MUST IT BE FIFE OR HERRESHOFF?
he world of classic sailing yachts has, since its inception, suffered from a stifling duopoly. The kudos) and Wm Fife III (plus, more recently, Olin Stephens) – has been so absolute as to suck some of the light out of equally beautiful or brilliant boats by equally brilliant designers. It has happened in the car world, too, where Ferrari, Porsche, Bentley and Bugatti have, to a lesser degree, dominated the upper echelons for years. That's more understandable: these are, after all, serious investments. What's surprising about the Fife/Herreshoff stranglehold is that it has become so pervasive without a profit motive. With Herreshoff, it's easy to explain: he was, by any rationale, the greatest yacht designer in history. But Fife? Stunning boats, but the giddy, enduring veneration is also, surely, as much a product of the number and quality built at his yard. My suggestion is not to kick these three off the high table – they have all sung lustily and mellifluously for their suppers – but to build a longer table and invite more guests, like the Clydeside artist Alfred Mylne, whose is our lead feature this month.
