BOTL: Be on the Lookout

Annapolis Boat Show Fall 1984   photo by David H Lyman

Thirty years ago sailors were scooping up Lord Nelson sailboats, designed by Tommy Chen and with an interior refined with the help of Loren Hart; familiar names to owners of Lord Nelson Victory Tugs. Tommy had been building Hans Christian sailboats at his Hai-O shipyard in Taiwan and saw room for improvement.

Loren Hart at the 1984 Annapolis Boat Show

Loren Hart, as the National Distributor for Hans Christian, frequently visited Tommy's yard. The two discovered they had similar design ideas. Over the next few years they collaborated and built 77 Lord Nelson sailboats and 82 Victory Tugs.

In 1992, Lord Nelson 41 owner Peter Rossi formed the Lord Nelson Owner's Association, an informal group of owners of Lord Nelson boats, both sail and tug. He published a newsletter called The Admiral's Log, which sadly, lasted only four years. But, it facilitated a valuable collection of owner data. Thank you, Peter!

Fast forward to 1999 when Tom Blackwood, LNVT enthusiast, formed the Lord Nelson Victory Tug Owners' Association, and began publication of the newsletter Tuggers. This also launched the effort to  compile a roster of tug owners. Issues asked readers to "Be on the Lookout" for tugs, and to spread the word for the search.

Today, twenty-five years later, Tuggers has just published its 60th issue. And the search for tugs was completed a few years ago. The list and details of each are found on this website under "Fleet."



BUT, the same can't be said for the Lord Nelson sailboats. 

Betty Minson on her 41LN built for Loren and Lani Hart. 

Serendipitous events in July 2014 have spawned the revival of the Lord Nelson Owner's Association. Peter Rossi has resumed the helm of "The Admiral's Log".

There is an official LNOA website: lnoa.org

BE ON THE LOOKOUT
The hunt is on to locate all 35LNs and 41LNs. This is a word of mouth effort. Please email your sitings to Betty Minson: BLMinson@aol.com.