Mariquita Book - mk2

MARIQUITA

MARIQUITA

Copyright © 2016 Ben Wood / Island Images
All rights reserved
Published in 2016 by the Mariquita Syndicate
M A R I Q U I T A
www.yachtmariquita.co.uk
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including
information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author.
All photographs, unless where stated, © 2016 Ben Wood / Island Images
Printed in Great Britain in 2016
L I M I T E D
E D I T I O N

mariquita
RACING IN 2013, 2014 & 2015
Ben Wood

Bailey’s Reach
Dock Lane
Beaulieu
Hampshire
This book is dedicated to Mariquita and her crew, as well as the visionary team that took
on her landmark restoration.
In early 2012, I was fortunate enough to receive an unexpected call from my good friend
John Caulcutt, who told me that there was an opportunity to own one of the most
beautiful sailing boats in the world. This was an intriguing prospect, since, although I
was no sailor, I have always enjoyed being on the water.
John explained to me that Mariquita was the last surviving 19-Metre yacht from a class
of six that had raced before World War I. He went on to describe how the boat had been
rescued from a mud berth in Pin Mill, on the river Orwell, in Suffolk, and rebuilt to
almost exactly her original design, before recommencing her racing career in 2004.
We were subsequently invited by the very generous owners, led by Peter Livanos and his
captain Jim Thom, to join them for much of the 2012 season. That did it! This was a
project too good to miss – and so I worked with John and our other syndicate members,
Jamie Matheson and Nick Edmiston, to complete the acquisition and keep
the ‘Mariquita Project’ alive.
This book chronicles our first two seasons in the Mediterranean and the 2015 campaign
in the Solent. Mariquita was designed and built as a race boat. I am pleased to say that
she continues to thrill not only those fortunate enough to race aboard her, but also those
spectators who catch a glimpse of her on the horizon. I hope that you enjoy this book
and Ben Wood’s wonderful photographs.
Stephen Hemsley
January 2016

contents
RACING IN 2013 RACING IN 2014 RACING IN 2015
Antibes 15
Argentario 24
Napoli 34
Barcelona 46
Mahón 56
Monaco 68
Cannes 80
Saint-Tropez 92
Owners and Crew 108
The Year in Numbers 111
Antibes 118
Argentario 130
Barcelona 144
Mahón 156
Imperia 168
Cannes 186
Saint-Tropez 200
Owners and Crew 214
The Year in Numbers 217
UK Pre-Season 222
Two Centuries of Sail 228
Old Gaffers, Yarmouth 232
Fleet Review, Cowes 244
Westward Cup 264
Round the Island 276
Panerai BCYC 298
RYS Bicentennial 312
Owners and Crew 342
The Year in Numbers 345

6

FOREWORD
When I got the call from William Collier, I was stunned. Here was the preeminent authority on classic yachting offering me
the opportunity to own this remarkable piece of yachting provenance and history – how could I do anything else but say “yes”.
But this was my heart speaking and the practicality of buying and importantly maintaining a yacht of this sort did not escape
me. A syndicate was what was needed and so I asked William how long I had to confirm my answer. “Oh”, said William, “take
your time ... but if you could give me a reply in a month or so then that would be fine”.
In reality it took me less than a week to assemble three good friends who could understand and appreciate this once in a lifetime
opportunity. There was no particular science to my approaches ... it was simply a question of making a few calls to people who
could understand the significance of this opportunity, and who had the wherewithal to say yes.
Stephen Hemsley and I had shared a boat before and the partnership had worked really well, albeit on a power boat, but the
different nature of this project seemed secondary. Stephen took less than a minute to say yes ... so one down and just two to
go. Nick Edmiston and Jamie Matheson signed up on the same day, the former on a telephone call to Nick’s elegant home in
Saint-Tropez. Nick’s name had been synonymous with classic yachting for many years and he obviously knew Mariquita well.
“Count me in”, he said, again without hesitation; wow, I thought, at this rate we could buy two! Later that day I was in London
at the Royal Thames Yacht Club, where, fortuitously, a chance meeting with Jamie Matheson, who in any event, had been on
my list of people to call, resulted in another positive “yes” meaning that the syndicate was now complete. Jamie’s momentary
hesitation was whilst he made a call to “the boss” (his lovely wife Angela) whose simple response was “what are you waiting for”!
It was heart-warming for me to have got such a positive response from friends who trusted me to make this project work and
so it was that I was able to go back to William Collier within just one week of his call and say, “William, I am delighted to tell
you that we are on”. Peter Livanos and Ernst Klaus, the then owners of Mariquita, were magnanimous with their kindness and
cooperation in letting the new syndicate sail with them on the Solent in 2012, as well as at the Cannes and Saint-Tropez regattas
that year. Clearly they wanted a good home for Mariquita and a process of familiarisation with the intricacies of sailing her was
essential to the ongoing project. A deal was concluded in October 2012 and the new syndicate was delighted that so many of
the crew wanted to stay with us for the 2013 season.
John Caulcutt
April 2016
7

introduction
Being involved with Mariquita was something I thought I could only dream of. Little did I know that my
conversation with John Caulcutt, in the bar of the Royal Thames one evening in January 2012, was going to lead
to this becoming a reality. But for me the story actually started many years before. There is a saying “what’s for you
will not go by you” and I believe there is a lot of truth in that.
I recall visiting friends one spring weekend. On the Sunday we went to a quiet little place on the Suffolk coast called
Pin Mill. Walking around after lunch we came across a large, but sadly neglected, hull lying in a mud berth. I had
never seen a yacht of this size and thought to myself that I was seeing my first J-Class racing yacht. She was a sad
sight, paint flaking from her hull, mast and spars long gone, and judging by how high out of the water she was, the
lead from her keel had been removed some years back. To add to her indignity, on deck was perched a structure
that would have easily passed as a garden shed. I was not to see another boat of that size for many years and she
slipped away as a distant memory.
However, many years later I was sailing in the British Classic Yacht Club regatta in Cowes on board the newly
restored Opposition. That year the Club had attracted a ‘Big Boat’ class, which included the recently rebuilt
Mariquita. Unaware that I had glimpsed her before, I remember vividly standing on her vast teak decks, looking
around me in wonderment at this graceful racing machine. I couldn’t help but think how amazing it might be to
sail on, never mind own, this cheetah of the seas, built a century ago. The dream was answered on a very special
occasion when in the spring of 2012 we met on board Mariquita in preparation for the handover. Sitting at the
saloon table with Jim Thom, the captain, he passed around the beautiful monograph commissioned to mark her
restoration. As I leafed through the pages, one photograph suddenly took my breath away. The sad hulk that I had
mistaken for an abandoned J-Class in Pin Mill was the Mariquita in whose saloon we were now sitting. Thinking
about that still sends a shiver down my spine.
This book sets out the story of our three years sailing Mariquita. It has been an awesome adventure that I have been
privileged to share with my partners John Caulcutt, Stephen Hemsley and Nick Edmiston. It has taught me a lot
and I have had the pleasure of sailing with some wonderful people, led by our captain, George Newman.
Jamie Matheson
May 2016
8

9

Mariquita and Corona, Cowes 1911
Beken of Cowes
10

mariquita’s history
“HAUL AWAY YOU ROLLING KINGS
HEAVE AWAY, HAUL AWAY
HAUL AWAY YOU’LL HEAR ME SING
WE’RE BOUND FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA …”
1911 – 1918 ‘THE GREAT 19s’ AND THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR I
Designed and built for industrialist Arthur Stothert by William Fife III, Mariquita was launched in 1911
at Fairlie on the Clyde in Scotland. She joined five other 19-Metres including Octavia, Norada and Corona
in a new class that caught the imagination of everyone who followed sailing just before the First World
War. The arrival of the 19-Metre Class in 1911 marked the return of ‘Big Class’ racing, which had been
extinguished in 1896 when the future Edward VII had quietly retired his yacht Britannia from competition
after being upset by the German Kaiser and his unsporting behaviour at the previous Cowes Week.
The ‘Great 19s’ travelled far and wide: The Clyde, Cork, Harwich, Cowes, Dartmouth and abroad to Kiel
and Le Havre. Mariquita performed admirably in the three seasons from 1911-13 especially in light winds.
Not only was the arrival of the 19-Metres unexpected but the quality of the racing was astonishing. The
racing was very competitive and close, after five hours racing the yachts would often finish within seconds
of each other. The threat of war in 1914 stopped sailing in its tracks. William Burton the owner of Octavia
put her up for sale marking the end of the 19-Metre Class. Mariquita was sold in 1915 and spent four
peaceful years sailing in neutral Norway.
Sir William Fife III, OBE, 1857-1944
Mariquita is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful classic yachts sailing today.
As a gaff-rigged cutter she is a direct link to the historic ‘Big Class’ and a precursor to the
J-Class that would follow in the 1930s.
For over 100 years Mariquita has thrilled her owners, crew and spectators alike.
Her history is one of the great maritime stories.
11

1919 – 1958 THE LONG FAREWELL
Mariquita returned to Great Britain after the war but her time as a top flight racing yacht was over.
George V, ‘the Sailor King’, brought back the iconic yacht Britannia and a new Big Class eclipsed the
19-Metres. Although Mariquita raced against her old rivals Octavia and Norada under reduced rigs it
was in the handicap classes. It was the beginning of the end. It’s said that a crew is a ship’s lifeblood. Over
the years Mariquita’s captains and crew were drawn from the creeks of Essex and Suffolk, from villages
like Rowhedge, Wyvenhoe and Brightlingsea. Captains such as Edward Sycamore and Robert Wringe
were local men who had learnt their craft on the fishing boats of the east coast before graduating to yacht
racing. It was perhaps a sad irony that Mariquita returned to this area to end her sailing days in 1938.
Mersea Hard
West Mersea Maritime Museum
1959 – 1991 IN THE WILDERNESS
By the early 1970s all the other 19-Metres had disappeared, but Mariquita through a combination of
luck together with the love and application of a series of owners managed to survive in her favourable
mud berth in East Anglia. However, after 30 years sitting in the ooze at Pin Mill time was running
out for this former thoroughbred. Fortunately the combined efforts of William Collier, Albert Obrist,
Duncan Walker, not to mention the skill and experience of salvage expert Harry Spence, heralded a new
chapter in Mariquita’s journey. In the summer of 1991 Mariquita was re-floated on a high spring tide
and dragged clear of the mud. She was then delivered to Fairlie Restorations on the Hamble where she
waited for her restoration. It took 10 years before the work started.
She was brought to West Mersea by Arthur Hempstead whose firm undertook the decommissioning.
Her fine mast was chopped away above the deck, her keel bolts let go and 40 tonnes of lead cut into
scrap on the Mersea Hard. After a spell in Tollesbury in Essex the hulk of the once beautiful yacht was
towed to Woodbridge on the River Deben where she served as a house boat for a decade. Mariquita was
then moved to Pin Mill on the River Orwell in 1958. This was expected to be her final resting place.
One by one all the 19-Metres had turned their bows inland to expire in the mud – to decay and vanish.
Mariquita in Pin Mill
G L Watson
2004 – 2012 MARIQUITA RETURNS
West Mersea
West Mersea Maritime Museum
While Fairlie Restorations were busy restoring yachts such as Tuiga, Kentra and The Lady Anne the hulk
of Mariquita loomed over the yard. She was large but the challenge of restoring her was even larger.
Nobody had ever dared to restore, as close as possible to her original state, a large racing gaff cutter.
Undaunted the restoration begun and after three long years Mariquita finally appeared from the shed at
Fairlie Restorations in the spring of 2004. This was a landmark restoration, one of the finest that Fairlie
had ever undertaken. Mariquita looked as good as new.
12

“Soon I shall hear the creaking of the halyard blocks again and be looking at the top-sail
straining the new jackyarder toward the gaff. How will it come? Is she too high or too low?
Lord! She will be all right when the main sheet is in and the great main-sail full of wind. A great
sport, Sir, a great sport!
So, as Sir Francis Drake said ‘Let the gentleman haul with the men.’ The hook’s off the ground.
‘Fill her, sir, fill her.’ We are under way for another racing season.”
Extract from The Complete Yachtsman by Brooke Heckstall-Smith, published Methuen (1912)
Under the ownership of Peter Livanos and Ernst Klaus, captained by Jim Thom, she set sail once again
and quickly became one of the stars of the classic circuit. Over the next nine seasons Mariquita turned
heads wherever she was campaigned. The Mariquita Project was one of the most professional and wellresourced
classic yacht programmes ever undertaken. Her owners sent her to compete across Europe:
on the Clyde, Cowes, Falmouth and countless Mediterranean regattas. This was classic yachting pushed
to a never-seen-before level. In 2011 she celebrated her centenary by winning the Voiles de Saint-
Tropez. However, in 2012 she was unexpectedly offered for sale and bought by a syndicate headed up by
yachtsman John Caulcutt, and so begun the period of Mariquita’s story covered in this book.
Mariquita Fife Regatta 2008
Mariquita Westward Cup 2010 Mariquita Crew in Antibes Centenary Year 2011
13

RACING IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN
2013
14

LES VOILES D’ANTIBES
29 May – 2 June 2013
Set against the snow peaked mountains of the Maritime Alps
the first of the Panerai regattas marked the beginning of the
2013 European classic season and the debut outing for the new
owners and crew of Mariquita.
The town of Antibes with its 16th-century
ramparts, narrow cobbled streets and
naturally protected port always puts on a
friendly and exciting regatta. Traditionally
‘The Voiles d’Antibes’ coming so early in
the summer is a
gentle start to the
season with light
winds. The forecast
for the week suited
Mariquita and there
was a great sense
of excitement on
board, summed up
here by helmsman
John Caulcutt … “We had to start the
season somewhere and it just happened to be
Antibes. I love the town, it all felt right, there
wasn’t a lot of wind. It was just so exciting to
think that having put the syndicate together
and bought the boat we were actually going
to go racing.”
With light thermal breezes the racing between
Mariquita and her rivals
Moonbeam IV, Cambria
and Mariska was very
competitive. Matters
came to a head during
the second race when
Moonbeam IV protested
Mariquita during
a very congested
start, which resulted
in Mariquita’s first ever disqualification!
So the racing was close, at times too close – a
foretaste of the rivalry with Moonbeam IV
and the exciting season ahead.
15

morning stretches
16

17

18

We’ve got new crew and some returning crew. But even those
experienced hands are in new roles this year. There is excitement
everywhere, and although we’re not as polished as we were by
the end of last season – we are keen to see what we can do with
Mariquita – with this new energy we have on board.
Matty Oates
19

20

JOHN CAULCUTT
Owner & Helmsman
This was the first race of the new season
and my heart was pounding. My long-time
sailing friend David Howlett (trainer to Sir
Ben Ainslie and Iain Percy and with whom I
had done an Olympic campaign in the 80s)
was with us as tactician, and between us we
agreed that our first ever start on Mariquita
should be a conservative and safe one – on
starboard tack at the committee boat end of
the line. With one minute to go everything
looked good – we had nobody to leeward and
no one above us as we approached the line,
except for Mariska, one of the 15-Metre Class
on port tack coming in from the pin end of
the line. Mariska had no rights and we were
not overly concerned, despite our foredeck
calling “starboard”, until about half a boat
length beneath us, she tacked under our bow
and luffed us up towards the committee boat
leaving less than a foot between us.
After the race, the helmsman of Mariska
came up to us, shook David and myself by
the hand, and told us with a broad grin that
he had waited some 25 years to get his own
back on us for taking him the wrong side of
the weather mark in the Olympic Star Boat
Class European Championships in the 1980s
– what a memory and what an introduction to
classic boat sailing!
21

