St. Eval – Ship of the Week Sep 15, 2017 | West Pacific Marine

15 Sep 2017 Ship of the Week 68

Seen here alongside in Coal Harbour, but more usually found lying at the Seaspan Dock at Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver, is the converted yacht St. Eval which began life in the UK having
been built at the Bowling Shipyard on the River Clyde in Scotland, as a pre-war Warrior Class tug.

Shipbuilding at the Bowling Shipyard began around 1800 when the McGill brothers established their yard at the Forth and Clyde Canal basin. By the late 1840’s the McGill’s had joined forces with James Scott to form Scott & McGill, which became Scott and Sons in 1851. Between 1851 and 1979 Scott’s built in excess of 450 vessels and was incorporated in 1958 being traded for the first time as Scott & Sons (Bowling) Ltd . In 1965, the company was taken over by Scott’s Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd of Greenock and became part of the Scott Lithgow Group. The yard closed in 1979.

Designed and built by Scott and Sons at the Bowling Shipyard, Scotland
Delivered in 1930, served in WWII, refitted in 1993
Length 35m (115 feet)
Beam 7.4m
Displacement 382 tonnes
Main engine single screw 660HP (486kW)
Cruising speed 10 knots
Accommodation for up to four guests
Registered in Falmouth, UK
Previous name: Chieftain

During the Second World War, when based in Falmouth, Cornwall, in the far south west of the UK, Chieftain was  repeatedly tasked to come to the aid of torpedoed freighters and warships in the English Channel and, when possible, to tow them to port. In 1968, her new owner “Falmouth Towing Company” changed her name to St. Eval after a well known church and north Cornwall hamlet. In 1980 she was purchased by British businessman Peter De Savary and converted into a support vessel for the America’s Cup.

In the early 1990’s St. Eval was converted into a luxury yacht for Mr. Dennis Washington, however she remains British flagged and the 1992 America’s Cup Challenge Port Pendennis emblem is still proudly displayed on her black funnel even though the UK team was forced to eventually withdraw from the event for lack of funding, This was the first time that a UK team had failed to compete for the America’s Cup since the UK launched the competition in 1851.

St. Eval is often featured in Christmas cards and other memorabilia and as the pictures reveal, she is tastefully fitted out with much of her original character preserved.

See the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y14GzvHSHs

 

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