Our beautiful BCC, named Dilkara, made the cover of SAILING in August 1989 and she also made the cover of SAIL magazine in October 1993 ! My partner Ray and I bought the boat in 1982 and sailed for the summer on Long Island Sound and up to Newport, RI while we made preparations to set off for warmer climes. In the early Fall sailed through New York Harbor down the entire East Coast of the USA to the Bahamas and followed the thorny path to the Virgins, British and American and made the Caribbean home for the next eight years.

The boat was a fiberglass hull with wood decks, mast, bowsprit and house and the sail plan was gaff rig. The engine which was rarely used was a 10 hp single cylinder Sabb. hand cranked, which never failed! We sold the boat because we needed to go back to work in order to eat, etc.. and we have never stopped loving her and, needles to say, still regret having sold her!!! Dilkara is a BCC from the heart of Lyle Hess may he rest and sail in bliss for all of eternity!!!

Should we win the lottery we will find DILKARA and have her back no matter the cost. The mast was Sitka spruce, in a tabernacle, the skylight and companionway and the companionway hatch were mahagony as was the house. We were always "queen of the show" in every anchorage. Everyone always dinghied over wanting to know everything about the boat and then would ask us over for a drink and to see their boat as the sun sunk below the horizon. A BCC is a great way to meet other sailors! There isn't a day gone by that we haven't missed DILKARA. (The name is an Australian word that that means rainbow in Aboriginal according to Lex White, the Australian who built Dilkara.

One day, I hope soon, I will write again and say that we have DILKARA back again! My partner and I are both in the later half of our 70's and would trust DILKARA again with our lives!!! This is Jack, and thanks for reading this!!!