Posted by David Bamford on October 14, 2007 at 21:46:55 from 220.253.9.158 user David.
The model or prototype for the 'Wildcat' is the group of ships known as the Baltic Trading Schooners. Most of them were very stoutly built of oak at one yard in Denmark, but the name of the yard escapes me at the present. They are an ideal vessel for world-girdling trips if you have the resources to afford one, as they are very plump and have an enormous capacity inside. Although scarce now, they were fairly common before WWII, like the Thames Barges. They would have been a common sight in east coast ports like Lowestoft and Harwich, having brought a load of timber from Scandinavia. The yard where they were built is still going, I believe, kept alive just maintaining the ones which are left. As they were all very similar it would not have been necessary to have a particular schooner as the model.
David.