Bluebird The first twin-keeler

The revolutionary twin-keeled Bluebird was met with disdain from sailors in the 1920s, but then the rest of the world caught on...

- JACK GIFFORD

I make no apology for introducing this month what many may unkindly see as an unworthy contender for the title of a “great yacht design”; by the end of this article I will hopefully have persuaded you otherwise.

Enduringly inventive and energetic, Robert Arthur “Robin” Balfour (later Lord Riverdale), was an enthusiast whose tenacity to follow an early love of sailing lead him from the canals of Sheffield out onto the oceans of the world via the tidal estuaries of the north of England. Best friends with Jack Hope (son of Linton) and meeting at the Humber Yawl Club designer George Holmes, his enthusiasm, connections and training as an engineer had him ideally placed to realise his first full-sized sea-going yacht, Bluebird.