Welcome to The Fife Regatta 2008
We would like to welcome you to the website of the Fife Regatta 2008 - an event to celebrate the yachts created by William Fife & Sons, who designed and built some of the world's finest yachts.
This June, classic yachts designed by William Fife will be returning to their birth place to participate in the regatta. The boats were designed and built in Fairlie, near Largs. Ten years ago there was a gathering of 11 Fife yachts to celebrate the centenary of Eric Taberley’s Pen Duick, and five years ago there was a gathering of 22 Fife yachts to celebrate the centenary of Moonbeam III. In June, 25 yachts will gather to celebrate the centenary of Viola. You can read more about the Fife family on the Fife History page.
The Fife Yachts are one of the Worlds most prestigious group of Classic yachts. The Yachts portray a journey through time and represent a period of great development and skill in the sailing world. William Fife III was from a family of boat builders and designers and throughout his career developed some amazing vessels that still grace our waters today. Many of these boats from the turn of the Century now sail abroad, and it is due to the passion felt by the owners that these boats will be able to once again congregate on the Clyde to show their great beauty and heritage in the waters of their birthplace. The yachts will be brought from as far afield as the Mediterranean, USA, New Zealand, Scandinavia and of course Scotland. This will be the largest gathering of Fife designed yachts in the world.
The yachts will race from Largs up to Rhu, Helensburgh, and onto Rothesay on the Isle of Bute before returning to Largs at the end of the week. The full regatta schedule can be found on the Regatta Information page.
Celebrating Viola's 100th Birthday
As part of the regatta, we are proud to be celebrating the 100th birthday of the 50' Gaff Cutter Viola.