''Princess Svanevit'' is a Swedish

12 metre The 12 Metre class is a rating class for racing sailboats that are designed to the International rule. It enables fair competition between boats that rate in the class whilst retaining the freedom to experiment with the details of their designs. ...

class yacht, at the longest ever built. It was by designed by Gustaf Estlander & Tore Holm and built at August Plym's wharf Neglingevarvet by his sons Carl Plym and

Bengt Plym Bengt may refer to: People In arts, entertainment and media Actors * Bengt Djurberg (1898–1941), Swedish actor and singer * Bengt Ekerot (1920–1971), Swedish actor and director * Bengt Eklund (1925–1998), Swedish actor * Bengt Logardt (1914� ...

Interior design

The artist

Ewald Dahlskog Ewald is a given name and surname used primarily in Germany and Scandinavia. It derives from the Germanic roots ''ewa'' meaning "law" and '' wald'' meaning "power, brightness". People and concepts with the name include: Surnames * Douglas Ewald ( ...

was hired for the lavish interior with unique marquetry, Dalskog's work contributed to marquetry experiencing a renaissance in Sweden. The design of the interior was characterized by the dominant art direction of the time,

Swedish Grace Nordic Classicism was a style of architecture that briefly blossomed in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland) between 1910 and 1930. Until a resurgence of interest for the period during the 1980s (marked by several scholar ...

Career

First owner - Erik Åkerlund

''Princess Svanevit'' was launched in 1930 for Swedish entrepreneur, publisher and publicist Erik Åkerlund. The

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

was designed to be the flag ship at the 100 year anniversary of the Royal Swedish Yacht Club (KSSS). Åkerlund wanted to both attract foreign sailors in the prestigious 12 meter class to the regatta and showcase the best of Swedish boat building crafts for sailors, yacht designers and other experts from all countries. He therefore hired the foremost professionals who could be recruited. At the KSSS regatta where ''Princess Svanevit'' won the 12 Metre Class the Swedish royals prince Gustaf Adolf and princess Ingrid (later queen of Denmark] were on board. Åkerlund was an enthusiastic sailor and owned ''Bissbi'' that won the gold medal in the 6 m class at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

with his son Olle in the crew.

Second owner - Ernhold Lundström

In 1935 ''Princess Svanevit'' was sold to managing director Ernhold Lundström in Malmö who renamed her ''Irene''. Tore Holm made a few modifications.

Third owner - Nils Gäbel

Lundström sold the yacht to managing director Nils Gäbel who renamed her ''Silvervingen X''. At age 50 he quit his job and with his family, wife and four kids, sailed his boat to Spain where he went on to found the first holiday resort in Torrevieja. A statue in Torrevieja depicts Gäbel steering a boat.

Fourth owner - Harry Hyams

In 1958 British property developer Harry Hyams became the fourth owner, renaming her ''Barranquilla'' and sailing her on the Solent with Hamble as home port.

Fifth owner - Stockholms Båtsnickeri AB

For many years the whereabouts of ''Princess Svanevit'' were unknown. In 2007 Swedish yacht enthusiast

Bobby Cyrus Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a consta ...

read on an Internet forum that the yacht was berthed in England in a rather decrepit state of repair. After ten years of discussions with Harry Hyams and later his estate Cyrus managed to buy the yacht and transport it to Sweden, where it is undergoing restoration in the hands of

Andreas Milde Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. The ...

at Stockholms Båtsnickeri in

Fisksätra Fisksätra is a locality situated in Nacka Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 7,475 inhabitants in 2010. Built in the 1970s during the Million programme The Million Programme ( sv, Miljonprogrammet) was an ambitious public housing pr ...

Sixth owner - Princess Svanevit AB

The wharf Stockholms Båtsnickeri continues the restoration work of ''Princess Svanevit'' but has sold the yacht to the limited company Princess Svanevit AB. The shareholders of the limited company are the non-profit association ''Svenska Träbåtar'' (English: Swedish Wooden Boats) with 75%, and a British

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

couple with the remaining 25%. The majority shareholder ''Svenska Träbåtar'' hopes to both bring home to Sweden a number of old wooden boats sold abroad, and find even more objects at home in Sweden. The ambition is to put the wooden boat building art on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

References

External links

* (In Swedish) {{Swedish 12-metre class yachts 12-metre class yachts Sailing yachts built in Sweden Ships built in Stockholm Sailing yachts designed by Gustaf Estlander Sailing yachts designed by Tore Holm Sailing yachts of Sweden Sailing yachts of the United Kingdom 1930s sailing yachts 1930 ships