CLASSIC SUMMER 2012 SUPERYACHT From
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CSY02 Superyacht Cover F .indd 1 29/05/2012 17:31 RANGER - 42 metre J Class Available for sale through Edmiston
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SUPER YACHT SALES I CHARTER I MANAGEMENT I NEW CONSTRUCTION IssuE n0 2 COntEnts 5 Foreword 6 rise of the classic yacht scene 16 Eilean returns to antigua 6 22 angelo Bonati saves a wreck 24 World’s oldest 24 steam yacht 30 new spirit rising
30 Cover photo: Eliean by tim Wright
FrOM Dan HOustOn, EDItOr CLASSIC SUPERYACHT What’s in a name? www.classicboat.co.uk Liscartan House 127-131 Sloane Street, London SW1X 9AS The question, ‘what makes a classic boat’ is one that frequently
Editorial occupies us here at CB Towers, not to mention the forums at our Editor Dan Houston deputy Editor Sam Fortescue website: classicboat.co.uk. And most classics are obvious. Senior art Editor Peter Smith News Editor Steffan Meyric Hughes Take a boat like Eilean on p16, a quintessential classic of the 1930s. Publishing Consultant Martin Nott Proofing Vanessa Bird But there’s another definition – that of the spirit of tradition (p30). These boats are modern in their underwater hull form, but retain classic advErtiSiNg Senior Sales Executive lines above; think of wolves in sheep’s clothing. They’ll often have much Edward Mannering +44 (0)207 901 8016 [email protected] of the performance characteristics of modern yachts, but showing the Client relationship manager Louisa Skipper +44 (0)207 901 8014 grace and looks of a classic enough to pass off well at classic events. [email protected] Of course, they have to race in their own class, and SOT yachts advertisement production A l l p o i n t s m e d i a + 4 4 ( 0 ) 1 2 0 2 4 7 2 7 8 1 can’t be handicapped the same way as the venerable old classics, but www.allpointsmedia.co.uk Managing director Paul Dobson they do create an entirely new type of boat – the modern classic. deputy Managing director Steve Ross Commercial director Vicki Gavin So what fits the bill? Surely the 1930s J-Class (p34) is a thorough- Publisher Simon Temlett the Chelsea Magazine Company ltd bred classic? Curiously not. For although the J-Class have the same Liscartan House 127-131 Sloane Street, London SW1X 9AS lines as their deep-keeled forebears, their modern rigs and accoutre- +44 (0)20 7901 8000 www.chelseamagazines.com ments have propelled them into SOT. And far from being put down by Copyright the Chelsea Magazine Company 2012 all rights reserved that, the class is flourishing. There are now as many newbuilds as there ever were in the class heydey of the 1920s and 30s.
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CSY02 ContED.indd 3 30/05/2012 11:16 Agneta
82 ft Knud Reimers Yawl 1950 € 1,300,000 Lying France AGNETA has many features of the Square Metre yachts for which her It is probably not surprising with his lust for beautiful things that designer Knud Reimers became famous – but combined with those of Gianni Agnelli was to become AGNETA’s owner. More recently her fast ocean racers of the period making her perhaps an early version of light displacement and awesome performance has brought her wins today’s ‘mini maxis’. Having one of his designs described by Uffa Fox in the Vintage classes of Mediterranean Classic regattas. AGNETA “...as near to perfection as it is possible to get in this imperfect World” is offered in impressive condition and absolutely ready to classic Reimers’ AGNETA surely qualifies! race or cruise in comfort. Rowdy
59 ft Herreshoff New York 40 Bermudan Cutter 1916 € 1,150,000 Lying France As a ‘Fighting Forty’ ROWDY has dominated her class in classic 26,000 miles to the Americas Cup Jubilee. Authentic and her regattas. Meanwhile as the cruiser for which the class was principally condition hard to fault ROWDY today personifies the total versatility designed, her sister RUGOSA flew the flag in 2001 to voyage some of this design – one of very few as capable from any era.
