STORMVOGEL

Restored by Metur Yacht, Designed by Ericus van de Stadt, Laurent Giles and John Illingworth, Built Cornelius Bruynzeel, 1961, LOD 74ft 6in (22.7m), Rig berm ketch

The story of Stormvogel is a fable of glory and reincarnation. She’s eectively the world’s first maxi yacht, and she was built by and for the Dutch plywood king Cornelius Bruynzeel, in solid carvel planking. He campaigned her to line honours in the 1961 Fastnet. After a thorough rebuild at the Metur Yachts yard in Turkey, Stormvogel took on the same race again in 2021, six decades on. While lesser (read ‘modern’!) vessels retired in the harsh conditions, the storm bird flew home in seventh place, in the very fast time of just 3 days and 19 hours.