SUPERYACHT #501
January 2004
Article selected from our quarterly magazine dedicated to the largest
and most luxurious boats with information, interviews, technical
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Article by
Lino Pastorelli
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CAMBRIA
A big class in the Mediterranean
I came across Cambria last October at the Voiles de St. Tropez,
among dozens of yachts struggling hard with only a few knots of
air towards the windward mark, off the Pampelonne beaches. It is
so rare to find these splendid boats all together, and so
depressing to see them with their mainsails flapping and the crews
to leeward. Then the miracle: eight, ten, fifteen knots, the sails
fill, the boats heel over, the sea froths and the fleet comes back
to life. Cambria lowers her jib top - the toerail in the water
delights only the photographers! - and leaps silently ahead with
the grace and efficiency of a sword blade, as these streamlined
Fife boats do so well. A brief overlap at the mark, terse commands
from the skipper and the whiter than white cathedral of the MPS
flies up. Accompanied by the swishing of the bow wave, the great
cutter moves away, leaving them all behind, the fantastical vision
of an ancient ghost that is called up then immediately vanishes.
When her first owner, Sir William Berry, decided to join the elite
of sailing in 1927, the Big Classes were dominated by Britannia,
George V's royal yacht. The choice of designers ranged from C. E.
Nicholson and Alfred Mylne to William Fife, a Scot, and the great
racers were evolving for the umpteenth time, with all the related
rating problems. Bermudan rigs were supplanting the infinitely
more romantic but less efficient gaff rigs, and to further
complicate matters the new Big Boats were also being constructed
in compliance with International Rating parameters which,
subdivided into various classes, indicated in metric units the
result of a very precise tonnage formula, and certainly not the
length of the hull. Cambria, entrusted to William Fife's magic
pencil, and Astra, designed by Camper & Nicholson, were 23 m I.R.
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TECHNICAL DATA
Overall length: 41.15m
Beam: 6.10m
Draft: 4.25m
Displacement: 112.000 Kg.
Designer and builder: William Fife
Year of construction: 1928
Construction material: mahogany skin on steel frames
Rig: cutter
Mast height: 46.90m
Mast material: Spruce and Oregon laminate, with carbon reinforcement at the head
Sail area: 769 sq. m. reaching, 1.274 sq. m. running
Engine: Cummins 300 HP mod. NT 855 M
Speed under power: 10 knots
Water tanks: 1.000 litres
Fuel tanks: 1.800 litres
For more information about "Cambria" contact Nigel Burgess,
Monaco, tel.+37797978121, www.nigelburgess.com
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In 1928, after Fife's victory in the debut race, a series of
attempts were made to overcome the heavy handicaps imposed by the
new regulations, especially regarding mast height, indispensable
to the Marconi rig. A return to gaff rig was even suggested for
the cutter, the scene still being dominated by the old gaff-rigged
yachts whose names are now legendary: Britannia, Lulworth,
Shamrock, White Heather and Westward. A subsequent trend inversion
saw even the king transform the Britannia into Bermudan rig, but
by then a further, final fragmentation of the class had appeared
on the horizon: the J Class which with Shamrock V had Sir Thomas
Lipton dreaming in vain of a return to England of the America's
Cup. With her brief competitive life over, Cambria was sold in
1934 to Sir Robert McAlpine and her name changed to Lillias. With
the owner's death in 1936 she was bought by H.F. Giraud and moved
to Turkey. The noble racer became a cruise yacht, based in Ilicia
off Cesme, near Izmir, and long sailed the eastern Mediterranean
with the Ottoman jet set aboard. Regular guests in those days were
Shah Reza, king Fiesel and Kemal Mustafa Ataturk, the creator of
modern Turkey. Savarona, the presidential yacht, was often to be
seen rocking at anchor alongside Lillias. After the 60's and a
couple of Belgian owners the boat was acquired by the American
Michael Sears who set out on a circumnavigation that was
interrupted in the Canaries by dismasting and then resumed after
refitting by Spencer of Cowes, this time with ketch rig. Reefing a
single 390 square metre mainsail in an ocean storm did, in effect,
create problems. The yacht ended up in Townsville Australia, in
the Great Barrier Reef area. Discovered in 1994 by the Australian
Prime Minister Paul Keating, the lines of Fife's design and the
vessel's history immediately seduced three yachtsmen of great
fame: John David, Denis ÒNeil and Iain Murray, the latter
the designer of America's cuppers (Kookaburra I etc). The
challenging restoration undertaken by the Norman Wright boatyards
in Brisbane, Eastern Australia, perfectly achieved the declared
objective of philologically returning the vessel to her original
appearance while maintaining high standards of safety and sailing
efficiency. Under the supervision of Iain Murray the Honduras
mahogany skin was restored, several planks having to be replaced
together with numerous steel frames, while the entire hull was
fixed with 6000 stainless steel rivets. The engine, a Cummins 300
HP installed four years after launching (racers never carried
excess weight), was reconditioned and the teak deck replaced.
Complete dismantling of the interior revealed that the mahogany
had survived in excellent condition: 85% was reused, faithfully
following the original layout, the only concession being an extra
cabin in place of the large private suite created for Sir William
Berry. On deck, seven discreet winches (back then there were a
dozen paid hands to do their work) mean she can be raced with a
crew of only nineteen. Not only her name but also her rig returned
to the origins: the conversion from ketch to cutter, begun in
Australia, was completed in Cowes by that same Spencer who in 1975
had doubled the sail area. After participating in the America's
Cup Jubilee in 2001, together with the elite of the world's most
beautiful yachts, a spellbound "Cambria" followed the classic
racing circuit and then settled on the French Riviera. From here
John David, now the sole owner, sails throughout the
Mediterranean, in the wake of the young cutter's early voyages
between Greece and Turkey, and calls on her old acquaintances.
Moored in the roadstead of Khios, she was recognised by the
islanders: it was one of the Lillias' favourite anchorages. The
interior, very elegant with shiny mahogany, fine velvets and
button tufted leather, provides four cabins for eight lucky guests
who can relive the atmosphere of 30's style yachting. When under
way the choice is between following the race on deck or from the
doghouse, or conversing in the mess, discussing skipper Pete
Mandin's tactical decisions. Cambria, notwithstanding the sporty
look confirmed by her racing results, is not above participating
in society frivolities such as the various "concours d'elegance"
and "concours de sympathie" at the festive gatherings on the C“te
where she hoists the burgee of the Monaco Y.C to which she
currently belongs.
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