33 High Street, Poole BH15 1AB, England. Tel: + 44 1202 330077 email: [email protected] www.sandemanyachtcompany.co.uk
Untitled-14 1 29/05/2012 10:22 CSY02 Forward2.indd 5 Cokok classics Clockwork FOReW CEO CEO BONATI, ANGELO PANERAI OFFICINE
O RD state ofdilapidation in2006.Fiveyears and and whereI discovered herinanadvanced Antigua, whereshe’dspent muchofherlife, she alsomadeherfirstreturn voyageto because ofherpresenceat Cowes.InApril, symbolically forEilean,andnotmerely her firstvisittoCowesthisyear. built byFifeofFairliein1936,willbemaking penned bydesignwizardWilliam FifeIIIand Officine Panerai’s Eilean,thebermudanketch protagonists andenthusiasts.Significantly, with alargethrongoflikemindedsailing Wight, tocelebrateapieceofmaritimehistory way tothelegendaryCowes,onIsleof our racingcalendar. InJuly, ittakesusallthe Classic Week hasbeenoneofthehighpoints has etchedinherwood. ing storiesthateachoneofthesebeautifulcraft explore auniqueworld,thankstothefascinat- new aswellofferingustheopportunityto Challenge. Eachseasonbringsmuchthatis involvement withthePaneraiClassicYachts nary worldofvintagesailingthroughits helping tosustainandpromotetheextraordi- ted. Foreightyears,OfficinePaneraihasbeen enthusiasm drivesthepassionateandcommit- Just asthewindfillssailswithpowerandlife, This year, infact,isaveryimportantyear For thelastthreeyears,PaneraiBritish superbly rich and rewarding. superbly rich andrewarding. will notbesurprised tolearn,looksset tobe way toendaseasonthat, ClassicBoatreaders challenges thepowerof ocean.Whatbetter ladies oftheseawithvalour ofmanashe nary racethatunitesthebeauty ofthegreat Panerai Transat Classiqueisatruly extraordi- their wayacrosstheAtlantictoBarbados. the exclusiveClubeNavaldeCascais,torace yachts willleaveCascaisinPortugal,hometo December, dozensoflegendaryclassicsailing season: thePaneraiTransat Classique. On2 as thebigadditiontoPanerai’s clasicsailing feel istheunmissablechallengeof2012,aswell courageous folkembarkingonwhatIpersonally waters, thistimeinBarbados,awaitallthose of theCaribbeanonceagain. as waswatchinghersailtheturquoisewaters warmly appreciatedwasincrediblyrewarding, went intoEilean’s faithfulrestorationso before herdecline.Seeingthehugeeffortthat ebrated withgreatjoybyallthatknewher Classic Yacht Regatta,herreturnwascel- ocean currents.ThroughouttheAntigua powered onlybythewindandstrong Eilean sailedbackacrosstheAtlanticOcean, endless hoursofmeticulousrestorationlater, An event held only every four years, the An eventheldonlyeveryfouryears,the Different butequallybeautifulturquoise CLASSIC SUPERYACHT SUMMER 2012
29/05/2012 15:02 CORY SILKEN 5 CLASSIC ComebACk Wooden boats are no longer niche. Steffan Meyric Hughes looks at the resurgent scene
CSY02 Classic Yacht scene.indd 6 30/05/2012 11:57 CSY02 Classic Yacht scene.indd 7 30/05/2012 11:57 CARIbbEAN The Caribbean regattas attract the world’s largest and fastest yachts in the spirit of tradition class. The islands of St Barths, St Martin and Antigua are increasingly host to this growing, largely American, scene where yachts cost tens of millions and are often well over 100ft (30m), like This is Us, the 125ft (38m) black schooner in this photo, taken at the St Barths Bucket in March.
FIFES oN ThE ClydE
The yachts of William Fife III, third in a line of Scottish naval architects and boatbuilders, today represent the apex of classic yacht desirability. Every five years, they gather on the Clyde Estuary near their ‘birthplace’ to celebrate. This photo is of The Lady Anne, a 75ft (22.9m) PREVIOUS SPREAD JAMES ROBINSON TAYLOR, PANERAI ROBINSON TAYLOR, SPREAD JAMES PREVIOUS cutter built in 1912. MARC TURNER
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CSY02 Classic Yacht scene.indd 8 30/05/2012 11:57 CLASSIC YACHT SCENE Cory SILKEN Cory J-CLASS RACING No class has grown like the J-Class over the last five years. As well as the three Charles Nicholson originals dating from their heyday in the 1930s (Endeavour, Velsheda and Shamrock V), there are now five new boats in build or sailing. A record turnout of five is expected to race in the English Channel, at Falmouth and Cowes, this summer. The photo above shows Velsheda and Hanuman racing at the St Barths Bucket earlier this year. TIM WrIGHT
y the end of the 1960s, modernity was the watchword of the developed world. Boats ANTIPODES were increasingly built in a new material called glass-reinforced plastic, the moon Classic yacht racing in Australia and New had been conquered, new cityscapes Zealand is healthy, well-established and meant people could live communally and growing. Couta workboats regularly sail cheerfully in high-rise blocks and alongside yachts at Aussie regattas. New Bcomputers would one day make work a thing of the past. Zealand’s scene is centred around Auckland Of course, history has shown just how rapidly some on the North Isle, where there has been a of those bold hopes faded. The dreams created a world great boom in restorations of yachts drawn we quickly began to see as a throw-away society of by ‘New Zealand’s Fife’, Arch Logan. Here, rampant consumerism, and plastic, more than any other Thelma (Arch Logan, 1898, 76ft/23.2m) substance, became its symbol. Suddenly, modernity
chases Prize (Chas Bailey, 1923, 43ft/13.1m). Cb arCHIvES seemed rather reactionary.
CLASSIC SUPERYACHT SUMMER 2012 9
CSY02 Classic Yacht scene.indd 9 30/05/2012 11:57 CLASSIC YACHT SCENE
IN THE MED
The Mediterranean is, to coin a pun, the centre of the classic yacht racing world, with an annual calendar of events in the old port towns that attract large fleets of classics great and small. The watchwords are authenticity, respect and varnish, varnish, varnish. The warm summer nights are alive with moored yachts, passers-by and crews partying the night away. Much of the racing is under the rules of the venerable CIM (Comité International de la Méditerranée), founded in 1926. And be warned – not any old boat can join in. The photo shows the schooner Sunshine built in 2003 of Dutch steel in Burma, but to the original 1900 design by Fife III, and with a rosewood and teak interior. She measures 101ft (31m). MARK LLoyd PANERAI MARK LLoyd PANERAI GB CLASSIC
The latest addition to the Panerai season, this British Classic Yacht Club event from 7 to 14 July is one of the premier outings for classic yachts in British waters. Taking place off Cowes, where it all began, there were 70 entries in 2011, and high hopes of more this year. On the up-and-up with Panerai behind it. ORGANISERS
Yachting caps on the quayside at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, probably the greatest regatta of them all and the one that ends the northern hemisphere season. Then it’s on to the Caribbean for many... Classic yacht regattas are still very much on the up, despite the economic turmoil.