With no powered winches and old-style blocks and sheets, you have to be mindful of how long manoeuvres take to complete on Mariquita. A gybe can take between
6-8 minutes. In light airs the tacking angle is something like 125-130 degrees, which is shocking compared with modern yachts. It just takes so long to accelerate,
so you need a clear plan for the start of the race. If you’re not in the right place going at the right speed at the start it’s gameover. Also you don’t have much leeway if
one of your rivals changes their plan. You’re watching everyone else like crazy to see when they start their last tack to the line. It’s very challenging. If you’re in a little
dinghy you can change your mind at no notice – you just tack without thinking about it. But with 24 crew on Mariquita it all has to be pre-planned.
David Howlett
22

cambria mariska mariquita
23

ARGENTARIO SAILING WEEK
13 – 16 June 2013
After the drama of Antibes, Argentario Sailing Week nestled on
the Tuscan coast was the perfect antidote.
The second of the Panerai regattas is based
in the beautiful harbour town of Porto Santo
Stefano between Rome and Pisa. With light
winds, flat water and long courses, the regatta
was beautifully set up
for Mariquita, who
can struggle against
the schooners, such as
Mariette, in big seas
and high winds.
After such a positive
opening to the
regatta, the course on
the second day again
suited Mariquita: a
great start, followed by a 14 mile beat to a rock
west of Argentario, and then a 14 mile run
for home under spinnaker. Navigator Chris
Tibbs described the day, “We had a perfect
start. Having got tangled up with an Italian
boat that didn’t know the rules, we got clear
and enjoyed a good beat to the mark. Then
we had a beautiful long spinnaker run home.
Mariquita is at her best with the spinnaker
pole out, big balloon
spinnaker set, balancing
between speed
and course. In the
end it went very
well and gave us
first place.” In only
their second regatta
together, the new
owners and skipper
George Newman had
recorded their first race win.
With everything to play for, on the final day
Cambria managed the win after a delayed
start leaving Mariquita with a creditable
third for the regatta. Next stop Naples!
24

25

26

27

I don’t think you can take on a boat like Mariquita unless
you are prepared to embrace that spirit of tradition, that
legacy, that heritage, that pedigree – everything that was
William Fife in the early days. He designed her and she
was built as a race boat. We took her on as a race boat.
John Caulcutt
28

John is a fearless helmsman. He understands it all. He sees it all. Even when he’s concentrating on the helm he sees the bigger picture. Mariquita is very difficult to steer … she doesn’t
give you much feedback because of all the friction in the steering systems. Modern yachts have sophisticated roller bearings which reduce friction and therefore give you more feel,
especially in light conditions. In contrast, Mariquita is not telling you what is happening through the rudder. Your only option on the helm is to stay focused.
David Howlett
29

Tubby controls the power of the boat. He
is the engine room. He is controlling the
mainsail. Tubby is faultless on that.
John Caulcutt
30

31

32

Guido Cantini
DIARY ENTRY
With our brand new Mariquita uniforms arriving only the night before the first race, our crew are walking a bit taller in the streets of Argentario now – instilled with a pride – something new and yet familiar. This has
always been one of the favourite Panerai regattas. Probably because you feel at home – both out on the water and in town with the locals – though in truth you’re a world away. M.O.
33

LE VELE D’EPOCA A NAPOLI
27 – 30 June 2013
Racing in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius, in the beautiful Bay of
Naples, this regatta promised to be eventful – and so it proved.
Mariquita made her debut in Naples, in her
third regatta of the season, at Le Vele d’Epoca
a Napoli in late June. As the largest boat in
the fleet it was decided that Mariquita was
too big to fit in the small harbour opposite
the Reale Yacht Club
Canottieri Savoia,
which was hosting the
event and acting as
the race committee.
Instead, Mariquita
spent the week next
door in the Italian
Naval base which
had its moments! However, this was all
overshadowed once the racing started on the
Thursday. Keen to put on a spectacle for the
city, the start line was positioned extremely
close to the beach. As Chris Tibbs put it, “I
think we were a little bit bigger than the race
committee had experience with. On the first
day, the start line was almost impossible. With
the line so close to the beach and marina, we
had to come in late on port tack, then tack
around, which potentially was dangerous as
we had no rights on port tack and finding
a slot was very difficult. This became a
theme for the whole regatta.” John Caulcutt
commented, “We
didn’t feel that any
of the starts were in
tune with what was
needed for a Big Boat
Class.” Despite the
controversy there was
some great sailing
with a lovely race
over to Capri and a wonderful broad reach
to finish the second race. Crew member Billy
Butler described it as “a cracking race, with
a fantastic final reach into the finish line
knocking along at nearly 11.5 knots – almost
maximum hull speed.” After an eventful
week the crew began to prepare for the long
passage through the Strait of Bonifacio, and
onto Barcelona for the next regatta.
34

35

36

We’re in an interesting race this week with lots of small boats in our class.We’re having to juggle a little bit on the start line.
We were so close to some of the boats yesterday that our bowman Seb could have walked across.
Billy Butler
37

38

39

40

Photography Note
The Bay of Naples is a pretty special place to find yourself as a photographer, especially when a fully ‘powered-up’ Mariquita is bearing down on you off the start
line. It had been a chaotic beginning to the race as all the yachts, big and small, had been put on the same start line, very close to the shore. We decided the best
place for our rib was well out of the way so we headed beyond the committee boat and waited for the yachts to come to us – a good decision as I was able to get
this shot including the bowsprit and stern. Matty, on the lee deck acting as a spotter for the helmsman, gave me a wave as they shot by. B.W.
41

SAILING TO CAPRI

TUBBY BROOK
Mainsheetman
My apprenticeship on Mariquita started in Mahón
2006 – No. 2 jib. Hot. Blue water sailing. Free food.
Free drinks every evening. Potentially very dangerous.
No. 2 jib also means second on the bowsprit. Plus No.
12 mainsheet or ‘spare hand’ if you were busy 96 feet
away from the cockpit changing headsails, staysails or
jib topsails.
I thought I was the cat’s whiskers when I joined
Mariquita in 2006. Maybe I am the ‘cat’s paws’ on
a Melges 24, a Sparkman and Stephens 36, or even
a Royal Burnham One Design. None of that really
prepares you for a jackyard hoist, or a 45 minute reef
on a 96 ft, 80 tonne William Fife gaff cutter.
Back to Minorca. A glorious finish. Through the narrow
Mahón harbour entrance, and then a balloon spinnaker
hoist from the bowsprit to the finish. Followed by a
handbrake turn in front of the yacht club: drop the jib
topsail, tack away, back the staysail, drop the jackyard
and standby to drop the mainsail. What a baptism!
Now it was as clear as a bell why all that training, all
those de-briefings had been necessary. Once you can do
the task in daylight in light airs, you can do it in the
dark in a seaway and do it with confidence.
43

We were always keen at Classic Boat to create covers that had an
impact. By 2014 we were happy with our new design and logo,
and it’s always a sign of true confidence when you can cover up
the magazine’s name albeit partially. It’s a confidence trick on
the reader to leave out so much type but with Mariquita under
full sail it looked like she was jumping off the page.
Dan Houston
Editor, Classic Boat
When you are putting a boat like Mariquita on the cover, you
want to get it right. Of course, we work hard on every Classic
Boat cover. Often they go through endless permutations, with
different boats, different angles, different words … but boats
like Mariquita don’t come around too often. This was the
first time in a while that we’d had real access to the yacht.
The quality of photography was not a problem. Those lines
are remarkably kind on the lens. But which image to choose
of one of the world’s most photographed boats? The image
we chose – one of quite a few options on the table, as I recall
– captures the thrill of seeing her under full sail, and we felt
it said more to our readers about what the magazine was
about that month than even the Classic Boat logo. It would
be a marketing mistake to obscure the logo in its entirety,
but Mariquita’s topsails made up in abundance for anything
missed in typography. This October cover of Classic Boat was
a special edition for distribution through the Med in which
Mariquita is well known.
Peter Smith
Senior Art Editor, Classic Boat
44

45

PUIG VELA CLÀSSICA
10 – 13 JULY 2013
Traditionally one of Mariquita’s favourite regattas the Puig Vela
Clàssica in Barcelona was one of the highlights of the season.
With tactician David Bedford enjoying
his second regatta on board, and the crew
increasing in confidence, Mariquita was
beginning to hit top form, as skipper George
Newman describes,
“The teamwork is
really beginning to
come together. When
we started the season
in Antibes it was a
shock to us all how
much we had to
learn. All of the crew
know their systems
now and it’s really beginning to click.” The
competition was keen in Barcelona with
both Moonbeams and Mariette in the Big
Boat Class. The second race was Mariquita’s
best showing, but there was a sting in the tail.
Crew member Guy Ribadeau-Dumas takes
up the story, “We were very fast upwind on
the final leg and first over the line by far, but
beaten by one second by Moonbeam III on
handicap. After four hours racing to lose
first place by a single second was tough.”
However, Barcelona’s legendary hospitality
soon raised spirits as owner Jamie Matheson
noted, “Being in
Barcelona at the best
of times is a great
experience. But to
be here sailing these
fantastic big yachts
is extraordinary. The
Club has looked
after us very well,
all the facilities are
tremendous and the regatta management
has been very good. Literally across the road
from here we are in one of Europe’s major
cultural cities.” A great week all round and
another podium finish. The end of the Puig
Vela Clàssica marked the finish of the first
part of the season and the crew dispersed
for a well-earned rest before reconvening in
Minorca in August.
46

47

48

49

50

Boats like Mariquita are very different from normal modern-day yachts. You’ve got a big crew. Each team has to work both collectively and individually as there
are so many different aspects to sailing a craft like this. Everything has to be cohesive. If you get it wrong the whole boat will suffer as a consequence.
Woody Edmiston
51

52

CALLING
THE TRIM
Technical Note
Mariquita is a long narrow boat. The helmsman is stuck behind a small wheel with very little view of
what is happening on the foredeck let alone the jib sheets. Unlike on a modern yacht where the crew
sit on the rail to keep the weight on the high side and reduce windage, on Mariquita the crew lie across
the deck ‘spooning for speed’. This is partly tradition and partly practical. There are no guard rails on
Mariquita and quite often the crew have to react quickly to a problem with a sheet or the rigging. More
importantly communication is vital on a big classic – the spooning allows the helmsman to see the crew
member who is checking the trim on the jib sheets.
David Bedford
53

54

55

MAHÓN X COPA DEL REY
DE BARCOS DE ÉPOCA
29 – 31 AUGUST 2013
In previous years this wonderfully named Spanish leg of the
Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge has produced very wild
conditions and the odd de-masting.
Being a small island, Minorca is susceptible
to the mistral blowing in from the Gulf of
Lyon and the 2013 regatta was no exception
to this. The finish
line is positioned
inside the harbour of
the beautiful town
of Mahón making
this one of the most
dramatic regattas of
the season.
With sail maker
Mark Butler on board
during the training
days, a few changes were made to the
jackyard, although it looked unlikely that
the top sail would be used in the big seas and
strong winds.
On Day 1 Mariquita experienced one of her
most dramatic days of the season, as bowman
Seb Stansfield recalled, “Definitely one of the
windiest races we’ve been in – we were flying
at the start with Cambria and Mariette. The
wind then picked up to over 20 knots and
we had some pretty
hairy moments up on
the bow.” Despite the
windy conditions and
big seas, Mariquita
beat her close rival
Cambria into third
place and was only
denied first by the
schooner Mariette
who enjoyed the
blustery conditions.
Unfortunately this was Mariquita’s final
race of the regatta as the wind continued
to pick up over the weekend and the race
committee abandoned the final races. This
was a disappointing outcome especially as all
the 15-Metre yachts – Tuiga, Mariska, The
Lady Anne and Hispania – had made the trip
to Minorca.
56

Often in Mahón, it feels like we spend all our energy holding on as Mariquita tackles swell and breeze. We never get the opportunity to bring her up to full speed to take
on the schooners who revel in the strong conditions. It takes a new awareness and sense of balance just to get around the deck, much less the course!
Matty Oates
59

60

61

QUARTER
WAKE
Technical Note
Mariquita has a displacement hull with a relatively blunt ‘spoon’ bow. With a weight of 80 tonnes she
therefore displaces 80 tonnes of water. In order to move forward one hull length, Mariquita must move
80 tonnes of water out of her way, so she can occupy the space where the water has been. In turn the
water flows around the hull to occupy the space where Mariquita has been. Due to the physics of hull
form and wave making, a displacement hull has a limiting speed or terminal velocity. This is a function
of length and is known as waterline length speed. Mariquita’s maximum hull speed is around 12.5
knots. Modern yachts with their light-weight planing hulls are not restricted in this way and therefore
go faster. When Mariquita is doing a maximum hull speed of 12.5 knots she travels one hull length
every five seconds and is thus moving 80 tonnes of water every five seconds – 16 tonnes of water every
second. Although a rough approximation you can begin to appreciate the enormous power generated
by classic yachts such as Mariquita.
David Bedford
62

63

Having sailed small boats all my life, to get on a boat of this power,
grace and elegance is quite unbelievable. It’s been a day of excitement
from beginning to end, and nice to be with some really cool professional
sailors and to see the whole yacht work as one. The crew have worked
their socks off in what has been a very challenging day, but in super
weather and in a tremendous setting.
Peter Lister
64

65

66

67

MONACO CLASSIC WEEK
11 – 15 SEPTEMBER 2013
A week-long extravaganza with period motor yachts,
super-charged Rivas, classic yachts including the entire
15-Metre fleet, all set against the magnificent back drop
of the Principality.
Organised by the Yacht Club de Monaco,
this event reflects Monaco’s great maritime
heritage from the first sailing regattas held
here in 1862, to the pioneering motorboat
meetings of the early
20th century. With 12
Big Boats in her class
Mariquita was in good
company with the likes
of Cambria, Lulworth,
Altair and Atlantic on
the start line. As Monaco
Classic Week falls late
in the season the regatta
can be affected by light sea breezes. With
slack low pressure in the Gulf of Genoa,
weak and unpredictable sea breezes were
the order of the day. After controlling the
line at the start of the first race, Mariquita
got away first and maintained that position
until the very last downwind mark where she
was forced to gybe by changing conditions.
“Pretty dramatic!” was how owner Stephen
Hemsley summed it up. “A lot of the
mainsheet twisting and leaping around the
aft deck. Unfortunately we dropped back
and were second over the
line by about 30 seconds
which was a shame.”
Despite this early setback
to the week, local boy
and tactician Patrice
Clerc certainly made
the most of the fitful sea
breezes and Mariquita
secured her sixth podium
of the season, only losing out to Elena and
Moonbeam III, to come a creditable third.
On the final day of the regatta, crew member
and birthday girl, Robyn Whitman, in great
Mariquita tradition, was thrown into the
harbour only to be saved by a gallant and
good-looking sailor from Moonbeam III.
68

