising, including the following:  

- 2011/12: Cruised to the Med for two years, visiting France, Italy, Greece
- 2013/14: UK circumnavigation clockwise
- 2015/16: Two years in Baltic, visiting Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. She crossed Sweden on the Göta Canal and ventured almost to the top of the Gulf of Bothnia
- 2017: Inland waters of Belgium and France.

In June 2013 Classic Boat magazine (CB 300) named GRALIAN as one of the 300 best boats in the world.

Update, January 2024: Vessel for sale.