CLASSIC BOAT AUGUST 2019 51THREE DESIGNERS
- all of which were built the other side of the Atlantic – and
a never-built Fife K-Class design.
The largest of the International Rule Classes was the 23-Metre,
and both British designers produced versions of these almost as
soon as the Rule was introduced. Nicholson’s Brynhild II and
Fife’s Shamrock and White Heather II enjoyed some close racing,
but just as Nicholson thought that his boat might be getting the
better of his rival’s, Brynhild II sank after her mast came out of its
step and went through the bottom of the boat. When the
19-Metre class established itself in 1911, the Englishman suered
again when his Norada was out-sailed by Fife’s boats Corona and
Mariquita. However, Nicholson had a breakthrough in the
15-Metre class just before World War One with the bermudan-
rigged Istria – highly innovative and later described by his son
John as a “phenomenal freak” – which won 35 flags out of 36
starts in her first season. His success continued in the 12-Metre
class from 1920, and this probably allowed him to secure the
commissions for many large yachts from then on. In
fact, the only Big Class boat built between
the wars which was not designed by
Nicholson was Fife’s Cambria in 1928.
The Cowes Week of 1936 became
known as “Nicholson’s Regatta”
including, among many others,
four J-Class yachts and three
quarters of the 12-Metre fleet.
After the death of King
George V and the
subsequent scuttling of his
yacht Britannia, the Big
Class faded and this
lead to a glut of
orders for 12-Metre
class yachts to Nicholson designs, while Fife designed none in
that same period.
Meanwhile, however, the smaller Metre classes were
dominated by the Scot. In total he designed over 100 6-Metres
and 8-Metres, and achieved remarkable success, one of the first
of which was a gold medal at the 1908 Olympic Games. At that
time it was reported that the Fairlie yard could build an 8-Metre
in a month. His boats often competed in the British-American
Cup races, and in 1928 the victorious four-boat British team were
all Fifes. Nicholson himself was quoted as saying that the 6-Metre
class “should properly be called the Fife Class”.NICHOLSON’S METRE MODIFICATION
Nicholson came to believe that the International Rule didn’t suit
boats as small as the 6-Ms, and soon after the World War Two
he proposed a new 5.5-M class to a modified version of a Boat
Racing Association formula which had been used by the
Royal Ocean Racing Club since 1925. The first boat built
to this rule was Nicholson’s own The Deb in 1949,
and the 5.5-Metres were adopted for the
following three Olympics. Meanwhile
Herresho was busy with Universal Rule
boats – producing designs for 30 or so,
one of which became a one-design
version of the S-Class, of which 94
were built. It remains a great
shame that the two dierent
rules prevented all three
designers from pitting
themselves against
each other on a
level playing field.Above: Shamrock
Left: The top
staysail schooner
Creole
Right: the sta of
Camper and
Nicholson in 1934
on a day outBEKENCOURTESY OF CAMPER AND NICHOLSON