Rebuilding the King’s yacht Britannia

In 1994 an exciting project to build a replica of His Majesty's yacht Britannia gained Her Majesty the Queen’s blessing.

Her hull was commissioned and built, however the project was never completed and Britannia sat unfinished for nearly eight years.

In late 2011 her hull was acquired to be used for maritime education, charity fundraises, and a whole range of charitable causes. Thus "K1 Britannia" was born with the goal to complete the rebuild of the vessel to the same standard and specification of the original, and to reclaim the history of this iconic vessel.

Britannia’s hull was towed from Norway to East Cowes on the Isle of Wight in February 2012, where she was lifted by an Apache floating crane, and placed in her cradle so that the designing, engineering, and refitting work could commence.

She is now being stripped and prepared for her refit at Venture Quays in East Cowes. Upon completion in 15 months time she is purposed to be used for a whole range of charitable causes. Her overall length will measure 52m with a staggeringly tall 55m mast, the tallest wooden mast in the world!

Video by K1 Britannia, see http://britanniatrust.org and http://k1britannia.org for lots more information.

COWES.co.uk would like to thank K1 Britannia for sharing this beautiful video with us.

Top photo: The newly built replica of Britannia berthed in East Cowes after being towed back from Norway. February 2012.

See also: K1 Britannia photos on Flickr and a video showing the first attempt to lift K1 Britannia ashore in East Cowes.