Atalanta 12 K 5

Design and Construction

Atalanta (K-5) is a First Rule 12 Metre yacht designed by Johan Anker (Anker project no. 181) and built in 1917 by Anker & Jensen in Norway. She was constructed of wood on steel frames, a hybrid approach common to high-performance Scandinavian metre yachts of the period. Her recorded dimensions include a length on the waterline (LWL) of approximately 13.03 m, a beam of 3.35 m, and a relatively narrow underwater profile intended for upwind efficiency. Atalanta

Anker — known as one of the most gifted metre-class designers of the early 20th century — produced some of the most successful 6mR, 8mR, and 12mR racing yachts of his era. His hulls are often described as elegant, easily driven, and highly competitive in light-to-moderate air.

Although Atalanta is later recorded under the British sail number K-5, she was originally Norwegian-built, Norwegian-rigged, and Norwegian-campaigned. Her first recorded rig was a Bermudan cutter. Atalanta

Early Racing History

Atalanta was built to the International First Rule version of the 12 Metre rating formula. Atalanta In 1920 she was in the hands of Henrik Østervold, with Bergen, Norway listed as her home port. Atalanta Østervold was an elite Norwegian helmsman and part of the same Norwegian 12 Metre program that dominated in that era. Norwegian 12 Metres won both gold medals awarded at the 1920 Olympic Games, where two separate golds were issued: one for Twelves built to the original First Rule, and one for Twelves built to the newer (1919) revision of the rule. Only two 12 Metres actually raced — both Norwegian — including Heira, also designed by Anker.

The PDF source explicitly records Atalanta as “Winner of the 1920 Olympic Games First Int. Rule category.” Atalanta
That phrasing reflects the way Norway’s 12 Metre syndicates treated the two divisions at the Antwerp Games (First Rule vs. New Rule) as separate gold medal events in 1920, even though each division only fielded one Norwegian boat.

This firmly places Atalanta in the top competitive circle of the immediate post–World War I 12 Metre scene: she was not just a cruising yacht, she was considered an Olympic-caliber racing design under the First Rule.

British Service and Ownership

After her Norwegian period, Atalanta transferred to British ownership and began appearing under the British sail number K-5. Her ownership sequence in the 1920s is unusually well documented:

  • 1917–1922: Henrik Østervold – name: Atalanta – home port: Bergen, Norway. Rig: Bermudan cutter. Atalanta

  • 1923–1924: Alfred C. Adams and J. R. Piper – home port: Colchester, Great Britain. During this period she entered Burnham Week (1923) and “performed well although outclassed by Noreen and Vanity,” both noted British 12 Metres. Atalanta

  • 1925: J. R. Piper (sole owner) – home port: London, Great Britain. Atalanta

  • 1926–1929: W. F. McAusland (owner). Atalanta

  • 1930–1931: C. H. Chapman (owner). In this period Atalanta is registered in Lloyd’s Register as “formerly Int. Rating Class 12 Metre,” and — critically — an engine was installed in 1931. Atalanta

By listing her as “formerly” 12 Metre, Lloyd’s is signaling that by 1930–1931 she was no longer being maintained strictly as a rating-legal 12mR racing yacht. Instead, she was sliding into the common fate of many aging metre boats of the era: auxiliary power added, rating status relaxed, and use shifting from frontline competition to private cruising or club work.

Disappearance and Final Status

In 1932, Atalanta “disappeared from the Lloyd’s Register,” and she is later carried in class records with the note “broken up?” — an indicator that the hull is believed to have been dismantled and is not known to survive.

No surviving restoration project, museum listing, or cruising conversion under a new name has been publicly tied back to Atalanta (K-5), and unlike some later 12 Metres (which were converted for charter, refit for cruising, or donated to training programs), she does not appear again in post–World War II registries.

Significance

Atalanta (K-5) is historically important to the class for several reasons:

  • She is an early First Rule 12 Metre by Johan Anker, one of the most influential metre-class designers of the 20th century.

  • She is documented under Norwegian Olympic-era competition and directly associated with Henrik Østervold, a helmsman tied to Norway’s gold-medal dominance in the 12 Metre class in 1920.

  • She had an unusually well-recorded series of British owners throughout the 1920s, racing in events like Burnham Week and competing against notable British Twelve Metres such as Noreen and Vanity. Atalanta

  • By 1931 she had already been modified with an auxiliary engine and was described as “formerly Int. Rating Class 12 Metre,” which captures a transitional moment in the life of many older metre yachts: moving from Grand Prix racing status to fast cruising yacht.

  • By 1932 she had effectively vanished from Lloyd’s and is now believed lost.

In other words, Atalanta (K-5) represents the full classic arc of an early 12 Metre: built at the highest competitive standard, raced at the Olympic level, exported to Britain for top-tier regattas, gradually converted for auxiliary cruising, and ultimately gone by the early 1930s.