Bona

Bona
Rig Class.Cutter
Builder:D & W Henderson, Glasgow to a design by G L Watson
General characteristics
Ton:122 tons
LOA:89 feet between perpendiculars
Beam:18.0 feet
Draught:11.7 feet

Bona was a very elegant cutter by G L Watson which made her first appearance in the 1897 Clyde Regatta.

She was built for the Duke of Abruzzi by D & W Henderson at Glasgow and for a long time Peter Henderson was her helmsman.

She met the Kaiser's Meteor in the big handicap class for the first time when the venue of the race shifted to Northern Ireland.  The race between the two boats was close enough after applying a handicap although there was a fair amount of water between the two yachts.  Bona's Linear Rating was 80; Meteor's nearer 100.  There is no doubt that Bona was a remarkably quick boat, particularly in light airs, although she does seem to have been favoured by the YRA time scale.  In strong winds she was out-distanced by other competitors.

In 1898 she started her season on the Riviera where, in prevailing light conditions, she beat Satanita.  On her return to England her most redoubtable adversary turned out to be Ailsa.

In the following year her chief rival was Rainbow, but Bona gave her few chances of winning.  Later in the season Meteor came to the Solent newly rigged as a yawl and with a reduction of time allowance.  This swung the balance in Meteor's favour.

Bona gained one of her most sparkling victories when she beat seventeen other starters in the German Emperor's Cup at Cowes in 1903.

The following years saw a diminution of handicap racing.  Owners had tired of races between yachts of very different sizes and characteristics.  This caused the YRA to convene the International Conference of 1906 and the subsequent adoption of the International Metre Rule.

The photograph below shows her with Satanita in 1898.

Owners

Namefromto
HRH The Duke of the Abruzzi GCVO 1898 1907

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