Yachting masterpiece – 1911 William Fife and Son, Fairlie 19 Metre Class ‘Mariquita’ for sale with Nicolle Associates
The William Fife and Son 1911 Gaff Rigged Cutter ‘Mariquita’ is the best opportunity in a century to acquire a yachting masterpiece to compete on the classic sailing circuit, at a fraction of the price of most classic works of art…
Designed by the world renowned designer William Fife III the legendary yacht ‘Mariquita’ (Spanish for ‘ladybird’) is both appealing and elegant. She is a historic winner of King George IV’s Kings Cup and more recently proclaimed 2014 champion of the coveted Panerai trophy for the mediterranean big boat class and of the 2015 Panerai UK Big Boat series. ‘Mariquita’ is exceptionally rare as the only remaining 19 Metre Class yacht still in commission as well as one of the finest and most iconic classic yachts sailing today.
‘Mariquita’ is the only surviving 19 Metre Class yacht and the oldest of only four remaining of the metre class “Big Boats”, the others being the 23 Metre Class ‘Astra’ (1928), ‘Cambria’ (1928), ‘Candida’ (1929).
Built by Fairlie, Fife’s yard on the Clyde, she was first launched in 1911 and performed admirably until the start of the Great War then was sold and spent the remainder of the war years in Norway.
After the Great War ‘Mariquita’ returned to England and achieved a distinguished racing record before being decommissioned in the 1930’s. Following extensive re-commissioning carried out by the Fife experts, Fairlie restorations, which was completed in 2004 ‘Mariquita’ re-joined the classic racing fleet and is one of today’s most successful classic racing yachts.
After two extremely successful owner campaigns over the last ten years, ‘Mariquita’ is now looking for a new custodian to embrace the spirit of tradition, legacy, heritage and pedigree that any William Fife designed and built classic race boat stands for.