HAVSORNEN
It was a blow that for a moment stopped the project
in its tracks, but the team was determined to finish the
job and sail her as part of Philippe’s legacy.
Havsörnen emerged for Cannes Régates Royales in
October 2017, where her gleaming condition attracted
the admiration of all. “She has captured my heart,” said
one bystander. She was sailed, as before, by her refit
team of Sylvain, Adrien, Greg and Seb, with Philippe’s
widow Caroline and their sons Robbie and Henry.
At the time Caroline said: “The word I would use is
poignant. We are very proud, but so wishing Philippe
could be here to see it himself. He knew when he got the
boat it was sort of a last adventure. It was a dream he
had always had, to own a classic boat, and even though
he knew time was running out, he knew he was going to
do it. He did sail on it last year and he loved the idea of
Robbie doing the refit. That was on his wish list too.”
Robbie said: “I think he would have been pleased
with it and the work we’ve done on it.”
If it was an emotional occasion, it was made all the
more so with the presence of one special guest, Gustaf
Holgersson, the grandson of Holger Nilsson, the boat’s
original owner eight decades previously. “I have
goosebumps,” he says. “It is amazing that she is now
racing again, in very good shape. I never sailed on the
boat as a youngster but I heard a lot about her. Then I
heard of her again 20 years ago, being referred to as
Sven Salén’s boat. I knew that wasn’t true and that she
was in fact Citona, the name my grandfather gave her.”
And how does Havsörnen do in her first regattas back
on the water? Her team is as slick as could be and lack
nothing in competitive urge, but fickle winds at Cannes
and Saint-Tropez are less than ideal. Havsörnen doesn’t
quite get the dreamed-off podium finishes, but she posts
admirable scores in her class.
“Our class is becoming very competitive!” Philippe
had written to Classic Boat in 2016. “It is great to see
maritime monuments being restored and sailed hard, but
it means you can’t just show up and expect a good result.
We now have to work for it during, before and after the
regattas.”
Havsörnen’s team will do him proud and meanwhile,
on the pontoons, the cameras will click incessantly as her
gleaming brightwork and handsome lines attract
onlookers. Eighty years on, Tore Holm’s design still
packs a punch. The Havsörnen story continues. The Sea
Eagle flies on.Above: Caroline Fabre and Gustaf HolgerssonA life in boats
Philippe Fabre, who died on 18 June 2017 aged 63, was an enthusiast for
all kinds of boating and a visionary whose altruism touched many.
He was born into the Fabre shipping family that owned cruise liners in
the 19th and 20th centuries. Its fortunes had declined by the time
Philippe was born in Buenos Aires in 1954, but he was weaned on stories
of his ancestors’ seagoing days. He bought his first boat as a young man,
the Fife 6-metre Zenith, which he had restored back to class rules to race
on Lake Geneva in the Bol d’Or.
He met Caroline in 1981, marrying in 1984, and with their sons Robbie
and Henry enjoyed holidays on a restored pointu from Port Grimaud.
Poor health forced him to retire in 2001 and in 2006 the family holidayed
aboard Sarah Jane, a 62ft (18.9m) Camanga motoryacht based in Croatia.
Freya was a spirit-of-tradition design by Bill Dixon that Philippe and
family raced in the south of France, winning regularly with a young crew.
Meanwhile son Robbie trained as a boatbuilder and restored the
German Frers yacht Vagabundo II in 2011. Father and son raced in
different classes at the same events, discussing the merits of various
classic yachts, extant and not, long into the evening.
Memories of his own father’s yacht inspired Philippe to commission
the design of the PF36 from Mylne Yacht Design, a groundbreaking
expedition vessel that never saw the light of day, but a spin-off from the
project was the Bolt 18 electric yacht tender, which remains the holder of
the British water speed record in its class. Philippe also became a 50 per
cent shareholder in Mylne Yacht Design.
In 2012 Philippe met Alexis Andrews, who was making his Vanishing
Sail film about Carriacou boatbuilding. Taken by the film’s goal of
regenerating the dying Carriacou tradition, Philippe became an executive
producer at a time when the film’s funds were short.
He went one further, buying the new Carriacou sloop Exodus and
sailing her in Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta. Ever passionate about
encouraging the next generation, he donated the regatta’s Fitzroy Trophy
for young sailors.
David Gray of Mylne Yacht Design said: “Philippe delighted in sharing
a passion with other like-minded souls – souls who often benefitted from
his very generous spirit.”
Tim Langmead of Camper & Nicholsons Mayfair said: “He had a very
sharp mind and agile humour, a great vision of what could be.”
Close friend and yacht broker Pierre-Andre Jeanne said: “When he
liked someone he gave his trust 100 per cent. He wanted people to be
serious to achieve what they could, but there was always friendship,
generosity and a fantastic sense of humour.”OBITUARY
PHILIPPE FABRE
1954 - 2017