Sail no K–707, KB–87 Class Maxi yacht | Owner(s) Bob Bell | |
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Other names Heath's Condor
Condor of Bermuda Nation United Kingdom
Bermuda Designer(s) John Sharp
Bruce Farr (re-fit) Builder Bowman Construction Ship Yard
Emsworth, UK | ||
Condor of Bermuda was a maxi yacht campaigning under the leadership and funding of London-based international businessman Bob Bell. Originally called Condor but renamed Heath's Condor for the 1977-78 Whitbread Round the World Race after Bell's association with Heath's Insurance Co (London). There is no link with former British Prime Minister Edward Heath of Morning Cloud yachting fame. Condor was then later renamed Condor of Bermuda, as government policy in the UK during the 1970s effectively exiled the financing of such a campaign by making the funding and domiciling of such an endeavour from the home countries a practical impossibility.
Condor of Bermuda is a polished mahogany race boat; and is often confused with its successor, Condor (sometimes referred to as Condor II , which was of Kevlar and composite construction, and slightly larger, due to IOR rule changes. The two boats were colloquially known as The Grand Piano and Plastic Condor or the Brown Bus by those who had sailed on both.
Condor of Bermuda was a maxi yacht campaigning from 1977 to approximately 1983.