chico motor yacht

Motor Yacht Chico

Chico, a 1930s motor yacht available for charter on the west coast of Scotland

Cruise the West Coast of Scotland with us

Chico, a gentleman’s motor yacht, was built in 1932 at St. Monans, Fife. A  Dunkirk Little Ship , and registered as a  National Historic Ship , she is available for charter on the West Coast of Scotland. There are three double cabins for up to six guests, with separate crew accommodation. Day trips for up to eight people can be booked by arrangement.

The best way to explore the West Coast is by sea, so why not join us for a relaxing, comfortable and fully catered cruise in magnificent scenery.

In May and September we sail from Greenock for Clyde cruises to Bute, Arran, Kintyre and Loch Fyne, and otherwise from Oban to the Inner Hebrides, south to Jura, Gigha and Islay, or west to Mull, Iona and The Small Isles. We can also sail from Mallaig, again to The Small Isles and Skye, and the mainland lochs of Nevis and Hourn up to Kyle of Lochalsh, Plockton and Portree.

We can tailor your holiday to suit your interests, whether they be walking, photography, history, castles and gardens, or just relaxing in beautiful scenery while watching the abundant wildlife.

Cruises in Scotland

Here to help you book your cruise in scotland.

En-suite: Some

Chico, a gentleman’s motor yacht, was built in 1932 at St. Monans, Fife. A Dunkirk Little Ship, and registered as a National Historic Ship, she is now available for charter on the West Coast of Scotland. There are three double cabins for up to six guests, with separate crew accommodation. Day trips for up to eight people can be booked by arrangement.

Guest Details

Max Guests: 6 En- Suite cabins: Some

Price Per Person Per Night Min: 181 Max: 311

Boat Details

Crew: 2 Length: 73

Details: Classic little ship - Dunkirk

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Life in the slow lane: the joys of displacement cruising

The pleasure of the journey is just as important as the destination, argues Peter Cumberlidge in the first of a new series on cruising styles

I’m a long time fan of displacement cruising, which covers a multitude of boat designs and styles. Converted motor fishing vessels (MFVs) were my first experiences and there are still plenty around.

Strongly built with deep keels and high bows, their forte is being able to stay safely at sea in bad weather.

With a single slow-turning engine, large prop and huge fuel tank, a genuine MFV yacht can ‘heave-to’ if necessary, chugging slowly into heavy seas at a slight angle until conditions ease.

While many designers have drawn on the MFV concept, few contemporary ‘trawler yachts’ bear any resemblance to fishing vessels and hardly any are slow.

Nordhavn provides the closest modern equivalent in terms of sea-keeping and range. They were conceived as small ocean-going ships, which an experienced couple could cruise round the world and liveaboard comfortably for long periods.

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The Nordhavn 76, as tested in the December 2014 edition of MBY – Picture: Lester McCarthy

All Nordhavns have a safe range of around 3,000nm at speeds from 7-81⁄2 knots depending on hull length.

Aesthetically, slow cruising is quieter, less manic and somehow more in tune with the natural rhythms of the sea.

Heading offshore in a displacement boat is a gradual, quite soothing process, giving you time to gaze around and take stock of the weather and likely conditions further out.

It’s also easier to adjust to the sometimes very striking contrast between being on dry land and bobbing about on the briny.

With 25-knot passages you are often chasing to get somewhere before the weather changes or a marina gate shuts.

But cruising offshore at 7 or 8 knots, your progress is judged by different values and you are, quite simply, at sea, savouring the wide horizons.

The easy, predictable motion of a slow boat at sea helps tune out the clamour of life ashore, and on longer passages the simple pleasures of just being under way can replace any eagerness to get somewhere else.

Life on board on classic motor yacht Chico

My wife Jane and I love to cruise aboard comfortable classic motor yachts and one of our favourites is Chico , a 73ft GL Watson design built in 1932 by James N Miller and Son.

This elegant little ship is powered by two 120hp 6LXB Gardner diesels and has a range of about 1,700nm.

Her owners, Gus Geddes and Sue Maclachlan (pictured below), live in Edinburgh but keep Chico on Scotland’s beautiful West Coast.

Gus and Sue run holiday charters around the Scottish islands, but they also enjoy cruising by themselves in a relaxed, civilised style.

At her normal 7-8 knots, Chico is quiet and restful under way. The Gardners murmur far below, almost inaudible on deck.

The wheelhouse feels like a proper ship’s bridge, where the skipper can ponder charts and pilot books in peace.

At 80 tonnes Chico is too heavy for most pontoons, but Scotland has countless quiet, sheltered anchorages to choose from.

As Gus told me: “Anchoring is easy with a good windlass, plenty of cable and an anchor we trust. We have a large fridge and deep-freeze, a good generator, over 2,000 litres of fresh water and a decent wine cellar.

“We don’t need to restock too often and the views from the saloon in a Scottish sea loch are out of this world.”

Chico off the Isle of Mull – Picture: Peter Cumberlidge

Sue said that Chico ’s cruises include plenty of shore time: “There are so many places to explore off the West Coast.

“We usually cruise for a couple of hours in the morning, anchor for lunch and then go ashore for a walk before setting off for our overnight anchorage.”

Favourite harbour: Tobermory, Isle of Mull

Favourite anchorage: Cragaig Bay, Isle of Ulva

Golden cruising rules: “We always go with the tide. Flexibility is also crucial – be prepared to change plans if the forecast isn’t suitable. Our anchor is always down in good time for drinks before dinner!”

This boater got lost in the waterways of rural France

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Previous names

• 1932 - 1940 Bluebird
• 1932 - 1933 Frebelle III

Construction

Built in 1932 by J. N. Miller & Son at St Monans for Frank Robinson Beavan of Newcastle, she was launched as Frebelle III. She was then sold to Sir Malcolm Campbell in 1933, the third of four motor yachts he was to own between the wars, each in turn called Blue Bird. Chico is built of pitch pine on oak frames with a copper sheathed bottom. She was fitted originally with Gleniffer engines, but these were changed for Gardners in 1998 during an extensive refit. She was requisitioned for war service in 1939, fitted with echo sounding gear at Camper & Nicholson, Gosport and renamed Chico. She took part in the evacuation of troops from Calais and Dunkirk. In 1943 she was paid off and the engines were overhauled for a new assignment at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, and in 1943 she was transferred to the Medway Mine Watching Patrol at Chatham. She was laid up in Mears Yard in 1945 and disposed of in 1946. After the war she had a number of civilian owners, some of whom used her as a charter yacht. In the 1970s she was chartered by Marconi and sailed to Russia and various European capitals to display Marconi's latest radio and navigation products. After this she was based in the Bristol Docks. She is now in the West of Scotland, again as a charter vessel, for cruises around the west coast.

Launched as Frebelle III

Sold and renamed Bluebird

Sold, uncertain of new name 

Requisitioned by Admiralty 

Commissioned at HM Echo sounding Yacht CHICO serving under Dover Command

Ordered to Dunkirk on Operation Dynamo

Returned to civilian ownership 

Underwent major refit

MCA coded for charter use

Brann, Christian,  The Little Ships of Dunkirk: 1940-1990,   Collectors Books Ltd, 1989

Own this vessel?

If you are the owner of this vessel and would like to provide more details or updated information, please contact [email protected]

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National Historic Ships UK acknowledges the financial support of its sponsors

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