S/Y FOXHOUND, A 63ft OCEAN RACER FROM 1935
LOA 63.25 ft |
LWL 45.0 ft |
beam 12.5 ft |
draught 9.1 ft |
sail area 1650 sqft |
displacement 33 ton |
Lead keel 16 ton |
off. lloyd's register number 2221 |
rorc sail number 126 |
designer Charles Nicholson |
Builders Camper & Nicholson |
ownership Absolute |
In 2021 Absolute embraced the FOXHOUND project, one of the most iconic of the British ocean racing yachts — the immediate design predecessor and close sister to the famous and royal, racing yawl BLOODHOUND.
Designed by Charles Nicholson for Isaac Bell, an American citizen living in England, she was built and launched by Camper & Nicholson in June 1935, just in time for the racing season. FOXHOUND is a rare and amazing ocean racer with a unique racing pedigree that never had her name changed through the subsequence ownerships. Past owners and keen yachtsman like Hon. Mrs. Emily Rachel Pitt-Rivers, from England, or Ernesto Vieira de Mendonça, from Portugal, made sure FOXHOUND was always out there for racing.
Absolute is committed to guarantee FOXHOUND returns back again to the classic racing circuit and in great style. We are searching for the right owner to help us bring this extraordinary example of a first class ocean racing yacht back to activity and ensure that her name will not be forgotten.
(…) Mr. Isaac Bell´s Nicholson-designed Foxhound, (…) certainly merits attention, but we prefer to regard her as an exceptionally lovely ship attracting admirers on her own account in any company. The lines of her hull are long and beautifully drawn, her ends are easy and promise speed in any weather, blow high or low, while the deep blue of her topsides seems to make her look much smaller than she really is.
Built to Lloyd’s R Class, she is of semi-composite construction with steel frames, mahogany topsides and teak bottom planking. Decks, deckhouse and all her hatches are of teak. Her mast is set well into the ship, and is a hollow silver spruce spar, while she carries a full outfit of racing and cruising canvas of tanned finish.
The accommodation is fitted up for the most part in cedar with all flooring in teak. There is ample headroom everywhere, and the arrangement is planned with an eye to both cruising and racing. (…)
Considering who are the builders of Foxhound, it goes without saying that the workmanship and finish are of the highest class. (…)
(…) these were a development of Nicholson’s fast cruisers but they were based mainly upon his racing yachts and in particularly the 12-metre class. The first of the great trio was Foxhound, 45ft L.W.L., 12ft 6in beam, built for Isaac Bell in 1935, was in fact, to all intents and purposes, a 12-metre below the waterline, for this is what he once told the writer. Construction was to Lloyd´s R classification for the 12-metre class.
Nicholson had long been dissatisfied with Lloyd’s scantlings for cruising yachts which he considered to be far too heavy, and he thus, in one move, abandoned them for those considered only fit for racing yachts. How right he was is proved by the fact that all his ocean racers are still in service, and that the “R” scantlings have since been adopted with certain modifications for cruising yachts.
In the following year Foxhound was followed by Bloodhound, a yawl with a similar hull for the same owner. She was followed by Stiarna in 1937. All have proved themselves to be fine seaworthy yachts capable, not only of ocean racing, but of crossing the oceans, and all are first-class sea boats as well as comfortable cruisers. So versatile are these yachts that they are, in fact, very hard to beat ”round the buoys”. (…)
1935 Designed and Built for Isaac Bell |
1935 - 1936 Isaac Bell |
1936 - 1949 Cmte. G. de Gasquet-James |
1949 - 1951 D. H. E. McCowen |
1951 - 1957 Hon. Emily Rachell Pitt-Rivers |
1957 - 1972 Ernesto Vieira Mendonça |
1972 - 2021 António and Isabel Xara-Brasil Nogueira |
2021 - present Absolute |
In 1957, Hon. Emily Rachel Pitt-Rivers sold her beloved FOXHOUND to Ernesto Vieira Mendonça, after crossing the Atlantic Ocean and racing the 1956 Bermuda Race. Ernesto Mendonça was a keen and very active racing star class sailor. He got immediately enchanted by the opportunity of acquiring such a remarkable yacht and joined the growing Portuguese fleet of ocean racers.
