Name Anaurus

ANAURUS was built in 1937 for Commander Richard William Vandelear Beatty, Admiral Beatty's nephew - Admiral Beatty being the victor of the Battle of Jutland.  Her official number was 165037.  The Beatty family were in the Netherlands in 1939 to celebrate the jubilee of Queen Wilhelmina when Commander Beatty was ordered to come home with the Red Cross due to submarines in the channel.  Subsequently, the Germans used ANAURUS as a gunboat between 1939-1944 and re-named her Marken, being captured by the Canadians in 1944.  From 1939 - 1944 the vessel was German gunboat Marken, recaptured by Canadians in 1944.  She was handed back to the Beatty family in 1946. Hard currency could not be taken out of the UK at the time, however bicycles could be, so repairs and spare parts were exchanged for bicycles taken across the channel on each visit. Once seaworthy, ANAURUS was returned to the UK and continued to cruise with the Beatty family into the early 1950's, including trips to the continent.

Between 1969-1975 she was owned by the Menhinick family and used as a live aboard at Newport, Isle of Wight.  She was bought from the Smiths Boat Yard  on the Itchen, where she, where she had been seized due to non payment of debts. She needed a great deal of work. The deck was missing in places and there was no running water or electricity. She had been used on the Thames prior to that where she belonged to lady who had a market stall called Mary Boner .
 

In September 2004 she was bought by her current owner,  three weeks after she had sunk at her mooring and rebuilt as a floating home.