The Halcyon Story

Halcyon was built in 1929 by Thorneycroft for Lancashire industrialist Sir Samuel Turner. She still sported a bowsprit, but Bermudian rig was revolutionary then, with the advantage over gaff that it could be handled with smaller crews. Her life as a gentleman’s yacht was only the start of her adventures.

In 1957 Halcyon was acquired by the Warsash School of Navigation to temporarily replace the famous ‘Moyana’ (winner of the first tall ships race). Halcyon proved so successful as a training vessel for hundreds of British Merchant Officer Cadets that the school kept her for 32 years and never built the topsail schooner designed for them (The replacement design was sold to the Sail Training Association and became the ‘Sir Winston Churchill’).

In 2006 Halcyon has undergone an impressive professional refit with painstaking attention to detail at Tommi Neilsen’s Yard in Gloucester to restore her to her 1920’s glory, from her new copper sheathed hull to the interior panelling and fittings.
Fresh from her sea trials Halcyon will be available for viewing at St Katharine’s Dock, in the heart of London, during the 2007 Boat Show. She will be ready for luxury cruising from April 2007, whether it be adventure sailing trips, corporate hospitality, day charter or a family holiday.