Please select your home edition
Edition
RS Sailing 2021 - LEADERBOARD

Finding Mira

by Feadship 8 Apr 2021 05:49 EST
12-metre Mira © Feadship

The rich multi-generation-spanning history of Feadship underpins everything we do today as a world leader in high-tech superyacht building.

While today's Feadships are literally and figurately giants of the global fleet, we also take good care to preserve our heritage whenever possible. Imagine then how much we enjoyed welcoming the 12-metre Mira to our Makkum yard in February, a Feadship with a story or two to tell.

Mira is a so-called Express Cruiser, one of a series of 25 mini-Feadships built in the early 1950s as part of our successful brand launch onto the US market. The original build was for a Dutch owner who agreed to let his yacht be exhibited at the New York Motor Boat Show in 1952 as long as we built a new one for him. With her steel hull and mahogany superstructure, this 'second' Mira was given the build number 904 and launched in 1953.

Discovery trail

The boat was found last year on the Dutch equivalent of eBay by Sieger van Kampen, project leader at one of the Feadship training schools. Sieger is always on the lookout for early Feadships as they offer a fantastic way for students and staff alike to hone their refit skills on a yacht that will hold intrinsic brand value. As he looked at the images online the big question of course was whether she actually was a Feadship.

Jumping in his car to visit the seller, Sieger found a stripped boat with parts spread all over the place, even in the hayloft. "The owner, who had been unaware that he potentially had a Feadship on his hands, allowed myself and a colleague to search his premises for clues," remembers Sieger.

"There were boxes everywhere, but the big breakthrough came when we found the build number plate 904. We then dived into the archives at Feadship with the help of in-house historian Huib de Vries. Eventually, we found photographs of the boat including the name of the owner and the magic number 904. It was so exciting to be able to confirm that we had tracked down another Feadship."

Facelift

The students at the Feadship Makkum training school are now giving Mira a complete facelift, including her hull, superstructure, floors and technical aspects. We will share the results in due course but for now the moral of this tale is to keep an eye out when you come across classic boats... You never know where you might find a Feadship!

Related Articles

2025 Formula Wing Worlds Sardinia day 3
Women's battle heats up in the big waves A change of wind and wave conditions on day three of the Formula Wing World Championships in Cagliari brought a change of fortune for some key players. Posted on 26 Sep
52 Super Series 2025 Porto Cervo day 4
Sled look to close out regatta win, American Magic Quantum Racing on the cusp of swansong 7th title The penultimate day of racing proved to be a sharp contrast to the two previous days of strong Mistral winds presenting the 13 teams from ten different nations with a different challenge as the conclusion of the 2025 season approaches. Posted on 26 Sep
Melges 24 Worlds 2025 at Trieste, Italy Day 4
No wind again today, everything will be decided tomorrow The high-pressure system over the Northern Adriatic, and particularly the Gulf of Trieste, left no chance for the 2025 Melges 24 World Championship today, as Day 4 ended without racing. Posted on 26 Sep
Multihull Cup 2025 Day 1
Allegra takes win in calm but enthusiastic start On what proved a mellow if challenging introduction to the delights of the Multihull Cup for the trio of first timers taking part, it was the Mallorcan event veteran Allegra which showed the fleet the way to go. Posted on 26 Sep
Offshore Double Handed Worlds Qualifying Race 2
Worlds Apart, Side by Side The second qualification race of the 2025 Offshore Double Handed Worlds started from Cowes, Isle of Wight in a crisp northeasterly, 10 knots under clear skies. But what began as a gentle gradient breeze soon turned into a punishing test of endurance. Posted on 26 Sep
Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez starts tomorrow
245 competitors vying for 19 trophies Saturday 27 September heralds the start of the 27th edition of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. A great many of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez's 245 guests have already made the famous port in France's Var department. Posted on 26 Sep
Sailors shift focus to The Ocean Race Atlantic
The new transatlantic race connects two iconic cities - New York and Barcelona As The Ocean Race Europe came to a close in Montenegro, sailors and teams started to turn their attention to the next event in The Ocean Race calendar - The Ocean Race Atlantic: New York to Barcelona. Posted on 26 Sep
SailGP and America's Cup on collision course
Serious schedule clashes ahead as a group of professional sailors try to serve two masters. The tectonic plates of the sailing world, SailGP and America's Cup, are a collision course, with the Big Bang expected in 2027, when there is expected to be some serious schedule clashes as a group of professional sailors try to serve two masters. Posted on 26 Sep
SY Doris Takes a Major Step Forward
With Her New MarsKeel Installed In cooperation with the engineer and builder Snediker Yacht Restorations, we produced a high-quality casting. It is approx. 43,000 lb. Snediker has now successfully fitted the keel to the hull and is in the process of installing the keel bolts. Posted on 26 Sep
2025 Six Metre World Championship Day 4
Three races for both divisions on the penultimate day in Osyter Bay Three races for both divisions on the penultimate day of the 2025 Six Metre World Championships at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, produced some great competition and a new race winner. Posted on 26 Sep
McDYachts_Pyewacket-for-Sale_1456x180 BOTTOMPredictWind - GO! exec 728x90 BOTTOMV-DRY-X