We don’t know how big this thing is going to go! NIGEL PERT NIGEL PERT
It’s not such a great surprise, then, that the first event many millions of pounds – in 1987, the re-launch of the for classic wooden yachts emerged as early as 1973, Fife III-designed schooner Altair set the benchmark for with the Opera House Regatta on Nantucket Island. It what an authentic restoration ought to be, and for the was followed soon after by the launch of WoodenBoat next two decades, it seemed that hardly a month passed magazine, which hosted the first WoodenBoat Festival without the restoration of one of the great yachts from at Port Townsend near Seattle in 1977. Four years later, yachting’s glamorous past. a bar wager in the resort town of St Tropez in southern Then, in the August of 2001, there was a watershed France prompted a race between new and old: a Swan moment, not in the centre of the classic yachting world, 44 and a 12-Metre yacht. The 12-M won. The race the blue seas of the western Mediterranean, but on the became known as the Nioulargue, and it is now called Solent, off England’s South Coast. The America’s Cup Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. Jubilee, held off Cowes to commemorate 150 years A comprehensive circuit of classic yacht regattas since the first America’s Cup was held there, attracted a soon sprang up on the shores of the western fleet of classics the likes of which had never been seen Mediterranean, prompting huge restorations costing before and has never been seen since. The fleet of 208
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CSY02 Classic Yacht scene.indd 10 31/05/2012 10:36 PENDENNIS CUP
A biennial regatta held by the superyacht builder Pendennis, near Falmouth in Cornwall, this event aims to attract big boats. 2012 will mark the third iteration of the event, and a fleet of 14 yachts is slated to attend, made up of vintage classics, modern spirit of tradition yachts and a couple of modern yachts. This photo shows the Fife III Mariquita (right) and, in her black livery, the Herreshoff schooner Mariette.
CLASSIC SUPERYACHT SUMMER 2012 11
CSY02 Classic Yacht scene.indd 11 30/05/2012 11:57 CLASSIC YACHT SCENE
PARTY TIME
This new 185ft (56m) three-masted schooner is a replica of a legend: the schooner Atlantic, raced across the Atlantic in 1905 by skipper Charlie Barr and crew, to set a speed record (just over 12 days) that would last 75 years. She’s pictured here hosting crews during the 2011 Trophée Bailli de Suffren offshore race for classics.
NIGEL PERT 15-METREs With the recent re-launch of Hispania (far left), these four form a quartet of yachts built in the same era and to drawings by the same designer (Wm Fife III), to race under the same rule – the International Rule, often known as the ‘Metre Rule’. They are: Mariska (1908), Tuiga and Hispania (1909), and The Lady Anne
caRLo boRLENGhI caRLo (1912), all around 75ft (22.9m).
included seemingly every significant large classic yacht a phenomenal rate since 2010. The scene throughout the there was. In those few sunny days, pockets of interest northern hemisphere continues to expand every year. from all around the world met in one place, and the Today, classic yacht racing is spreading beyond Europe, effect on the scene was galvanising. America and the Caribbean to South America – Brazil’s Not long after it, big-name sponsorship entered first classic regatta started in 2011 and Argentina has had classic yacht racing, first with the fashion house Prada a small scene established for longer. then, in 2005, with the Italian watchmaker Panerai. GRP classics are gaining popularity in America, as are Similar things were happening in New Zealand, newly-built spirit of tradition yachts – modern boats with Australia, Scandinavia, Britain and Canada, and by looks that hark back to a bygone era (usually the 1930s). 2006, the annual events guide in Classic Boat magazine Large-scale restorations are now giving way to large began listing in excess of 300 regattas. replicas; in recent years, the schooners Atlantic, Today, the scene continues to grow, most notably in Westward, Elena and Germania have all risen from the Scandinavia, where the new Baltic Series set in the historic pages of yachting history. But, as with rebuilds large and ports of Finland, Sweden and Russia, has been growing at small, regattas continue to be the driving force.
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CSY02 Classic Yacht scene.indd 12 30/05/2012 11:57 The M52. Redefining Elegance.