69

70

71

72

Photography Note
For a marine photographer, the best conditions are often the most extreme, either very windy and
dramatic or completely windless and becalmed! I’ve only been to Monaco Race Week once and I was
warned that the regatta often suffers from light winds. True to form, Race 1 was delayed as the committee
waited for the sea breeze to fill in. For hour after hour, the yachts drifted around the bay waiting for the
wind to pick up. Finally the boats got underway at 2.00pm just before the cut-off point, and in very light
airs. Four hours later, just before the finish, the wind died completely and they were virtually stationary.
I was in heaven, I’d never seen these yachts out so late in the rich Mediterranean evening light. Everyone
else had gone home, it was a special moment. B.W.
73

I’ve had enormous fun helming the boat and taking
her through the finish line a couple of times. That is an
extraordinary feeling. It really rams home how privileged
we are to be sailing a magnificent yacht like Mariquita.
She is quite extraordinary. A lady not be taken lightly.
But if you look after her, she rewards you well.
Jamie Matheson
74

75

76

77

Nick Edmiston receiving the trophy for third prize in the Big Boat Class from Ernst Klaus.
79

RÉGATES ROYALES CANNES
24 – 28 SEPTEMBER 2013
The name Régates Royales dates back to 1929 and recalls the
yacht racing between European royalty on the Côte d’Azur.
The 2013 event was certainly a throw back
to those sepia times with a remarkable 12
classic yachts on the Big Boat start line. With
skipper George Newman flying to England
on the eve of the regatta
to be at the birth of his
first child the crew of
Mariquita had it all to
do on one of the most
competitive weeks of
the year. The pressure
was on, as John Caulcutt
recalled. “George wasn’t
with us. He was busy at
home with Suzy having
babies. I was on the boat having kittens, so
to speak!”
With the seasons beginning to change, the
racing was tough day after day. Despite a
creditable start to the regatta, with a fourth
and a fifth on the first two days, Mariquita
was disqualified from Race 3 after an
incident with the 15-Metre Mariska and any
thoughts of winning the regatta were over.
The sense of frustration was compounded on
the final day when an incident on the start
line shocked all the crew. Navigator Chris
Tibbs explains, “We were barrelling down
the line on starboard
tack with Moonbeam
IV heading up the other
way with a small boat
called Nin sandwiched
between us. Nin was
like a startled rabbit
in the headlights and
our mainsail brushed
down their masthead
and unfortunately their
mast came down.” Billy Butler climbed
the mast and checked for any damage but
thankfully Mariquita’s sail was unblemished.
More importantly, no one was hurt and any
disappointment soon disappeared with the
announcement of Jessica Lark Newman’s
birth and George’s return for the final regatta
of the season. On the passage down to Saint-
Tropez Mariquita was joined by two young
crew members from Nin.
80

82

83

RIVALRY REBORN
Mikaël Créac’h is a very good competitor. He’s very emotional, he’s very aggressive, he’s very hard.
David Bedford
84

THE HELMSMEN
John’s a born racer. When we first bought Mariquita his single objective was to win the Panerai trophy..
Stephen Hemsley
85

We had really fresh winds. We were at our absolute maximum. The main runners and top mast runner teams were up to their
waists in water. Mariquita was at top speed. Everybody was soaked – completely shot to bits – but what a day!
Mark Butler
86

Helming Mariquita is a defining experience.
Like any boat she has her sweet spot and on
Mariquita it’s in 10-12 knots of breeze going to
windward and the boat’s got a groove and it feels
fantastic when you’re in that groove and you
know you’re there.
Get her in 25 knots of breeze, let alone any more, and the whole thing
becomes a very different experience. At the end of the day it’s a huge
physical workout. When the boat becomes loaded up it’s a handful.
I mean a real handful. You’ve got 25 foot of boom overhanging the
transom. When you get to the weather mark wanting to bear away,
unless that mainsheet is dumped you don’t have a hope. You can’t
physically move the wheel. That’s not just a case of strength it’s a
question of dynamics.
John Caulcutt
87

88

89

When you’re calling the tactics you rarely get a chance to savour
the spectacle or the moment. You’re always having to think
ahead. When you’re on the boat you don’t see the boat.
David Howlett
90

MOONBEAM IV
3RD PLACE
MOONBEAM OF FIFE
2ND PLACE
MARIQUITA
1ST PLACE
The third race of the regatta ended in very light conditions as Mariquita ghosted across the line in front of the Moonbeams.
91

LES VOILES DE SAINT-TROPEZ
28 – 6 OCTOBER 2013
Formerly known as the Nioulargue, this is the culmination of
the season for both classic and modern yachts alike.
The history of the Nioulargue dates back to a
casual bar room bet between two yachtsmen
lunching at Club 55 on Pampelonne Beach
in 1981. Three decades later the regatta
endures as the most spectacular of the
season. With low pressure taking hold in
the Mediterranean,
the weather fluctuated
throughout the week,
especially on the final
day when Mariquita
was well placed for a
top three finish in the
general classification.
The race was like a
microcosm of the whole
season, with Mariquita
battling away with Moonbeam IV for hour
after hour. The drama came to a head as
the yachts turned for home. Matty Oates
described it like this: “On the last approach
to Saint-Tropez there is a small dog leg,
which the boats have to take, with a gate at
the end. Sailing through the fleet, there were
spectator boats everywhere. We were coming
in on Moonbeam IV from weather and
calling for water because we were about to
hit the buoy. Moonbeam IV was calling for
water because they were about to hit Seche
rock.” Helmsman John
Caulcutt continued the
story, “To be in Saint-
Tropez with Mariquita
on that last day of the
season, with a forecast
of 10-12 knots of
breeze, and suddenly
finding ourselves in
25-30 knots with the
big jackyard topsail up,
totally over powered and the lee rail under.
Memorable stuff for everyone who was on
the water. What a way to end the season!
Absolutely fantastic. We had a great day out
on Mariquita and one I won’t ever forget.”
92

94

Helming Mariquita, on a broad reach with full sails set, is the most exhilarating experience.
The sheer power of the yacht with spray flying and lee rail under is matched by the muscle
power of the 24 well-orchestrated crew. No mechanical or hydraulic power, just sheer
strength and great skill. The sounds aboard Mariquita are hypnotic as she rushes through the
sea with every piece of gear – spars, halyards, sheets, runners, blocks – crying out under the
strain to produce that extra fraction of a knot to win the race. Over the years I must have
steered a hundred yachts, from a Lymington Scow to a J-Class, from the latest maxi to a
three-masted schooner. Mariquita, however is in a class of her own.
Nicholas Edmiston
95

Technically Mariquita is every bit as demanding as sailing a Fast 40. It’s very tweaky. If the rig is a fraction out of tune you can feel it on the helm. Unlike modern boats she will go gunnel
under and it gets very wet on the leeward side. We have to be careful that the boys and girls don’t end up in the drink. We are sufficiently concerned about this that we have a 32ft rib
following Mariquita 100 metres behind. It has to be that distance so that in the event of someone falling off the yacht the rib has time to stop and doesn’t run them over.
Jamie Matheson
96

97

98

People often ask what is it like to climb the mast during a
race? … It’s a bit scary but generally I’m okay with that. To
be honest it’s the highlight of my racing. Quite often I have
to climb the mast at short notice but always carefully – I
can’t do my job if I slip off the mast and fall. But once I’m
clipped on and I start climbing, the adrenalin is flowing
and I’m totally focused on getting to the top so I can start
unlashing the pole and working with the guys on deck so
that at a minute’s notice, the pole is ready to come down.
Adam Norris
99

SATURDAY 5 OCTOBER 2013
Mariquita leading off the line.
100

Mariquita in the lead after rounding the 1st mark.
101

102

We can put these beautiful yachts within inches of each
other and still feel confident that everyone will behave in
the right way.
Chris Barkham, Skipper Cambria
103

George and the new crew are fantastic sailors, that goes
without saying. But now, he's the captain – he must put his
mark on the boat. He must find a way to continue
the Mariquita story.
Mikaël Créac'h
104

105

106

107

OWNERS & CREW 2013
JOHN CAULCUTT STEPHEN HEMSLEY JAMIE MATHESON NICK EDMISTON
GEORGE NEWMAN MATTY OATES BILLY BUTLER DAVID HOWLETT
DAVID BEDFORD CHRIS TIBBS GUY RIBADEAU-DUMAS SHERRON HEMSLEY
108

OWNERS & CREW 2013
ANGELA MATHESON WOODY EDMISTON ROB DENNING TUBBY BROOK
PIPPA CROWLEY
CATARINA CALANDRINO
JONNY ROGERS
ROBYN WHITMAN
OLLIE KEMP
ADAM NORRIS
OLLIE GOZZETT
SEB STANSFIELD
109

RESULTS 2013 SEASON
LES VOILES
D’ANTIBES
ARGENTARIO
SAILING WEEK
LE VELE D’EPOCA
A NAPOLI
PUIG VELA CLÀSSICA,
BARCELONA
Mariska
Cambria
Eilean
Moonbeam III
Moonbeam III
Mariette of 1915
Manitou
Moonbeam IV
Mariquita
Mariquita
Mariquita
Mariquita
Cambria
Halloween
Halloween
Mariette of 1915
Moonbeam IV
Javelin
Vanity V
Coral
Eleonora
Caroly
Creole
MAHÓN X COPA DEL REY
DE BARCOS DE ÉPOCA
MONACO CLASSIC
WEEK
RÉGATES ROYALES
CANNES
LES VOILES DE
SAINT-TROPEZ
Mariette of 1915
Elena of London
Moonbeam III
Moonbeam IV
Cambria
Moonbeam III
Moonbeam IV
Moonbeam III
Mariquita
Mariquita
Mariska
Mariquita
No. 6 Texel
Eleonora
Altair 1931
Altair
Lulworth
Halloween
Halloween
Tamory
Mariquita
Elena of London
Creole
Elena of London
Mariska
110

THE YEAR IN NUMBERS
320 WRAPS
116 CHEESE BISCUITS
110 METRES OF ANCHOR CHAIN
61 STAYSAIL PEELS
53 CHOCOLATE MILKSHAKES
21 PANERAI T-SHIRTS
19 SHANTIES
5 FLOATING TELEVISIONS
4 FIREWORK DISPLAYS
2 VIOLIN STRINGS
&
1 JESSICA LARK NEWMAN
111

Letter sent to the 2013 Mariquita crew
Mariquitas!
In reading over the letter sent out at the beginning of the year, it was worth pausing a moment to take stock. We
had talked about how much had changed over last winter; new owners, new captain, and through the many
faces of the crew. We laid out our regatta programme, and our hope for success on the water. And most of all,
we wanted each of you to know how much it means to us that, when you could be basking on a beach on
Mallorca, you decided instead to spend your holiday with us getting soaked and sore!
Did we come through on our aims? The signs point to yes. There was learning, a LOT of learning, and
we still have volumes to go. But consider this for a moment: as of the first day of racing in Antibes,
Mariska had 43 training days on the water in 2013.
We had four.
Despite the odds against us, we pulled out a third place in Antibes. So the summer rolled on,
and we found our rhythm. Sail changes got quicker, manoeuvres got slicker, and callouses got
thicker. We even did the unimaginable: we took Mariquita on a cruise! We crammed four
regattas into six weeks to finish out the season, and to ice the cake, Jessica Lark Newman
was welcomed into this world as the Cannes Regatta kicked off.
And as each of these events ticked on by, you all were there to make it happen. You
were witness to the small dramas that unfolded between boats, and some of the
friendships that formed out of them. You were patient with us as we messed up,
and we definitely messed up at times. And where you could have exercised your
index finger pushing winch buttons aboard other yachts, instead, you took the
masochistic route and came sailing with us, and helped keep alive the ethos
that is Mariquita. For all of this, we want to thank you.
Reading over the letter, it did say that you’d be ‘stepping on board the
same Old Girl’ if you came out with us this year. We realise now that
that statement isn’t entirely true. In hindsight, of course she would
be different! With all that had turned over, how couldn’t she be? At
the time we may have feared that ‘different’ would be taken as
synonymous with either ‘better’ or ‘worse.’ But it’s neither, it’s
just … different! And whatever different may be, we want it
to be something that you want to come back to.
So the winter season has landed upon us here in Cogolin,
the rail and boom have received their last glowing coats
of varnish for the year. There’s plenty of work to do in
the coming months, and when spring rolls around
in 2014, we’ll pick up right where we left off. So
keep in touch here and over the usual channels,
and when the year starts again, we hope you’ll
be there with us.
Sincerely yours,
Matty Oates, December 2013.

THE PANERAI TROPHY
2014
We set about this season with an absolute determined focus to win. Mariquita had come second last year, in fact she had come
second in five regattas. We had to change the mindset from saying, “second is not bad” to saying “second is actually the first loser”.
At the end of the 2013 season, we were ranked joint second on points but with the ‘countback’
system in place, we ended up third; clearly we had some work to do if we were going to achieve
our goal of winning the Panerai Big Boat Series in the Mediterranean in 2014. Moonbeam IV
had pace on us. On handicap, Moonbeam III and Halloween could beat us.
Tactically we felt that we had done okay in 2013, but as always in winning yacht races, it’s about
minimising the number of mistakes one makes going around the course. In the general sense,
there were not too many mistakes, so in short, we needed to get the boat to go faster and as we
all know, “boat speed makes you a great tactician!”
In retrospect, the breakthrough came in Naples, in June 2013, when we snagged the working gaff
top whilst hoisting before the start. We continued with the hoist and set the topsail in the normal
way as part of our pre-start manoeuvres where we check boat speed against apparent wind angle
to make sure we are reaching our target numbers. As we had 40 minutes to the start sequence, we
made the call to drop the topsail and to make a running repair by hand stitching the tear. When
the sail was on deck I noticed that we were actually sailing faster whilst going up wind despite the
reduction in sail area. There is little available research on topsails, but clearly in the circumstances
encountered in Naples and therefore presumably on other occasions too, the sail was producing
drag not drive.
The one set of data that I could refer to from my time on board the super maxi Leopard, was the
roached mainsail, where the sail cloth in the headboard area is cut completely flat. Arguably gaff
rigs like Mariquita were the forerunners of today’s roached mainsails so we decided in November
2013 to re-cut all of our topsails including the big jackyard by taking out the curvature and belly
to flatten the sail as much as we could whilst going to windward. Also as part of our boat speed
optimisation programme, we did some work on the underwater section of the hull, which involved
a laborious process call ‘longboarding’, which ostensibly makes the hull more fair. We also sprayed
the anti-fouling as opposed to applying it by brush or roller. I think that the effect of this, as
evidenced in our training sails, was to increase our boat speed upwind by as much as half a knot,
downwind by say a quarter of a knot … we were ready for the 2014 season.
The real test of the Panerai series is to show consistent form across a whole season, from June in
Antibes through to Cannes in September. You can’t afford to have a poor regatta. The challenge
is to deal with the different wind and sea state conditions, from the high winds and big seas in
114

