''Morning Cloud'' was the name given by the British politician

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...

to a series of five yachts which he owned between 1969 and 1983.

The yachts

No. 1

Sparkman and Stephens S&S 34,

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...

, year of launch 1969. Edward Heath won the

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual oceanic yacht racing event hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales, on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately ...

with this boat in the same year. She was sold in December 1970 to Stewart Benest of

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

, who renamed her ''Nuage de Matin''. She sank off Gorey Castle, Jersey, on 2 September 1974, after the seas took her from her moorings.

No. 2

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

), constructed by Lallows (UK), year of launch 1971. Heath used the boat in the

Admiral's Cup The Admiral's Cup is an international yachting regatta. For many years it was known as the unofficial world championship of offshore racing. The Admiral's Cup regatta was started in 1957 and was normally a biennial event (occurring in odd-number ...

of that year as part of the winning British team. At least two copies of the boat were built under licence from him.

No. 3

Designed by Sparkman and Stephens, length , hull and deck material wood, constructed by Lallows (UK), year of launch 1973. It was used in the Admiral's Cup of that year, but Heath was only on board for the

Fastnet race The Fastnet Race is a biennial offshore yacht race organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) of the United Kingdom with the assistance of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the City of Cherbourg in France. The race is named after th ...

because of other commitments. It was lost at sea on 2 September 1974 when it was hit by a large wave while en route to

Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked b ...

from

Burnham-on-Crouch Burnham-on-Crouch is a town and civil parish in the Maldon District of Essex, in the East of England; it lies on the north bank of the River Crouch. It is one of Britain's leading places for yachting. The civil parish extends east of the town ...

. Heath was not on board. Two of the seven crew drowned. It was insured by Lloyd's of London. This was within 24 hours of the sinking of ''Morning Cloud I''.

No. 4

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

, constructed by Allday Aluminium of Gosport and Camper and Nicholsons (yard number 1390), year of launch 1975.

No. 5

Designed by Ron Holland, length , hull and deck material aluminium, year of launch 1977. In a Channel Race during the British team trials it lost its rudder (it was a new

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

prototype). In the 1979 Fastnet race (which was part of the Admiral's Cup) it was turned upside down by a large wave after rounding the Fastnet Rock at 0100h but despite suffering some damage and shock to the whole crew it was still able to finish. Heath was on board for all races of the Admiral’s Cup, including the Fastnet Race. Heath sold the boat in 1983.

References

External links

Photographs of ''Morning Cloud''

* Yacht no. 3
photo-a
https://web.archive.org/web/20110813215333/http://community.thisisplymouth.co.uk/_TED-HEATH-S-MORNING-CLOUD/photo/9923008/72100.html?setId=68592 photo-b] * Yacht no. 4
photo-a
https://web.archive.org/web/20110707100745/http://archive.ajaxnetphoto.com/v/MaritimeArchives/YachtByName/YachtsM-P/__YA_MORNING_CLOUD_79_2032.jpg.html photo-
photo-c
{{1976 shipwrecks Edward Heath Individual sailing vessels Maritime incidents in 1974 Maritime incidents in 1976 Sailing in the United Kingdom