The Baltic 46 is where the story starts. Five young boatbuilders left Nautor in the early seventies, set up in the village of Bosund with a single telephone line between them, and set out to build lighter and faster than anyone around them. C and C Design in Canada drew the hull. Baltic handled the interior layout and styling in house. Hull number one, launched in 1974 as Diva, is now Queen Anne, and she returned to the yard in 2022 for a full refit.
She was well ahead of the fleet at the time. Sandwich laminates, a teak deck thinner than the norm and epoxy bonded to the FRP structure for strength and weight saving, and rod standing rigging that until then belonged to hard racing boats. The design work in autumn 1973 included tank testing several hull models, aimed at IOR racing without giving up the comfort her owners would live with.
The layout put an owner cabin aft with twin berths, then opened forward through the navigation and galley areas into a saloon built for both seating and sleeping. Ventilation and stowage were worked out properly, and the joinery followed the best Finnish tradition.
Diva raced the 1975 Admirals Cup at Cowes with the Canadian team. Renamed Queen Anne in 1979, she has stayed in the same Norwegian family since. The 2022 to 2023 refit covered topside and deck paint, a new engine, new helm and navigation electronics, a refurbished teak deck and a custom Baltic hatch.