1935 4th place - Fastnet Race (1st to round the FASTNET ROCK) |
1935 1st place - Morgan Cup Race to Cherbourg |
1935 1st place - Le Palais to Bénodet Race |
1935 1st place - Royal Thames Yacht Club Trophy |
1935 1st place - Dartmouth Royal Regattas |
1936 - 1937 1st place - Dinard to Ile de Bréhat Race |
1937 2nd place - Cowes to Dinard Race (King Eduard VII Cup) |
1951 1st place - West Brittany Races |
1951 1st place - Plymouth to La Rochelle Race |
1952, 1955 1st place - Southsea to Harwick Race |
1952 1st place - Channel Race (Royal Albert Y. C. Trophy) |
1952 - 1953 1st place - Cowes to Dinard Race (King Eduard VII Cup) |
1952 - 1953 1st place - Brixham to Santander Race |
1952 - 1953 1st place - Santander to Belle Ile Race |
1954 1st place - North Sea Race (Haaks Cup) |
1955 2nd place - Fastnet Race |
1955 2nd place - Cowes to La Coruna Race |
1956 15th place - Bermuda Race |
1958 - 1959, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1969 1st place - Sesimbra to Cascais Race (D. Carlos I Trophy) |
1958 - 1960, 1962, 1965 - 1966, 1969, 1975 1st place - Berlengas Race (Salazar Trophy) |
1959, 1961, 1963 - 1966, 1968 - 1969 1st place - D. Pedro V Trophy |
1959, 1961, 1963 - 1964, 1966, 1968 1st place - Lisboa to Setubal Race (Wintermantel Trophy) |
1960 - 1961 1st place - Vigo to Lisboa Race (D. Nicolas Franco Trophy) |
1960 1st place - Oceânica Regatta (Cascais to Malaga) |
1961, 1964, 1967 - 1968 2nd place - Berlengas Race (Salazar Trophy) |
1965 2nd place - Lisboa to Portimão Regatta |
1967 - 1968 1st place - Ending of Season A.N.L. Trophy |
1971 - 1973 1st place - Clube Naval Cascais VI Trophy |
1973 35th place - Fastnet Race (winner of Iolaire Cup) |
1973 1st place - D. João V Regatta |
1979 1st place - Vilamoura Race |
Es un barco cargado de história. Los que llegan a Lisboa y lo ven hablan de sus hazãnas marineras. Un inglés que había regateado con él, cuando lo recorrió por dentro se puso a llorar de emoción. Esa admiración que dispierta y que hace exclamar a cuantos lo ven “!OH el FOXHOUND!” me decidió a no cambiar el nombre del barco. (…)
En el primer año que lo tuve me ganó un cincuenta por ciento de las regatas en que tomó parte. Asi fué superándose hasta el año passado, en que las ganó todas. (…)
Tiene una ceñida fantástica, en la que es muy difícil de batir hasta por los nuevos diseños.
En la primera regata, Lisboa-Sines, nos clasificamos primeros. (…) Aquello fué memorable. Soplaba el viento con fuerza nueve y, entonces, el “Foxhound” demostró sus magníficas cualidades, tanto por la resistencia del barco como por lo ducha que fué la tripulación. Llevábamos la mayor con dos rizos y dos foques de estay pequenõs. El barco se metía en las olas e desaparecía bajo ellas y, aunque iban atados a cubierta, tenía que recontar la tripulación cada vez que el “Foxhound” emergía de una de aquellas olas rompientes, navegando como un auténtico pez. (…) comprendí cómo el “Foxhound” podría atravesar nuevamente el Atlántico con toda tranquilidad. (…)
She is a real beauty, hope you will find a nice new owner to restore her.
Kindest regards,
What a super cool and super important boat she is, she was the benchmark boat, fast, beautiful and universally admired! (...) I have been on board some 20 years ago and that boat is stunning, she really is! The interior is very original, all cedrela and all is kept to the lowest possible weight at the time. Her hull appears pretty sound…the idea is to have the boat fully restored to original, or as close to original as possible. Of course the original Cedrela interior will need to stay original, it’s exquisite. And of course it is a large project, always more than anyone thinks…what is more important is to find the right man or woman who will honor this amazing yacht and race/cruise her the way she was intended to.
Best wishes,
Mister Vieira, I knew our friendship had to come to an end one day; but I never dreamed of an end like this!!
Only a godforsaken Portuguese so to say ship restorer could do this.
Of course you kept me away from this project, you knowing that I would have snatched her away from you. And do I remember? You must be joking: she is a dream!
Will she be ready for Geneva next year?
Best,
How amazing! What great work to do restoring these lovely yachts, I will keep a look out for anything on Foxhound.
Best regards,
John tells me you have Foxhound in your yard, she is easily in my top ten yachts ever and is very close to the top!
An article was published in "Yachting World", right after her launch in June 1935. A second article on the three "Sister Ships". Plus, an interesting advertise by C&N in "Yachting Monthly".
Download "The Ocean Racer Foxhound" PDF Download "Foxhound, Bloodhound and Stiarna" PDF Download "C&N Advertise for Foxhound" PDF