Sailing the Miniature Seas

October 13, 2014

In 1750, HMY Royal Caroline set sail for the first time. As one of the most extravagant English royal yachts adorned with gleaming sails and an impressive figurehead, she spent her days transporting the royal family. She was so well-built that she wasn’t retired until 1820. Nearly two centuries later in 2002, the Royal Caroline was brought to life again by miniature artist Lloyd McCaffery.

McCaffery was only 12 years old when he stumbled across a picture of a model ship in a book and found his passion. His decades-long career has produced miniature wooden masterpieces like the Royal Caroline. Due to this ship’s tiny scale, one inch in the miniature equals 31 feet on the full-scale vessel, it just barely measures 4.5 inches. It is carved from holly wood, boxwood, and lemonwood. The five figures and crown of the figurehead are less than a quarter inch wide. Seven crew members and three passengers are sailing on this miniature voyage. While 18th century sailors did not have pleasant lives, we’d be happy to brush up on our sailing lingo and hop aboard McCaffery’s Royal Caroline for a day!