In Biggles and the Lost Sovereigns, the Vagabond was a luxury schooner of 90 tons owned by a retired English businessman named Drew who had taken it for a round the world trip. The Vagabond was on its way home from Australia to Britain when it put in at Singapore around February 1942, just before it fell to the Japanese Army. Drew was asked to take on a consignment of 20,0000 sovereigns with the hope of preventing it from falling into enemy hands. The Vagabond set out for Calcutta but did not arrive.
Drew and his English crew of 11 (and possibly refugees which he had taken on) were never seen again. The wreckage of the Vagabond was found much later by Biggles on Shark Island in the Mergui Archipelago. The cargo of gold coins, which had originally been sent by the Bank of England as a gold reserve to a Singapore, was recovered.
This photo of the Pacific Swift gives an idea of the appearance and size of the Vagabond. The Pacific Swift has a tonnage of 98 tons, just slightly larger than the Vagabond. It operates off the west coast of Canada, providing sail training and holidays for young people.