Henry Montagu Doughty

1880-1900

Norfolk Broads, to the Netherlands, Mecklenburg and Bohemia

Gipsy

"Our Wherry in Wendish Lands - From Friesland through the Mecklenburg Lakes to Bohemia" was published in London in 1891. The author was H.M.Doughty and he had written several other accounts of journeys in his Norfolk wherry 'Gipsy'. The wherry was 53 feet long and 13½ feet wide with a mast that could be lowered to pass under bridges. It had one sail, a large gaff and no boom. The deck house contained a kitchen and men's cabin at one end and two main cabins, a saloon and a ladies' cabin at the other end, with a bath in each companion way and plenty of storage space. And the other splendid feature of the book is the collection of delightful pen illustrations by two of his daughters who accompanied him. The others on board were the butler, who also cooked, a Suffolk fisherman and a Friesian sailor. They began their journey on 18th August 1888 from Yarmouth and voyaged more than 1600 miles through Holland and Germany before returning to the port of Hamburg in October of 1890.