British Swede 55 Valhöll

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This is the story of a well-travelled, then long decommissioned Swede 55. Follow her wake from Fisksätra Varv in Västervik in Sweden to the island of Guernsey, where her first German owner sold her. She sailed on via southern France to Antigua, crossed the Atlantic several times in American and British ownership, went to Norway and finally to Southampton. There, her fate as a lamentable harbour inventory was almost sealed.

In the fall of 2003, an appointment took me to the south of England. There, the former American Avis car rental CEO Joseph Vittoria had a much-noticed 75 m yacht, with a 90 m mast rigged at Vosper Thornycroft on the left bank of the River Itchen. Approaching Southampton Airport I was delighted to spot a Swede 55, the aforementioned Valhöll. Faced with this familiar sight, my nose stuck firmly against the plane’s window.

Research on Valhöll

So I took the opportunity to meet the owner of the Swede 75 Universal Heartbeat, which was moored a few miles seaward on the Hamble. He knew Valhöll and her London owner briefly, and told me that he couldn’t part with his Swede 55 for nostalgic reasons. He had made many great voyages with Valhöll and had travelled with various crews between southern England and the Caribbean. The previous owner, an American yachtswoman, had also often enjoyed sailing with Valhöll on the Atlantic from Antigua.

I found this story about as interesting as the encounter with Mr. “We try harder”. A wiry, elegant man in his late sixties, who presented the largest sloop in the world, designed by megayacht specialist Ron Holland, with American self-confidence and yet in a friendly manner. Swede 55 would almost have fitted into the beam. The article entitled “Maxi, Mega, Mirabella” was published in the sailing magazine Yacht in December 2003. Joseph Vittoria had the pleasure of sailing Mirabella V for around ten years. The bigger the yachts, the shorter they are kept by their owners.

Valhalla is the name given in Norse mythology to the resting place of fallen warriors. During the following years, I occasionally heard about Valhöll, this Swede 55 with the martial name. I don’t know exactly how long the boat was there, or if and when someone came to check the mooring and water level inside the boat. Fortunately, the dilapidated Valhöll was still afloat when the London owner parted with her with a heavy heart at an advanced age and the fifth owner, also British, took over the boat. He looked through the current condition, put the boat ashore for a few months, and put in some elbow grease. As the photos show, the first job was to clean and polish it thoroughly. This is how the sad sight became a yacht again. The owner initially described his gem as sail worthy. He soon checked whether it was seaworthy.

The underwater hull was stripped and coated in advance with Coppercoat, a copper-epoxy resin mixture. This labour-intensive and comparatively expensive measure is worthwhile if the boat remains in the water permanently and is owned for a long time.

The saloon was furnished like a sleeping car compartment with bunk beds and lee sails for long sea voyages. The freeboard is best rested at the pivot point behind the main bulkhead and above the keel.

The Fisksätra interior, made of solid teak, had a patina. The owner painted it matt white, which makes the cabin appear larger and more friendly. Noteworthy as well is the raised pushpit and the conventional wire forestay for the headsails.

In August 2021, a good four decades since she was launched, Valhöll the Swede 55 No. 26 (note boat register) set sail on her first long voyage since being rescued. Since then, the well-travelled Swede 55 with the martial name has been underway in the weather-turned, tide-tossed and tough to sail English Channel.