# Where are you, Jacky Clewer.



## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

Jacky Clewer sailed on board m/v Debut when she left Plymouth, on the south coast of England, in September 1978, on her voyage of adventure out into the tropical world. She was the sister of my second engineer, Ian Cox, known to us as Blue, from Bristol. After quitting her job as a cook at a ski resort in Scotland, she signed on board Debut as deck crew. 
She brought me a cup of tea in the morning of our arrival at Lisbon, after I'd spent most of the night drinking with the Customs Officers at their office just north of the large bridge crossing the estuary, while getting my inward clearance. She became my girlfriend and moved into my cabin to be with me.
I taught her to navigate while crossing the Atlantic Ocean from the Cape Verde Islands to Barbados, and she learned how to work on deck.
During the year and a half she spent on Debut, she worked her way up the crew list until she became the Chief Mate. She taught new crew to the ship the necessary skills of seamanship needed on a large 190 foot salvage vessel.
Needing to try something different, she sailed on my friend's Baltic Trader, carrying cargo around the Caribbean Island. Yens Yule was an 85 foot gaff ketch, rigged with square sails on her foremast, both course and topsail.
On a voyage carrying cane furniture from Port-au-Prince in Haiti to St. Barthelemy, they ran aground on a small reef at night, five miles north of the north coast of Haiti. When their batteries gave out for the radio after the vessel flooded, Johnny sailed his 9 foot Bequia lugger to the shore, then spent five days walking more than 100 miles over the mountains and through the rainforest, down through the fields and sugar plantations to Port-au-Prince to seek assistance.
A U.S. navy tug took him back to Yens Yule, and were able to pull her off the reef after pumping her out. 
Returning to Port-au-Prince, Yens Yule was temporary patched up and sailed to Fort Lauderdale, in Florida for repair. The bill was US $250,000, more than the vessel was worth, so the shipyard took her as payment for the work. 
After I sent Jacky her share of a salvage operation we conducted in the Caribbean, she bought a wanderer's ticket from Greyhound and spent the next year travelling around the United States. I haven't seen of heard of her since. Where are you, Jacky. Please get in touch with me. Read more about her adventure in 'The Judas Kiss' ,by Cpt Dick Brooks, soon to be published by Amazon on their Kindle system.


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*Jacky Clewer, where are you?*

Hi, Jacky, I wish you would get in touch. It's been a long time, and I bet we have much to talk about. I was chatting with Hooky yesterday on the phone, and he asked if either you or Blue had been in touch. Yesterday, I received confirmation from my literary agent that my second book was now published. "The Judas Kiss", by Cpt Dick Brooks, is published by Amazon on their Kindle system, code B00KJ3664C . Enjoy the read, Jacky, and drop me a thread. I last heard of you when you were crewing on the 140 foot topsail gaff ketch, Edna. Lots of luck to you, Dick Brooks.


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## ben27 (Dec 27, 2012)

good day cpt dick brooks.m.27th may.2014.21:53.re:jacky clever,where are you.well,another fasinating story.i hope you find jacky clever.let us know if you do.best of luck.regards ben27


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## seachaser (Jul 9, 2014)

Capt Dick, Hello. I was doing a search for Yens Yul and came upon this site and your post concerning Jackie Clewer. I believe I met her when she was crewing for Capt. John Summers who was master of the Baltic Ketch at the time. The boat came into the yard I where I was working as a yacht carpenter. We were building an 85 ft. motorsailor named Great St. James. This was at San Sebastian Marine in St. Augustine. Our yard was still building wooden shrimp boats so our fish boat crew was more than capable of replanking and repairing the old girl. Yens Yul's crew consisted of John Summers, Jackie and another young woman named Pam. As you mentioned John was unable to pay the 25k for the repairs but he knew he would be unable to when he went into this. He was doing what he had to in order to save the boat. He was a helluva guy and an accomplished world traveler. He told me a story once about cycling from South Africa to North Africa. The Yens Yul (Jens Juhl) had lovely tanbark sails. When the repairs were completed John was permitted to sail the boat one last time on a shakedown. I and my wife and crew accompanied them on our Rosborough Ketch. I shot 36 exposures of her sailing beautifully off St. Augustine. When we returned to the dock Pam begged me to let her develop and print the negs and I foolishly let her have the film. I never got my film back, never saw the wonderful photos that I took and am to this day harboring a grudge against her. This all took place between the fall of '78 and the spring of '79. I remember Jackie as a real hands on sailor and capable looking crew. As I recall she was from London? That's all I can remember about your friend. Can you please let me know what happened to Capt. John? He helped me immeasurably as I prepared for my first long distance offshore sail from St. Augustine to Beaufort NC. I made a cassette tape of his suggestions and just came upon it the other day! He kept it simple and said: sail east 40 miles and take a left. He also gave me an offshore chart with current and wind advisories. Like I said, a helluva guy.


