THE LAST FIFE

The last boat to be built from scratch to a William Fife III original design. That’s a bold statement, but the words are chosen carefully and take into account other boats that might make such a claim if it was put slightly differently. Madrigal II, for instance, was built later, in 1951, but with the ballast keel and strap floors that had been used in the 1939 Madrigal that had subsequently been condemned by Lloyds, as much of her timber structure had fallen into a state of decay; and, following Fife’s death in 1944, other designs of his were modified by Archie McMillan – who had taken over the Fairlie Yacht Slip – before they were built.

So it is – built by Woodnutts on the Isle of Wight in 1950 – which can claim this audacious accolade. Her first owner was Yorkshire newspaper proprietor Robert Breare who, it is thought, had approached Fife before the war and had to swear that he would definitely have the boat built before Fife would sell him the plans. The fact that it took so long to do so was partly, of course, because of the war but may