Mahón, to the light conditions which can be a characteristic of Imperia. With the 2013 season
behind us I felt we had the ‘classic’ experience and racing know-how to put a string of results
together in 2014. One area we certainly had an edge was the racing pedigree that myself, David
and Chris brought to the boat. Allied to the class of George, Matty and Billy we had a chance.
However, if we were going to win the Panerai Trophy we needed to beat Moonbeam IV. This was
problematic. Firstly, Moonbeam IV was designed by William Fife III in 1914 with one thing in
mind – to go faster than Mariquita. That was the design brief and the Fife yard delivered, albeit
after the Great War. The owner Charles Plumtree Johnson finally took Moonbeam IV to Cowes
Week in 1920 and promptly won the King’s Cup. She’s intrinsically a very fast boat.
115

Secondly, in all my years of racing I’ve never come up against anyone quite like Mikaël Créac’h.
That Breton heritage of fishing and sailing on gaff-rigged boats, with all their traditional type rigs,
permeates through in everything he does. It’s in his blood. You can see it from the moment he
takes the helm in the morning. He has vast experience of how to get these heavy hulls to go fast
… sailing them ‘full and by’ making best speed to weather by keeping the sails full – coming out
of the tacks deep to overcome the extra weight of the hulls … going beneath his course so he can
get the boat speed to build. The sheer amount of time and experience Mik has had on the water
gives him a big advantage.
Therefore, before we beat him on the water we needed to win the mental battle. The way to do
that was to show no fear or weakness. More importantly we needed to dominate the start lines.
If we could get off the start line first we could keep Mik beneath us. Keep him pinned in so we
could get away.
John Caulcutt
116

Nigel Pert
I have worked on boats for 25 years now. I was 21 when I first started as a sailor on a 24-Metre classic, Eugénia V. I quickly realised I had found my vocation and I have been walking
on a teak deck ever since! I have commanded some wonderful yachts; Halloween, Moonbeam III, Hygie, Pioneer and Windjammer. Lots of navigation in the Caribbean, two years
in the Red Sea and more than 20 years in the Mediterranean. It’s been a long and fierce period of work, a journey that has brought me to Moonbeam IV … and to be ready for it! I’ve
achieved it and I’m very proud of it.
Mikaël Créac’h
117

LES VOILES D’ANTIBES
5 – 8 June 2014
The irony of classic yachting is that the part most viewed by the
world is the one that occupies the least number of days in our year.
Matty Oates
The start of the season at Les Voiles d’Antibes
therefore comes as a relief to all the crews who
have spent the close season maintaining and
honing their yachts:
the brightwork
touch ups, leather
renewal, rig and sail
inspections. The year
2014 marked the
10th Anniversary
of Panerai’s Classic
Yacht Challenge –
the premier classic
yacht series in the
world. Where better to show off all the hard
work over the winter. After the steep learning
curve of 2013 Mariquita was ready to race,
“This Antibes was easier than the year before,
where the entire team structure was new”,
commented Matty Oates. “The boat was in
her pristine start-of-season state, having a
winter of varnish and maintenance behind
her. Although there were still many new faces
among the crew, you had the trio of George,
Billy and myself,
along with Pippa
and Robyn. That
kind of consistency
went farther than I
think we realised at
the time. It was also
the ‘standard setting’
regatta of the season.
That was the bar that
we had to set for
the races to come in terms of how the boat
would look, how we would carry ourselves,
how we would humbly win and graciously
lose. We had much less time on the water in
preparation than in years gone by, but that
hadn’t stopped us in 2013 and wasn’t going
to stop us now either.”
118

119

KING JAMIE!
120

SUPER YACHTS
121

For me the contact with my enemy is
very important. I want to see them in the
morning. I want to see them prepare the boat.
I want to see what sails they are going to have
onboard. I want to see the “regard” of the
crew. I want to see if they are ready.
Mikaël Créac’h
122

Guido Cantini

SALTY NOTES BY A SALTY SEA DOG
At Antibes 2013 the 15-Metre Mariska, allegedly had all crew fully paid up with 40 plus
days solid practise before the first race. It showed. The helm, a 6-Metre helm, put her spot
on our lee after a flourishing and close port tack 30 seconds before the start gun. “Up, up”
went the call. Up we went … we might be over. Down we went a couple of metres with
a jury rib behind us. We just made it.
Suddenly what had started as a gentle show of classic yachts was clearly now something
else. Safety was still the prime consideration but the bar had been raised significantly.
During the 2013 season on Mariquita, endless videos and sail adjustments had taken
place. What had been a well-oiled safe yacht was now being asked to be a very serious race
boat. The clash of requirements and skills was visceral. In light airs three minutes would
be needed to get up to hull speed. A tack lost minutes not seconds. Keeping movement
and steerage is paramount. Also other smaller boats have no conception of the power,
weight or danger of getting close to a couple of yachting behemoths. Once Shamrock V,
Mariquita, Cambria, Moonbeam III and Moonbeam IV begin their pre-start ballet, the
air to leeward is cut up massively. In a breeze the closing speeds multiply. Knowing each
skipper and helm, and trusting their judgement, is a major part of keeping safe.
Tubby Brook
Guido Cantini
124

mariquita
moonbeam iv
halloween
Guido Cantini
125

126

MOONBEAM IV COMES HOME
John Caulcutt presents the owner of Moonbeam IV, Xavier Tancogne, with a historic photograph of the yacht taken during
the King’s Cup, held off Cowes in 1932. John’s stepfather, Patrick Egan, is shown at the helm and, having grown up with
this image in their family house at Yarmouth, he felt now was the time to reunite it with the current owners. Patrick Egan
was also the owner of Hispania, the 15-Metre yacht, bought in the 1930s by his family from the then King of Spain. It was
subsequently restored by a group of Spanish industrialists and presented to Juan Carlos I in the year 2000.
One of the nicest aspects of the week was the centenary of Moonbeam IV. Whilst we weren’t on the podium by right, because we
came fourth in the regatta, we got up there anyway as John had an original print of Moonbeam IV that he presented to Mikaël
and the owner. Mikaël is in very fine form and the rivalry between Moonbeam IV and Mariquita is as keen as ever.
Stephen Hemsley
128

129

ARGENTARIO SAILING WEEK
20 – 22 June 2014
Argentario was undoubtedly a turning point. It made a huge
difference to everybody’s attitude because suddenly something
that we maybe dreamt about wasn’t that far away.
Jamie Matheson
Argentario Sailing Week is without doubt
one of the highlights of the Panerai circuit.
Nestled on the Tuscan coast the regatta
is based in the
harbour town of
Porto San Stefano.
Having lost out to
Cambria in the 2013
event, Mariquita
was determined to
put the experience
and lessons of that
defeat to good use.
With our tactician
David Bedford unavailable for the week,
the syndicate turned to Harold Cudmore,
who had recently spent a season calling the
tactics on the 15-Metre Tuiga. Mariquita
was also joined by the Editor of Classic Boat,
Dan Houston, who was fully embedded for
the week joining the yacht as regatta crew.
“Having sailed Cambria at the America’s
Cup Jubilee in 2001, and The Lady Anne
in 2003, at the Fife
Regatta, I’d been
keen to do a personal
piece on Mariquita
however it never
happened. When the
new syndicate took
over Mariquita in
2012, it was a chance
for us to take a look
at the boat again.”
With Cambria, Shamrock V, Eleonora
and Halloween in the Big Boat Class it
was a memorable week. Stephen Hemsley
summed it up at the prize-giving. “From a
fourth place in Antibes to three bullets in
Argentario. What a turnaround!”
130

131

132

133

Photography Note
One of the most impressive sights in classic sailing is where two boats cross: one on starboard, the other on port. If one yacht puts in a quick tack it can happen very suddenly, so you have to keep your wits about
you and be prepared. The obvious shot is to be behind the yacht on port tack as she will have to give way, ‘dipping’ the yacht on starboard. On this particular day I was on board Mariquita as Cambria loomed up
on our leeward side. The crew member on deck is down there to keep an eye and act as a spotter for the helmsman and tactician. I was positioned in the companionway or ‘dog house’ – right in the heart of the
boat and a safe haven from where to photograph. B.W.
134

135

Classic Boat
Dan Houston
As the crews on the classics have got better,
so we are beginning to race the yachts at
cutting edge for the class.
Harold Cudmore
Ok, before I get into how great this boat is and why, I’ve got
to relay this little moment of sailing with Harold Cudmore
as our tactician where we glide past the boats ahead of us
in the fleet on Day 2 of the Argentario regatta in June. We
were about two-thirds of the way through the 20 mile-odd
race when we could see Cambria, the 1928 Fife Bermudan
23-Metre, hit a hole in the wind and stop dead in the water.
Turns out it was convergence in the bay where two slight
opposing breezes met to create this hole. Several of the Olin
Stephens yawls and other boats around her stopped as well.
With sails as limp as laundry on a lay-day, the boats take
on attitudes, like band members on an album cover, each
pointing in a different direction. We alter course slightly
inshore; it will take us away from the mark but we are able
to keep going. The sea is not completely flat, there are ripples
but it is getting flatter. As crew we are down on the lee deck
keeping us slightly heeled. And at about a cable and a half (300
yards) to windward of Cambria, we glide past her, sailing at
three knots. It’s a time of holding our breath and it does not yet
mean that we are going to win (again), but it’s one of those truly
magic moments in sailing where you want to pinch yourself at
how lucky you feel. It’s the first time I have sailed with Harold
Cudmore aboard, and I instantly start to call it his ‘moment’
because reading the wind like that in these fickle and tricky
conditions shows a true master mariner at work. Later when he
explained the move he had the grace to say twice that we were
lucky with the wind …
136

I’ve seen similar situations, but gliding at three knots, 300 yards
away from boats stuck in the water ... that must be the luck
of the Irish. After this moment we enter a patch of slack water
ourselves, just in front of the harbour, but Cudmore’s reckoning
– that the boat’s 36 tonne lead keel will carry us across the
dead zone, again a couple of cables – pays off. We lie down on
deck unless we are holding the foresails dead amidships and in
silence – as if that will help – glide through the pellucid still
green waters, inching our way, almost, at the last before we catch
the first fractional zephyr of air that will push the grand cutter
forward once more.
This is racing and sometimes the moments of racing in light airs
are more tense than when you are beating out to a mark with
everything under bouncing pressure. You look at the jackyard
topsail. I’m hoping that its two-sparred span will be high enough
to pull down the nuances of moving air up there which are so
absent at deck level. Claw the air down across the rest of the sail
and wing it, will it almost, into making enough pressure to cause
some forward movement.
More recently Cudmore has sailed with the 15-Metre Class, doing
four regattas last year. Of his ‘moment’ on Mariquita – finding
breeze on Day 2 – he said: “there is some history to coming
to Argentario and Mariquita had learned from being here last
year. I wasn’t aboard then but I listened to them describing the
incidents during racing in 2013 and and we needed to make sure
we didn’t repeat those miscalculations. There were two breezes
today and we had three occasions – crossing back and forward
between them – to benefit from that. Picking where and how to
do that was the race decider. Cambria was clearly ahead of us but
when she lost wind we saw a smaller boat over on the shore side
(Chinook), which had wind, so we could steer between the two
and just keep our wind (and stay out of the convergence). Today
was a day you would call a heads-out-of-the-boat day. We were
all looking at what was happening around us – but there was also
a lot of luck involved. I think it’s great that we are beginning to
race these boats as they were raced 100 years ago and we have
more and more respect for our forebears who raced them then.
We have better materials now – better rope and so on – but
otherwise the conditions are similar.”
Dan Houston, Editor Classic Boat
137

The boat runs like clockwork. She’s a big long boat. 125ft overall from tafarelle to the end of the bowsprit so there is a lot of boat there. It’s
interesting it’s quite quiet on board … there’s not a lot of chit chat. So there are periods when you are not really doing anything which is really nice,
very calm, you’re just off racing and then suddenly BANG it all happens again “Up sail”, and “Down sail”.
Dan Houston
138

139

140
Guido Cantini

DIARY ENTRY
When all three yachts went to fetch south along the sandy coast, some of the best photos of the regatta were realised. With the sun scattering off the water, and all three boats lined up with the light, people across the bay scrambled
for their cameras. It was here that some glimpsed the essence of classic racing; that the beauty of these boats is timeless, and so very necessary to remember where racing has come from. M.O.
141

WHAT’S THE TIME GEORGE?
142

143

PUIG VELA CLÀSSICA
17 – 19 JULY 2014
That damn bridge. It certainly provides a fishbowl for the
public to gaze in upon as we pass by, albeit very slowly.
Matty Oates
Since Altair’s landmark restoration in 1987,
the classic scene has developed at some pace.
“Yachts like Mariquita and Cambria have
been sparring for the last 10 years since
they both came onto
the scene in 2004”,
as Chris Barkham,
skipper of Cambria,
put it. “From a fleet of
maybe eight there are
now 12 to 14 in the
Big Boat Class. The
level of competition
is certainly increasing
as everyone hones
their yachts, year after year, to win these big
prestigious Mediterranean regattas.”
Nowhere is this more true than the Puig Vela
Clàssica in Barcelona. Dan Houston warms
to the theme, “The competition is certainly
more serious now because people have been
upping their game on the racing, getting
more serious on the rules. More accomplished
yachtsman are getting involved now. Sailors
like Harold Cudmore have been on Tuiga
and Mariquita calling
the tactics. These guys
are at the top of their
game. The legends
of the sport are now
sailing the classics.
The whole scene has
grown and whirring
away at the centre is
Mariquita being sailed
really as well as can be
imagined. The fascinating aspect though is
that she is the only Big Boat on the circuit
that is ‘owner driver’. All the others are
professionally helmed. On Mariquita, John
does the upwind work and Jamie does the
downwind legs. Amazing.”
144

145
Nico Martinez

FRIDAY 18 JULY 2014
146

147

148

Photography Note
Along with the beautiful sailing waters and stunning scenery, some of the joys of the classic yacht circuit,
particularly in the Mediterranean, are the host cities – Naples, Barcelona, Saint-Tropez. However, once
the racing has started and the yachts are clear of the city backdrop, things can get more tricky. Solid blue
sky and sea, combined with harsh midday sun, can make photographing the yachts difficult. During
the 2014 season I worked very closely with the mast man on Mariquita, Adam Norris. We spent hours
discussing the logistics of lashing cameras to the mast and setting them off remotely. As the season
unfolded, we had more and more success, Adam became comfortable with the cameras and I began to
understand what was achievable. This photograph was taken from the mast during a race in Barcelona.
I like the symmetry of the composition: the way the spinnaker pole disappears out of shot and how the
wake falls evenly on either side of the hull. B.W.
149

