I am Francisco O. Martins, and, as I think you already know, I met Your father when he arrived to Lourenço Marques ( actual Maputo ), Moçambique, sailing The Ketch Penelope Elle.
I met him and his wife, together with my father that was at the time the leader of the so called Portuguese Youth Organization.
This Organization had a Sailing School Department so to say, and it was agreed with your father, that Penelope Elle could be used by this Sailing School, that in compensation would take care of her and see to her proper conservation until such time when your father would decide differently.
In fact major reconditioning and conservation work was carried on immediately and I , together with my Sailing School colleges enjoyed many, many hours of sound sailing on Penelope in the LM bay ( see attached picture ).
Years later and after a missed attempt to sail her back to France ( fire on board and problems with crew to my knowledge ), she was sold to Mr. Eckie Eksteen ( South African pharmacist ), and sailed back to LM from Port Elizabeth ( were the trip had ended ). Being a great admirer of Penelope Elle together with my colleague Mário Crespo, we were given the responsibility to take good care of her in the name of her new owner, including sailing her frequently down to Durban and back, and we did so until 1970. We lived so many good moments and adventures in Penelope Elle, that, now retired, I and Mário Crespo ( one of today’s leading pivots in the private portuguese TV station SIC ), decided to try and recollect the history of this beautiful ketch, for which we can add a lot of stories and hopefully pictures as well.
We are not trying to write a book, nor do we intend to make any profit out of this idea. It is simply a “ love affair” with Penelope Elle. Can you help us?
We will share with you, Adele Aldridge, Gayle Remish, or anyone you point out to us, all the stories and pictures we will be able to collect.
Penelope Elle was ”abandoned” by her owner following the controversial independence movement in Moçambique ( I had already left LM), and unfortunately it seems that she sunk in the LM bay, at her mooring, near the Matola village ( far end of LM bay). I have people in Moçambique trying to collect concise information on the last years of Penelope.
Hope that you can help us, namely with some photos, pieces of her history, or whatever you think appropriate.
I will keep in touch,
Please accept my Kind Regards,
Francisco Oliveira Martins
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