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Sailing in the Mediterranean Episode 110 Hugh Morrison s/y Savannah and the Corsica Classic
In this episode. It’s my delightful pleasure to interview Hugh Morrison. Hugh Morrison is the owner of the sailing yacht Savanna. Savanna is a classic 90 foot yacht built in 1997, the inspiration for this boat was from the classic J Sloops. Savannah participated in the Corsica classic Regatta this year.
I talk to Hugh about the boat, his experiences sailing and his background. Hugh is a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron, which was founded in 1815 in the Thatched House Tavern in St James’s, London. Today the clubhouse is located in Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom, the club’s patron is Queen Elizabeth II and the club’s Admiral is Prince Philip.
The sailing yacht Savanna has its own website http://www.sysavannah.com/
I’m going to take some information from the website and place it below.
In 1995, an American yachtsman hired Elizabeth Meyer’s J Class management to help him create a modern classic. He was inspired by the J Class sloops, William Fife and a number of other beautiful old yachts, but wanted a boat under 100′ long. J Class selected Pedrick Yacht Designs in Newport, Rhode Island for hull and rig design, and John Munford Design in Southampton, England for interior styling. J Class, Pedrick, and Munford worked as a team to create Savannah. The result is a strikingly beautiful yacht that represents the paragon of 20th Century yacht design.
Shortly after her launch in 1997 Savannah was awarded ‘Best Sailing Yacht’ by both Showboats International and the Super Yacht Society. Savannah has sailed and triumphed in many regattas around the world.
In the words of her designer
“Savannah’s long overhangs and high freeboard were inspired by the magnificent racing yachts of the 1930s. Her flush deck is accented by varnished teak skylights and coamings. Her beauty carries through a luxurious interior, with finely detailed, panelled mahogany joinery centred on a large and well-appointed saloon. With extensive day sailing and racing planned, there are staterooms for the owner, one guest couple and crew. Below the waterline, Savannah has an efficient cruising hullform, deep Pedrick Whale-Tail fin keel, and separate rudder. Engineered to last more than a century, her construction uses carbon fibre, Kevlar and PVC foam to be relatively lightweight but extremely robust. The tall, fractional rig, also in carbon fibre, drives Savannah to exhilarating speeds. In her creation, Pedrick has embodied the finest of classic style with the best of modern engineering and performance design.”
I was introduced to Hugh Morrison by Sir Nigel Southward who I met while sailing in Italy and Croatia. several years ago. When I met Nigel. He was flying a white British Ensign. This is the first British boat that I had seen flying this Ensign so he educated me on the three different British ensigns. The only yacht club in Britain, which is allowed to fly the white Ensign is the Royal yacht squadron. Some information on the ensigns below. It was taken from Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_ensign
White
Today’s white ensign, as used by Royal Navy ships, incorporates the St George’s Cross (St George’s Ensign). British yachts owned by members of the Royal Yacht Squadron are authorised to apply for a permit to wear this ensign. Defaced white ensigns include that of the British Antarctic Territory.
Blue
The Blue Ensign (dark blue field with the Union Flag in the canton) undefaced is worn by masters of vessels in possession of a warrant issued by the Director of Naval Reserves, and by the members of certain yacht clubs. Such warrants are issued to officers in the active or retired lists of the Royal Naval Reserve and the maritime reserve forces of other Commonwealth realms and territories. The master must be of the rank of lieutenant RN or above, and fishing vessels must be crewed by at least four other Royal Naval reservists or pensioners. The Ensign of the Sea Cadet Corps is a blue ensign defaced by the SCC badge. Under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Defence,[2] officers of the Sea Cadet Corps hold their ranks as (SCC) RNR on a ‘nominal honorific’ basis, and are included on the Navy List as a courtesy (though they are not commissioned, but ‘appointed’ within the Corps).
Red
The Red Ensign (red field with the Union Flag in the canton) defaced by a badge is flown by Trinity House and various organisations and yacht clubs. Merchant ships and private vessels registered in British territories and dependencies, and in several Commonwealth realms, fly the Red Ensign defaced by the badge of their territory.
The Red Ensign undefaced is for the use of all other British merchant navy ships and private craft. The Red Ensign is the correct flag to be worn as courtesy flag by foreign private vessels in United Kingdom waters. Merchant vessels from British overseas territories and Crown dependencies are entitled to red ensigns defaced with the badge of their territory.
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Sailing! Learn To Sail: Bareboat Cruising Certification Lessons for the ASA 104 Exam Exam over 8 hours of Audio Instruction to help you get ready to go sailing and also to prepare you for the written portion of the ASA 104 written exam.
https://gumroad.com/l/bwXh
If you’re interested in my sailing instructional audio series here are the links:
Sailing! Learn to Sail: Basic Keelboat Certification Lessons for the ASA 101 Exam
https://gumroad.com/l/Eiig
Sailing! Learn to Sail: Basic Coastal Cruising; Lessons for the ASA 103 Exam
https://gumroad.com/l/PvOYK
Sailing! Learn To Sail: Bareboat Cruising Certification Lessons for the ASA 104 Exam
https://gumroad.com/l/bwXh
Sailing in the Mediterranean Website
https://www.medsailor.com
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