Select a region
A 1950s ex-US Army tugboat, which has become a 'dazzling' icon of St Helier's historic harbour in the past decade, has sold for just over £15,000.
Elektra's sale marks the final chapter in a seven-year stay at the harbour where the vessel underwent a complete repaint in the style of a WWI Dazzle Ship with the help of Ian Rolls, and has undergone £100,000-worth of refurbishment.
The boat, built in Florida in 1953/54, originally came to the island in the 1990s.
Pictured: Elektra was originally built in the US around 1953/4 as a US Army steel tug boat.
It was then bought by Lee and Kayli Rainbow as a family boat in October 2014, after Kayli suggested the idea when it was being sold for around £25,000, as a way to help ease some health issues the family were dealing with.
It seemed almost fateful to Lee, who had fished since he was young: "I used to pass it as a little kid, I used to have a boat from about 10 or 11 years old, a little dinghy - I worked in the boating shops and I used to always pass it in the dinghy, and as a little boy who’d dreamed I might own it… it’s been with me since I was a little kid in a way."
After being brought to its in home in the historic harbour, the steel tugboat soon became an iconic fixture of the area, especially once it had been painted with camouflage and transformed into a WW1 Dazzle Ship by local artist Ian Rolls in 2015 to mark the centenary of the Great War.
Lee remarked that this provoked "loads of interest" from the public, fondly remembering the BBQ party on the boat following completion of the project.
Indeed, he said he had many happy memories attached to the vessel too, whether it be pirate parties, building work or simply time out with the family during its early years.
WATCH: Local artist Ian Rolls co-ordinates turning the boat into a WW1 Dazzler.
The boat became a massive commitment for them, and over time, they have spent in excess of £100,000 attempting to restore it and bring it back to its former glory.
Across its time in the harbour, there were continued difficulties in keeping it there, with Ports of Jersey flagging up what they claimed were a number of regulatory issues.
To try and remedy this, Lee said the couple offered up a number of solutions, including turning it into a holiday let or a business of some sort.
In 2016, a petition was even set up for Ports to try and find the boat a new permanent home in Jersey.
Pictured: Lee said it felt like the boat was a part of the family, and that he hopes wherever she goes will see her completed.
However, this did not remedy the situation, and after three years of the boat being left without work or maintenance, Lee said they have made a decision to part ways with it, conceding they would struggle to keep it here.
"It’s a shame that it’s going to be sold and potentially off-island, because she’s well-loved by the people who live over here, but when it comes to me with it, no matter which way I go with it, it’s been a battle or a dead end," he remarked.
Despite these struggles to keep it moored in Jersey, this hasn't diminished the close bond Lee feels to the 65ft-long tugboat.
Though he had initially planned to scrap it, a mix of costs and this personal closeness to the vessel had got him to change his mind, and place it for auction eBay instead. He says his hope would be for the boat to "survive and... move on and actually be completed."
Readying himself to wave goodbye with less than 24 hours before the auction closing yesterday, Lee reflected: "It sounds a bit silly, but she’s a family member more so than just an item like a boat.
"It’s got a soul and heart to it."
Artist to create dazzling new landmark
WATCH: Elektra-fying bids invited on iconic tug
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.