150
Nico Martinez

MOONBEAM IV CREW
They show up in port with that indescribable Gallic coolness, and a
polished docking routine requiring almost no need for voices. When the
lines are made fast and the passarelle is in place, it’s then that you see the
magnetising personas of the Moonbeam IV crew. The first thing to cross
that passarelle is a barbeque, followed soon by the freshly caught fish they
pulled up that morning. Speakers blare out music as the grill is set alight,
and the rest of the fleet gravitate to this new universe as kisses are traded,
cheek to cheek, and smiles abound as friends reconnect.
This easygoing nature will vanish though, as they leave for racing the next
morning. At times, Moonbeam IV will fill the ranks of race crew with
local corporate charters, or other new faces, but despite the green hands
she is a fierce competitor on the water. This is a testament to the patience
and effectiveness of the crew, who can set a pole spinnaker with only a few
trained hands aboard.
Once back in port, her decks are cleaned and sails stopped up in wool
with an efficiency that makes one have to look twice. As a yacht that can
be cruised with far less crew than Mariquita, systems have been refined
over the years to make the packing away of kit a brief activity once the
day is done. Then it’s time for beers on the foredeck and bodies slumped
into hammocks as they enjoy the evening murmur of Barcelona.
Matty Oates
151

Nico Martinez

JAMIE MATHESON
Owner & Helmsman
SAILING MARIQUITA DOWNWIND
In upwind mode, Mariquita powers
through the water like the cheetah of
the seas that she is: every halyard, sheet
and spar taut and straining. Downwind
she glides gracefully through the water
displaying calmness and serenity. One
could be lulled into thinking that she
was almost benign and forget that
unpredictable forces of nature are
powering 80 tonnes of beautiful racing
yacht along at 10 to 12 knots. Upwind
sailing requires huge concentration to
keep the boat at the sharpest edge of its
performance capabilities. Downwind she
demands the same level of concentration
to keep all the sails filling, but in this mode she is probably at her most dangerous. Unlike
modern racing yachts, particularly with their a-symmetrical spinnakers, Mariquita has
an old-fashioned balloon jib allowing her to sail virtually dead downwind. This has the
advantage of enabling the boat to be sailed directly from one point to another but that
is also the moment at which the rig is most vulnerable. A sudden lapse of concentration
and an accidental gybe could spell disaster. Despite the danger, it’s a part of sailing I really
enjoy, moving along with the wind and feeling the warmth of the sun. It’s an awesome
sight to look up at this vast field of white canvas and sparkling wooden spars. Mariquita is
the most demanding boat I have ever sailed. But also, without doubt, the most rewarding.
153

154

155

MAHÓN XI COPA DEL REY
DE BARCOS DE ÉPOCA
28 – 30 AUGUST 2014
We were rarely more than a boat length apart for the whole
race. The guys pulled and pulled. Chris Tibbs
The racing in Mahón was the fiercest of the
whole season. After Argentario, spirits were
high, and with Mariquita heading up the
Panerai rankings, events came to a head with
Moonbeam IV. With
the rough conditions
likely to favour her
main rival the ‘after
guard’ on Mariquita
decided to raise the
stakes. Tactician
David Bedford described
the mood on
board, “We went
to Mahon thinking
that although we knew how to win this was
going to be a more difficult regatta because
of the elements. That raised the ante at
the starts where we decided to make the
pre-start skirmishes even more high risk
than normal.” Mariquita won the first two
races after Moonbeam IV was disqualified
from the second race for a port/starboard
infringement on the start line. The third race
hinged on a brave navigation call from Chris
Tibbs who took Mariquita much closer to a
rocky island than her
rivals dared. Instead
of being behind,
Mariquita was able
to dictate the race,
as Chris recalled,
“We had tack after
tack going up the
Menorcan coast. Each
tack we pulled them
in another few metres,
and then we got to that beautiful position
where we were on starboard and they were
coming out on port and they couldn’t cross
us.” A convincing win on the water, as Tubby
commented, “All to play for. I shouldn’t say
it, and I don’t want to tempt fate, but at the
moment we’re the boat to beat.”
156

Guido Cantini

158

Nico Martinez
LEAVES ON THE DECK!
159

Mikaël Créac’h
Rival
It is difficult, in just a few lines, to summarise these incredible
years of regattas with the Mariquita and her crew. It goes well
beyond anything I had experienced before – beyond a simple
duel on the water. More a combat that took place on land,
in order to convey the spirit of a bygone era: those maritime
codes of ethics, traditions embodied by classic boats such as
Mariquita and Moonbeam IV. Each of us had an equal desire
to outgun the other, to pass on the tradition, to demand the
best of the crew, so that they could, in turn, also uphold those
codes.
I have been sailing since my earliest childhood when I started
learning the ropes on my father’s fishing boat in Brittany.
Obviously, I had no idea of what was going to happen to me
so many years in the future – of what I was going to feel. For
me, the Mariquita is not only the opponent to beat, I have
learned more than I could ever have wished by sailing in such
company – vastly beyond the well-known Franco-British
maritime rivalry.
First of all, the Mariquita became an example for me under
the command of Jim Thom. I refined my outlook on the
classic races, became more demanding – more aware of the job
that had been entrusted to me. Observing, analysing … long
periods sitting on the bridge of the Moonbeam IV in the port,
watching ‘my neighbour’: the details of the Mariquita, its crew
at work, their reactions, their relationships. All these details,
details which sometimes altered my way of doing things. I owe
a lot to Jim. Without knowing it, he made me look at my
own way of running these boats. In particular, I learned how to
take the best from how others work, without altering one’s own
intrinsic style, but taking from others in order to progress and
try to excel. This mix has been beneficial to me and I believe
that now, starting on my 10th year on the Moonbeam IV, I
have found a good balance as captain, to lead a crew on this
type of yacht in the best possible way.
And then the crew changed on the Mariquita. It is never easy
to take over the command when you are following a sailor who
has made history. The torch has been passed on to George, and
John and his friends have become the happy owners. This is a
challenge for both parties. As for me, I am analysing it all! And
I am telling myself that we have an advantage at the present
time. It’s the second season for George as boss, even though he
knows the boat well, taking over the captaincy of it is not the
same story and new owners who are surely going to take some
time to understand the boat.
History has proved me wrong … Right from the first season,
this new pairing has led me a merry dance! Obviously to my
great joy … First of all, we have got closer together – something
I had not managed to do with Jim. So, I was able to meet
the new crew, the men against whom we were going to race.
Friendship very quickly prevailed and this new alliance has
once again given me the chance to learn and progress. Don’t
we get to know our rival better by having a few beers with him?
I discovered a new Mariquita … a different competitor. While
retaining the ethos of which I spoke earlier, now carried on by
George, the Mariquita had changed! I had met the opponent
who most resembled me: John … courteous and polite. John
… a hard taskmaster, a person who does not let anything pass!
An astonishing cocktail which makes for the perfect competitor
on the water.
These past three years’ sailing with the Mariquita have been
incredible, magic … hard, sometimes taking me to the utmost
limits. No gifts, no excuses … no mistakes. Once again, I
have made progress; it turned out that John was an excellent
helmsman, a helmsman who doesn’t break under pressure,
who fully commits. So, again, I took my lesson ‘from the other
man’. No, no excuses! It’s the best man who wins the day.
And these victories have been shared. The Mariquita and
Moonbeam IV are the very epitome of all a yachtsman dreams
of – to lose or win for the sake of a few seconds, in close touch
… always. Without this rapport, there is no regatta! A good
example is that of the Panerai in Mahón. Three days of sailing
various laps, whilst being less than 100 metres from each other
for hours and hours. For me, these images represent a dream
come true … actually reliving a King’s Cup! My only wish now
would be to encounter the Mariquita in Mediterranean waters
again … Not just to have a few beers with George, John and
the crew – and to talk about the past! No, not just that. My
dream is of tightly tacking combats … of long tacks under a
billowing sail … of priorities ripped away. Some words stronger
than others, when it gets to the utmost limit.
The voice of John yelling out at the first initial sighting of the
preliminary start of the regatta:
‘BONJOUR ... MES AMIS FRANÇAIS!’
So, if the cold waters of the north which I know so well are
starting to get to you, I will give you a date here and now for a
second round in a few years, so that we can check that what I
am writing today … is indeed still true!
160

MOONBEAM IV
1914
The fourth and final Moonbeam
was designed and built by William
Fife III for Charles Plumtree
Johnson, the son of Queen Victoria’s
physician. Winner of the King’s
Cup in 1920 and 1923 she is best
described by Uffa Fox, “No matter
whether she is underway or at
anchor, Moonbeam IV is beautiful
to look upon, combining the speed of
a racer with the comfort of a cruiser,
a vessel any seaman would be proud
to own.”
Yacht Moonbeam IV
Length 35m / 115ft
Beam 5.45m / 18ft
Year Built 1914
Sail area 8514 square feet Sail No. 8
Designer William Fife
Beken
161

Chris Tibbs really led the charge when he started to call the navigation in a really direct
fashion. He was really punchy getting us much closer to the rocky island than Moonbeam IV
who was ahead of us. He turned the psychological corner for the whole crew.
David Bedford
Guido Cantini
162

If Mik could have put us right on to the cliffs and
written off Mariquita he would have done so.
John Caulcutt
Nico Martinez
163

“Some of the calls were deliberately
marginal. Winning races is all about being
prepared to go just that little bit extra and
take that extra risk.”
John Caulcutt
164

Guido Cantini

The feeling onboard the boat was fantastic. You felt you’d just won the Ashes and Wimbledon
and had a night out with a pretty girl. It was all absolutely perfect.
Tubby Brook
166

167

VELE D’EPOCA DI IMPERIA
11 – 14 SEPTEMBER 2014
Our only hope with a starboard rounding at the leeward end of
the downwind leg was to get down on one gybe. John Caulcutt
Just up the coast from San Remo the
mountainous province of Imperia with its
beautiful 18th-century cathedral welcomed
the classic fleet for the penultimate Panerai
regatta of the season.
Still smarting after
the disqualification
in Mahón, which
cost them the regatta,
Moonbeam IV was
in impressive form in
Imperia winning the
first race and putting
the pressure back on
Mariquita. Race 2 was going to be crucial.
A small area of low pressure to the south of
Imperia intensified to give some strong winds
for the start of the race. It felt like the season
came down to this regatta, this race and this
leg. David Bedford takes up the story, “It got
really windy and sailing by the lee is quite
dangerous. But in the event John did such a
good job we did get to the left of the mark for
a starboard rounding. Afterwards John said it
was so difficult on the wheel that he wouldn’t
have given the helm
to his worst enemy!”
As John himself
explained, “We were
in dire danger of that
mainsail coming
sweeping across the
deck and with it the
mainsheets, which
could take a number
of crew off the deck
with them. It was frighteningly close but it
was our only chance. We had to do it if we
were going to stay in the race.”
Thankfully Mariquita made the mark on
one gybe while her great rival Moonbeam IV
took two. The risk paid off and Mariquita
won the day.
168

We have our own private America’s Cup. Moonbeam
IV was designed and commissioned to beat Mariquita
… that was the design brief.
Tubby Brook
170

171

DIARY ENTRY
September is the home stretch for so many yachts. With Saint-Tropez at the end of the tunnel, the month’s opener alternates each year between the windless, rolling swell of Monaco, and the Italian Riviera at Imperia Porto
Maurizio. Sat firmly over the rolling hills of Liguire di Ponente, Imperia has evolved through the hands of countless civilisations over the centuries. Just like Argentario, the residents of Imperia do what Italians do so well:
make visitors feel welcome. With energy to spare, the port opens its arms to the fleet as all the Big Boats reunite for the first time since Antibes. Though let it be said, we are all seriously missing Cambria!. M.O.
172

173
Guido Cantini

174

175

In the heat of battle you start pushing harder. You start asking to put up more sail. Conversations have been had on board where George the skipper
is quite rightly saying the topmast is at risk, and John and the owners on the syndicate are saying it’s our topmast … if it breaks we’ll buy a new one.
David Bedford
182

In my memory Race 2 in Imperia was the supreme test. That downwind leg was probably my most challenging moment at the helm of
Mariquita. To make it down on one gybe while Mik took two was a great achievement.
John Caulcutt
183

184

185

RÉGATES ROYALES CANNES
23 – 27 SEPTEMBER 2014
We had good fights this season. Fantastic fights.
Close, sometimes too close. Mikaël Créac’h.
Winning the Panerai Trophy was a real
possibility. However, many of the permanent
crew had been in the same position in
preceding years and had seen the prize slip
away during the marathon week that is
Régates Royales.
With over 10 yachts
on the Big Boat start
line Mariquita was
going to have her work
cut out. Was she going
to cover her nearest
rivals Moonbeam IV
and Halloween for the
general classification
or go for the regatta win? Matty Oates, the
Mate, described the feeling amongst the
crew, “We were sailing well by then, very
cleanly. We knew that we had all the deck
work dialled in, so it came down to the
question of whether we could find the better
breeze? We also knew from MahÓn that we
could out-tack Moonbeam IV, crew to crew,
although in a regatta like Cannes, that’s not
always the best strategy. The other problem
was Mikaël Créac’h who
after his win in Imperia
had his tail up!”
To make matters worse a
flu virus swept through
the crew during the
training days leaving
at least two regatta
crew on the sidelines
for the opening days.
Thankfully a few willing hands from
La Mascarade stepped up, including Zane
Gills who happened to be in town. The
regatta finally started and the results began
to fall Mariquita’s way.
186

Going into the Cannes Regatta was the ultimate test of our nerves this year. I felt the pressure. Halloween could have won,
Moonbeam IV could have won. So our plan of racing against one other boat wasn’t going to stand any muster. We just had to
go as fast as we possibly could because we had to beat them both.
John Caulcutt
188

189

190

DIARY ENTRY
Argentario was the first sign that winning was a real possibility. Bolstered by another win at Mahón, and the near miss in Imperia, we knew it was all to play for here in Cannes, with the Régates Royales. A first place
at the regatta was secondary to the overall win, so you can imagine how stoked we were when we managed to get both.
Cannes is an exhausting regatta. It’s five straight days of racing, led by a training day. Now if you haven’t raced aboard a big classic, it doesn’t sound like much. But when you consider that four hours of your day is setup
and pack down alone, on top of your hours in pre-start and race time, it adds up. So it’s important to pace yourself through the week. The courses are well laid, but it means countless peels, kite hoists and re-hoists, and
changing conditions. We joke that Cannes can show you all four seasons in one regatta, and the prediction’s rarely far off. In 2007, we received several inches of large hail on deck in the span of five minutes, culminating
with a lightning strike which travelled down our halyards and jumped to our bowman Natty Lemieux. The day after was sunny, light and variable. M.O.
191

