Aschanti III

Design and Construction

Built in 1939 by Burmester Yacht- und Bootswerft in Bremen, Germany, Aschanti III was designed by naval architect Henry A. Gruber for the yard’s owner, Ernst Burmester. She was constructed of wood planking over steel frames, typical of the advanced German yacht-building of the late 1930s. Measuring approximately 20.8 m overall with a beam of 3.6 m and a draft of 2.7 m, she carried the German sail number G-3 and was registered at Bremen.

Aschanti III was a Third-Rule 12 Metre, built to the 1933 revision of the International Rule that defined the pre-war 12 Metre racing class. Her sleek lines and refined balance reflected Gruber’s reputation for combining speed with structural innovation.

Racing and Service History

Aschanti III was one of four elite German 12 Metres built in 1938–1939—alongside Inga (G-1), Anita (G-2), and Sphinx (G-4)—representing the peak of German big-boat racing before the outbreak of World War II.

Following the war, the yacht reportedly continued to race internationally. Records from the early 1950s indicate that Aschanti III competed in the Larchmont Cup (USA), where she defeated several leading American 12 Metres in 1953—a remarkable achievement for a pre-war European design. Her transatlantic campaign demonstrates both the durability of Burmester’s construction and the competitiveness of German 12 Metre naval architecture of that era.

Later Years and Legacy

By the early 1960s Aschanti III was listed as broken up (1962), bringing an end to her documented service. Though her racing career was brief, she occupies a special place in the history of German 12 Metres as the only Burmester-built entry of her generation and as a direct predecessor to the famed schooner Aschanti IV launched by the same yard in 1954.

Today, Aschanti III is remembered for her elegant proportions, her successful post-war racing record, and her role in linking the classic pre-war metre boats with the next generation of post-war German yacht design.