HMY ''Bezan'' (or ''Bezaan'') was a
Royal Yacht
A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...
of the
Royal Navy of
England. The ''Bezan'' was a Dutch pleasure yacht built in 1630 and presented to
Charles II by the
Dutch East India Company. The ''Bezan'' was about 15 feet long with a single mast and carried a crew of two, and was the precursor of modern leisure yachts.
A "bezaan" is Dutch for a
gaff rigged type of sail.
HMY ''Mary'', which was also presented by the Dutch East India Company to Charles the same year, had
“square rigging”.
Charles and his brother
James raced their craft against each other. There was a race between the Dutch-built ''Bezan'' and the King’s yacht
''Jamie'' (named after
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, KG, PC (9 April 1649 – 15 July 1685) was a Dutch-born English nobleman and military officer. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlan ...
), which the former easily won.
References
* ''King Charles II'' (1979);
Antonia Fraser. .
Diary entry of Samuel Pepys
Royal Yachts of the Kingdom of England
Former properties of the Dutch East India Company
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