Camper and Nicholsons
[3] In December 1910 there was a major fire at the Gosport Shipyard, depicted in a painting[4] by William Lionel Wyllie and held in the collection of the National Maritime Museum.
At the outbreak of the war there was need for conversion of civilian vessels for wartime use, for example converting the 493 ton steam yacht Grianaig, belonging to Lord Dunraven, into a hospital ship, which the 76 year old peer commanded himself, evacuating wounded from France and Gallipoli.
[44] Late in the war they wre refitted with heavier armament These MGBs were followed by a modified design with a broader beam for better sea-keeping displacing 115 tons.
They were more heavily armed from the outset with a 6-pdr (57mm) gun fore and aft, two 20mm Oerlikon cannon either side of the bridge, four torpedo tubes, two rocket flare projectors and two depth charges.
[50] Ordered in 1913 as a Motor Yacht by a Frenchman, Auguste Heriot, but completed as a warship in 1917 for the French Navy, with Yard number 213, the 851-ton Ara was then sold to William K Vanderbilt II.
He circumnavigated the globe in her, and she was used, under his captaincy, for voyages to Africa, Asia South America and the Galapagos islands, where he collected scientific specimens, now displayed at the Vanderbilt Museum.
In 1939 she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy, and, as HMS Rion/HMS Noir,[67] saw active service, including participating in the Dunkirk Evacuation, and, later, the capture of an E-Boat, and sinking of a submarine.
[70] Built in 1931, with Yard Number 388 for Montague Napier, he died before he could take ownership, and this 193 ft Motor Yacht was sold to Ricard Fairey in December 1931.
He lent Evadne to Amelia Earhart in 1932 after weather conditions forced her to end her Transatlantic Solo Flight in Ireland rather than Paris, so she could meet her fans at Cherbourg.
Other significant owners include[72][73] She is still sailing today as Marala Built in 1934 for Lionel Beaumont-Thomas, with yard number 406 the 62 Thames Measurement ton, 73 ft MY Llanthony was one of the Little Ships of Dunkirk, commanded by Robert Timbrell.
Hedonist, an 83 ft (25 m) luxury yacht was built in 1970 (as yard number 969) for the, then 25 year old, Michael Pearson, 4th Viscount Cowdray, certainly lived up to the name.
This 258 ton wooden brig was designed by William Camper and built in 1839 for Lieutenant Colonel the Honourable R. F. Greville (an early member of the Royal Yacht Squadron, elected in August 1825[78]).
[85] He sailed her on a journey around the far Northern Atlantic, which he described in his book Letters from High Latitudes Designed by William Camper and built in 1849 for Major Francis Mountjoy Martyn, this 127 ton schooner was entered in the first America's cup, but did not participate in the race.
This fund was set up by the Times newspaper in response to reports of the suffering endured by soldiers fighting in the Crimean War[86] [87][88] Designed by William Camper and built in 1851 for Sir Walter Palk Carew (8th Baronet), this 161 ton schooner was one of the participants in the first America's cup.
[90] In 1885 Partridge, the world's oldest still fully operational classic racing yacht was built at the Gosport Yard to a design by John Beavor-Webb.
[91] The last vessel to be designed by Ben Nicholson, launched in 1887 with yard number 67, and sold to Lieutenant-Colonel A. D. MacGregor, this 121 ton schooner is still sailing today.
By 1927 she was in a poor state, half buried in the mud of a river in SouthEast England, where she lay until 1990 when she was bought by Maurizio Gucci, who restored her, and sailed her together with his larger yacht Creole.
The design of the Redwing class was unusual in that, while all the hulls were identical, they could be rigged however the owner wished, provided the sail area did not exceed 200 sq.
Built in 1899, with yard number 143, for T. H. Adkins of Portsmouth, this 20 ton cutter was bought for £850 by the Royal Engineers Yacht Club, who promptly entered her into the 1926 Fastnet Race, which she won.
In 1982 Barbara was the support boat for Prince Sergio Ferrero for his Guinness world record windsurfing cross of the Atlantic Ocean in 24 days.
Barbara has been entrusted to the Francesco Del Carlo shipyard for a philological refitting, led by a team of experts, with the support of Viareggio's Historical Sails.
Despite the loss of most of the originai drawings, due to the fire that broke out in the Camper and Nicholsons archives in Gosport in 1941, some tables of Barbara's original plans were kept at the National Maritime Museum, allowing the super expert of historic boats Chicco Zaccagni with the vice-president VSV Commander Riccardo Valeriani and the Architect Gian Marco Ciboddo to carry out a complete philological restoration.
During the Second World War she was requisitioned and, renamed Magic Circle used for mine hunting duties, after which she languished for a time as Sir Guthrie had died.
In May 1970 Eugenia Livanos died on the Niarchos family's private island Spetsopoula and her body was brought back the mainland aboard Creole.
[119] Built in 1928 for Virginie Hériot, this three-masted, steel-hulled schooner, with yard number 356 beat Sonia II, owned and sailed by Joe Carstairs, by 9 minutes and 40 seconds in a race from Ryde to the Le Havre Light vessel and back in July 1931.
[121] The last of 6 Sister ships in the Xyris class, were the first example of a production series by C&N, the design attributed to Charles was the first laid up on spec without a specific client instructing.
Based on the successful Tar Baby, a shortened 30' sloop with a cabin and fully equipped, including a dining set, mahogany swim ladder and the other bare necessities.
A Dragon Class keelboat, Bluebottle, built by Camper and Nicholson in 1948 with yard number 746, was given to Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip as a wedding present by the Island Sailing Club in Cowes.
[132] Built in 1935 for the Irish-American offshore racer and huntsman Isaac 'Ikey' Bell, with yard number 424, this 63.2 ft cutter came fourth in the 1935 Fastnet race.
Ike upgraded to the Bloodhound, and Foxhound was bought by the Hon Emily Rachel Pitt-Rivers (née Forster).,[133] who sailed her in the 1956 Newport Bermuda Race, as the only lady skipper.
