Update: Mistroma was sold to new owners and handover completed on 25th July 2009.

Built in 1980 by Northshore Yachts, Portsmouth registered with full proof of VAT payment.

Although shallow draft is still a great plus on the West Coast we have finally decided that it is time to purchase a larger yacht for extended cruises abroad. After owning Mistroma for 23 years we finally decided to sell her in 2009.

We were amazed by the number of people anxious to buy a Southerly 95 immediately and she was sold very quickly. The supply of yachts in such good condition appeared to be very limited.

Few of these yachts come up for sale and even fewer have been owned and maintained by the same people over 23 years. Latest picures April 2009 (check gallery for even more new pictures)

Summary

In 1984 we put our 25’ Tomahawk up for sale in order to purchase the ideal cruising yacht for use in the river Forth. We had spent some time identifying all the qualities we were looking for and settled on the Southerly 95. It combined shallow draft with good sailing performance, coupled with very comfortable accommodation and solid construction. The Southerly 95 is much quicker than the older Southerly 28 and a better performer than the newer Southerly 100. The former has a less slippery triple keel hull and the latter a much smaller rudder that stalls easily.

It took quite some time to find an example of this 32 foot yacht that was little used and in excellent condition. We finally bought Mistroma from a broker in Warsash, on the south coast of England, in April 1986. The effort was well worth it as we still have Mistroma 23 years later. However, we will probably put her up for sale in 2009 to purchase a larger yacht for more extended cruises abroad.

Mistroma was transported by road up to Port Edgar Marina on the River Forth, in Scotland, where she spent the next nineteen years. Over the years we have covered about 20,000 miles and have sailed over to Holland and Belgium four or five times, as well as up the east coast of Scotland and along the Moray Firth to Inverness and then through the Caledonian Canal so that we could sail on the west coast of Scotland, arguably the most beautiful part of the world in which to sail.

Once the Forth and Clyde Canal opened in 2000, it was much easier and quicker to get to the west coast and we have been back and forward each season. The depth of the canal was very varied in the early days but with the benefit of our lifting keel, the transit was never a problem, we just kept the draft to between three and four feet. Each year British Waterways have increased the depth and it’s now around six feet the whole way through.

At the end of 2004 we finally decided on a permanent move to the Holy Loch on the west coast. This has worked out really well and we now have the best of both worlds, as we still winter in a boat yard at Grangemouth, about ten minutes drive from our house, and about ten minutes down river from the canal sea-lock.

All our summer holidays are spent sailing and normally we are away for three weeks. Now we are based on the west coast it is very easy to get to Ireland and we have sailed over three times and usually leave Mistroma in one of the marinas around Dublin, fly home for a few weeks and then fly back for a further two weeks.