Royal Huisman Marks 50 Years Since Conny van Rietschoten Ordered Flyer

Flyer anniversary recalls a pivotal commission

Royal Huisman is marking the 50th anniversary of Conny van Rietschoten placing the order for the first Flyer. The 20-metre Sparkman and Stephens yacht was built in Vollenhove and became a defining project in both the yard’s history and international offshore racing.

Van Rietschoten went on to win the Whitbread Round the World Race twice with yachts named Flyer, an achievement that has not been repeated. Those victories established the programme as a benchmark for preparation, reliability and ocean-racing discipline.

Preparation was as important as design

The first Flyer was extensively sailed before the race, including transatlantic mileage and a carefully structured development programme. Royal Huisman’s team remained closely involved so that weaknesses or opportunities identified at sea could be addressed before the main campaign.

That method helped the yacht withstand severe Southern Ocean conditions and the accumulated loads of a round-the-world race. The project became an early example of how build quality, testing and crew feedback could be treated as one integrated programme.

The legacy still shapes the yard

Flyer helped establish Royal Huisman’s international reputation for aluminium yacht construction and demanding sailing projects. The yard says the lessons from the programme still resonate in the way modern custom yachts are engineered and tested.

The anniversary also links today’s large sailing yachts with an earlier generation in which performance credibility was earned through ocean racing. For Royal Huisman, Flyer remains a reference point for reliability under pressure as much as for sporting success.