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Athena was built to the 8m rule for Swedish banker Marcus Wallenberg jnr. Wallenburg had been disappointed in his attempt at the Olympic title in 1936 – see BCYC member C049 Ilderim – as a politically influenced decision had found him relegated from the gold medal position to fourth. He challenged the Germans and Italians for the Coppa d’Italia, then the European championships for the Eight metre class, at Genoa in 1937 and 1938, winning on the second occasion and taking the cup home to Sweden. For the 1939 defence he built a new Ilderim, again from the board and yard of Tore Holm. This Ilderim, too, was successful and won the last challenge for the cup before the Second World War, beating, among others, such renowned 8 metres as Pinuccia, Sira, and Germania IV. Ilderim was Wallenberg’s name for all his boats and it is the Turkish word for “Thunderbolt”. The name was lost when he sold this boat, and after the war he built other Ilderim’s. She had a variety of names in her native Sweden, and on being brought to the UK in 2002 by Avia Willment she was re-named Amorevita, and underwent a major restoration. When the present owners acquired her in 2006, they decided to revert to a more classical name, and since the Ilderim of 1936 had recovered that name, the new name “Athena” was chosen. This reflects the fact that Athena was the daughter of Zeus in Greek mythology, and Zeus, who owned the Thunderbolt, gave it to his daughter to assist her in conquering the Athenians. Athena found herself on the same racecourse as Pinuccia for the first time since 1939 at the metre regatta in the Solent in 2007 and the result was the same. She came third equal in the Sira and Neptune trophies at the Centenary World Championships held on the Clyde in 2007. These trophies were awarded to yachts sailing with rigging and equipment which would have been available when they were built. Ironically, she was the first boat in her class to be built with a full metal rig – in this case, steel, which is now barred under the rules for classic boats, which require wooden rigs. Athena sailed at Cowes Week Regatta in
2007 under IRC rules, and came 4th in her class of 50+ modern
boats.
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