Morris M-Series
Bass Harbor Office www.morrisyachts.com Newport Office 53 Granville Road +1 207-244-5509 Newport Shipyard, 1 Washington Street Bass Harbor, ME 04653 USA [email protected] Newport, RI 02840 USA
Untitled-4 1 21/05/2012 15:44 CLASSIC YACHT SCENE
2012 MED SEASON
For more details of classic yacht regattas 12-15 July and passage races in the Mediterranean, regata CoPa gitana (sPain) see the new CIM website: www.cim- classicyachts.org 10-12 auguST trofeo illes balears (sPain) 14-17 JuNE argentario sailing Week 13-19 auguST (italy) trofeo CondÉ almirante (sPain) 14-17 JuNE les voiles du vieux Port 26 auguST – 2 SEPTEMbER (franCe) CorsiCa ClassiC (franCe)
24-30 JuNE 28-31 auguST semana nÁutiCa ClÁsiCa del CoPa del rey (sPain) mar menor (sPain) PaNERaI 5-9 SEPTEMbER 27 JuNE – 1 July vele d’ePoCa di imPeria (italy) vele d’ePoCa a naPoli (italy) 19-22 SEPTEMbER rÉgates de niCe (franCe) 23 JuNE – 4 July troPhÉe bailli 24-29 SEPTEMbER de suffren (med) rÉgates royales Cannes (franCe) 6-8 July raduno di gaeta 29 SEPTEMbER– 7 OCTObER (italy) les voiles de saint-troPez (franCe) 11-14 July regata Puig 5-7 OCTObER PaNERaI (sPain) vele storiChe (italy)
Top: Moored in St Tropez Above: Racing REST OF THE WORLD at Antibes 7–14 July 9-12 auguST 7-9 SEPTEMbER Panerai ClassiC Week robbe & berking sterling Port toWnsend Wooden Third time that the watch brand has CuP, germany boat festival, usa sponsored this great event. Racing in the 6-Metre, 8-Metre and Washington, another of the original Tel: +44 (0)1983 245100 12-Metre classes in Flensburg. regattas for classic yachts, attracting more www.britishclassicyachtclub.org Tel: +49 (0)461 3180 3060 than 300 craft. www.classics.robbeberking.de Tel: +1 (360) 385 3628 9-24 July www.woodenboat.org olymPiC Centenary, sWeden 19 auguST Series of regattas to commemorate the oPera house CuP regatta, 9 OCTObER 1912 Olympics. www.cbm2012.eu usa barColana ClassiC, italy Nantucket, Mass. The oldest yacht regatta 43rd year of this big regatta in Trieste 2-5 auguST in the world? This year sees its 40th with modern, traditional and super risor festival, norWay anniversary, again, sponsored by Panerai. yachts racing round the cans. One of the biggest and best. Tel: +47 9138 Tel: +1 508 325 7757 Tel: +39 040 411 664 7355, www.trebatfestivalen.no www.operahousecup.org www.barcolana.it LOOKING AHEAD TO 2013
When the northern hemisphere action ends, it all starts in the Antipodes. Check www.classicyacht.org.nz for New Zealand events and www.classic-yacht.asn.au for Australia. Next up are the Caribbean events in April/May, with Antigua as their flagship. Hopes are high for the return of the quinquennial ‘Fifes on the Clyde’ regatta in Scotland, too. All will be revealed in April’s Classic Boat, which lists more than 300 events in Britain and around the world.
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CSY02 Classic Yacht scene.indd 14 30/05/2012 11:57 Spirit Yachts | The Ultimate Modern Classic
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SpiritYachts_CB_June12_AW.indd 1 18/4/12 22:47:46 CSY02 Eilean 5 pages.indd 16 29/05/2012 17:58 RetuRn to AntiguA Eilean sails again in Caribbean waters, helmed by Simon Le Bon, whose Duran Duran video made her famous. By Dan Houston
CSY02 Eilean 5 pages.indd 17 29/05/2012 17:58 EILEAN Yoichi Yabe Yoichi Yoichi Yabe Yoichi
Top: Former imon Le Bon has to concentrate. He’s not as a local charter yacht by a piratical-looking Frenchman owner John just the lead singer of the band Duran (of English parents) called John Shearer. Then she was Shearer and Duran today; he’s also yacht racing. More crashed into by a freighter while in Malaga harbour in a Angelo Bonati than that, he’s helming the 73ft (22.3m) gale, and although she’d lost her mizzen and had deep in classic wooden boat that the band used to damage to her bulwarks, John was able to sail her back discussion. make their video for Rio in 1982, almost to Antigua for repairs. She went into the mangroves Above: English exactly 30 years ago, in exactly the same opposite the pretty boutiques and rum shops of English Harbour, Antigua Swaters – south of Antigua, West Indies. Harbour and, for the best part of two decades, With 22 of us on deck and a good 15 knot breeze, deteriorated in the unforgiving sun. there is plenty going on. Simon is getting constant She became a bit of a cause célèbre among the passing feedback about Eilean’s performance, as well as the yachtsmen, one of whom, William Shawcross, had proximity of other yachts around us – some of which he sailed Eilean in his youth. His father, the celebrated can’t see because of the blind spots behind the sails. barrister of the Nuremberg trials and Labour MP, Sir There are nearly 60 of them, with the usual mix of Hartley Shawcross, had bought her in 1964, and cruised designs, including modern classics, and we’re racing at her in the Balearics. William remembers seeing the ketch the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, 19-24 April, an again in the 1990s, in Antigua: “I recognised her beautiful event which, like CB, has celebrated its 25th birthday lines and took a dinghy across the harbour to see her, this year. Eilean is almost as famous as Duran Duran remembering the carefree days of youth. I stood on her here. CB has covered the restoration of the 1936 Wm filthy decks, horrified at the state into which she had RY SiLKeN RY Fife ketch, including her Transatlantic voyage back to fallen. Her interior had been taken out and I thought the West Indies (CB286). how wonderful if I could buy her and bring her back to She’s not featured in this supplement because she is a her former glory. But I left her rotting under the trees…” superyacht, but because she has a superlative pedigree It was to be a few years more, in 2006, when another
PReVioUS SPReaD co PReVioUS as a classic. She was run from 1974, into the late 1980s sailor, a certain Angelo Bonati, also saw Eilean and this
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CSY02 Eilean 5 pages.indd 18 29/05/2012 17:58 time persuaded Shearer to sell the boat. Bonati is the Above: Eilean boss of the luxury watchmaker Panerai, which, in 2005, under a press had begun sponsoring classic yacht regattas, including of canvas in Antigua. He took Eilean back to Italy, where a team Right: Bending of craftsmen restored her over three years. She had new on the sails steel ring frames, but they kept 70% of her teak planks; Below right: her original masts had been largely eaten by termites, so Chef Stef and new spruce masts were made in Holland. Her teak deck Dan Ventner on and interior are all new, as well, but much of her deck the foredeck furniture and fittings were refurbished. Eilean was relaunched at La Spezia in 2009 and sailed again in 2010. It was always Bonati’s dream to return CORY SILKEN CORY her to Antigua. Bringing Duran Duran out for the 30th anniversary of the Rio video was the icing on the cake. For most of the racing, though, Simon Le Bon has been helming and Bonati has been discussing with sailmakers how to get the best out of the 76 year-old ketch. She’s racing for the first time in decades and some tweaking of the rig and sails will be needed. To be fair, she was never built to win races, but with her large press of canvas, she can be very exciting to sail. And there’s plenty of excitement when someone like Simon Le Bon is on the helm; among sailors, he is as well known for campaigning his yacht Drum in the CORY SILKEN CORY
