Hallowe’en-Vintage Fife Cutter
Cannes South of France
The Hallowe’en was built by William Fife III in 1926 on the River Clyde in Scotland. This luxury yacht was previously called the Cotton Blossom IV and dominated ocean racing for many years. It has also seen major transformations over the course over its long life, including a restoration of her original lines in the late eighties/early nineties.The Story
Works were carried out through the nineties, such as in France where it was optimised for shorthanded racing with a new mast and winches. Additionally, important structural work was also done to the hull and keel in the winter of 2008/9. The result is a classic wooden sailing yacht that still wins regattas this day despite its advancing age.
Ship’s Captain, Inigo Strez, contacted SWR for a new standing rigging package. The existing rigging was at the end of its 10 year lifespan and an upgrade was required for insurance purposes.
The Products
The Result
Standing rigging is comprised of wire and fixings which support the mast on a sailing vessel for the purpose of reinforcing its spars against the wind. Inigo needed wire rope in a variety of lengths plus other fixings in order for the installation to go as planned.
He said: “The package had to include the right parts for upper and lower shrouds with open chromed bronze turnbuckles at the deck level and swaged eyes aloft. We also needed rigging for the forestay and bobstay with chrome bronze turnbuckles and new whisker shrouds”.
Although SWR were not installing the rigging, we still needed to fabricate the wire accurately to very tight tolerances in order to fit the ship’s original rigging (which couldn’t be altered). All work was carried out in our workshop by our production team and is just one of many services we offer.
The customer was also working to a tight deadline so expected a quick turnaround. Not easy when the yacht’s home port is based in Cannes in the South of France. However, all parts arrived on time with correct documentation and expertly packaged by our trusted courier. SWR are proud to have played an important role in rigging this beautiful antique yacht.
“The Guys at SWR have provided us with quick turnaround and a cost-effective solution to what is normally an expensive part of any yacht’s refit budget. I would recommend, and use SWR in the future for further rigging requirements. Cheers for the quality work!” Inego Strez - Captain of the Hallowe’en
