Ivanhoe

Design and Construction

Ivanhoe is a First Rule 12 Metre yacht designed by G. A. Heal and built by Summers & Payne of Southampton. She was completed in May 1910, during the formative years of the International Rule, and reflects the early development of the 12 Metre class prior to later rule refinements.

Principal Characteristics

The yacht measures 15.24 metres overall length (a figure noted in contemporary sources as not homogeneous), with a waterline length of 12.13 metres and a beam of 3.35 metres. Her recorded sail area is 248 square metres. Details of her draught, displacement, construction method, and auxiliary engine are not recorded in surviving sources.

Early Ownership and Russian Period (1910–1919)

The first owner of Ivanhoe was Alexander Treuberg of Russia, with the yacht registered to Petrograd as her home port. During this period she sailed under the name Ivanhoe and was active in Northern European and Baltic waters, consistent with the geographic centers of early First Rule 12 Metre activity.

Baltic and Finnish Ownership (1918–1923)

In the years immediately following the First World War and the Russian Revolution, Ivanhoe passed briefly into Finnish hands. She is reported to have been owned by A. Nordfors during 1918–1919, followed by documented ownership by E. Lorch from 1921 to 1923, with Helsingfors (Helsinki) recorded as her home port.

Latvian Period and Registry Disappearance (1924–1931)

From 1924 to 1930, Ivanhoe was owned by J. Dalitz and registered in Riga, Latvia, continuing her presence within the Baltic yachting community. In 1931, she disappeared from Lloyd’s Register, having been listed as “formerly International Rating Class 12 Metres.” This indicates the end of her recognition as an active class yacht rather than a confirmed loss.

Later Modifications and Decline

By the 1950s, Ivanhoe was reportedly owned by K. Grauer, again associated with Riga. During this period, the yacht underwent substantial modification, including conversion to a wishbone ketch rig, a change that permanently removed her from 12 Metre class configuration and explains her earlier disappearance from formal registers.

Later History and Fate

According to later accounts, Ivanhoe was eventually taken to Italy, where she was extensively altered, fitted with a large engine, stripped of her interior furnishings, and renamed Alborella. Her remains are reported to have been abandoned as a wreck on the coast near Anzio, Italy, where she is believed to lie today.