We had the pleasure to welcome The magnificent yacht «Blue Bird of 1938» at the honour quay of our port a few days ago. Here is the history of this vessel.
The yacht was launched from the Goole shipyard for Sir Malcolm Campbell. Designed by Scottish naval architects G.L. Watson, it was intended to be an ocean-going yacht as Sir Malcolm planned to go treasure hunting in the Cocos Islands in the Pacific. He never made it to the Pacific, as the yacht was requisitioned during the war in 1940 and went to Dunkirk to assist in the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force.
In 1941, He patrols off Liverpool, where he narrowly avoids being blown up by a bomb, and later that year, he departs for Northern Ireland, where he is tasked with patrolling the coast off Ulster and Eire.
After the war, it was taken out of service, but Sir Campbell was too old by then to undertake long journeys. He died in 1948 and, 5 years later, the yacht was sold. When Jean-Louis Renault, the famous car manufacturer, bought it in 1958, it was named Sterope. Over the following 25 years, it was named Janick and extensively cruised the Mediterranean.
In 1973, It was sold to Mr Colberg who based it in Long Beach, California and it was painted green. When Bob Harvey-George bought it in 1986, he brought it back to the UK. Major modifications were made which returned the yacht close to its original profile. After nine years of chartering in British waters, it was sold to a Dutch ex-deep-sea captain in 1995. It was based in Rotterdam from where it undertook day trips, as well as cruises to the Baltic and the South Coast of England during the summer.
In 2006, it is bought by Nick Edminston who has it fully restored.
A large part of Blue Bird's steel hull was still intact, but due to stability issues caused by its heavy superstructure, it was decided to reconstruct the entire superstructure.
In May 2007, Blue Bird has been completed and has left Palma. In the summer of 2007, she will be cruising in the Eastern and Western Mediterranean, while in the winter she will be cruising in the Caribbean.