CLASSIC SUPERYACHT SUMMER 2012 19
CSY02 Eilean 5 pages.indd 19 29/05/2012 17:58 EILEAN TiM WRiGhT oN Yoichi Yabe Yoichi DaN ho UST DaN
Top: John 1985 Fastnet race, where she lost her keel – Le Bon and Simon, who was joined by fellow band members Shearer helms crew were trapped underwater for 40 minutes. He went Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor for the last two days his beloved on to campaign the same boat in the 1985/86 and prize giving at the regatta, remembers going to Eilean off Whitbread Round the World Race. Antigua with Duran Duran to make two videos – Rio Antigua again So the atmosphere on Eilean is concentrated. and (Waiting for the) Nightboat. Above: Nick No-one, for instance, is talking about making that “Eilean was the biggest boat any of us had been on Rhodes and video, which helped propel Duran Duran to worldwide – 73ft was a lot of boat at that time. We hired her for Simon Le Bon, success. After the race, Simon lets on that he has not a week, but we did the filming in two days. Antigua of Duran Duran raced at a classic yacht event before. But he now keeps a was a fantastic place and I think the experience got with Sig Bonati 29ft (8.8m) motor boat, a classic Riva Aquarama, for me back into sailing. It certainly led to buying the and the crew of use on the Italian lakes. “I don’t get to use her as much Maxi yacht Drum. Lone Fox at the as I should, but we take the boat to Ibiza most summers “It’s amazing seeing and sailing Eilean again. She prizegiving – she’ll do 50 knots. was an important boat for us and we’d heard she was Above right: “I first got into sailing when I was 11. A local vicar being restored. I think she looks in even better condition John Shearer, (Simon was in a church choir) took a group of us sailing now, but she has those original fittings like her wheel Don Street and on the Norfolk Broads – it must have been 1970, and compass binnacle, and her deckhouses, where you Simon Le Bon because Lola by the Kinks was at the top of the charts. can see dents and scrapes under the new varnish – stuff He had a Mirror dinghy which we towed behind a like that makes her the same boat that was built by the bigger boat, and I took this Mirror out and got the bug. Fairlie craftsmen back in the 1930s.” I joined Ruislip Sailing Club, sailing Graduates. Crewing In May, Eilean was shipped to the UK and is due to was easy, but when I started helming, I realised there take part in the Panerai-sponsored BCYC regatta at was a lot more to it than that; in sailing it’s the person Cowes in July. From there she will make her way back who makes the least number of errors who wins.” to the Mediterranean.
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CSY02 Eilean 5 pages.indd 20 29/05/2012 17:58 IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY BINOCULARS
28 EAST 72ND STREET AT MADISON AVENUE NEW YORK NY 10021 (212) 772 2664 [email protected] www.nicholasbrawer.com
nb_classicboat_oct2011.indd 1 2011/08/21 7:06 PM CSY02 Bonati.indd 22 29/05/2012 14:57 Angelo BonAti eileAn’s sAviour When he first set eyes onEilean in 2006, Angelo Bonati was in Antigua. It was love at first sight, as he explains to Dan Houston
o who is Angelo Bonati? A lot of us she was half covered in rust, but she was still afloat. She sailing at classic regattas over the last is an important piece of history, and I saw an affinity seven years have probably heard his between her design and the Panerai brand – which is name; we may even have met him, at one also about good design and the sea. of the cool hospitality tents set up by “I looked over her with her former owner (John luxury watchmaker Panerai – which has Shearer) and I just fell in love with the boat.” He made a name for itself as a specialist returned home and hatched a plan to buy Eilean for Ssponsor of classic yacht regattas... and which he runs. restoration: “I researched our Italian boatyards to find Signor Bonati, as colleagues call him, is a one that could faithfully restore a classic yacht, and I businessman specialising in luxury brands. He took found Del Carlo in Viareggio. John Shearer saw the over as CEO of Panerai in 2000 and, in 10 years, took opportunity of Eilean being restored back to her the company from relative obscurity to being one of splendid beauty and so he sold her to us and she was the world’s leading luxury watchmakers. Panerai, taken to Italy for restoration. I spent every weekend founded in 1860, had limited itself to making divers’ crossing Italy from my office in Milan to the Viareggio watches for the Italian Navy – it invented luminous yard during the three years’ work; we became a team!” hands and numbers – and producing specialist instruments. Up until 1993, when the Navy’s needs Emotional rEturn changed and Panerai was forced to branch out, it had Eilean was relaunched to much fanfare (and hundreds made just 300 or 400 pieces. These original watches of international press) in La Spezia in late 2009. For Sig command eye-watering sums on the watch auction Bonati, getting the Fife afloat again brought out some market today. strong emotions. “I had a flashback, to that special Panerai watches are not lightweight – the make is moment when I found her, and every single further synonymous with chunky timepieces that help your moment dedicated to her restoration. Sailing her for the arm to swing like a pendulum. And they are not first time was simply a beautiful experience, and the cheap: the entry-level costs more than £2,500. But as craftsmanship that had been put back into the boat the 1990s progressed, the brand acquired a huge meant she was like a work of art that had been brought cachet, especially with actors like back to life. It was at that moment Sylvester Stallone, who ordered a “Sailing her for the that I realised the investment had special run called Slytech to give been worth it.” to his friends. In 1997, it was first time was simply a The yacht appeared at the taken over by the luxury house beautiful experience” Panerai-sponsored 2010 regattas, Richemont, which lists Cartier though she was not yet racing. and Mont Blanc pens among its brands. And Sig However, there was always a desire to bring her back Bonati was brought in as international sales and to Antigua, where she is so well known, and so she marketing manager. was sailed to the Caribbean in February (see CB286). Bonati is a sailor – he keeps a Hallberg-Rassy yacht On the delivery trip, which I was lucky enough to be in Liguria, so in 2005, five years after becoming CEO, it part of, we kept in daily touch with Bonati via texts seemed a natural step to start sponsoring the from our satellite phone. At one point we diverted to burgeoning number of classic yacht regattas. Panerai Cape Verde (because of a gas leak) and we almost now supports a number of these events in the anticipated him joining us there; he was especially Mediterranean, Caribbean, American East Coast and, interested in our fishing, as he is in all aspects of the since 2010, at Cowes in the UK. yacht; at Antigua he was deep in conversation with a The watchmaker had begun sponsorship of the sailmaker about improving her performance. Left: Angelo well-regarded Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta in 2005, “Arriving in Antigua was a truly emotional moment Bonati onboard but it was at the 2006 event that Bonati first sawEilean , for me,” says Bonati. “She is so well known there. All the restored looking forlorn in the mangroves of English Harbour. the boats starting blowing hooters and horns and I do
