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Fast and Bonnie
the 2008 Fife Regatta
By Richard Matthews
Anyone who appreciates beautiful classic
yachts is almost certain to have heard of
Fife, as well or better known in their day
as Herreshoff in the USA, both families
renowned for not only designing but
also building their yachts.
There were three William Fifes; the first
started building fishing boats on the bank
of the Clyde at Fairlie at the beginning of
the 19th century, with little more than a
sawpit and a small blacksmith's smithy.
The first and second William Fifes had
natural genius, were craftsmen in their own
right and knew how to get the best out of
a boat when sailing. The third William Fife
joined the firm in 1885 and had a more
formal training than his father and
grandfather but the spark of genius had
been passed on to the third generation.
William Fife III, who died in 1944, is
probably the most famous of them all
and is remembered for his designs for
Sir Thomas Lipton's America's Cup
challengers Shamrock I and Shamrock III
and the 23-Metre Shamrock, his designs
for the Metre classes, especially the
6-Metres, various one-design classes, many
beautiful cruising yachts and ocean racers.
Today little or nothing remains of the old Fife
yard at Fairlie but the wind vane atop the
village church is modelled on one of Fife’s
most beautiful designs the ketch Latifa.
Photos: Denette Wilkinson
This June, 20 Fife yachts, some well over
100 years old, gathered off Fairlie in the
Firth of Clyde for the third Fife Regatta
of the modern era. I had chartered
The Truant, a recently restored 45ft 8-Metre
from 1910, owned by a young Scottish
artist, Ross Ryan. This really came about
because I am two thirds of the way into
restoring a 50ft Fife from 1898, Kismet,
and wanted to learn about the rig and gear.
Racing was in two classes with some real
divas like The Lady Anne, Maraquita,
Moonbeam and Altair in the big boat
class with one of everything from 19ft to
50ft, including The Truant, in class 2,
which was divided about 50-50 between
gaff and Bermudian rig.
Starting and ending with receptions at
Kelburn Castle, the fleet was based at
nearby Largs Marina, although the larger
Fifes had to anchor off. We raced to
Helensborough where the Royal Northern
YC put on a traditional Burns Night dinner
complete with haggis and pipers.
From there to Rothsay where we were
hosted for dinner in Mount Stewart,
an outstanding gothic mansion. Through
the Kyles of Bute and back to Largs, the
five race series was keenly sailed but
with a strong emphasis on camaraderie
and friendship between crews.
Aboard The Truant we learned how to set
a topsail and won all five races in the gaff
division. One memorable moment was on
the penultimate race from Rothsay back to
Largs when a 40-knot rainsquall swept the
fleet. Aboard The Truant we tried to reef
with limited success, as we could not keep
her long overhanging boom out of the
water. We dropped the peak halyard,
pressed on downwind and, thankfully,
within 15 or 20 minutes, the worst of the
squall passed leaving us, and the rest of
the fleet, a little shaken but undamaged.
Another bizarre moment was just before
race five when we found we had been
carrying a stowaway for the entire regatta!
It turns out the The Truant’s owner Ross
had been given the boat and the means
to restore her by his uncle Bob. Bob
passed away a month before Truant was
re-launched and Ross discreetly stowed
the urn, containing Bob’s ashes, in the
lazaratte. We entered into the spirit of all
this by taking Bob’s urn to the prize giving,
and our crew have now been invited to a
remote pub on the Isle of Skye, later this
year, for Uncle Bob’s final farewell.
The Fife’s described their yachts as ‘fast
and bonnie’ and I would agree. When you
see a classic yacht look out for the dragon
carving on the caveta line on the bow -
a sure sign of a genuine Fife yacht.
For more on the Fife Regatta see
www.fiferegatta.com
2008 FIFE REGATTA
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