Heira II

Overview

HEIRA II was built in 1919 according to the International Second Rule, representing the evolution of the 12 Metre Class between the pre-war and interwar eras. Designed for Olaf Ørvig of Bergen, she quickly rose to prominence as one of Norway’s most successful racing yachts and achieved lasting fame as the gold-medal winner at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp.

Her victory, in a class sailed to the updated 1919 revision of the Second Rule, confirmed Norway’s leading position in early International Rule yacht design and racing. While only one yacht competed in her class that year, HEIRA II’s Olympic title remains an official record and an important milestone in the class’s Olympic history.

Design and Construction

Built to the International Second Rule (12 Metre, 1919 rating), HEIRA II embodied the transition from gaff-rigged to more modern Bermudian-influenced configurations, though she originally carried the classic gaff main typical of the period. Her lines reflected the Nordic emphasis on seaworthiness, balance, and stiffness—qualities that proved decisive in Olympic competition held in the open waters off Ostend.

While her original builder’s name has not been confirmed, Norwegian yachting archives credit her as being constructed under close supervision of Olaf Ørvig and local Bergen yards known for strong craftsmanship and lightweight framing. Her construction would have included steel frames, oak backbone, and mahogany planking, with fittings to Lloyd’s specification for racing yachts of the 12 Metre rule.

Olympic Success – Antwerp 1920

At the 1920 Olympic Games, HEIRA II represented Norway in the 12 Metre (1919 Rule) division. With no other entries, the yacht sailed and was duly awarded the Gold Medal, cementing her place in Olympic and 12 Metre history.

Her crew included several notable sailors of the early Norwegian racing scene: Olaf Ørvig (skipper), Thor Ørvig, Erik Ørvig, Arthur Allers, Martin Borthen, Kaspar Hassel, Egill Reimers, Johan Friele, and Christen Wiese. Each would later play significant roles in Norwegian yachting and design, particularly Reimers, who went on to become a respected naval architect.

HEIRA II thus joins Magda IX (1908) and Bera (1912) as part of Norway’s early dominance in Olympic sailing’s golden age of the International Rule.

Ownership and Later History

After her Olympic success, HEIRA II enjoyed an active if somewhat nomadic existence, changing hands and names across several nations as the 12 Metre class evolved.

1919 – 1923 Olaf Ørvig – Home port: Bergen (Norway). Original owner and Olympic skipper.
1924 – 1925 W. M. M. Curtis – Home port: Dublin (Ireland). Converted to Bermudian cutter; listed in Lloyd’s Register as “formerly Int. Rating Class 12 Metre.”
1926 – 1929 Percy B. Abrahams – Home port: London (UK). Renamed Nanette II.
1930 Lt. Col. Vivian Gabriel / Cyril Wright & Cecil Dormer – Renamed Mariella – Home port: London. Dormer and Wright were frequent yacht partners and also campaigned The Lady Anne (15 Metre) and several 6 Metres.
1931 – 1934 Consul Hans Borge – Home port: Tønsberg (Norway). Renamed Tove Liliana; competed (without notable result) at the KNS Jubilee Regatta in Hanko 1933.
1935 – 1949 S. Belaieff – Home port: Vyborg (Finland). Renamed Barcarolla; fitted with auxiliary engine (1936); converted to Bermudian cutter.
1950 – Present Disappears from Lloyd’s Register; unconfirmed reports suggest survival as a houseboat in Amsterdam during the early 2000s, though no photographic or registry confirmation exists.

Modifications and Conversions

Throughout her long career, HEIRA II was successively altered from her original Olympic racing configuration to auxiliary cruising form. By the mid-1920s she had been converted to Bermudian rig, and during Finnish ownership in the 1930s an auxiliary engine was installed. These conversions likely reflected the post-war shift from pure racing Twelves to dual-purpose yachts suited for cruising and coastal passage making.

Significance

HEIRA II represents one of the earliest Olympic-winning 12 Metres and stands as a rare surviving example (if extant) of the Second Rule design lineage. Her legacy illustrates the class’s international appeal—built for Norway, raced in the Olympics, then successively owned in Ireland, Britain, and Finland.

She also highlights the transitional period of yacht design between the heavy, gaff-rigged First-Rule vessels and the lighter, sleeker Twelves of the interwar period. Her story embodies both technical innovation and international continuity, two traits central to the 12 Metre tradition.

Today

No verified record of HEIRA II’s current status exists, but oral accounts from the early 2000s claimed she was lying in Amsterdam, converted to a houseboat. Whether or not she survives in recognizable form, HEIRA II’s legacy remains secure in Olympic history and in the heritage of the International Rule.

Among the earliest Olympic gold medalists of the 12 Metre Class, she remains a symbol of Norwegian seamanship and of the craftsmanship that defined the Second Rule era.