Constellation - A Gift

As it turns out, Constellation has an unusual history. Originally named ‘Prince Hamad II’, she was renamed in 1994 to Constellation.

Prince Hamad II? Yes, an odd name for a boat. I guess it would be an odd name if it wasn’t a present from an Arab officer cadet to the original owner! According to sales archives from Jeremy Rogers, Constellation was sold on the 8th of April, 1972, at a price of ?Ǭ£3399.25 as a gift to the first owner. So now I am trying to research who the Arab officer was, and see if he was possibly a Prince (naming the boat after himself). I’ve also tracked down the original owner, who is still active in boating, writing books on Superyachts and working as a photographer. I see a compelling story unfolding here…

Not only have I found a little history on the boat, but thanks to Michael Lindsey, the class captain of the Contessa 26 Association (which I recently joined) Jeremy Rogers himself emailed me off of this site, offering to give some pointers on setting Constellation up for such an enormous journey. Jeremy Rogers is the boatbuilder and designer of the Contessa class - I think that’s pretty incredible, because I don’t think there is a better person on the planet who could offer advice. More history on the Contessa 26 can be found at Contessa26.net.

Thanks also to Peter McGrath for supporting my cause on his blog as well as offering helpful advice.

Also many thanks to Adam for the support and pledge. Adam’s blog is located here.