The other royal yacht arrives in Forth

Published on Thursday 1 July 2010 18:38

A RACING yacht, once owned by the Queen, sailed into Edinburgh yesterday where it is set to become the latest tourist attraction in Scotland's capital.

Built in 1936, the 63ft yacht Bloodhound is steeped in the illustrious history of ocean racing and was the yacht on which both the Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal learned to sail.

She has now found a fitting new home, berthed alongside the Royal Yacht Britannia in the city's Leith docks.

The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust bought Bloodhound earlier this year and she will form part of a new exhibition which will focus on the Royal Family's passion for sailing. The exhibition, which opened to the public yesterday, will allow visitors to view Bloodhound from a specially built pontoon.

Rear Admiral Neil Rankin, the chairman of The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust, hailed the arrival of the latest attraction at Leith docks. He said: "It is with a great sense of pride that we welcome such an important part of royal sailing history to her new home, and just as we maintain Britannia for future generations to enjoy, we will similarly care for Bloodhound."

And Sinead Feltoe, VisitScotland's regional director for Edinburgh, said: "We're delighted to welcome the Bloodhound to Leith Docks to sit alongside what is one of Edinburgh's and indeed Scotland's most loved visitor attractions, the Royal Yacht Britannia."

The classic racing yacht was originally built for American businessman Isaac Bell and was one of the most successful ocean racing yachts ever built, winning scores of races in Britain and on the other side of the Atlantic before being bought by the Royal Family in 1962.

Its numerous victories included the Morgan Cup in 1936, the North Sea Race in 1949 and 1951, and the Lyme Bay Race in 1959 and 1965.

Bloodhood, with Prince Philip at the helm, became a familiar sight at the annual Cowes Week regatta around the Isle of Wight - one of the most famous events in the ocean racing calendar. During its time under Royal ownership Bloodhound also accompanied Britannia on the Royal Family's annual sailing holidays in the Western Isles.

Bloodhound was sold by the Royal Family in 1969 and effectively retired from racing until the 1980s, when she once again competed until 2001.

The yacht then fell into disrepair and came close to being scrapped before being bought in 2002 by Tony McGrail, a yacht surveyor and classic yacht restorer, and his wife Cindy. Over the next four years she underwent a major refit to bring her back to her pristine original condition.

Said Ms McGrail: "Bloodhound is no ordinary yacht.

She is one of the few authentic classic 1930s racing yachts left."

She added: "She is remarkable, not only because she was the Queen and Prince Philip's personal yacht, but for her durabilty and ability to remain continually at sea in all weathers over much of this period.

"The yacht was not used solely for royal occupation. Indeed Philip decreed that when not aboard, the yacht should be lent to yacht clubs around the country to enable youngsters to go to sea for a small charge, and it is this fact that has endeared many peoples hearts towards Bloodhound. It is not difficult to find someone today who day sailed or made a passage on her during this period of royal ownership whilst on loan to the sailing clubs." z