thumb|Moonbeam III (1903) pictured in 2008

thumb|Shamrock III (1903) launched in [[Dumbarton ]]

thumb|[[Reliance (yacht)|Reliance (Herreshoff) and Shamrock III (Fife) in the 1903 America's Cup races]]

thumb|Youla, a 26-foot cutter designed by William Fife, was built by Reuben Harlow in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.

William Fife Jr. (15 June 1857 – 11 August 1944), also known as William Fife III, was the third generation of a family of Scottish yacht designers and builders.

Biography

Fife was born in Fairlie, North Ayrshire on the Firth of Clyde. He never married or had children. He was buried in Largs. The yard was continued for some years after his death by his nephew, but never achieved the renown known under Fife's ownership.

In 1951, Fife's sisters arranged for a weather vane to be erected in his memory on the tower of Fairlie parish church. It features a model his 1936 yawl Latifa, which he considered one of his finest designs.

Quotes

French yachtsman Éric Tabarly, two-time winner of the OSTAR and owner of the Fife design Pen Duick wrote:

While Fife established a leading reputation on the yacht racing circuit, his work also included a number of fine cruising vessels. Dr. William Collier wrote of Fife's 1920s work:

Vessels

The Fife yard also had a reputation for the extremely high quality of the craftsmanship of the yachts built at the yard. Today, it is thought that there are somewhat less than 100 Fife designs still in existence. Of these, there are around fifty still sailing, most notably:

  • cruiser handicap rater Nan (1897)
  • 36-rater Pen Duick (formerly Yum, 1898)
  • 21-rater Mignon (1898), sisterships Pierette and Yvette (1899)
  • cruiser handicap raters Moonbeam III (1903) and Moonbeam IV (1920)
  • 15mRs Mariska (1908), Hispania (1909), Tuiga (1909) and The Lady Anne (1912)
  • 12mR Cintra (the oldest 12mR in existence, launched 1909)
  • 8mR Lucky Girl (launched 1909) and Ierne (launched 1914)
  • 19mR Mariquita (1911)
  • Ketches Sumurun (1914), Adventuress (1924) and Belle Aventure (1929) on the Eastern Seaboard
  • handicap rater Hallowe'en (1926)
  • 23mR Cambria (1928)
  • gaff-rigged schooner Altair (1931)
  • ketch Eilean (1936), which famously featured in the music video for the 1982 Duran Duran song Rio.
  • yawl Latifa (1936), one of Fife's favourite designs In 2004, he was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame.

Selected historic yachts

  • Torch (15-ton cutter, William Fife Sr. design, 1864)
  • Kilmeney (30-ton cutter, William Fife Sr. design, 1864)
  • Fiona (80-ton cutter dubbed the Fawn of Fairlie, William Fife Sr. design, 1865)
  • Neptune (50-ton cutter, later a yawl, William Fife Sr. design, 1875)
  • Erycina (96-ton cutter, later a yawl, William Fife Sr. design, 1882)
  • Ulidia (10-tonner, William Fife Jr. design, 1883)
  • Thalia (40-rater, William Fife Jr. design, 1891)
  • Calluna (first-class rater, William Fife Jr. design, 1893)

Yachts for Irish owners

  • 15 ton cutter Corsair (1860) – designed by William Fife Sr.
  • 3 ton lugger Achilla (1889)
  • 2 ton lugger Gew Gaw (1891) – built by James E. Doyle Kingston
  • 3 ton 1-rater lugger Nansheen (1892) – built by James E. Doyle Kingston
  • 5 ton lugger Elva (1894)
  • 8 ton 1.5-rater lugger Vill-u-An (1895) – built by Alexander Robertson & Sons
  • 6-ton Dublin Bay 25 cutters Darthula, Nepenthe and Whisper (1898–1899) – built by James E. Doyle Kingston

References

Further reading

  • Fairlie Yachts
  • Fife Regatta
  • flickr archive of the Scottish Maritime Museum