A NEW statue is set to be erected in honour of a long forgotten Gourock hero who remains one of the world's greatest yachtsmen of all time more than a century after his death.
Former grocer boy Charlie Barr went on to win the America's Cup three times and held onto a world record long after his passing.
Former councillor Ronnie Ahlfeld - along with Councillor Lynne Quinn - is teaming up with Charlie's great, great grandson, Alasdair Purves, to have a memorial to him at Cardwell Bay.
In his short life Charlie, who died tragically young at only 46, raced for royals and took on the likes of Lipton.
Now he will finally be recognised in his home town.
Ronnie said: "This is something that I wanted to put in place and I am glad we are finding the right spot.
I have worked closely with Alasdair. It is imortant that Charlie Barr is recognised and everyone knows his story.
"He was a working class boy from Gourock."
The Telegraph revealed in March 2020 that Alasdair was working closely with Ronnie.
Alasdair, who has made a short film about Charlie's heroics, has made telling the story his own life work.
Charlie Barr was born on the site of the town's Castle Mansions, by the Granny Kempock Stone in 1864.
The son of a boat rental businessman at Ashton, he started working life as an apprentice grocer before becoming a fisherman.
Even in those formative years at sea he made the headlines after saving the life of his crew.
Both Charlie and his older brother John discovered a flair for competitive racing.
In 1888 Charlie and John both moved to New York to compete.
Soon Charlie proved to be a star racing captain having struck up a winning partnership with the genius naval architect Nathanael Herreshoff, going on to sail his vessels to victory in his America's Cup campaigns.
Captain Barr won the world famous cup on three occasions - in 1899 at the age of only 35, in 1901 at the helm of Columbia and then on Reliance in 1903.
Two years after his last America's Cup victory, Charlie put himself into the world record books by setting a speed record which was not broken for 75 years, plus and a race record which stood for 100 years.
On that particular crossing he had taken on a challenge by Kaiser Wilhelm II to compete against ten other yachts.
But mid-race the owner of their schooner Atlantic lost his nerve in a terrifying three day storm and wanted to pull out.
Fearless Barr refused, locked the owner and his guest in the saloon and went on to win the race, averaging a record breaking 200 miles a day across the Atlantic Ocean.
Tragically his beloved wife Emily Smith was seriously ill at home and later died.
Charlie even found himself sailing against the British Monarchy, taking on King Edward VII in the Navahoe in 1893.
It was during that same sailing season he met his Emily, who worked in a marine shop making chronometers in Southampton.
Tragically Charlie also died young at the age of 46 in 1911.
Later this summer his descendant Alasdair will visit Gourock again to finalise plans for the statue.
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