The name Alcyone comes from Greek mythology, where she was the daughter of Aeolus (god of wind) and wife of Ceyx. She and her husband were changed into kingfisher birds after Ceyx was shipwrecked and Alcyone threw herself into the sea in her grief. Her name is sometimes spelled Halcyone, which is the source of the phrase “halcyon days.” Now used to mean “fair weather” or “happy time,” it originally meant the two weeks of calm while kingfishers (also called halcyons) were breeding in floating nests.
Normally the boat is raced in the Contessa 32 Association Solent Points series plus the Round-the-Island Race and the like, as well as coastal cruised, including cruises across the Channel to France and the Channel Islands. She is equipped for both cruising and racing and over the winter of 2007/2008 she spent much of the time in Jeremy Rogers yard undergoing a major refit, and is now near to a new boat ready for her next 30 years.
