Donella, the prototype to the Donella Class was designed in 1956 and during the following two years was built by Messrs. Percy Mitchell of Mevagissey, Cornwall. Altogether nineteen Donella class hull numbers were assigned of which two (hulls numbers 12 & 13) were not built. Four of those that were built: numbers 5, 11, 14 & 15 were constructed in steel and the first of these was Carola built by De Vries in Aalsmeer Holland who were later to evolve as the Feadship Group specializing in the building of super-yachts.
Mia, the fourth Donella class which emerged from Moody’s Southampton yard in 1960 was built for Dr Fred Ellis, who later commissioned Giles to design the 15.55 m Ketch Via Maris , the aluminium hull of which was built by Huisman’s fifty years ago in 1970