Name Overlord

OVERLORD is a 17.37 metre Bermudan sloop, with mahogany planking on oak and steel frames. Built in 1936 by Abeking & Rasmussen of Lemverder for the Luftwaffe. She was part of a fleet of Windfall yachts - 100 sq m, 50 sq m and 30 sq m yachts used at Lemverder for Officer training and in particular, for training Luftwaffe navigators. In 1945, Pelikan, as OVERLORD was then named, plus many more yachts in the fleet were taken as prizes of war at Kiel and later included in the reparations agreement. Many of the yachts were distributed amongst the British Services and Pelikan was used by The Sappers at Chatham who re-named her OVERLORD.

Between 1946 and 1955 she had a distinguished RORC record with the Sapper Yacht Club. In 1961 she was bought by Tony Venables, a 33 year old retired Army Officer who had been her skipper whilst serving in the Royal Army Service Corps. Tony, who was planning to sell her after two years, to recoup his capital and the running costs, was persuaded to retain her and formed the Overlord Sailing Club, now the Offshore Cruising Club.

In 1969, Tony sold her to the club syndicate members. She currently sails around the Solent on weekends in the spring and autumn, undertaking more sustained trips in the summer. In her time in private hands she has cruised to many and far reaching destinations including the Scottish Isles, Orkney and Shetland, Ireland, the Baltic, the channel Islands, the French Atlantic coast and Northern Spain. She has spent time in the Mediterranean venturing as far afield as Turkey, and has had at least two adventures to the Azores.