Bloodhound (yacht)
{{Short description|Ocean racing yacht}}
{{about|the ocean racing yacht||Bloodhound (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
| {{Infobox ship begin |infobox caption=nodab}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = The Bloodhound - geograph.org.uk - 1319310.jpg |Ship image size = 300px | Ship caption = Bloodhound moored at Dolphin Marina, Poole in 2009. }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = United Kingdom | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|UK|civil}} | Ship name = | Ship owner =*Ike Bell (1936–1939)
| Ship ordered = | Ship builder = Camper and Nicholsons | Ship yard number = 438 | Ship original cost = | Ship laid down = 1936 | Ship launched = 1936 | Ship acquired = | Ship commissioned = | Ship decommissioned = | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = | Ship renamed = | Ship struck = | Ship reinstated = | Ship identification = *{{MMSI Number|235003227}}
| Ship honours = | Ship captured = | Ship fate = | Ship status = | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = Ocean racing yacht | Ship tons burthen = 34 tons | Ship length = {{convert|19.2|m|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = | Ship draught = | Ship draft = | Ship hold depth = | Ship propulsion = | Ship sail plan = Bermudan yawl{{cite book |first=Richard |last=Johnstone-Bryden |title=The Royal Yacht Britannia: The Official History |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |year=2003 |page=97 |isbn=0-85177-937-9}} | Ship complement = | Ship armament = | Ship notes = }} |
Bloodhound is a {{convert|19.2|m|adj=on}} ocean racing yacht. She was designed by Charles E. Nicholson and built by Camper and Nicholsons in 1936. From 1962 to 1969 she was owned by the British royal family and in January 2010 she was purchased by The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust.
Royal ownership
In 1962 Bloodhound was purchased for the Royal Family at the request of Prince Philip. In February she was sailed from Plymouth to Gosport to be refitted by Camper and Nicholsons and the work was finished by June. Prince Philip sailed Bloodhound with Uffa Fox at Cowes Week in August of that year.
During royal ownership Bloodhound would accompany The Royal Yacht Britannia in the Western Isles when the royal family had their one true family holiday every year. She had a permanent crew of three, and one skipper was a descendant of Sir Francis Drake. It was during these times that the young royals learned to sail on Bloodhound. When not in royal use, Bloodhound and her crew were chartered to yacht clubs across the country at a daily fee of £1 (later increased to £2) per participant, used to expose thousands of people to offshore sailing.
In 1969 Bloodhound was sold by the royal family and Bloodhound then effectively retired from racing. Over time the boat gradually fell into considerable disrepair and very nearly became beyond salvage until in 2003 she was purchased by Tony and Cindy McGrail of Poole, a yacht surveyor and classic yacht restorer. At the time the vessel was in urgent need of restoration but it was felt that the amount of work involved might make such a project uneconomical. However, Tony and Cindy embarked on a four year reconstruction bringing BLOODHOUND back to pristine condition.
In January 2010 Bloodhound was purchased from Tony & Cindy by The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust and is now berthed alongside Britannia in Leith.
Racing accomplishments
| class="wikitable collapsible sortable"
!Year !Event !Place | ||
| 1936 | Channel Race | 1st |
| 1936 | Morgan Cup | 1st |
| 1937 | Fastnet Race | 3rd overall |
| 1939 | Benodet Race | 2nd |
| 1939 | Channel Race | 1st |
| 1939 | Fastnet Race | 1st |
| 1946 | Royal London Yacht Club Regatta (at Cowes Week) | 1st |
| 1946 | Royal Yacht Squadron Race (at Cowes Week) | 1st |
| 1947 | Fastnet Race | 2nd |
| 1947 | Southsea to Brixton Race | 1st |
| 1948 | Morgan Cup | 2nd |
| 1948 | Round the Island Race | 1st |
| 1948 | Royal Yacht Squadron Race (at Cowes Week) | 2nd |
| 1949 | Fastnet Race | 1st |
| 1949 | Morgan Cup | 1st (handicapped to 2nd) |
| 1949 | North Sea Race | 1st |
| 1949 | Portsmouth to Poole Race | 1st |
| 1951 | Channel Race | 1st |
| 1951 | Fastnet Race | 2nd |
| 1951 | Harwich to Hook Race | 1st |
| 1951 | North Sea Race | 1st |
| 1951 | Round the Island Race | 3rd |
| 1951 | St Malo to Dinard Race | 1st |
| 1952 | Bermuda Race | 2nd overall |
| 1953 | Cowes to Dinard Race | 1st |
| 1953 | Fastnet Race | 1st (handicapped to 12th) |
| 1957 | Fastnet Race | 5th overall |
| 1958 | Channel Race | 1st |
| 1959 | Lyme Bay Race | 1st |
| 1965 | Lyme Bay Race | 1st |
Gallery
Image:Royal Yacht Bloodhound (6615728453).jpg|Bloodhound at Leith Docks in December 2011
Image:Racing Yacht Bloodhound (6287135642).jpg|Bloodhound at Leith Docks in October 2011
Image:Racing Yacht Bloodhound (6286617935).jpg|Bloodhound at Leith Docks in October 2011
Image:Racing Yacht Bloodhound (6286633811).jpg|Bloodhound at Leith Docks in October 2011
Image:Racing Yacht Bloodhound (6287153474).jpg|Bloodhound at Leith Docks in October 2011
Notes
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=5260 Scottish Screen Archive footage of Bloodhound]
{{Royal Yachts of the United Kingdom}}
{{National Historic Ships}}
{{Fastnet Race winning yachts}}
{{Fastnet Race winning yachts (line honours)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloodhound (yacht)}}
Category:Individual sailing vessels
Category:Ships built in Gosport
Category:Ships and vessels on the National Register of Historic Vessels
Category:Sailing yachts built in the United Kingdom
Category:12-metre class yachts
Category:Sailing yachts of the United Kingdom
Category:Sailing yachts designed by Charles Ernest Nicholson