Alfred Mylne (1872-1951) started out in the yacht design business working for another famous Scottish yacht designer ,George Lennox Watson. One of Mylne’s jobs in 1892 was to draw up the plans for the Royal Yacht Britannia, and his initials can still be seen on the original plans for this yacht. In 1896 Mylne left Watson, and at the age of 24 set up his own yacht design business at 81 Hope Street, Glasgow. Mylne quickly gained a reputation for building fast and seaworthy yachts, and became one of the leading instigators of the International Metre Rule in 1906.

Mylne designed and built over 400 yachts in a career that spanned two world wars. In 1945 he handed the reins to his nephew, also called Alfred Mylne, who continued the business through austere times. In 1959 he was joined by a yachting journalist and enthusiastic designer and sailor, Ian Nicolson, who, after an apprenticeship in Canada, decided to spend his airfare home on building his own yacht and sailing single handed across the Atlantic. Ian is now the author of over 23 books on yachts and yacht design, and has regular columns in many yachting publications.

In 2007, David Gray, an enthusiastic naval architect based in Fife, bought the business from Ian, and with Ian’s help started the enormous task of digitising and cataloguing the entire archive of over 10,000 drawings and documents. It can truly be said that A. Mylne and Co is the oldest continually operating yacht design business anywhere in the world.

Mylne’s designs

So what makes a Mylne special? Mylne’s designs are often confused with those of William Fife, a close personal friend and friendly rival of Mylne. To the trained eye, one would notice a slight increase in shear (the deck line is not so flat), and slightly ‘fuller’ sections. The reason – Mylne felt that a yacht should last for 50 years. He recognised that the racing life of a yacht is short – and the cruising life long. Therefore he designed his yachts to be fast racers, but also to have space below to make them capable and seaworthy fast cruisers in their later years. And that is why we have now found over 100 original Mylne designed yachts still afloat today, with the 1899 built, ‘Tigris’, still sailing competitively in the Mediterranean today.

These yachts now cover the globe, from New Zealand and Australia to Hong Kong, Argentina, America, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Greece, India, and of course England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. There are over 20 yachts coming to the event, including ‘Eileen II’ (ex ‘Albyn’), a 1935 Ketch of 95ft length coming over from Norway (see www. eileen.no). There is also ‘Kelpie’ a 1904 52ft Rater, which after re-measurement now holds the title as the world’s oldest 12m. The 1935 Motor Yacht ‘Faith’ is coming from New Zealand, a most able and seaworthy vessel of 75ft length, who sailed much of the way across the Pacific using her auxiliary sailing rig. We have four 25ft Glen Class yachts, built in Bangor, Northern Ireland in the 1940s and 50s coming from Strangford Lough and Dublin.

There are also representative yachts coming from the Royal Mersey Mylne Class, and the River Class among many others. There is palpable excitement from the owners and crew for this first ever gathering of Mylne yachts. The racing will start on Monday 13th July with a run from Rhu to Rothesay. Tuesday will see a Round Bute Race. Wednesday’s race will be around Great Cumbrae for the larger yachts, and the final race on Thursday will be back to the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club (RNCYC) at Rhu for the prize giving.

Keepsake Trophy

First Prize is the Keepsake Trophy, presented for the first time at last year’s Fife Regatta. This is a very special trophy, being the last ever design by William Fife, a 12m that was never built because of the war. When Fife retired in 1939, he telephoned Mylne and asked if he would like something to remember his old friend by. Alfred asked for this model which he knew to be hanging on Fife’s office wall – and the model duly arrived entitled ‘A Keepsake’. It is now presented ‘for Scottish Classic Yachting on the Clyde’.

The winner of last year’s Fife regatta, ‘The Truant’, is attending by special invitation to defend her prize. The social programme for the event includes special moments. On the Sunday there is a hog roast at the RNCYC. And Silvers Marine, sponsors of the first race, will shuttle people across the narrows to their yard to witness boatbuilding old and new in their excellent facility. Tuesday night sees a special reception hosted by the Isle of Bute Sailing Club, supported by Homecoming Scotland.

The Isle of Bute is where Mylne had his own yard at Ardmaleish Point, so there are strong historical connections between the island and many of the Mylne yachts. On the Wednesday night there will be a tour of Mount Stuart, the home of the Marquess of Bute, including a whisky tasting by Adelphi Distillery. Returning to the RNCYC for the final night’s prize giving, there will be a ceilidh and Scottish dinner, plus a charity fund raising event for The Ellen MacArthur Trust – ‘helping young people regain their confidence through sailing after serious illness and leukaemia.’

The Mylne Classic Regatta 2009 promises to be an exciting gathering of some of the finest yachts ever designed in Scotland. We would encourage people to come along to Rhu and Rothesay, where they will get a chance to walk among the yachts and appreciate at first hand the craftsmanship of these floating art works, and talk to the people who spend so much time (and money) enjoying them. When Alfred Mylne designed these yachts, they were cutting edge race winning designs. They were always beautiful – now we recognise them as true classics.

field facts

A Mylne & Co, 14 Halketts Hall, Limekilns, Fife KY11 3HJ Tel: 01383 873464 www.mylne.com