DAVID BEDFORD
Tactician
Cannes was the deciding regatta of the season. By
then we had a good understanding of Mariquita’s
strengths and weaknesses relative to our rivals.
With dissimilar yachts there will be some courses
and wind conditions that will favour a particular
boat. Over a season some races will be easy wins (if
there is such a thing) while others will be almost
impossible to win. In between there
will be the races where you have a
chance. As the season progressed
we realised we had to do more to
win in Mariquita. If we performed
at the same level as our primary
rival Moonbeam IV we would
lose. Put another way we had to be
significantly better to win. A good
example was the second race at
Cannes.
The first leg of the course was a
short windward leg to a starboard
rounding windward mark in
around 10 knots of breeze.
Mariquita started well and stayed to the right of
Moonbeam IV. On the first beat the boats met at
the windward mark with Mariquita on starboard
tack forcing Moonbeam IV to tack to give way.
The result was only one tack for Mariquita and
two for Moonbeam IV – a loss of 90 secs for Mik
and his crew. Victory 1.
Leg 3 was downwind on port gybe. Mariquita’s
balloon jib (spinnaker) has a limited range of wind
angles. To counter this we sailed on port gybe with
the spinnaker set with the pole as far forward as
we dared. Essentially letting the boat go where it
wanted to go but crucially very swiftly. This kept
the boat fast but our course initially 18 degrees
below the leeward mark. We reasoned that as we
got closer, the wind blowing parallel to the coast
would lift us up towards the mark. Thankfully
our hunch paid off. Surprised and unnerved by
our new tactics, Moonbeam IV got greedy and
elected to fly their large running spinnaker which
took them even lower than our
course, perhaps by as much as
12 degrees. In the final analysis
Mariquita flew her spinnaker
for the whole leg at a faster
angle while Moonbeam IV
went unacceptably low leading
her to drop her kite and sail the
final quarter of the leg without
a spinnaker. Victory 2.
The final leg was upwind along
the rocky coast on the western
side of the Bay of Cannes.
With some difficult and brave
navigation by Chris Tibbs we
extended our lead. Chris picked a layline around
the headland but then inside some rocks. We
effectively cut a huge corner. After the headland it
was a simple fetch to the finish. Victory 3.
Despite three significant victories during the race,
when the handicaps were worked out, Mariquita
only beat Moonbeam IV by nine seconds. In many
ways this race represents the different level of skill,
teamwork and achievement required for Mariquita
to win. The fact that Moonbeam IV nearly won
despite a mistake or two on their part illustrates
how hard fought and deserved Mariquita’s victories
were in 2014.
192

193

194
ROCK
HOPPING

195

DIARY ENTRY
As for the racing, it must simply be said that Mariquita was pushed to new limits, and that she found another gear at the Régates Royales. But
there we were, and it did come down to the wire, like so many other regattas this year. This is what racing should be like. In a handicapped system,
clear cut winners every single time means there’s an error in the math. Regattas should always be fought for, podium places constantly changing.
That’s what this year has been like, and it keeps everyone hungering for more. With our last race finished, and the numbers finally in, it was time
to collect the trophy that we truly deserved. M.O.
196

THE VICTORS
Even more important than winning this nice looking trophy on the Panerai circuit was the respect that was shown to us by the two Moonbeams at the
prize-giving. It meant the world to us to be standing on the podium with our great rivals cheering us on.
John Caulcutt
197

You have to understand the huge rivalry within the classic fleet. Particularly between
Mariquita and the Moonbeams. We know that Mik is watching us from the moment he
wakes up in the morning in his bunk. He’s looking to see what the mood is on the boat. Have
the boys been out drinking the night before? He’s that focused on it and that dedicated to it
right from the early morning. And of course he is a great sailor and he has that much more
experience, and we have to respect that.
John Caulcutt
198

The Saturday night changed everything for me between the relations we have. It’s a very important point for the next seasons. I’m more confident today with Mariquita.
I’m going to go closer at sea with Mariquita. You know what I mean. It’s like I know my enemy now. When you know your enemy you can play with him.
Mikaël Créac’h
199

LES VOILES DE SAINT-TROPEZ
30 SEPTEMBER – 4 OCTOBER 2014
How more people aren’t hurt in Saint-Tropez I’m really not sure.
The race committee put on some crazy courses. John Caulcutt
The racing at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is
unique and occasionally quite dangerous,
as helmsman John Caulcutt describes. “The
year before, they sent the Big Boat Class off
last to windward into
the bay off Cogolin
just as all the other
fleets were coming
out. These are local
race officers who
don’t know how to
handle these big
fleets, especially the
‘Big Boat Class’. In
my opinion they
need to bring in some professional race
management from the great yacht clubs
around the world. It’s all very controlled
on the start line with the exclusion zones.
But after the start it’s a real bunfight.” Long
reaching legs scuttled Mariquita’s hopes as
the schooners, notably Elena, came into
their own. Long waterline length and speed
come to the fore in the off-the-wind legs. As
Matty Oates explains, “Elena is an absolute
weapon. Traditionally, the cutters love the
light airs and the schooners love the breeze.
When it’s light, boats
like Altair just wallow
in it. But Elena, she’s
so lofty, has so much
sail, that she will just
carry through all the
calm. Her rig can
reach breezes up high
that none of us can
get to, and she has a
weight and size that
makes her immune to all the messy chop you
might find in the Bay of Saint-Tropez, the
same chop that will stop us dead in the water.
They sailed her brilliantly, and deserved that
win. They never get on the podium, due to
their handicap, so to have her take the win
in a light-airs regatta really is a testament to
their racing skill.”
200

DIARY ENTRY
Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is a far cry from the other regattas.
The boats are the focus, without a doubt, but not the sailing of
them. It’s their mystique and allure that draws in the crowds
when they’re tied up in harbour. Throngs of tourists wearing the
same striped polo, bought for a small fortune, are packed like
festival-goers all craning their necks for a glimpse. It’s the image of
yachting culture that’s celebrated by the onlookers, and for the first
time all year it’s the rest of the world looking in on our fishbowl.
What a fishbowl we live in! M.O.
203

204

205

206

207
James Robinson Taylor

There’s a guy on board who
sometimes we don’t see for up to an
hour at a time. Adam goes up the
rig for a downwind leg. So he’s sent
up before we get to the mark and
he can be there for up to an hour.
He disappears but what he does up
there is critical to our success. The
unsung hero? Maybe he is.
Jamie Matheson
208

James Robinson Taylor
Mariquita ducking behind the two-masted schooner Altair during Race 2.
209

210
James Robinson Taylor

Photography Note
This photograph is an excellent example of keeping your eyes open and scanning a race for opportunities. I could never have predicted this almost perfect arrangement of yachts as they rounded a mark and then
hardened up onto a tight reach. I’d been following Mariquita, who was 30 seconds ahead, when I looked round and saw the red spinnaker in the centre of the shot. Our rib was drifting slowly to the right so I
didn’t even need to change our course as this gap opened up between the two lead yachts, and I depressed the shutter. The tantalising nature of photography can sometimes be difficult to articulate. Out of an
unpromising situation came this lovely Saint-Tropez image. B.W
211

THE MARIQUITA FILMS
Looking back I guess the idea for the Mariquita videos
came from the documentary Ben made for Jim Thom and
Peter Livanos to mark Mariquita’s centenary back in 2011.
It was a serious piece of work and knowing our ownership
of Mariquita would be for a limited period, perhaps three
to four years, I was keen to make sure we had a lasting
memento of our endeavours. My fellow owners thought
this was an unnecessary extravagance but I was determined
to have a permanent record of what was going to be a once
in a lifetime experience so I decided to go ahead anyway!
I struck a deal with Ben to shoot both video and stills and
the rest is history. Once John and Jamie started to see the
results they soon came around!
Stephen Hemsley
212

DIARY ENTRY
The world of yachting is cyclical and seasonal. You’re racing or you’re varnishing. You’re on a ‘transat’ or you’re flying to your next programme. You’re doing a Pacific season.
You’re doing a Med season. You might even try some time in the States. You can stay on a boat for a while, but nine times out of 10 you’ll eventually move on while the boat
remains. This normally happens at a staggered pace as people’s lives continue to revolve in an orbit around the vessel. However, every now and then your crewmates move on
in the same stride. It’s happened before in Mariquita’s past: The Fife Regatta in 2008 was a bookend for many, and at year’s end we said goodbye to many close friends. We’ve
reached another bookend here on board in 2014 and again we must see off so many more.
We’re lucky in that we work with amazing people on Mariquita, so to watch this group go back off into the world is heartening: You know they’re going to do fantastic things
in places all over the globe. But you do miss the idiosyncrasies they bring to the table, how a crew falls into place like pieces of a puzzle. You can get new pieces, but it will be
an entirely different puzzle.
To those who have moved on: It has been our very great privilege to sail this boat with you lot. You can get the best racers in the world on the deck of the fastest yacht, but if
they don’t know how to crack a joke at the day’s end, what’s the point? So thank you for cracking jokes. We hope you’ll come back and grab hold of the main halyards again,
and sing out loud with the shanty. Now haul away you rolling kings. M.O.
213

OWNERS & CREW 2014
JOHN CAULCUTT STEPHEN HEMSLEY JAMIE MATHESON GEORGE NEWMAN
MATTY OATES BILLY BUTLER DAVID BEDFORD CHRIS TIBBS
HAROLD CUDMORE TUBBY BROOK GUY RIBADEAU-DUMAS DAN ADAM-AZIKRI
214

OWNERS & CREW 2014
ADAM NORRIS PIPPA CROWLEY ANGELA MATHESON OLLIE GOZZETT
ROB DENNING
SHERRON HEMSLEY
ROBYN WHITMAN
FRAZER ANTHONY-JOHNS
MATT WATSON
OLLIE PAUL
JEROME COLLET
WILL GIBBON
215

RESULTS 2014 SEASON
LES VOILES
D’ANTIBES
ARGENTARIO
SAILING WEEK
PUIG VELA CLÁSSICA,
BARCELONA
MAHÓN XI COPA DEL REY
DE BARCOS DE EPOCA
Mariska
Mariquita
Moonbeam IV
Mariquita
Moonbeam IV
Halloween
Mariquita
Moonbeam IV
Moonbeam of Fife
Eleonora
Moonbeam of Fife
Halloween
Mariquita
Cambria
Mariette of 1915
Agneta
Shamrock IV
Halloween
Altair
VELE D’EPOCA
DI IMPERIA
RÉGATES ROYALES
CANNES
LES VOILES DE
SAINT-TROPEZ
Moonbeam IV
Mariquita
Moonbeam III
Halloween
Elena
Mariquita
Moonbeam IV
Moonbeam of Fife
Halloween
Altair 1931
Elena
Xarifa
Elena
Mariquita
Moonbeam IV
Moonbeam of Fife
Halloween
Altair
Orianda
216

THE YEAR IN NUMBERS
178 TENDER RUNS
62 DEBRIEFS
54 HEADERS
40 CIRCLES OF LOVE
mariquita
31 JIB TOPS
25 SPINNAKER HOISTS
15 JACKYARD PARTIES
6 HULL WAXES
5 COATS OF VARNISH
3 PANERAI WATCHES
&
1 PANERAI TROPHY
217

PASSAGE FROM FRANCE
TAKING DOWN THE TOPMAST IN
COGOLIN, FRANCE
SMOCO OFF IBIZA!
FROM THE FORT OVERLOOKING
ALICANTE
MORNING WATCH NEAR GIBRALTAR
THE FIRST SUNSET OF THE VOYAGE
THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR
DIARY ENTRY
Preparing any vessel for a voyage involves imagining a lot of ‘what ifs’. You lash, stow and pad to the extreme, hoping that you make it through the trip with as little maintenance to do on the other side as possible. You try
to imagine how the boat will move in swell and, more importantly, how different parts of the boat will move, and what you can do to protect them. Mariquita is by no means a boat for the ocean. She’s at home on the flat
water of the Clyde and the Mediterranean. With a heavy rig, and a spoon bow, we are careful when choosing our weather windows.
218

1-25 APRIL 2015
DOLPHINS NEAR PORTIMÃO
SUNSET OFF PORTUGAL
FROM THE CASTLE WALLS IN BAIONA,
SPAIN
CASUAL FRIDAY AT THE OFFICE
A RUIN IN BAIONA
SUNSET OVER THE BAY OF BISCAY
Head seas can be depressing and annoying, but one can usually make way in most craft. With Mariquita, one wrong wave on the bow and she will lose all her speed in an instant. The Mariquita you see on passage is
very different to the Mariquita that glides by during a race. Our topmast sits on the port-side deck, lashed to the centreline. The spinnaker pole sits on starboard, and spare fuel jugs are nestled and secured between them.
Our massive mainsail sits unused for the voyage, and the gaff is heavily strapped and padded onto the boom. The jackyard topsail spars are secured either side of the main boom and the sail itself sits safely in the lazarette.
Sitting atop the racing mainsail is our delivery trysail, a loose-footed number with its own gaff that’s no small bit of canvas in its own right. M.O.
219

“we leave the Mediterranean now with a clear conscience
and focused view for the future on bringing mariquita
back to the uk for 2015.”
John Caulcutt

UK PRE-SEASON
25 APRIL 2015
DIARY ENTRY
We passed a fleet of overnight racers, just past Hurst
Castle, heading out of the Solent into the building
wind and sea we were running from. This made the
smiles onboard widen realising that we were so close
to the warmth and safety of a home port. All hands
were gathered aft, taking in the sights and talking
about the first pint or meal they’d be having once
they got ashore. We cleared the deck as best we could,
making the boat as presentable as possible for the
discerning eyes of Solent sailors. Pulling up just past
Yarmouth, we hooked up with what would be our
summer mooring off The Towers, and out came John
Caulcutt and Ben Wood in a rib to be the first to
welcome us to England! Before long the whole crew
were transfered to the Royal Solent Yacht Club for a
pint of Doom Bar. Then off to Salty’s for one heck of
an order of fish ’n chips … a more picturesque arrival
could not have been imagined. With the engine off,
there was a collective sigh from the crew. It hadn’t
been an epic like The Odyssey, but it had been our
voyage, and now it had come to an end. Like all good
things. M.O.
222

07.47 SATURDAY 25 APRIL, YARMOUTH PIER
The satisfaction and relief of getting the boat tied up on the mooring was immense.
Incredibly emotional actually. I phoned my Mum to say I’d got here.
George Newman

GEORGE NEWMAN
Skipper
We’ve brought Mariquita up to the UK
three times over the years with Jim Thom.
But he’s sailed around the world a few
times so he has a bit more experience than
me! The last two times we brought the boat
up with Jim, in 2010 and 2012, we got
absolutely pounded. He said on the last
trip that he’d never bring her up again. You
have to remember that she’s a day boat,
albeit a magnificent one. So I had that in
the back of my mind when the syndicate
decided to bring Mariquita up to Cowes
for the RYS Bicentennial. Leaving Cogolin
on the 1st April was one month earlier
than we had previously set sail so there was
plenty of apprehension.
Thankfully the weather gods were shining
on us and with excellent forecasting from
Chris Tibbs the whole trip took 21 days,
so 10 days faster than in the past. We were
very fortunate – the weather was just always
behind us. However, with one night to go
off northern France, Chris forecast thick
fog for the English Channel so I slept in the
lazarette that final night as we approached
the shipping lanes. With some fine work
from the crew we ghosted through and as
dawn broke we saw the welcome sight of
St. Catherine’s lighthouse, off the southern
tip of the Isle of Wight. It was a great
moment for all of us onboard.
The crew dynamic shrinking to a smaller
number of personnel for 2015 was a
massive head scratch. I had my doubts,
but to be fair it was the best thing we’ve
ever done. In previous years there was
always a split between the crew – between
the shore siders and the live aboards. But
with everyone on board this year it was
all harmony – one of the best crews we’ve
ever had on Mariquita. Many people are
surprised when they’re told that in a full
season Mariquita may race only 25 to 30
days. The rest of the time is spent training,
working on the yacht, transporting her
around and maintaining the varnish! That’s
the heart of classic yachting. Obviously the
racing is when all that hard work comes to
fruition but for me the teamwork and the
camaraderie throughout the year is the key.
People often ask what it’s like to skipper
Mariquita? I can’t get away from the fact
that I’m one of a long line of captains:
Edward Sycamore, Robert Wringe and my
old boss Jim Thom. I’m not sure I’d put
myself in their class but we’re two years
in now and when you look at the photos
from the last couple of seasons and you
look at the yacht, she looks good, just like
she would have done in 1911. That’s what
I’m most proud of … to be a part of that
history even for a few years is pretty special.
225