YOichi Yabe YOichi ketch Eilean “She appeared really damaged by neglect and time, and confess I had a tear in my eye.”
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CSY02 Bonati.indd 23 30/05/2012 11:27 CSY02 Cangarda.indd 24 29/05/2012 17:41 edwardian splendour It’s full ahead for Cangarda, the world’s largest steam yacht. Words and pictures by Kathy Mansfield
CSY02 Cangarda.indd 25 29/05/2012 17:41 CANGARDA
he turn of the last century in America panelling and windows protecting them from the breeze, was a time of opulence. It was also the with a curved mahogany staircase leading below to the turn of a great economic cycle, the four double staterooms and two guest bathrooms. Both resurgence from the recession caused by the owner’s stateroom and a larger VIP stateroom were the railroad bond bubble that burst in lit by mahogany skylights fitted with Tiffany glass. In 1873. New ideas were emerging and the evening, owner and guests would go for’ard to the fortunes being made. And it was not until deck-level dining room that seated up to 10, gleaming T1913 that America introduced a proper income tax, so with a varnished Cuban mahogany sideboard plus the wealthy were doing very well indeed. panelling, silver candlesticks and serving dishes, In this febrile atmosphere, magnificent homes were leather-upholstered dining chairs, and the large, bevelled built and yachting became the favoured sport. The glass windows framing the view of harbour and coast. boats of the wealthy raced in Long Island Sound, and Above the dining room is the ship’s wheel and steam yachts were the ultimate in what we now would binnacle; below decks for’ard are quarters for the call superyacht design. And one of the finest of them all, Captain, eight crew and a galley, and behind that, the the sumptuous 126ft (38.4m) steam yacht Cangarda, large engine-room. With a beam of just 17ft (5.2m) and was launched in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1901. a 7ft (2.1m) draught, Cangarda is an elegantly classic At the time, she was one of many, but today shape with an easily-driven hull. Cangarda is the only American-built steam yacht in existence and one of only three steam yachts in the changing hands world. She is firmly in the tradition of Edwardian She was built in less than five months at the Pusey & splendour, with her clipper bow, trailboards picked out Jones Boatyard in Wilmington, Delaware, which had in intricate gold leaf, her low-slung sheer, raked masts launched the Edward Burgess-designed America’s Cup and stack, and the burnished mahogany superstructure. defender Volunteer in 1887. Her first owner was White canvas awnings stretched on frames over the aft Charles Canfield from Michigan, who had made his deck, to protect the elegantly dressed owner and his money in the lumber trade. He named the boat using his friends from coal dust when at full stretch. own name and that of his wife, Belle Gardner. During the day, passengers could also sit in the They sold her in 1903 to George Fulford of graceful smoking room just for’ard of the aft deck, its Brockfield, Ontario. He was an MP in Canada when he
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CSY02 Cangarda.indd 26 29/05/2012 17:41 wasn’t selling “pink pills for pale people”, a dubious Above and left: concoction containing iron. He owned a grand The mahogany 20,000sqft (1,850m2) mansion, now a museum, on the dining room banks of the St Lawrence River in the Thousand Islands seats 10 in area, a perfect place to moor a magnificent steam yacht. splendour George died in 1905, the first Canadian to be killed in a Right: Classic car accident, but his family kept and used the boat, now counter stern named Magedoma, using syllables from the names of his wife and children. For 20 years they cruised the Thousand Islands, and on 5 August 1927, hosted a memorable dinner cruise for the Prince of Wales, later Duke of Kent, the British Prime Minister, Sir Stanley Baldwin, and the Canadian PM, William Lyon Mackenzie King. It is said that guests of summer hotels along their route cheered the yacht as she steamed past with royal colours flying. Once the Second World War erupted, the Fulford family donated Magedoma to the Royal Canadian Navy for training cadets. She was returned in poor condition, and the family sold her to Cameron Peck, who added her to his collection of 12 steam yachts and 168 cars. She was being repaired and converted from coal to oil in 1954 when Peck concluded he was dying of cancer. He sold all his possessions and moved to Arizona – where he lived another 30 years. Frederic Burtis Smith bought her, returned her name to the original, and lived aboard for 30 years in Rochester, upstate New York. It was probably thanks to
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CSY02 Cangarda.indd 27 29/05/2012 17:41 CANGARDA
his efforts that Cangarda did not sink into oblivion like so many fine old boats that had no place in the new world of middle-class leisure and glassfibre. In the 1980s, an attempt was made to restore her by Richard Reedley, and all interior fittings, interior and deckhouses, engines and equipment were removed for storage near Boston, Massachusetts. The John W Sullivan triple-expansion steam engine went for reconditioning to the Kew Bridge Steam Museum in London, and the hull was partly re-plated. Unfortunately, Reedley became ill, money ran out, and in 1999, the hull sank in Boston Harbour. But Cangarda came to the notice of Elizabeth Meyer, the restorer of the J-Class Endeavour, who had her raised and moved to Fairhaven, Massachusetts, to join the safely-stored deckhouses and interior. If the right person came along, here was a stunning, if rather overwhelming, restoration project. Five years later, in 2004, that person proved to be venture capitalist Bob McNeil, though he suggests that the boat found him rather than the other way round. From San Francisco, Bob was an ocean racing enthusiast, and had already restored and raced a Herreshoff P-Boat, Joyant, using the exacting work of Jeff Rutherford in Richmond, California.
