Melita was designed and built at Fairlie in Scotland by William Fife in 1934. Originally built for Sir Ronald Teacher, she has a wonderful racing track record and great potential to turn heads and to win regattas. She is ready to be raced but would benefit from a modest investment by the new owner to bring her up to concours condition; her performance might also be further improved by some strengthening of the area around the mast step.

She has been in her current ownership for 20 years, racing regularly with the UK fleet and in France, including Worlds in 2005 and 2007, and  at the 2008 Europeans in La Trinite. In 2022 she raced in the British Classic Yacht Club Regatta and the Royal Yacht Squadron’s Fife Regatta and in 2023 was preparing to race in the Worlds in Cowes. Unfortunately she had to withdraw from the Worlds due to her owner being incapacitated at that time.

She has a good inventory which includes:

• Benn’s aluminium mast and boom
• Tactics Wireless set for wind, compass, depth, boat speed etc 
• Carbon spinnaker pole x 2
• Roller headfoil
• Adjustable genoa cars
• Lewmar self-tail winches for main sheet, jib/spinnaker sheets and running back stays
• Mast table with winches below deck for all halliards, main outhaul, pole lift and downhaul
• Fenders and warps
• Anchor and chain as per class rule
• Jib sheets, spinnaker sheets, lightweight spinnaker sheets etc
• Winter cover, boom cover, mainsail cover, rear hatch cover
• Battery
• Trailer with storage pods.

Recent renewals

• New backstay 2023
• New running backstays 2022
• New spinnaker halliard
• New main halliard 
• New jib halliard 
• New mainsail 2021 (One Sails Hamble) 

Sail inventory

• Mainsails x 3. 1 North Dacron gc; I heavy Beilken gc; 1x One Sails vgc
• Jibs. No. 1 One Sails Dacron vgc; Heavy No.1 Beilken gc; No.2 North 3DL gc
• Spinnakers x 4. 1 North white high cut gc; 1 Beilken red full cut vgc; 1 Doyle green old; I red with white trimmings; 1 Sobstadt red, blue gold, old but gc 
• Several older North/Sobstadt mainsails and jibs.

Ratings certificates

• RYA (2023, valid 4 years)
• IRC TCC 0.924 (2009)
• CIM rating 2022

Present condition

• Good condition overall. Considerable care has been taken to maintain upkeep and appearance by the current owner of the last 19 years  
• Melita would benefit from strengthening the area around the mast step, and port-side beam shelf in order to remain competitive with top performing classics in the class, many of whom have been strengthened in this area. Upwind performance might also be enhanced with a different mast section-the current one considered extremely stiff.
• The deck was thoroughly rubbed down and varnished (10+ coats) in 2022. Teak deck and mahogany in very good condition
• The hull is epoxy sheathed. Topsides are in good condition, but some cosmetic improvements could quickly be made by cleaning and polishing where for example some varnish has run. 
• Winches would benefit a good servicing. 
• The trailer is not presently roadworthy but enables convenient storage and is easy to manoeuvre around a boatyard. Tyres are all inflated and all bearings checked or replaced 2021/22

As the asking price reflects, this is a wonderful opportunity for the new owner to prepare and tune the boat to their liking, and to participate in the upcoming season including the European championships in Sanxenxo, Spain in September 2024, the Olympic Centenary/Mediterranean/Fife regattas, Challenge Lemanique, club racing etc. Melita has the potential to be a serious contender given her excellent provenance, William Fife design and build, and proven past racing track record. 

Please click here for more detailed information and additional photos and drawings.

Price: £25,000 but all serious offers considered in order to achieve a timely sale.

For more information please contact David Roberts by email on dwro@btinternet.com