Back From The Dead

One of history’s most radically advanced yachts, saved to race again

- Sam Fortescue

Ester was built for one purpose, and one purpose only: to defeat the Finns in 1901 and retain the coveted Tivoli Cup held by the Royal Swedish Sailing Society (KSSS). That she was designed by an amateur and went on to sweep all before her for nearly 30 years is impressive enough. That she was apparently scuttled on a dark night, then rediscovered 80 years later on the seabed, raised and rebuilt to race again sounds like the stuff of fairytale. And yet this is that tale.

It really all began in 1900, the year before Ester was dreamed up by the gifted, young Gunnar Mellgren. In May, a remarkable yacht had been launched at Blekholmen boatyard in Helsinki. Aldebaran was designed by Gustaf Estlander to challenge for a number of cups in Finland, Russia and Sweden, and no cost had been spared to make her as fast as possible. The backbone and frames were made of steel and the planking of mahogany. She had a fin keel made of bronze and a lead bulb keel. Newspapers described her as the most elegant and expensive racing machine ever built in Finland. That year, she won 12 of her 13 races, losing only to a catamaran.

Suitably armed, Finland’s most prominent yacht club, the Nyländska Jaktklubben, challenged the KSSS for the Tivoli Cup just before Christmas. In Stockholm, they doubted they could match Aldebaran’s speed, but nevertheless started to plan a defence. Unsolicited designs began to trickle in to the KSSS, including one from Mellgren. In a twist that is unthinkable these days, he won the commission, setting him on the pathway to become Sweden’s best designer of fin-keeled racers. Sweden’s top boatyard, Stockholms Båtbyggeri, was set to building it in mahogany on steel and oak frames, at a cost of 15,000 Krona – equivalent to over £500,000 now.