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*For Seachaser*

Hi, Seachaser, it was great to get your thread about Jacky Clewer. She was part of my original crew when I sailed from England in September, 1978, on my 189 foot Hull trawler, Debut. She was previously the Ross Resolution, owned by Haliers Fishing Co. I converted her into a dive-support and full salvage ship. After crossing the Atlantic, most of the original crew flew back to the UK . Jacky stayed on as mate, apart from being my girlfriend at the time. He brother, also from Bristol, moved up to chief-engineer after my chief, Mike(Hooky) John also returned to Bristol with his girlfriend, Cathy. After spending the hurricane season in Falmouth Harbour, Antigua, I took Debut to St Barthelemy, where we met up again with Yens Yulh. I'd spent ten years under sail with my first ship, the 42 foot Whitstable ouster smack, Blue Belle, and my 72 foot French tuna yawl, Biche, working the North Sea and English Channel as a charter tall ship. She had liked my stories of a life at sea under sail, so when we met up again with Yens Yulh in St Barthelemy she asked me to arrange for her to crew with them on their next charter. We met up again in St Martin, and she wanted to sail on Yens Yulh to Haiti to collect a cargo of cane furniture for St Barthelemy. As you know, they ran aground on a small reef on the North shore of Haiti at night while Jacky was at the helm, which really upset her. I knew Pam from our days, being based in Bequia, and Jens Yulh used to moor up to us, as their anchoring gear was crap. I didn't know anyone else on board, as their crew, like mine, were quite transient. Our story is told in my book, "The Judas Kiss" by Cpt Dick Brooks, published by Amazon on their Kindle system, code B00KJ3664C. It is the first part of "The Black Ship Trilogy", the first three books I wrote during my three years as a castaway on Emily Reef after I'd been shipwrecked in the Coral Sea. I hope you enjoy the read, all the best, Dick Brooks.


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## BIGGUPPY (Jul 16, 2014)

*the jens juhl*

HELLO CPT.BROOKS, I have a JENS JUHL story similar yo jackys,that i hope to one day write a book. I've been trying to locate more info of the were abouts of the jens juhl. I first came accross the ketch helping my father in PUERTO RICO with his marine business (BRITISH SUBAQUA OF P/R) A DIVE - inspection and maintenance company,I was about 17,I ended up crewing at 19 as a cook/deck hand, The ship was going to be sailed from PUERTO RICO to MAINE to pick up lumber for the Islands under CAPT.MILLER(?). I was going to get off in FLORIDA. Two week trip ended up being Six weeks with us running a ground an having damage to the hull, north of HAITI near GRT.INAGUA in the middle of the night.We parted ways,never got paid.stranded on GRT.INAGUA for a week.I saw a news item about the coast guard towing the ketch and losing the capt. overboard of the n. carolina coast in 1983. keep in touch...thanks


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*For BIGGUPPY.*

Hi, BIGGUPPY, good to receive your thread. I'm always interested in tracing vessels that I have been involved with, especially sailing ships. For my first ten years at sea, I owned sailing vessels, then I spent another year on deliveries in the home trade area. I bought my first ship a week after I turned 18, the 42 foot Whitstable ouster smack, Blue Belle. After rebuilding her and fitting her out, I took her on many voyages around the North Sea and English Channel. While working as a police officer in Ipswich, I bought the 72 foot French tuna yawl, Biche, from the Royal Belgium Yacht Club, in Zeebrugge, where she had spent the last 12 years as a accommodation ship for the local Sea Scouts. After spending four years rebuilding her from top to bottom, including new masts, re-rigging and new sails, I set up my own charter company in 1971, operating out of Ipswich dock. I was the first person to charter a tall ship out of Ipswich dock, and was blamed for it now being full of yachts, instead of a commercial dock. It is the largest single enclosed dock in Europe at 48 acres. Jacky went on to sail on other ships, and then travel around the US on a Greyhound roving ticked... so I heard from Andy Amatt, one of my engineers when I left the UK in September, 1978, on Debut. Keep in touch and let me know anything else you find out. I'd be more than happy to chew the fat about anything involving ships and the sea, especially adventures out into the world. All the best, Dick Brooks.


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