“The Legend Rekindled”
Three Swordsman showing their heritage
The most sought after powerboat of the 1960s was undoubtedly the Fairey Boat. A list of their owners sounds like the Who’s Who of one of the most exciting and innovative decades of British design – Sir Max and Lady Violet Aitken, Tommy Sopwith, actress Deborah Kerr, bandleader Billy Cotton, and many others all owned at least one. And a number of Fairey boats featured in the James Bond 007 film From Russia With Love”.
Fairey boats combined comfort with spacious accommodation; a renowned seaworthiness with handling qualities second to none; and performance, courtesy of the deep V planning hull, such that the cruiser class of numerous Cowes-Torquay and London-Monte Carlo races were successfully campaigned by Fairey boats.
Fairey Marine’s designer was Alan Burnard, and today it is one of his designs, the Dagger, proven in military use and as a police boat, that forms the basis of Swordsman Marine’s boats.