William Fife and Son closed in 1939- What happened next? At the beginning of World War II the Fife yard was taken over by the Admiralty as it had been in World War I. This time it was not to build boats for the war effort. The Admiralty’s under water research station at Portland on the […]
For the want of a keel the yacht was (nearly) lost
When Fred Meyer, the then Chairman of the International Eight Metre Class Association found Severn, a 1929 Eight Metre designed and built by William Fife III, he decided to restore her. There was only one drawback – her keel was missing! Many yachts laid up during World War II lost their keels to the war effort. […]