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The boats that sailed a century ago – part 1: Flya

100 years of racing

2021 is the centenary year of the British American Cup, the first major trophy for international team racing. The competition was hugely popular and was a further boost for the increasingly successful International Six Metre Class.

The eight entrants in 1921 – four each for Britain and America – were launched in the same year.

This is the first in a series of posts to mark the centenary of the eight pioneering international team racing boats. Our first story makes a fabulous start to the series, showing the positive impact of sailing from early childhood.

The British team: Flya

Six Metre sailing yacht

Flya sailing at Cowes in the 1920s.

Flya was designed and built by William Fife & Sons in Fairlie, Scotland, in 1921 for Mr E S Parker of Messrs Sandbach, Tinne & Co., Liverpool. Parker later commissioned three more Fife Six Metres: Finvola, whom he would sell to R M Teacher in 1928; Fintra, who along with Finvola would sail in the British American Cup in 1928 and again in 1930; and finally Fintra II in 1933.

Flya was Bermudan rigged with sails by Ratsey & Lapthorne – who provided the sails for all eight British American Cup entrants – and had the long rectangular cockpit common to Fife Metre boats. With their long ends and long counters the Fife Six Metres had the leaf point elegance of an archetypal Six Metre. And they were fast.

After good performances in trials Flya was selected to be one of the four boats on the British team for the 1921 British American Cup. Her sister boat, the Fife designed Polly, built to the same measurements, was also selected; and another Fife, Freesia, was selected as reserve.

The selection of the two Fifes was a great source of pride for Britain and in particular Scotland, where three generations of the Fife family had been among the greats of Scottish yacht building and design.

The races

Flya and her British team mates won the 1921 British American Cup, with Flya coming second in the first three races. Only Polly scored more points than Flya for the British and only Grebe for the Americans. These were the only three boats to finish every race in a week of bad weather that saw dismasting, collisions, and disqualifications.

Despite their performances neither Flya nor Polly appeared in the British American Cup again.

Flya’s fate

Lloyd’s Register of Yachts records numerous owners of Flya between 1921 and 1970. By 1963 she was co-owned by R Dawson and Mr. Brian T Moore of Essex, who raced her at Burnham-on-Crouch. She often came home ahead of the rest of the fleet, but because Six Metres were given heavy handicaps, he would end up near last.

Philip Mason’s father was a friend of Brian Moore, and he fondly remembers Flya from his childhood:

Childhood memories of Flya by Philip Mason

“I learnt to sail in Flya from 1956. Based at Burnham-on-Crouch, she belonged to a good friend of my father, Brian Towers Moore. By that time she had been converted with a small cabin top to give rudimentary accommodation below. I was 7 years old and distinctly remember being put down below when on the wind in boisterous conditions. The cabin portholes were often beneath the waves. I always remember the way the counter would be covered up to the tiller post by the stern wave when hard on the wind. Flya was raced regularly and enthusiastically at Burnham by Brian Moore who was a member of the Crouch Yacht Club. He was also, unfortunately, much prone to sea-sickness and a galvanized bucket was a necessary piece of equipment.

“My father and Brian loved to show off their skills and Flya’s controllability by sailing her on and off her mooring in the tight trots which abounded at Burnham in those days before the marina was constructed.

Flya has got a lot to answer for! What a boat!

“Becalmed on the Start Line at Burnham Week for an hour or so; the whole fleet kedged. The slightest of breezes came up and, accompanied by howls of disgust from the rest of the fleet, Flya was off and away up to the River Roach before the rest of the fleet could get moving!

“A lazy day fishing, again off the River Roach, and we must have anchored right over a shoal of dabs. We kept hauling them in on our hand-lines and soon had a bucketful. Thinking back, I hope it wasn’t the same bucket that Brian used when not feeling too good!

“As for my sailing career, it has continued almost uninterrupted for the past, ahem, 65 years. From Flya I went into Cadets racing from the Burnham Sailing Club, then onto Hornets from the Royal Corinthian at Burnham. National Junior Champion in 1970 was the highlight. [Later, in south France we] bought a yacht sales and charter business. Recently, having retired, we recovered a very early Mirror dinghy (1965) from the UK. So, Flya has got a lot to answer for! What a boat!”

An interview with Tony Knight

Flya, circa 1972.

The next owners were Mr and Mrs Knight of Biggin Hill in Kent.

The Knights purchased Flya in 1968 from Brian Moore, in Rayleigh in Essex after first seeing her in the yard of his electronics factory. Flya was in reasonable condition with a replacement mast, Terylene sails, and new galvanised rigging. She had been fitted with jumper struts instead of the original top mast forestay. This made flying a spinnaker more practical.  The original sliding goose-neck had been replaced with roller reefing and a wire main halyard on a winch.

Tony Knight recalls: “Her sail number was Q13 because she was out of class. Boats like her were sold quite cheaply immediately after the war and they were modified with cabin tops and various other things. Flya’s cabin was taken out to the inside of the inwales. It was almost as wide as the boat. The side decks were only three inches wide so you went over the top of the cabin. You didn’t climb up the side decks. The sails were old and we never had enough money to replace them. But she sailed extremely well.”

Flya was taken to Burnham-on-Crouch and launched in April 1969.

“It was in that year that Kate [Tony and Jan’s daughter] first sailed her when she was nine weeks old. People seemed quite surprised when you turned up in the harbour, produced pushchairs and nappies and things like that. The first night Kate slept on her she slept through the night for the first time which was quite nice for us!”

People seemed quite surprised when you turned up in the harbour, produced pushchairs and nappies and things like that. The first night Kate slept on her she slept through the night for the first time which was quite nice for us!

Kate was only four years old when Flya was sold but she clearly made an impact.

Tony and daughter Kate on Flya.

Kate recalls, “She was stunning, her lines were incredible. Flya set me on a love of sailing and, although I didn’t sail after I left home at 18 until I started again at 30, I made up for lost time and sailed a lot all over the Med and Solent and then did three Atlantic crossings and sailed in the Caribbean.”

After their second daughter was born, the Knights decided it was time to sell Flya.

The new owner sailed Flya in Portsmouth Harbour and he hit a naval mooring buoy. Tony explained, “They are about 10 foot in diameter by 15 foot long, like a drum, for tying up destroyers and cruisers. And he hulled her. He managed to get her into Portsmouth Harbour and sink her in a birth, much to the ire of the Navy. She was raised, taken ashore and repaired. The insurance company paid for that.

“[When she was ready] … he set off for the north of England to get back to his home territory. On the way my understanding is that in some bad weather – it’s not a boat to sail on your own actually – he… sailed it into a beach and it was smashed and lost. And that was the end of Flya.

“Of several boats I owned she was by far the one I liked best. Most impractical and you’re going to get wet! If she was going to windward she would pick water up at the chain plate and throw it straight back across the cockpit. It’s a continuous stream of cold water coming down, but that’s the sort of boat she is. I was in my twenties then but it’s something I still think about.”

Tony’s fondness for Flya is clear, and it was Flya that Tony chose when he decided to build a model. From the plans he built a 12:1 model of her.

We sailed right through the class one racing fleet in the Solent much to their ire!

Tony’s final thoughts turned to her speed capabilities – was she fast? “I remember on one occasion we sailed through the class one racing fleet in the Solent much to their ire. On another occasion we had a run back from Lymington towards Portsmouth and we averaged 10 knots which is well above her theoretical speed because she was just surfing. She had a long flat counter and when you’re going fast that is below the waterline and you get a roll of water either side of it. It was a rare occurrence but it’s quite extraordinary. She was a lovely boat to sail. A bit of a handful for two of us and a baby!”