The Nigel Irens-designed schooner Maggie B has been destroyed in a fire which also razed the Covey Island Boat Works boatyard in Nova Scotia to the ground.

‘We are devastated to report that the 62′ schooner Maggie B was lost’ said yard president and founder John Steele. ‘Our sincere condolences to her American owner, Mr. Frank Blair, who has been contacted. His yacht was in the yard for a cosmetic refit after circling the globe over the last two years.’

Maggie B, which featured in YM in December 2007, was a ‘fusion schooner’. Optimised for fast trade-wind and Southern Ocean sailing, she blended traditional looks with techonology: she was wooden-hulled and gaff-rigged while her masts were carbon fibre. YM columnist Tom Cunliffe’s gaffer, Westernman, was also built at the yard.

Image (c)Nova Scotia News.

John Steele said that repairs to a small sailboat and a month-long refit of another boat had just been completed.
‘Discussions are well underway for a move to the Smith and Rhuland property on the Lunenburg waterfront,’ he added.

It will be some time before the cause of the fire is established.

More info on Maggie B.

More info on the fire. 

Photo: Tim Wright/Photoaction.com