The Gyles family’s crown jewel is the 90-year-old racing yacht Severn II. The Lake Ontario boating community came to a halt recently as word of a collision and subsequent sinking of the Severn II spread across phones and social media. After colliding with another racing boat during its final regatta outside the Toronto Islands, the eight-metre-long vessel sank to the bottom of Lake Ontario, just outside the Toronto Islands, in 180 feet of water in mid-June.
The Bute Slip Dock Company built Severn II in 1934 in Ardmaleish, Isle of Bute, in Scotland’s Firth of Clyde. ‘Beautiful’ is an understatement for Severn II, which is made of carvel mahogany on an oak frame. Amazing, beautiful, and eye-catching. If these 8s weren’t still active racing boats, they’d be museum pieces.
Watch the video above to see how marine crews got it back.