painstaking restoration Bob saw the original hull, deckhouses and other parts of Cangarda while attending the 2002 Herreshoff Rendezvous. The idea of restoring the last of America’s Edwardian-era steam yachts became a dream that he through, and was replaced with welded plates, rather Above: Elegant figured could become reality. A deal was struck with than the original riveted construction. aft deck in the Elizabeth Meyer, the original Pusey & Jones plans were In order to cruise meaningful distances, the original evening sun obtained, and hundred of photographs of the boat were 1911 Almy coal-fired boiler was replaced with an Below: Brightly scanned in order to replicate details as completely as oil-fired system, automated with electronic controls as polished brass possible. The plan was to move the boat out west for well as manual. Modern navigation and communication engine top restoration at Rutherford’s Boatshop, then cruise the equipment was installed, though carefully, so as to be west and east coasts and take her on a trip to Europe. concealed. Hydraulic steering was also fitted, a couple At over 60 tonnes and steam-powered, the vessel is of diesel generators tucked in where the coal bins used subject to US Coast Guard regulations. The hull, to be, and the galley cooker converted to gas. Other therefore, needed to be rebuilt to American Bureau of than this limited modernisation, the boat is as original Shipping standards, with two layers of plywood fitted as possible. When the Fulford grandchildren came below a teak deck, and various health and safety aboard at Brockville, Ontario, in 2011, they saw the measures introduced. The hull had, in any case, rusted boat of 1905. So much had survived – the Cuban mahogany deckhouses, the fo’c’s’le, bulkheads, skylights, staircase, handrails, furniture, fixtures, portholes, anchor, windlass – even the boarding ladder. The four staterooms were preserved, though not the crew quarters and galley. It is a rare restoration that is able to incorporate so much that is in such good condition. With its original riveted bulkhead, the enormous engine-room behind the galley is much as it was with its seven engines – the Sullivan triple-expansion main steam engine with its bright polished brass engine top and valve covers; two feed pumps, one a backup, providing water to the boiler; the steam circulating pump driving seawater through the condenser; an engine to pump
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CSY02 Cangarda.indd 28 29/05/2012 17:41 CANGARDA
water out of the condenser and into the air pump where down to New York City, then up the Erie Canal to Above left: any oil is filtered out before returning the water to the Canada and Brockville on the St Lawrence Seaway, to Cangarda’s boiler. The last two engines power a bilge pump and a make a nostalgic return to Fulford Place, to the delight shady aft deck windlass. The original valves and sight gauges, all bright of the local inhabitants. Above top: polished brass, are still used, and the electric panel and “It is nice and quiet sailing on a steam vessel,” says Owner Bob steam pressure sensors are reinstalled along with the Bob. “None of the roar of an internal combustion McNeil firing original telegraph bell. It’s a magnificent sight in itself. engine, just like sailing. Though, also just like sailing, the cannon one needs to pay attention to this beautiful lady. She Above bottom: extensive cruising deserves the respect of a good seagoing boat.” Sunset, riding Cangarda was relaunched in 2009 – dramatically, Climbing Cangarda’s mahogany boarding ladder for at anchor almost capsizing as she came down the slipway – and the first time during last year’s Camden and Eggemoggin since then has been very actively used. Her first trip Reach Races in Penobscot Bay, Maine, I was struck by was from San Francisco to Los Angeles, through 9ft her other-worldliness. Relaxing in deckchairs under the (2.7m) beam seas, when air got into the fuel oil lines white awnings of the afterdeck and retreating to the off the coast of Monterey. The experienced crew smoking room and, later, the magnificent dining room, switched to manual operation, making it possible to was a voyage back in time. relight the engines. Every feature and detail spoke of a different era. I asked Bob about that trip: “The great significance There were differences, of course: our clothes were less was Cangarda’s seaworthiness as she lay in the wave cumbersome and more comfortable, and Bob himself troughs in the high seas and winds that built to 35 cooked dinner – and had also designed the launch. But knots-plus that afternoon. When back under way, she the hiss of steam the next morning was totally showed a seaworthy delight as she surfed down the authentic, the pistons working down in the engine- late afternoon swells.” room totally original, the surge of power as we started After a brief stay in Los Angeles and San Diego, through the harbour, surely the finest boat there, a Cangarda steamed on down to Mexico, where she was moment to savour. There were ghosts here: Charles transported by ship to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. From Canfield, George Fulford and his family, and Nat there she steamed up the east coast to Isleboro, Maine, Herreshoff, whose grandson Halsey was aboard, acting again on her own bottom. The next year, she voyaged as navigator on Joyant.
