View source for Bloodhound (yacht)

{{Short description|Ocean racing yacht}}
{{about|the ocean racing yacht||Bloodhound (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin |infobox caption=nodab}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image               = The Bloodhound - geograph.org.uk - 1319310.jpg
|Ship image size = 300px
| Ship caption             =  ''Bloodhound'' moored at Dolphin Marina, [[Poole]] in 2009.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header              = 
| Ship country             = United Kingdom
| Ship flag                = {{shipboxflag|UK|civil}}
| Ship name                = 
| Ship owner               =*Ike Bell (1936–1939)
*Hans Hamilton and Patrick Egan (1939–1947)
*Myles Wyatt (1947–1962)
*[[Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Philip]] (1962–1969)
*Robert Cook (1969–2002)
*Richard Carr (2002–2003)
*Tony and Cindy McGrail (2003–2010)
*Royal Yacht Britannia Trust (since 2010)
| Ship ordered             = 
| Ship builder             = [[Camper and Nicholsons]]
| Ship yard number         = 438
| Ship original cost       = 
| Ship laid down           = 1936
| Ship launched            = 1936
| Ship acquired            = 
| Ship commissioned        = 
| Ship decommissioned      = 
| Ship in service          = 
| Ship out of service      = 
| Ship renamed             = 
| Ship struck              = 
| Ship reinstated          = 
| Ship identification      = *{{MMSI Number|235003227}}
*[[Maritime call sign|Callsign]]: ZNWF7
| Ship honours             = 
| Ship captured            = 
| Ship fate                = 
| Ship status              = 
| Ship notes               = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header              = 
| Header caption           = 
| Ship class               = Ocean racing yacht 
| Ship tons burthen        = 34 tons
| Ship length              = {{convert|19.2|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam                = 
| Ship draught             = 
| Ship draft               = 
| Ship hold depth          = 
| Ship propulsion          = 
| Ship sail plan           = [[Bermuda rig|Bermudan]] [[yawl]]<ref name=Johnstone-Brydenp97>{{cite book |first=Richard |last=Johnstone-Bryden |title=The Royal Yacht ''Britannia'': The Official History |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |year=2003 |page=97 |isbn=0-85177-937-9}}</ref>
| Ship complement          = 
| Ship armament            = 
| Ship notes               = 
}}
|}

'''''Bloodhound''''' is a {{convert|19.2|m|adj=on}} ocean [[Yacht racing|racing yacht]]. She was designed by [[Charles Ernest Nicholson|Charles E. Nicholson]] and built by [[Camper and Nicholsons]] in 1936. From 1962 to 1969 she was owned by the [[British Royal Family]] and in January 2010 she was purchased by [[Royal Yacht Britannia|The Royal Yacht ''Britannia'']] Trust.

==Royal ownership==
In 1962 ''Bloodhound'' was purchased for the Royal Family at the request of [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Philip]]. In February she was sailed from [[Plymouth]] to [[Gosport]] to be refitted by Camper and Nicholsons and the work was finished by June. Prince Philip sailed ''Bloodhound'' with [[Uffa Fox]] at [[Cowes Week]] in August of that year.<ref name=Johnstone-Brydenp97 />

During royal ownership ''Bloodhound'' would accompany [[Royal Yacht Britannia|The Royal Yacht ''Britannia'']] in the Western Isles when the royal family had their one true family holiday every year. She had a permanent crew of three, and one skipper was a descendant of [[Francis Drake|Sir Francis Drake]]. It was during these times that the young royals learned to sail on ''Bloodhound''. When not in royal use, ''Bloodhound'' and her crew were chartered to yacht clubs across the country at a daily fee of £1 (later increased to £2) per participant, used to expose thousands of people to offshore sailing.

