The yacht built in Denmark in 1937 participates for the first time in the Copa del Rey Repsol de Barcos de Epoca in Mahón.

Every year new yachts come to Menorca to discover the Copa del Rey Repsol de Barcos de Epoca organised by the Club Marítimo de Mahón. One of the jewels present for the first time in this edition is the Orianda, a schooner launched in 1937 in Denmark and with one of the most eventful lives among all the sailboats that have attended the great classic sailing event: it went through the Second World War, was captured by the Nazis, served as inspiration for a rock star and a fire almost put an end to its seafaring life.

Orianda is a 26-metre schooner that was born under another name, Ragna IV, when it was designed as a racing cruiser by Oscar W. Dahlstrom and built at the now defunct Carl Andersen shipyard in Faaborg. Some sources claim that it had been commissioned by the King of Denmark or the Duke of Oresund. However, it was actually Ole Sundo who was officially recorded as the first owner.

The schooner was recruited to participate in the meagre Danish war effort against Nazi Germany. Eventually, the Ragna IV was captured by the invaders during Operation Weserübung, the German occupation of Denmark and Norway, which began on 9 April 1940 and met with little opposition.

The sailing ship was finally found abandoned on the coast in 1944 by Baron Johan Otto Raben-Levetzau. She was in very poor condition, having lost both masts. The original owner sold her to the Baron, who undertook the first restoration of the still named Ragna IV. It was Raben-Levetzau himself who in 1952 changed the name of the yacht for the first time to the Sabina.

The yacht then became the property of the Greek ambassador to Denmark and other owners of whom little is known, until in 1981, having swapped the cold waters for a base in Antigua, she was renamed Orianda. It was then bought by a rock star, Neil Pearl, lyricist and drummer of the band Rush, who in his biography says that while anchored in the Virgin Islands he was inspired to compose several songs that would later become very popular.

The musician finally sold the yacht to Peter Phillips in 1987, who could not have had a worse start to his ownership of such a splendid vessel, as the day after the purchase, the Orianda suffered a serious fire in the Virgin Islands that almost put an end to its existence. However, the new owner took her back and enjoyed her until 1991, when he sold her to a real estate entrepreneur who kept this nautical jewel for two decades.

Finally, the Orianda underwent a total restoration just over a decade ago and has managed to recover its initial splendour and seafaring life, regularly participating in the classic sailing circuit. Its current owner is the Italian Iginio Angelini, who entrusts the helm to his compatriot Tommaso Crisi.