With colourful stories and old-world charm, classic yachts offer a chance to own a rare and valuable piece of maritime history. BOAT handpicks eight of the finest classic yachts currently listed for sale.
Seagull II
Builder: Uljanik
Length: 54.1m
Year: 1952
Part of the “Six Poets” series by the Croatian shipyard, Seagull II’s name is inspired by author and former President Vladimir Nazor. She served 50 years as a coastal passenger ship, a crucial mode of transport in the 50s that connected the cities of Dubrovnik, Rijeka, Kotor and Split. At the time, she was licensed to carry an impressive 700 passengers. A complete rebuild from 2004 to 2005 ushered in a renaissance for Seagull II, transforming her into a popular charter yacht. Bono and Henrik Christian, the crown prince of Denmark, are counted among her famous guests.
Seagull II is asking €5,900,000 with Fraser.
Northern Sun
Builder: Narasaki Shipbuilding
Length: 51m
Year: 1976
Delivered under the name Hokko Maru (“Northern Light”), this expedition vessel was the largest yacht built by Narasaki Shipbuilding at the time. It has lived an eclectic life, from working as an ice-class research vessel analysing currents in the North Japan sea, to travelling for ten years across Southeast Asia as a private superyacht with American owners, to becoming one of the most popular charter yachts cruising Thailand today, according to Ocean Independence. Northern Sun will be taking on her breakout television role this July as the star yacht of Below Deck Down Under season two.
Northern Sun is asking $15,000,000 with Ocean Independence.
Plan B
Builder: HMA Naval Dockyard
Length: 50m
Year: 1973
Built in 1973, Plan B's ‘Plan A’ was joining the military. Known then as HMAS Flinders, she served Royal Australian Navy’s hydrographic survey fleet for over 20 years. Later, she was decommissioned and turned into a private expedition vessel, cruising extensively to the Arctic Circle, Patagonia, New Zealand, Galapagos Islands, Easter Islands and Myanmar. Plan B's heavy-duty credentials are still evident in her militaristic profile and the Airbus H145 helicopter stowed on her sundeck, complete with refuelling capabilities for longer passages. All major machinery and systems have been upgraded, including a full rebuild of the main engines between 2018 and 2019.
Plan B is listed by Christie Yachts with POA.
Trafalgar
Builder: Denizcilik
Length: 39m
Year: 1975
Custom built in Turkey, Trafalgar enjoyed a spell of fame when, under her previous name of Moonmaiden II, she appeared in the James Bond film The Living Daylights. In the opening sequence, Timothy Dalton parachutes onto Trafalgar, meeting Bond girl Linda (played by Belle Avery) and delivering the classic (read: cheesy) line: "Better make that two". Trafalgar was taken to the UK in 2016 for an extensive refit and rebuild. This saw her technical system upgraded and her interiors refreshed with satin-finish French mahogany furniture.
Trafalgar is asking €2,350,000 with Ocean Independence.
Weatherbird
Builder: Chantier Naval De Normandie
Length: 31m
Year: 1931
Weatherbird was designed by Henri Rambaud and her captain Vladimir Orloff, a Russian aristocrat who fled to France after the murder of his father by the Bolsheviks. This twin-masted schooner caught the tail-end of 1920s prosperity, entertaining cultural icons such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Coco Chanel in revelries along the French Riviera. Louis Armstrong was also a guest, after whom the sailing yacht was named – in fact, a copy of his “Weatherbird” rag record was symbolically melded into the keel mid-build. Commissioned by American expatriates Sarah and Gerald Murphy, you can find a dedication to the couple on the first page of Fitzgerald’s novel Tender is the Night. In 1933, as Mussolini rose to power and the health of their son Patrick declined, the Murphys left for America, never to return.
Weatherbird is asking €3,370,000 with Northrop and Johnson.
Read More/Weatherbird: The story behind the classic sailing yacht that inspired Jazz Age artistsFredrikstad
Builder: Smedvik Mek
Length: 22.9m
Year: 1968
This classic Norwegian vessel was named in honour of the citizens of Fredrikstad that commissioned and paid for her as a rescue boat in 1968. Fredrikstad saved 11 lives and performed more than 600 rescues across her 20 years in service. In 1988, the boat was decommissioned and sold to a private individual in Oslo, who used it for salvage and exploration. In 1996, she was purchased by Peter de Savary of America’s Cup fame, who stripped the boat to bare frames for a major restoration that transformed Fredrikstad into the yacht she is today. Her most recent refit was in 2021 at Cantieri Navali di La Spezia.
Fredrikstad is asking €850,000 with Fraser.
Rugosa
Builder: Herreshoff
Length: 21.9m
Year: 1926
Rugosa is a New York Yacht Club 40, the most coveted model in Herreshoff’s NYYC One-Design series. Built as a yawl, she has proven herself a hardy and accomplished racer, winning the 1928 Bermuda Race under the ownership of Russell Grinnell and famously beating 58 top classics in the 2001 Americas Cup Jubilee in Cowes. Her most tenured owner is Halsey Herreshoff, the grandson of her designer, who cruised and raced extensively on Rugosa across 30 years and several continents, including the USA and Europe.
Rugosa’s most recent major refit was in 2007. Another refit is expected by the next custodian in order to bring her back to her prime condition.
Rugosa is asking €475,000 with Edmiston.
Outlaw
Builder: Souters of Cowes
Length: 14.9m
Year: 1963
Outlaw was famously owned by Maxwell Aitken, WWII fighter pilot and president of the Daily Express. In her very first season, this cold-mould yacht led the British Admiral Cup team to victory and was the overall winner of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Class I Points Series. Starting as she meant to go on, Outlaw achieved a remarkable string of victories, including finishing as the first British boat in the 1967 Fastnet Race. She was found abandoned in 1983 by her current owner but an 18-month refit saw her rejuvenated and ready to cruise warmer waters. Outlaw spent six years travelling across Portugal, Gibraltar and the Balearics before finally settling down on the Côte d’Azur in 1989. This sailing yacht is still well-known on the Med circuit, most recently winning the Panerai Overall Classic Trophy in 2005. She has also successfully completed two transatlantic crossings.
Outlaw is asking €250,000 with Edmiston.