Morning cloud

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Morning Cloud was the name of five sailing yachts that the conservative British politician Edward (Ted) Heath (1916–2005) sailed from 1969 to 1983 as owner and skipper . He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 .

The yachts

No. I.

The first Morning Cloud was a 34-foot yacht ( LOA 10.20 m), designed in 1968 by Olin Stephens from the design office Sparkman & Stephens 34 as type S & S Mike Winfield, a British PR expert, Olin Stephens had asked a racing yacht to design this size, with which one could also go cruising (cruiser-racer yacht). For the underwater hull, Stephens had provided a sporty rudder attached to the skeg with a split lateral plan , and for the Bermuda rig the foresail strongly overlapped with the mainsail . Morning Cloud was delivered in 1969 and Edward Heath won the Sydney-Hobart Regatta with this yacht that same year . He sold the yacht in December 1970 to Stewart Benest, who lived on the island of Jersey . It was given the new name Nuage de Matin . The yacht sank off Gorey (Jersey) on September 2, 1974 after the heavy seas tore her from her mooring buoy in the harbor.

No. II

The second yacht, Morning Cloud , was also designed by Sparkman & Stephens and was 42 feet (12.60 m) long. The wooden hull was built from mahogany in 1970 at the Clare Lallow shipyard in Cowes on the Isle of Wight and was launched in 1971.

Ted Heath sailed the yacht in the Admiral's Cup of 1971 and won the cup as a member of the victorious British team. There were plans to remove Prime Minister Ted Heath from the Morning Cloud by helicopter during the Fastnet Race to carry out state business due to problems in Northern Ireland . That would have meant the disqualification of the victorious British team and was therefore omitted.

A total of two more copies of the Sparkman & Stephens 42 (S&S 42) were built for other sailors by the Clare Lallow shipyard.

Morning Cloud II underwent a total renovation in 2008 for over 8 months and 10,500 hours of work at the Clare Lallow shipyard . Today she sails again under the name Opposition .

No. III

The third yacht, Morning Cloud , was again designed by Sparkman & Stephens and was 44 feet and 9 inches long. The hull material was again wood and the yacht was built by the proven Clare Lallow shipyard in Cowes. It was launched in 1973 and Ted Heath sailed the Morning Cloud III again as a member of the British team in the Admiral's Cup that same year. But Heath was only on board during the Fastnet Race , as he had other political responsibilities.

On September 5, 1974, Morning Cloud III sank in the English Channel during a stormy ferry crossing from Burnham-on-Crouch to Cowes. The yacht was hit by a huge wave and two sailors of the seven-man crew went overboard and drowned. Ted Heath was not on board at the time. The five survivors were able to get on a life raft and were later retrieved by helicopter.

No. IV

The fourth yacht, Morning Cloud , was again designed by Sparkman & Stephens and was 44 feet (13.10 m) long. The hull was made of aluminum by Allday Aluminum of Gosport and was launched at the Camper & Nicholsons shipyard in 1975, christened by Mary Heath, the stepmother of the owner Ted Heath.

No. V

The fifth yacht, Morning Cloud , was designed by Ron Holland and was 44 feet (13.10 m) long. The fuselage was made of composite material and was launched in 1977. In the 1979 Channel Race, as part of the two-time Admiral's Cup, the yacht lost its rudder and was unable to finish the race. The British team no longer had a chance of victory. Heath sold the boat in 1983.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Getty Images: Edward Heath aboard the Morning Cloud yacht at Cowes on the Isle of Whight, April 19, 1971 , accessed February 6, 2020
  2. ^ Vanessa Bird: Sparkman & Stephens 34. In: Classic Boat. Accessed February 2, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Kate Laven: Sir Edward Heath made history 40 years ago by winning Sydney Hobart Race. In: The Daily Telegraph . December 23, 2009, accessed January 16, 2020 .
  4. ^ Getty Images: Edward Heath on Board Morning Cloud II, 1971 , accessed February 6, 2020
  5. ^ History. In: Boatyard Clare Lallow. Accessed February 2, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Getty Images: Morning Cloud II with Edward Heath at the helm in the English Channel off the Isle of Wight, June 20, 1971 , accessed February 6, 2020
  7. ^ Getty Images: Morning Cloud II Crew with Edward Heath, July 3, 1971 , accessed February 6, 2020
  8. ↑ 1971: Admiral's Cup triumph for Heath, Admiral's Cup. In: BBC News . August 11, 1982, accessed February 2, 2020 .
  9. ^ History. In: Boatyard Clare Lallow. Accessed February 2, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Getty Images: Morning Cloud III with Edward Heath on board, start of the Fastnet Race, August 11, 1973 , accessed February 6, 2020
  11. ↑ site ybw.com: Reports and photos of the sinking of the Morning Cloud (The Daily Telegraph) , (English), accessed on February 4, 2020
  12. ↑ Photo: Morning Cloud IV
  13. ↑ Getty Images: Ship christening Morning Cloud IV by Mary Heath at the Camper & Nicholsons shipyard , accessed February 6, 2020
  14. ↑ Getty Images: Ted Heath at the helm of Morning Cloud IV, May 10, 1975 , accessed February 6, 2020
  15. ↑ Ajaxyachtpics.blogspot.com: Ajax Yacht Pictures (Morning Cloud IV) , (English), accessed on February 4, 2020
  16. ^ Royal Ocean Racing Club: Admiral's Cup, History (1979) , (English), accessed on February 4, 2020