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[[Image:Shamrock_I_&_Shamrock_II.jpg|thumb|right|''Shamrock I'' & ''Shamrock II'' in [[1901]]]]
'''William Fife III''' ([[1857]]-[[1944]]), also known as Wm. Fife, Jr., was the third generation of a family of [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[yacht]] designers and builders. See also, ''[[Fife Yachts]]''.▼
▲'''William Fife''' ([[1857]]-[[1944]]), also known as Wm. Fife, Jr., was the third generation of a family of [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[yacht]] designers and builders. See also, ''[[Fife Yachts]]''.
Fife was born in the small village of [[Fairlie, Scotland|Fairlie]] on the Clyde of Firth. His father and grandfather (both also named William and often referred to as Fife I and Fife II) had also been designers and boatbuilders in Fairlie. The family business operated from a yard on the beach in the village. Fife began building yachts in [[1890]] and soon surpassed the achievements of his father and grandfather and became known as one of the premier yacht designers of the day.
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As the third generation of a venerable Scottish boat building family, William Fife inherited a rich legacy but was quick to establish his own reputation as one of the top designers in the yachting world. Often dominating his chief competitors, Fife was a master of his trade who received commissions from European royalty and from clients as far away as [[Australia]]. Following on the heels of the success of his design ''Dragon'' (1888?), Fife adopted a stylized [[Chinese dragon]] as his trademark. Thereafter, those yachts that took shape on the shingle at Fairlie were known throughout the yachting world by this distinctive scrollwork.
[[Image:Shamrock_III.jpg|thumb|left|Launching ''Shamrock III'' in 1903 at Dunbarton, Scotland]]
Fife designed two [[America's Cup]] yachts for grocery and tea magnate Sir [[Thomas Lipton]] who challenged for the cup a total of five times. The Fife designed ''Shamrock'' lost to ''Columbia'' in [[1899]] and ''Shamrock III'' lost to ''[[Reliance (yacht)|Reliance]]'' in [[1903]]. After the establishment of the first International Rule in [[1906]], Fife became a prolific designer of meter boats, designing and building several very successful 15- and 19-meter yachts in the years leading up to the [[World War I|Great War]].
[[Eric Tabarly]], the famous [[French]] sailor, two time winner of the OSTAR and owner of the Fife design ''Pen Duick'' (ex ''Yum'', [[1898]]), writing on the designs produced by Fife during the first few decades of the century noted that:
While Fife established a leading reputation on the [[yacht racing]] circuit, his work also included a number of fine cruising vessels. Dr. William Collier of Fairlie Restorations in Hamble, UK, writing on Fife's work in the [[1920's]], noted that during this period, ”[Fife] designed and built not only smaller Metre boats but also a series of fine cruisers. This combination typified the inter-war era of the Fairlie yard. Like the [[schooner]] ''Altair'', many of the cruisers echo his turn of the century designs such as ''Cicerly'' or ''Suzanne''; similarly there were few fundamental differences in his [[ketch]] designs spanning this era. Perceived by some as [[anachronistic]], these yachts were considered by many to represent some of the greatest refinements of the auxiliary cruising yacht ever achieved.” Id.
[[Image:Reliance_&_Shamrock_III.jpg|thumb|right|''Reliance'' & ''Shamrock III'' in the 1903 America's Cup Race]]
The Fife yard also had a reputation for the extremely high quality of the craftsmanship of the yachts built at the yard. Today, it is thought that there are somewhat less than 100 Fife designs still in existence. Of these, there are perhaps fifty or so still sailing. Of the larger vessels, ''Altair, Belle Aventure, Cambria, Halloween, the Lady Anne, Moonbeam of Fife, Moonbeam IV, Mariquita'' and ''Tuiga'' grace the classic yacht circuit in Europe. In [[North America]], the Fife ketchs, ''Adventuress'' and ''Sumurun'', can be found in the waters of [[New England]].
Fife once said that the secret of a great yacht was that it should be both "fast and bonnie".
Fife was awarded an [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] for his work. He died in [[1944]], never having married and without an heir. He is buried in [[Largs]]. The yard was continued for some years after his death by his nephew, but never achieved the renown known under Fife's ownership.
== References ==
* ''William Fife: Master of the Classic Yacht'', by Franco Pace, Wooden Boat Publications 1998
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