In 1969 ''Bloodhound'' was sold by the royal family and ''Bloodhound'' then effectively retired from racing. Over time the boat gradually fell into considerable disrepair and very nearly became beyond salvage. However, in 2002 Richard Carr purchased ''Bloodhound'' and then later passed her into the ownership of Tony McGrail, a yacht surveyor and classic yacht restorer, in 2003.<ref>[http://www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk/media/221306/the_royal_sailing_yachts_-_richard_johnstone-bryden.pdf The royal sailing yachts] royalyachtbritannia.co.uk {{dead link|date=September 2022}}</ref> Over the next {{frac|3|1|2}} years she underwent a major internal and external refit to bring her back to her original condition.

In January 2010 ''Bloodhound'' was purchased by The Royal Yacht ''Britannia'' Trust and is now berthed alongside ''Britannia'' in [[Leith]].

==Racing accomplishments==
{|class="wikitable collapsible sortable"
|+Racing accomplishments<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalyachtbloodhound.com/history_bloodhound_yacht.php |title=Royal Yacht ''Bloodhound'' – History |access-date=18 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715205805/http://www.royalyachtbloodhound.com/history_bloodhound_yacht.php |archive-date=2011-07-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
!Year
!Event
!Place
|-
|1936||Channel Race||1st
|-
|1936||Morgan Cup||1st
|-
|1937||[[Fastnet Race]]||3rd overall
|-
|1939||Benodet Race||2nd
|-
|1939||Channel Race||1st
|-
|1939||Fastnet Race||1st
|-
|1946||Royal London Yacht Club Regatta (at [[Cowes Week]])||1st
|-
|1946||[[Royal Yacht Squadron]] Race (at Cowes Week)||1st
|-
|1947||Fastnet Race||2nd
|-
|1947||Southsea to Brixton Race||1st
|-
|1948||Morgan Cup||2nd
|-
|1948||[[Round the Island Race]]||1st
|-
|1948||Royal Yacht Squadron Race (at Cowes Week)||2nd
|-
|1949||Fastnet Race||1st
|-
|1949||Morgan Cup||1st (handicapped to 2nd)
|-
|1949||North Sea Race||1st
|-
|1949||Portsmouth to Poole Race||1st
|-
|1951||Channel Race||1st
|-
|1951||Fastnet Race||2nd
|-
|1951||[[Harwich]] to [[Hook of Holland|Hook]] Race||1st
|-
|1951||North Sea Race||1st
|-
|1951||Round the Island Race||3rd
|-
|1951||[[St Malo]] to [[Dinard]] Race||1st
|-
|1952||[[Bermuda Race]]||2nd overall
|-
|1953||[[Cowes]] to Dinard Race||1st
|-
|1953||Fastnet Race||1st (handicapped to 12th)
|-
|1957||Fastnet Race||5th overall
|-
|1958||Channel Race||1st
|-
|1959||[[Lyme Bay]] Race||1st
|-
|1965||Lyme Bay Race||1st
|}

==Gallery==

<gallery mode=packed>
Image:Royal Yacht Bloodhound (6615728453).jpg|''Bloodhound'' at Leith Docks in December 2011 
Image:Racing Yacht Bloodhound (6287135642).jpg|''Bloodhound'' at Leith Docks in October 2011
Image:Racing Yacht Bloodhound (6286617935).jpg|''Bloodhound'' at Leith Docks in October 2011
Image:Racing Yacht Bloodhound (6286633811).jpg|''Bloodhound'' at Leith Docks in October 2011
Image:Racing Yacht Bloodhound (6287153474).jpg|''Bloodhound'' at Leith Docks in October 2011
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=5260 Scottish Screen Archive footage of ''Bloodhound'']

{{Royal Yachts of the United Kingdom}}
{{National Historic Ships}}
{{Fastnet Race winning yachts}}
{{Fastnet Race winning yachts (line honours)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloodhound (yacht)}}
[[Category:1936 ships]]
[[Category:Individual sailing vessels]]
[[Category:Ships built in Gosport]]
[[Category:Ships and vessels on the National Register of Historic Vessels]]
[[Category:Fastnet Race yachts]]
[[Category:Sailing yachts built in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1930s sailing yachts]]
[[Category:12-metre class yachts]]
[[Category:Sailing yachts of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Sailing yachts designed by Charles Ernest Nicholson]]