Name Aquabelle

AQUABELLE was built as a motor yacht for Benjamin Taylor, a Civil Engineer, in 1939 by William Osborne of Littlehampton. She took part in the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940 and was subsequently commandeered by the Royal Navy for use as an Auxiliary Patrol Vessel based at Brightlingsea. She was transferred to the War Office in November 1941 and returned to her original owner in 1946 who sold her in 1947.

From 1947 to 1974 she was owned by 5 subsequent families in the UK, based on the Humber, near York, Poole and Ramsgate. She was cruised extensively in this period including trips to France and Belgium. She took part in the first Commemorative Crossing to Dunkirk in 1965, which led to the formation of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. In 1974 she was sailed to France and ended up on a canal in the Carmargue area close to the Mediterranean Sea. After two further owners in France where she was used mainly as a houseboat, she was abandoned owing to severe deterioration of her superstructure and decks.

Discovered by a group of French volunteer enthusiasts Aquabelle was rescued and underwent a major restoration between 2011- 2015 in Palavas-les-Flots, Montpellier, France. Transported back to the UK she took part in the 75th Anniversary Dunkirk Commemorative crossing and then a 3 month UK cruise to Poole and Henley-on-Thames before sailing back to the Mediterranean. She returned to the UK in 2019 for engine replacement in preparation for the (cancelled) 2020 Dunkirk Commemorations and has remained in the UK, moored at Windsor Marina. She is now the property of the grandson of the original owner who possesses unique memorabilia from her early years.