226

I have to say that on all the boats I’ve ever worked on there’s never been such a
a sense of anticipation for the season’s first sail. There are all these new crew on
board who have the passion and studying to sail this boat, but there is always the
question of how that will equate to onboard performance?
Matty Oates

TWO CENTURIES OF SAIL
1815 - 2015
Founded in 1815 by a group of friends, The Royal Yacht Squadron quickly became the favourite
yacht club of the aristocracy and royalty of Europe, its regatta at Cowes one of the most
fashionable events of the season. Yet the Squadron has always been more than just a smart club.
Its members helped create the sport of sailing – writing rules, running competitions, putting
up prizes (including the first America’s Cup in 1851) and building some of the finest and fastest
yachts in the world. Its very existence after 200 years is in itself remarkable. It was founded in
a time of cultural and technological upheaval. War, internal division and financial crisis have
threatened it more than once. Yet it lives on and grows stronger, maintaining its traditions
while moving with the times. The secrets of its survival? Team work, thoughtful change, a love
of yachting and the discipline of the sea.
Alex Martin, RYS historian
228

1815 2015

Back in late 2012, Michael Campbell, the Commodore of The Royal Yacht Squadron,
wrote a letter asking us to consider bringing Mariquita back to the UK for the
Squadron’s bicentenary celebrations. At that stage, such an idea simply wasn’t on our
agenda. We had a job to do. The Mediterranean Panerai circuit needed winning.
Our successful 2014 campaign caused us to reconsider and we decided to bring
Mariquita home. Or should I say, we decided to ask George and the crew to bring
her home! This was no small undertaking requiring lots of preparation, planning and
organisation.
The spring came and Mariquita left Cogolin, her base for the last few years, and headed
for the Isle of Wight. The weather smiled and she glided serenely into the Solent through
the mist one late April Saturday morning. Smiles and relief all round! Mariquita was
back in the waters she had first raced in, over a century before.
Immediately work got underway to return the yacht to race mode: stepping the top
mast, varnishing, preparing sails and the rigging. The season ahead would present
different challenges, notably shallow water and strong tides – a world away from the
Mediterranean. We were all looking forward to the amazing regattas that lay ahead, in
particular the two RYS events: the Fleet Review and the International Regatta, where
our beautiful yacht would surely feel completely at home.
Jamie Matheson
230

Beken of Cowes
PRE-WAR MARIQUITA
Mariquita’s first three seasons from 1911 to 1913 were spent in the UK. Skippered by Edward
Sycamore and then Robert Wringe, some of her finest victories were recorded in the Solent as she
raced the other 19-Metre yachts in her class: Octavia, Norada and Corona.
On June 15th 1912 the King’s Cup was won by Mariquita helmed by Robert Wringe. In second
place was her great rival Octavia, helmed and owned by the outstanding yachtsmen of his
generation, Sir William Burton. Along with Norada and Corona the 19-Metre class supplied a
level of competition and sport the like of which had never been seen before. These were the best
yachts sailed by the most talented sailors of the day.
Within a week the two yachts were racing again on the Solent in a contest that Sir William
Burton vividly described as, “a great duel between Mariquita and Octavia … the best and hardest
race I ever sailed in my life.” The rivalry between the two helmsman was immense. Despite years
of experience sailing 12 and 15-Metre yachts, Sir William knew he was in for a battle on the race
track. “Wringe sails a hard race … he is well known for his iron nerves and takes every inch out
of the rules.” After a long tacking duel Octavia finally prevailed in one of the closest races ever
recorded between the two yachts. Sadly within a year the class was disbanded as the onset of war
cast a shadow over Europe. Mariquita is the only surviving 19-Metre.
231

OLD GAFFERS, YARMOUTH
29 – 31 MAY 2015
The Old Gaffers Association are the true old salts of sailing.
They really respected having Mariquita amongst all the other
boats in Yarmouth. John Caulcutt
The town and port of Yarmouth is situated
in the western part of the Isle of Wight
and takes its name from the mouth of the
small Yar river.
Established over a
thousand years ago,
Yarmouth is one of
the earliest recorded
settlements on the
island. The Normans
laid out the town
on a grid system, a
plan that can still be
seen in the layout
today. However, the town was repeatedly
attacked by the French until Henry VIII
built Yarmouth castle in 1547 to strengthen
the Solent and help protect Southampton
and Portsmouth. So where better to hold a
festival of gaffers than in Yarmouth?
The Old Gaffers Festival in Yarmouth has
grown from humble beginnings in the late
1950s when just three boats raced in the
first event held in
the Solent. The ever
popular festival now
attracts over 120
boats and thousands
of spectators each
year, although this
was the first time
it had hosted a
yacht on the scale
of Mariquita. As a
Yarmouth man himself, John Caulcutt was
delighted to have the Old Girl in his home
town. “She won the Concourse d’Elegance
which was a great thrill. It was just wonderful
to be part of such an enormous gathering of
gaff-rigged boats.”
232

Mariquita and John Caulcutt’s other 1911 classic, Puffin, a Yarmouth One Design,
moored off The Towers, Yarmouth.
234

The Towers has been in our family since the 1940s. I learnt to sail off there in the West Wight Scows. The house has been part of the fabric of our family for generations.
So to have Mariquita parked up at the end of the garden was a great thrill. I could wake up in the morning, draw the curtains, and check she was still there.
John Caulcutt
235

DIARY ENTRY
We’ve taken part in many a regatta since Mariquita was re-launched in 2004. From sun-baked Argentario, on the Tuscan coast, to the hog roasts and haggis toasts up in the Clyde. The family-style welcome that the yachts
receive in each of these ports always rivals the last. But there’s rarely been such a sense of community, even family, that one sees at the Yarmouth Old Gaffers.
The first clue to this might be the pennants. Each gaffer, large and small, was flying a score of them off their flag halyards, with a spectrum of colours that had to be seen to be believed. Each one represented a gathering
gone by. Some boats flying every single one ever given out. M.O.
236

237

We had the extraordinary privilege of standing on the
deck of arguably the ultimate gaffer. It was magical.
It’s the only word to describe it. As the wind took her
and you could feel her healing over.
Jamie Matheson
238

THE AFTER GUARD
239

Here was this majestic racing machine from one
hundred years ago gliding through the water on the
Solent as if she’d been launched the week before. Pretty
emotional stuff.
Jamie Matheson
240

241

As an island nation we have salt water in our veins. My passion for ships and boats – particularly wooden boats, knows no bounds. One
feature of the 2015 season for Angela and I was seeing Mariquita and Opposition sailing together in Cowes. Having both yachts sailing in the
same regattas was tremendous fun.
Jamie Matheson
242

243

FLEET REVIEW, COWES
2 – 6 June 2015
I wonder what those gentlemen in the Coffee House, 200
years ago, would have made of last week. One would hope
they would look on the celebrations with some pride. RYS
A Fleet Review is a traditional gathering of
ships from a particular navy to be observed
by the reigning monarch or a suitable
representative. Allegedly
dating back to the 15thcentury,
the practice
often occurred when
the fleet was mobilised
for war, or as a show of
strength. Thankfully the
RYS Fleet Review in
June 2015 was purely
ceremonial. However,
the organisation of an event of this scale,
involving hundreds of boats, is a huge
logistical undertaking, as the commodore of
the RYS, Christopher Sharples, explained,
“Well what can I say. This is a very big day
for us. No question about it. We couldn’t
have done any more preparation, so I’m
quietly confident
that things will
go well. It’s very
important to us
to get this right.
Our reputation
means a lot to
us at the Royal
Yacht Squadron.
We like to do
everything to the highest possible standard
and the Fleet Review is no exception. So the
pressure is on but all being well I think we
will deliver a very good result today.”
244

245

Putting up the wrong sail can
completely finish your day. We got
caught out with wind on this dog
leg just before rounding the last
mark into the finish. We had 25
knots of wind with the jackyard
up. We were on our ear.
George Newman
Peter Mumford ~ Beken of Cowes
Technical Note
On Mariquita, the big decision every morning on the aft deck is which sails to hoist? In order to succeed,
Mariquita needs power allied to balance, so the decision, based on the weather forecasting and the state
of the regatta, is key. Unfortunately once racing is underway, two of the options are irreversible: first, the
option of reefing the mainsail and second, to either hoist or lower the jackyard. The jackyard is the largest
topsail available to Mariquita and is hoisted with two large extra spars, which effectively extend the mast
and the gaff. It offers a tempting and large increase in sail area. However, with extra weight and sail area so
high up it can render the yacht out of control if set in too much wind. In the first race of the Fleet Review
an unexpectedly strong sea breeze finished Mariquita’s race. Probably driven by a ‘perfect storm’ of upper
atmospheric wind strength and direction, combined with cold water and potent early summer sun, the wind
increased to well over 20 knots. This photograph shows Mariquita right on the limit as she heads westwards
back down the Solent towards the top mark. Within minutes she was overpowered and unable to bear away.
David Bedford
246

MATTY OATES
Mate
Despite the simplicity in the title, it would be a challenge to
find two Mates aboard classic yachts who have an identical
job description. Even year to year the challenges evolve; and as
some tasks become polished, new ones arise. You become the
absorber of stress from both directions: the middle management
of the command structure. Most importantly, you are nothing
without the captain and crew around you.
The year 2015 saw a new and exciting dynamic arise from the
unknown. Since her redux, Mariquita has always had part of
her crew living ashore, but this year we dropped our numbers
and moved all our sailors aboard. To have us all as one made
the Mate’s role not only easier, but far more fun. We had
to create and morph – had to change years of established
procedures and reassess all we knew about the Old Girl. Roles
on deck had to be readjusted and nowhere was that more
evident than with the jackyard.
Every year Mariquita has visited the United Kingdom, the
jackyard topsail has had a lonely time of it. Colder, denser
breezes and higher average wind speeds have meant that the
easily-handled gaff topsail steals the show. There have been
several occasions over the years where we’ve been reminded of
the power that the jackyard exerts, and each time has made us
feel slightly more mortal. We had that reminder once again at
the Fleet Review.
With a course set off to the east, and a return to the mid-
Solent on the expectation of a dying breeze, we instead came
back to wind speeds of over 20-25 knots. A powerful gybe at
the top mark had us sent hard over and rounding up into the
breeze in seconds. A buried lee rail gave us no access to the
runners and kept the mainsail in, while our main runner to
windward was shy of its mark in the hurried manoeuvre. A
second attempt saw no more success, and George wisely made
the call to abandon the race.
Often, this is where people end the story in their head: race
abandoned and the vessel heads home. But this is actually
where the day gets interesting, because not only do you have
to bring this mass of sail and spars to deck, but you must do
it fully exposed to the breeze. In the Mediterranean, you’ve
got runway galore for these evolutions, but in the Solent you
have very little time indeed. It’s only a matter of minutes until
you’ve sent your bowsprit into a forest or you’re keel-deep in
a mud bank!
These are the moments that a Mate lives for – when the wind
is blowing, the stress is rising, but the crew around you is
working in calm, focused determination. It is a very great
privilege to pretend to be in control of an operation like
this, but we all know that the dial of a watch is only the sum
of the workings behind it.
As with any boat, knowledge is acquired, compounded
and passed on to those who follow you, and I’ve been very
lucky to have been preceded as Mate by the likes of Andy
Cully, Robin Kenyon and George Newman – sailors who all
possess a keen eye for detail and unique styles of leadership.
I hope my three years as Mate have added a little more to the
understanding and experience of sailing Mariquita.
247

Over-canvassed
Peter Mumford ~ Beken of Cowes

Dan was at the top of the rig at
the time. I think he had a fairly
religious experience up there. He
said that the top mast was all over
the place.
George Newman
249

THURSDAY 4 JUNE 2015
250

251

252

Beken of Cowes
Technical Note
Mariquita looks pretty serene as she ‘takes the gun’ in front of the Royal Yacht Squadron. It’s
tempting to switch off once your race is run but quite often the finishing line is fraught with
danger. As Mariquita takes at least seven minutes to do a full gybe she is running by the lee
to get down inside the finish mark, as there is not enough time or sea room to gybe twice and
reset the balloon jib (spinnaker). In order to sail ‘by the lee’, which is inherently dangerous as
you risk an involuntary gybe, the boom is pulled forward by a preventer. With the boom out
to port, and the spinnaker out to starboard, Mariquita is 160ft wide. In order to cross the line,
the boom has to pass over the top of the moorings and the pole over the top of the orange
finish mark. Out of shot, dead ahead, is Charles Dunstone’s race yacht, Spectre, swinging
on its mooring. Mariquita is heading straight at her with the tide behind. The crew have
just enough time to drop the spinnaker, luff to a safe angle, un-rig the preventer and finally
luff to avoid the moored yacht. The next two obstacles are the Danish and Norwegian Royal
yachts helpfully parked up in front of the Egypt Point finish line, which is an exclusion zone!
Mariquita manages to thread the eye of the needle between all these obstacles before the crew
can finally take a breath and toast their win. Racing a big classic yacht is a lot more complicated
than it looks but we got the win and the photograph to prove it!
David Bedford
253

THE FLEET REVIEW, FRIDAY 5 JUNE 2015
In June 1953, I went up to the Coronation Spithead Fleet Review on a yacht called Lottie with Lord Sherwood who was a friend of my step father, Patrick Egan.
In 1977 I was part of the Royal Thames flotilla, which marked the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. These bits of pageantry on the water are important. It’s a time to pause and reflect.
John Caulcutt
254

255

Having Mariquita participate in this particular event was an honour and thrill. Any club that gets to 200 years in its life is celebrating and
marking a very serious anniversary.
Jamie Matheson
256

257
Jonathan Hoare

SATURDAY 6 JUNE 2015
258

259

260

With Ernst Klaus, who used to be an owner of Mariquita, at the helm of Kentra, duelling with the boat
he previously owned. It must have been a fabulous day on the water for him. He got the better of us in the
end. It was Kentra’s sort of weather.
Stephen Hemsley
261

We found ourselves in a tacking battle with Kentra. We’re working our way up the western Solent and
Mariquita is properly healed over. Kentra is there in her element. It ended up being a really special part of
the race to have that big part of the Mariquita family right along side.
Matty Oates
DIARY ENTRY
That final day wasn’t our best race of all time, but it created one of the most memorable moments of the season, while sailing alongside the beautiful Fife ketch Kentra. The wind was howling and we were cracking along
on a beat under a full mainsail and lower headsails, when Kentra pulled up alongside us to weather on a starboard tack. On board Kentra were a myriad of smiling faces from Mariquita’s close family: owners Ernst and
Doris Klaus, Captain Tim Boagey, Fairlie founder Duncan Walker, tactician and all-around legend Docteur Patrice Clerc, and of course the Silver Fox himself, former Mariquita Captain, Jim Thom, yelling war cries of
“Brave and Tidy” as they swigged in the headsail sheets. M.O.
262

