Saskia

Saskia
Sail No.K26
Rig Class.International 8 metre
Builder:William Fife & Son, Fairlie, Scotland
Year built:1930
Commissioned:1931
Fate:Racing again on Solent
General characteristics
Class & Type:International 8 metre
Ton:8.897 tons
LOA:14.63m
Beam:2.60m
Draught:2.02m
Propulsion:Sail only

Built as a Royal Northern Yacht Club challenger for the Seawanhaka Cup, she was shipped to Oyster Bay, New York in 1931 and won. She returned to the UK and was bought in 1934 by Sir Kenneth Preston and Robert Steele, both RYS members. She raced very successfully on the Solent and was the UK representative for the 8 metre class in the 1936 Olympics in Kiel. The photo below shows her starting in one of the Olympic races. She was sold in 1947 and appears to have returned to the Clyde.

In 1954 she was sold to the Australian, Sir William Northam who shipped her to Sydney as the Royal Sydney Yacht Club challenger for the Sayonara Cup which is a contest against the Royal Melbourne and which she won in 1955. She was owned by the Stephen's family for over 20 years and returned to the UK in 2007 for the 8 Metre Worlds on the Clyde and the Centenary Metre Boat Regatta on the Solent. Thereafter she sold to another Australian and was shipped to Portugal for an extensive restoration and after some delays was acquired by the current owner in 2012 who completed the restoration in Holland in 2014. After the current owner's election to the RYS in 2017, Saskia is once again proudly wearing a White Ensign after a gap of 70 years!

Owners

Namefromto
Robert Steele Esq 1934 1946
Sir Kenneth Huson Preston 1934 1947
Murdoch McKillop Esq 2017 ....

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