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 Sovereign (behind) and Ikra. | |
| Yacht club |  Royal Thames Yacht Club |
|---|---|
| Nation |  United Kingdom |
| Class | 12-metre |
| Sail no | K–12 |
| Designer(s) | David Boyd |
| Builder | Alexander Robertson & Sons |
| Owner(s) | J. A. Boyden |
| Racing career | |
| America's Cup | 1964 America's Cup |
| Specifications | |
| Type | Monohull |
Sovereign (sail number K-12) was the unsuccessful challenger of the 1964 America's Cup for the Royal Thames Yacht Club.
Designed by David Boyd and built by Alexander Robertson & Sons, Sovereign was built especially for the 1964 America's Cup challenge. This was the second post-war 12-metre yacht to be designed by David Boyd and built at Alexander Robertson & Sons, the first one being Sceptre .
Sovereign was built for J. A. Boyden in 1963. Sovereign lost 4-0 to defender Constellation of the New York Yacht Club.
Sovereign was the last yacht that represented United Kingdom in general and Royal Thames Yacht Club in particular. Many members at that time thought that for a club that was founded in 1775 and participated in America's Cup since 1870 withdraw from the tournament completely was an embarrassment. The boatyard that built a yacht was sold by the Robertson family, who ruled it since its foundation in 1876, one year after the race, essentially ending wooden boat-building there. [1]
The River Clyde is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major city of Glasgow. Historically, it was important to the British Empire because of its role in shipbuilding and trade. To the Romans, it was Clota, and in the early medieval Cumbric language, it was known as Clud or Clut. It was central to the Kingdom of Strathclyde.
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Alexander Robertson & Sons was a boatyard in Sandbank, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, from 1876 to 1980. The yard was located on the shore of the Holy Loch, not far from the Royal Clyde Yacht Club (RCYC) at Hunters Quay, in the building that is now the Royal Marine Hotel, which was the epicentre of early Clyde yachting. Alexander Robertson started repairing boats in a small workshop at Sandbank in 1876, and went on to become one of the foremost wooden boat-builders on Scotland's River Clyde. The "golden years" of Robertson's yard were in the early 1900s, when it started building some of the first IYRU 12mR & 15mR racing yachts. Robertson's was well known for the quality of its workmanship and was chosen to build the first 15-metre yacht designed by William Fife III. More than 55 boats were built by Robertson's in preparation for the First World War and the yard remained busy even during the Great Depression in the 1930s as many wealthy businessmen developed a passion for yacht racing on the Clyde. During World War II the yard was devoted to Admiralty work, producing a wide range of large high-speed Fairmile Marine Motor Boats. After the war, the yard built the successful one-class Loch Longs and two 12-metre challengers for the America's Cup: Sceptre (1958) and Sovereign (1964). Due to difficult business conditions, the Robertson family sold the yard in 1965, and it was turned over to glass-reinforced plastic production work until it closed in 1980. During its 104-year history, Robertson's Yard built 482 numbered boats, many of which are still sailing today.
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