Mylne one-design project
“The Alfred Mylne-designed Island Class may be one of the finest one design classes of all time,” says broker Iain McAllister. “These elegant and supremely eciently rigged yawls represented the final expression of an intense turn of the 19th century period of one-design class development on Belfast Lough during which the concept of the bone fide cruiser racer was born, refined and perfected. What we are left with now is a beautifully proportioned Edwardian yacht of the highest pedigree, her designer being at the height of his race yacht design prowess and the builder with stock of the finest materials, especially her pitch pine bottom planking. Fiara’s restoration by highly skilled craftsmen has begun, but requires a new custodian to take the project to completion, to enjoy the fruits of that, and perhaps race against her recently restored sister, Trasnagh.” Fiara was commissioned by Belfast manufacturer and Royal North of Ireland YC member W Muir McMullan: one of a group of five boats John Hilditch built during the winter of 1910-11. When the classic yacht revival started, she raced well at UK and French regattas, winning overall at Plymouth Classics in 2009. After a century of often hard sailing and racing, Fiara arrived at Traditional Shipwright Services, Poole, for open heart surgery. Much of the dicult part is now done, but the project still requires a lot of work to bring to completion. She’s 39ft 6in (12m) in length and has a low-mileage, 2006 Beta Marine 25hp diesel in her inventory. The fact that she is already on site at a boatyard with a great track record in such restorations makes this a relatively straightforward proposition.