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CSY02 Cangarda.indd 29 29/05/2012 17:41 Spirit of tradition A shortage of Big Class yachts for restoration means a new breed of thoroughly modern classic is rising. Peter Willis reports
CSY02 Spiirt of TraditionV2indd.indd 30 30/05/2012 11:43 CSY02 Spiirt of TraditionV2indd.indd 31 29/05/2012 15:35 SPIRIT OF TRADITION
Above and left: Hetarios was launched in May 2011 Right: Morris Yachts’ M80 as it could look
hoever came up with the ‘spirit furnishings, as well as providing space for all the of tradition’ tagline was a accoutrements of modern living that the great designers genius. It expresses perfectly the had never heard of, much less considered incorporating. value placed on the classic lines of Fife, Mylne and their peers, dutch masters and the aspiration to emulate Interestingly though, even tradition is not immune to their grace and elegance, without the vagaries of fashion, and there is currently a distinct Wbeing constrained to follow their views on hull form. It move towards more of a workboat look at the bow, provides naval architects with glorious role models and with a widespread trend for plumb stems. Both Gerard inspiration while leaving them free to bring to the party Dijkstra and Andre Hoek have designed recently- more modern thinking on the dynamics of sailing. launched boats in this style. The movement is well placed to fill the gap in supply Hetarios, the 220ft (67.1m) Dykstra ketch (formerly as the pool of restorable Big Class centenarians dries up. known as Panamax) launched by Baltic Yachts last year, It also enables owners to specify their own requirements, combines the plumb bow “of a Bristol Pilot Cutter” and express their own tastes in terms of interior with a long bowsprit, a graceful sheerline and a PREVIOUS SPREAD SPIRIt 100 © 2012 tIm WRIght. All RIghtS RESERVED All RIghtS SPREAD SPIRIt 100 © 2012 tIm WRIght. PREVIOUS
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CSY02 Spiirt of TraditionV2indd.indd 32 29/05/2012 15:35 Modern Morris Yachts Above: Morris Yachts’ luxury In Maine, USA, Morris Yachts reports it is currently building its second Sparkman & Stephens–designed M52 under way M52. Described as a classically-styled cruising yacht it is currently the largest built vessel in the company’s repertoire, having evolved from the daysailer M36, launched eight years ago and with numbers sold approaching 70, and the M42, a weekender with a large daysailing cockpit. Sales of the M42 are now in their mid-20s, with exports to Holland and Peru. Design drawings for an M65 and an M80, again by S&S, are already available for those seeking greater luxury or longer-distance cruising.
Left: Hoek’s joint project with Wally Yachts to produce a design based upon the 1893 America’s Cup contender Pilgrim
traditional long overhang. Kamaxitha, 160ft 8in (49m), is another Dykstra design from the Royal Huisman Kamaxitha yard, which again references Pilot Cutters, as well as awaiting spars Brixham Trawlers. Andre Hoek has a 151ft (46m) ‘Pilot before her Classic Ketch’ in build, again with Royal Huisman, as launch in 2011 well as a 192ft (58.5m) design on the drawing board. Hoek has also entered into a joint project with Wally Yachts to produce a design based upon the 1893 America’s Cup contender Pilgrim, which had a fin keel, spade rudder – and even a bow rudder. The project arose out of a discussion between Andre Hoek and Wally’s Luca Bassani about what the likes of Fife and Herreshoff would have come up with if they had been designing yachts today. There are lines for 132ft (40m), 164ft (50m) and 197ft (60m) versions.
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CSY02 Spiirt of TraditionV2indd.indd 33 29/05/2012 15:35 SPIRIT OF TRADITION
Left: The Mylne- designed PF36 will be capable of circum- navigation
Above: The new All of these designs tend to include deckhouses, a though it draws on the Mylne tradition, the design is by wooden J from feature introduced last year by Spirit Yachts on the David Gray, present owner of Mylne & Co, and Albert Spirit Yachts is 50DH and 57DH. A 65ft (19.8m) version is in build, Montserrat, head of design. called Cheveyo and there are lines for a 110ft (33.5m) model. “We designed them as an alternative to classic Spirit yachts J-class renaissance for people who want to go further afield in slightly more 1930s J-Class design seems more real deal than ‘spirit’ inclement circumstances,” says MD Sean McMillan. but in spite of their long overhangs and their long deep raked keels, their carbon rigs and modern deck fittings Mylne designs keep them classed as SOT. Hoek’s Atlantis – based Another nascent trend among superyachts, again with a on an unbuilt Frank C Paine design with a maximum workboat slant, and aimed at the intrepid owner, is the waterline – is due for launch by Holland Jachtbouw this ‘expedition’ boat. Mylne & Co is about to appoint a year, while another unbuilt design, Tore Holm’s Svea, is builder for its PF36 Path Finder, a rugged motoryacht about to be started at Bloemsma’s specialist aluminium capable of circumnavigation, with a retro feel and a yard. Meanwhile Spirit Yachts is gearing up to start its pre-war hull shape designed for fuel economy. In fact, all-wood J, Cheveyo, in Ipswich.
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CSY02 Spiirt of TraditionV2indd.indd 34 29/05/2012 15:35 Photo: Photo: Ian Badley Photography Badley Ian REFIT EXPERTISE GLOBAL REACH
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