BLACK SWAN

Black Swan was designed by Charles E. Nicholson and built at the esteemed Camper & Nicholsons Gosport shipyard. Black Swan represents one of the most important classic sailing yachts from our heritage, and is a vessel admired by yacht afficionados around the world.

Launched in 1899 and refitted multiple times to ensure her continued seaworthiness, the 40.2m sailing yacht Black Swan presents an incredible opportunity to charter a piece of maritime history and a verifiable icon of the classic fleet.

Black Swan began life as Brynhild, a design commissioned by John Selwin Calverly who had heard of Nicholsons’ success designing small racing yachts and his desire to conceive a larger vessel. The brief was for a yacht that was an all-rounder, not designed for racing but able to participate in the handicap classes. Unconstrained by any rating rule and able to design a yacht that truly reflected his ideas on yacht design, Nicholson excelled.

After Calverly’s death, Brynhild was quickly acquired by a new owner and proceeded to change hands several times through the 1920s and ‘30s. An engine was installed, and then in 1937 she was converted from a yawl to a ketch and renamed Black Swan.

After World War II, Black Swan was sold to George Guérin who had her refitted at Camper & Nicholsons with John Nicholson, son of Charles E. Nicholson, managing the work. In 1958 Guérin sold Black Swan to Felix Mechoulam and she stayed in the Mechoulam family’s ownership for some 40 years. Black Swan was sold again in the early 1990s and underwent a significant refit at the Beconcini yard in La Spezia. Financial troubles then resulted in her being seized by the bank and laid up in La Spezia from 2008 to 2015.

Edouard Poullain her current owner, a passionate yachtsman for classic yachts, recognised Black Swan as a unique opportunity to save this historical yacht and under his ownership she is sailing again.

Black Swan offers accommodation for six guests in three double cabins. Her traditional yachting style runs throughout the interior, and there’s space to dine both within the saloon and on the foredeck.

Black Swan is a rare and important turn of the century yacht which is a welcome addition to the classic charter fleet.