TRENCHEMER
Shipbuildervessel built by
Hall, Russell & Company, Limited
(Aberdeen, Scotland, 1864 - 1992)
Date27 June 1934
Object NameYAWL
MediumSTEEL
ClassificationsShip
Dimensionslength 72 1/6' x breadth 21 1/12' x depth 14 3/6'
Gross Tonnage: 37 ton
Gross Tonnage: 37 ton
Object numberABDSHIP002434
Keywords
Yard Number: 730
Fate: Wrecked off Rhodes, 27 February 1965.
Propulsion: Sail
Description: Yawl rigged steel yacht with auxilliary engine.
Owners:
1934: W. D. M. Bell, Corriemoillie, Garve, Ross.
1963: Robert Somerset, Aberdeen. (Lloyd's Register of Yachts)
General History:
The yacht was built for ocean racing and is believed to have been the first built in Britain for that purpose under the 55 ft rating class of the Royal Ocean Racing Club. Rigged as a Bermudian yawl with a 36 HP Gleniffer high-speed diesel.
Designed by Olin J Stephens, this was the first steel yacht built in Britain.
Built for Walter 'Karamojo' Dalrymple Maitland (W.D.M.) Bell (1880-1954), a member of the Bell's Whisky family and a famous ivory hunter, who reputedly killed more than a thousand elephants and made a fortune from ivory. Author of 'Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter' published in 1923 and 'Karamojo Safari', published in 1949 he was also a pilot in the first world war in Africa.
02/03/1965:
Two Bodies Found Off Rhodes, FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT ATHENS. MARCH 2 The bodies of Mr. Robert Somerset, the 66-year-old heir presumptive of the Duke of Beaufort, and of Miss Caroline Gibbs who were killed last Saturday when the yacht TRENCHEMER was wrecked off Rhodes were recovered by divers today. The body of Miss Gibbs was found wedged between two rocks under the water. Mr. Somerset lay under the wreckage of his ship, his arms clasped to his chest as if he had been holding his dog Jessie. The search for the missing body of Miss Fiona Rutherford will be resumed tomorrow if weather permits.'
(The Times)
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