This is the first website dedicated entirely to the superlative yacht designer William Fife Jr., better known as William Fife III, a pivotal figure in yachting history and a legend in his own lifetime.

 

As the official website of the Fife Yacht Association, we endeavor to make this a comprehensive resource regarding Fife.’s work, including the current state of the 160 or so surviving boats; as such, feedback, updates, and contributors are encouraged and welcome.

 

Knowledge accrues when shared.

 

 

 

The sleek yet sinuous shapes of Fife’s boats – “fast and bonnie” in his own famous words – enchanted European royalty and the well-heeled of the time, from the King of Spain and HRH the Duke of Abruzzi, to Sir Thomas Lipton who participated with his Fife-designed Shamrocks in the America’s Cup. William Fife III was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1919, and was inducted in the America’s Cup Hall of Fame in 2004.

 

To this day, almost a century later, a Fife yacht remains a fascinating object of desire for classic boat-lovers worldwide.