Talisman 
(ex Royal Irish, Gay Vandra)

An Invited Friend of The Harrison Butler Association
Built by David Hillyard in 1953

Talisman : Heading Down Mexico Way
I came across Stephen Kincaid's 1953 Talisman when searching for information about another Hillyard with the same name but built c1930. Originally called Gay Vandra, she became Royal Irish in 1960. Sold to USA in 1970, I found her again in 1973 renamed Talisman, the name she has kept until the present day. Stephen tells me that it was Bob Brooks who took her from England to America. Stephen also reports that she's currently in good condition and that he's planning to sail her from her home port in California into Mexican waters. Confusingly, there is another Hillyard called Gay Vandra, built in 1961.
The “Missing” Years
William Cowart has emailed to provide detail of Talisman's arrival in the USA; he bought her off the Taylor's in 1973 and owned her until 1990.

Talisman Statistics
Built : 1953 by David Hillyard at Littlehampton, England
LOA : 40' 7"
LWL : -' -"
Beam : 11' 8"
Draught : -' -"
Displacement : 18 tons TM
Lloyd's Register : N° 186945

Talisman Custodians & Home Ports 
Stephen Kincaid (?-2013-2017...) Cabrillo Marina, California, USA
Brief Ownership (1990-?) San Diego, California, USA
William Cowart (1973-1990) San Diego, California, USA
W Bill Taylor & Marcie Taylor (1969-1973) England ==> USA
TC Flood & JBP Lynch (1969) Portsmouth, Engand
Captain HW Blyth (ret) (1961-1968) Lymington, England
George FC McL Power (1960) Lymington, England
BJ Nicholls (?-1956-1959) Littlehampton, England

Talisman Links
• Talisman on The Wooden Hull Yacht Club, California, USA

Page last updated : October 2017

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