Petán was designed by Willian Fife and built at the Hermanos Sagredo boatyard in Bilbao. Her hull design is thought to be the ultimate First Rule 8mR yacht and acknowledged to be hydro dynamically as good as a yacht could be at that time. The distinctive Fife tumblehome is thought to be one of the secrets of her speed. As originally drawn she carries a Marconi Bermudan rig which was the most innovative rig design of all First Rule yachts. Petán was commissioned by a Spanish aristocrat called Zubiría Marquise, who gave her the distinctive original name Sogalinda VII. Petan participated in many classic boat regattas in her area, some of them, against the Spanish king, Alfonso XIII.