The History of ALOTOLA

ALOTOLA was built in 1927 by the Stephen Brothers in Stockton , California . The name of the designer was George H. Wayland and her first given name was Water Wagon. After a couple of years as a racing yacht at the west cost of America , ALOTOLA was bought to Greece to become a charter yacht.

Leif Højby storry about how ALOTOLA came on Danish hands reads as follows:

“I bought the yacht together with two other people (Per Seifert and Svend Mørup) in the summer of 78, in the Piraeus , but the actual trade took a bit more than two years. We bought the yacht by instalments and we lacked 50,000 d.kr. that was supposed to be earned by charter cruises. However, the Greek owners took care that the yacht was not charted, but by help from a lawyer and a managing director of Handelsbanken, two jobless people (Per Seifert and I) was granted a loan of 50,000 d.kr. with guaranteed in the yacht, which was still in the Piraeus and not under Danish flag yet. We did not have to pay any regular settlings, but should pay back the loan as soon as we got the opportunity to sell shares of the yacht in Denmark .

Finally, it all got clarified in 1981 through serious bribery of various Greek authorities. As an example we paid for yacht to be listed as 19.5 gross register ton at the tonnage certificate. It was another story when we were facing the bill of clearance for a pleasure craft in Næstved [Danish town], because the customs officers thought the 19.5 was a bit close to 20 so they wrote, as far as I remember, 14 gross register ton at the tonnage certificate.

When we payed off the rest of the money we also paid for a new mainsail, but the sellers removed that and equipped the yacht with the old worn out one. Ebbe Jacob, whom I knew from Ballonparken [Danish social housing] and who has been sailing with Nordkaperen, gathered a crew of friends from Ballonparken and Nordkaperen, and went down to pick up the yacht and sail her home. They did not reach further than Marseille before the main sail was done for and the engine totally collapsed.

Then I sold my sharp-sterned vessel and got a new main sail made from the measurements Ebbe Jacob brought home with him. Per and I went to Marseille with some friends to sail the yacht home. We got help from the locals, overhaul the engine completely and sailed to Port Vendres in the Iberian Peninsula, where about Svend Mørup came by care from Denmark with the new main sail.

I was the skipper on an eventful journey home along the Spanish and Portuguese cost, across the Bay of Biscay etc. to Rødvig at Stevns [in Denmark] where we entered about October, 1st. 1981.

All my savings went on the ALOTOLA project, but I would under no circumstances have been without the adventure – it was worth all of it, no matter of prize."

Later the yachting corporation ALOTOLA was formed and the yacht went 1½ times around the world.

In the autumn 1986 ALOTOLA was taken over by the current owners, a group of people that have expanded over the years.

Lloyds have the following information's on ALOTOLA:

1. Record form the period 1936-42. Name: Water Wagon. Owner: Grover T. Garland. Address: 730 S. Broadway, Los Angeles , California . Homeward harbour: Los Angeles . Engine: 4 cylinder petrol 4 stroke. Brand/Fabricate: Frisbie. Overall length: 56-9. Waterline length: 41-5. Draught: 7-7. Width: 7-6. Shipyard: Stephens Brothers, Stockton California .  

2. Record form the period 1947-60. Name: ALOTOLA, before Renegade, before Water Wagon. Rigging in the beginning Aux. Sch. Later Aux Slp. Now the engine is a 6 cylender petrol engine of the brand/fabricate of Fray Skinnwe Bldg. Length is now 57-10. Owner in the period: Charles J. Frisbi, address: 801 Skinner Bldg, Seattle , Wash. Homeward bound: Seattle .

Denmark 2005