John Caulcutt and HRH Prince Edward after racing on Saturday 6 June 2015.
263

WESTWARD CUP
14 – 16 JUNE 2015, COWES
“She’s a wonder”. So declared Captain Charlie Barr at the
launch of the 160ft schooner Westward in March 1910.
The inaugural Westward Cup was inspired by
Zbynek Zak, the owner of Eleonora, which is
an exact replica of the Westward, in its day one
of the most famous racing schooners in the
world. In association
with the RYS the
new regatta, named
after the Westward,
is now in its third
year. Since 2010 the
event has attracted
many of the original
Big Boat Class
including Mariette,
Tuiga, Mariquita as
well as Eleonora herself. 2015 promised some
excellent racing for Mariquita’s new crew
who were beginning to find their feet. With
the experience of Chris Tibbs on navigation
and David Bedford on tactics, both steeped
in Solent racing, Mariquita fancied her
chances of winning one of the few cups that
had alluded her since her return in 2004. The
anticipation was tangible, particularly the
contest with the American boat Sumurun,
as Matty Oates describes, “Then there was
Sumurun, a weapon
in her own right and
looking immaculate
after a refit back in
the United States.
The crew on this boat
are just as brilliant
and they display this
continual elation
being over here in a
completely different
racing scene. The classic scene in the States is
a much smaller affair than it is on this side of
the pond, and though there’s no loss of spirit
or competition, the simple fact is that there
aren’t as many Big Boats. And as we all know,
it’s the presence of a comparative subject that
helps to elevate any discipline.”
264

Eleonora off Norris Castle.
265

MARIQUITA & ELEONORA
For the first time since the season began we started to hit our stride as a team. Manoeuvres were cleaner and faster and more composed. That does a lot for morale on a boat, as success breeds
success. Once you lock the steps in for evolutions like kite hoists and headsail peels, you can start to explore where to trim them for faster times and more efficiency.
Matty Oates
266

Our first ‘encounter’ with Mariquita was in September 2005,
right after we acquired Eleonora, during the 2005 Monaco
Classic Week. We could not have started our relationship with
Mariquita on a lower note as we almost collided with her on
the start line. Despite this inauspicious start we have become
good friends with her owners, her skippers and the crew.
I have always admired and had huge respect for the way
Mariquita has been sailed, raced and operated. In my view, she
has been the best run, large, truly classic yacht. Meticulously
maintained and kept up, her crew trained to the highest sailing
standards, she has been the boat I have always looked up to. A
great example to us all of how a large classic yacht should be
operated.
Despite the keen rivalry on the race course, Mariquita’s owners
and skippers have always been ready to share their experience
and knowhow. Back in 2005 Eleonora was the ‘new kid on
the block’ on the classic scene so I was very grateful for the
way Mariquita welcomed us onto the circuit. Mariquita and
Eleonora have a shared passion for classic sailing, and this has
been the key factor in our long relationship.
In 2010, Eleonora celebrated the 100th anniversary of the
launch of Westward, the Nathaniel Greene Herreshoff designed
schooner, of which she is an exact replica. We celebrated this
event by arranging a Big Class yacht regatta in the Solent, the
place where these magnificent yachts raced some 100 years
ago, thereby establishing the Westward Cup Trophy.
Despite the long and somewhat risky passage from the
Mediterranean (not the ideal trip for a 19-Metre from 1911)
Mariquita did not hesitate to commit at a very early stage to
the proposed regatta and thus helped to create a momentum,
which eventually led to a very memorable event. The RYS as
the organising yacht club and Eleonora very much appreciated
this support. Mariquita has subsequently taken part in later
editions of the Westward Cup in 2012 and 2015, making an
important contribution to the revival of Big Class racing in
the Solent.
We wish Mariquita all the best for the future and fair winds.
Zbynek Zak
SHARED PASSIONS
267

268

DIARY ENTRY
This year marks our third Westward Cup since it was started
in 2010. You may know Westward as one of the Big Class, an
absolute legend within the classic yachting world. There are few
sights in this world like a schooner with those proportions charging
down towards you with spinnaker and gollywobbler flying, and a
churning bow wave announcing its arrival. Eleonora, a replica
of this famous yacht, carries on this tradition through the hard
work and passion of an amazing crew. You can always count on
them to put a smile on your face when you meet up in the pub
after racing, and you know they’re going to give you everything
they’ve got on the water the next day. M.O.
269

I know Mariquita had been sailed in the Solent many
decades before, but nevertheless to bring her back and
race her in this complicated environment is courageous
because she draws a lot of water, she doesn’t handle
easily, she’s very fast, the time difference between
marks is just a matter of minutes ... so to see these guys
take a yacht of this stature around the track is really
phenomenal.
Tim Blackman, British Classic Yacht Club
270

SUMURUN
Sumurun took us apart on the first day of
the Westward Cup. It was a light day with
a lot of windward work against the tide
and she walked all over us. She’s a long,
thin yacht with a modern Marconi rig
so she can point closer to the wind than
we can in Mariquita. She arrived at the
first weather mark off Norris Castle way
ahead of us and we all thought Sumurun
was going to be a formidable competitor.
Although she sailed well upwind we
managed to haul her back in on the
downwind legs. While Sumurun was
doing gybe angles Mariquita was running
dead downwind to the leeward mark. I
have lost count of the times our downwind
speed got us out of jail this season.
John Caulcutt
1914
Yacht Sumurun
Length 28.60m / 94ft
Beam 5.10m / 17ft
Year Built 1914
Sail area 4,000 square feet
Designer William Fife
271

CHRIS TIBBS
Navigator
My involvement with Mariquita started with sail trials in the
Solent immediately after her restoration, and two seasons later I
was the main race navigator on board and have been ever since.
Navigating Mariquita is not just about avoiding rocks and
going around the correct course, but commences well before
we leave the dock in the choice of sails. As a meteorologist my
day starts early, making a forecast for the day’s sailing where one
of the most important calls of the day is whether we can use
the jackyard or not. This makes a significant difference to our
performance. If we get this wrong then we are left struggling
for boat speed in light wind, or when over-canvassed fighting
for control with increased drag and leeway; the loads on the rig
and boat also skyrocket. It is the same for a reef, relatively easy
when on the dock, but on the race course requires heaving to,
which effectively rules out a competitive finish.
We know that the wind builds in the Solent through the day
with a maximum speed mid-afternoon, but predicting just
how high it will rise is difficult. Although starting with a light
morning breeze, this can easily build to over 20 knots by midafternoon:
conditions that require a reef and small topsail. The
early morning forecasts and discussions on board are therefore
critical to getting the correct sails bent on for the day to come.
Once on the water one of the prime roles for the navigator on
Mariquita is timing, with a minimum of one minute’s notice
required for a tack, and preferably two or three, predicting
where we will be in this time frame is critical. Although
Mariquita is an elderly lady she is raced hard and with the
strong Solent tides, gaining a few yards by being out of the
tide in shallow water is imperative when racing, but so too is
limiting the amount of manoeuvres on such a physical boat.
Mariquita needs time to build up speed after a tack and it is
easy to tack yourself to a standstill whilst also exhausting the
crew before the windward mark.
With John on the helm and David calling tactics it is my
job to keep us in the right part of the Solent for wind and in
favourable tide, following the correct course and looking ahead
to the next leg. With Solent tides and an advantage being on
the north shore, many times this season the crew gave it their
all, tacking up the western Solent with just a few inches of
water under the keel.
Running downwind is no easier, as gybing the boat is a
massive task taking around six minutes from balloon jib set
to balloon jib set on the other gybe. Once we are off the
wind we have no electronic wind instruments as they are
blanketed by the topsail. Working out wind and gybe angles
to minimise the number of gybes whilst staying in the best
tide is all consuming. Getting this wrong and putting an
extra couple of gybes may take seconds on a modern boat,
but for Mariquita it takes minutes.
One of my overriding memories from the 2015 Solent racing
season was running with everything up past Gurnard Ledge.
Sailing dead downwind with John steering by the lee when
possible, any veer in the wind would have us on the Ledge
but dropping the balloon jib and gybing would take four
minutes, and require a gybe back again soon after. It was
touch and go whether we could have actually gybed before
hitting the rocks and the crew were therefore on standby. We
scraped past and then had a direct line to the finish. Everyone
was fired up from John on the helm, the crew on standby
and David calling the gusts.
Overall the 2015 season was special, Mariquita was pushed
hard in waters that we know well, and from the spectacular
Round the Island Races to the cut and thrust of ‘round the
cans’ the boat performed magnificently.
Navigating such a yacht is something special and to be
successful as a team we need exceptional teamwork: from the
deck crew working the sails, to the relationship between the
tactician, navigator and helmsman. This needs to be one of
mutual respect and, although some of our jobs overlap and
there can be lively discussions, keeping cool on the afterdeck is
important. We do use some modern technology with GPS and
electronic charts, but much of the sailing of the boat was how
it was sailed 100 years ago.
272

273

274

It was a huge honour for us. It’s the first time that Mariquita has won the Westward Cup. A great honour to be asked to take part in the event.
A wonderful regatta in every sense of the word. Wonderful to come first. Wonderful to win the Westward Cup.
John Caulcutt
275

ROUND THE ISLAND
27 JUNE 2015
I did my first Round the Island with Max Aitken on his
schooner Lumberjack when I was seven years old … so I’ve
been doing the race most of my life. John Caulcutt
The Round the Island Race holds a very special
place in the calendar of British yachtsman,
as Mariquita’s helmsman explains, “The only
time I’ve ever missed
one is when I’ve been
away at sea on one of
my cruising projects.
So to be doing such a
fabulous race, so close
to my heart in home
waters on Mariquita
was exciting to say
the least.” There
had been much
discussion the night before on the start line
scenarios as John recalled, “The difficulty we
had was the race always starts just as the last
of the flood tide is coming in, so we needed
to be inshore to pick up the first of the ebb
off Cowes Green. It was a pre-determined
decision. We looked at the tides and decided
there was only one place to start. But then
you’re mixing it with all the big boys, in
our case the TP52s.
We were lucky – we
found a lane. We
were on starboard,
had to call for water
and the race course
was full. The guys on
those modern yachts
are race hardened
professionals. So we
did mix it with the
big boys on the start line with all the risks
that went with that. Anyway we pulled it
off and probably picked up a half mile lead
on our opposition.” The race was on. How
would Mariquita fair against a fleet of over
1,600 yachts?
276

goose rock
cleat
sails
black
rock
shingle bank
threading the needles
varvassi
fore
eddy
starboard
mainsheet
jib top
westerly
deck
wind
shift
hamstead
ledge
figure
of eight
newtown
knots
upwind
compass
thorness bay
bosuns chair
cowes
island sailing club
round the island
staysail peels
freshwater bay
compton bay
hannover point
jib tops
aft
crew
southerly
rocken end
circumnavigation
MAYOR CYRIL WINDELER
solent
english channel
windward
northerly
osborne bay
apparent wind
sir max aitken
bembridge ledge
icap leopard
purple haze
amidships
tide
astern
downwind
trim
bowline
ketch
beaufort scale
backstay
mast
gooseneck
easterly
schooner
current
header
trim
277

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
Wake up in the morning at 4am to prepare the boat and go sailing. With the start line at 7 o’clock in the morning.
It’s unusual ... I’d never done that before.
Guillaume Covat
278

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
279

XII
IX
VIII
21
VII
XII
23
22
20
19
XII
OO
18
VI
I
13
17
V
14
16
II
15
IIII
III
The trick is to go in as aggressively as you dare.
But you must have an escape route.
Chris Tibbs

DIARY ENTRY
It should be mentioned at this time how brilliant Class 0 was
with us in that opening beat out to The Needles. There were
a handful of moments where another boat could have called
starboard on us in spaces where room to manoeuvre was very
limited. But without fail they all recognised that they could turn
XII
IX
VIII
21
VII
XII
23
22
20
19
XII
OO
18
VI
I
13
17
V
14
16
II
15
IIII
III
far faster and more safely than we could and made the course
change of their own volition. If any of you are reading this, we
on board Mariquita thank you! M.O.
281

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
DIARY ENTRY
Only once since her relaunch in 2004 has Mariquita raced around the Isle of Wight. It was a race peppered with some interesting incidents, including a sail tie made halfway up the spinnaker and a man overboard in
the swell off St. Catherine’s. And that was during the 2008 BCYC regatta, when the fleet numbered closer to 60 rather than 1,600. So to set off in the 2015 Class 0 start with TP52s and trimaran flying machines was an
ever-so-slightly different experience. Let’s back up a moment. We had to practise for it all first, and to do that we brought in some heavy hitters like the Butlers of Brightlingsea, Rich ‘Tank Commander’ Sawle, the legend
himself, Bram van Loovren, and our Aussie Ace Adam Norris. From bow to stern we were packed with some serious talent and little did they know that they were about to get the race of a lifetime. M.O.
282

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
283

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
George and Matty had identified this as one of the big days of the season. We’d really put the
A-Team back together for this race which was great fun and we really needed them.
Stephen Hemsley
284

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
ROUNDING THE NEEDLES
285

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
DIARY ENTRY
Then it was out past Hurst Castle and The Needles were within reach. Starting when we did meant that we could get past Hurst Castle and around The Needles without a thousand other boats around us, and once we were
on course for St Catherine’s, up went Dan, down came the pole, and up went the kite. And so began one of the most mind-bending spinnaker runs we’ve ever had on board. With a quick dog leg and a gybe to get around
the southern tip of the Isle, we carried that kite all the way towards Bembridge. We were keeping up with all those slippery modern things that are supposed to outpace us, but somehow couldn’t get any distance away from
the Old Girl. It was ear to ear grins all around, even as the pole would sky in a gust. On the foredeck we did a good job hiding our concerns for the rig, as it was hard not to enjoy the rush and speed of the boat. M.O.
286

XII
XII
XII
OO
23
22
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
It was a perfect day for Mariquita. Beautiful sunshine, blue water and a long downwind leg after The Needles fully powered up
and pushing water. The amount of water that is being displaced is astonishing.
Will Gibbon
288

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
289

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
290

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
DIARY ENTRY
Mariquita doesn’t handle well in heavy conditions. She was designed for flat water sailing on the Clyde. I don’t tend to get sea sick but Mariquita has a weird movement especially in sloppy conditions. Her movement can
be unpredictable; one rogue wave can throw you off balance especially when you’re dealing with wind against tide in the overfalls off St Catherine’s. In 2008, while preparing for a tack one of our regatta crew working on
the main runner team slipped off the boat in sight of the lighthouse. Thankfully he was picked up by the rib and safely put aboard but it was salutary lesson of the dangers off the back of the Wight. M.O.
291

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
Down the south of the island Mariquita’s sail plan really helped us. With the big balloon jib we can go really deep downwind.
The newer boats, especially the ones with asymmetrics, are having to gybe out which takes them into more tide.
Chris Tibbs
292

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
293

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
Photography Note
The Round the Island Race is one of the largest and most famous races in the world. As a photographer
it’s a godsend because, unlike most yacht races, you have a fair idea where the fleet is going to go! There
are various landmarks which make super backdrops such as the RYS, St Catherine’s lighthouse and of
course The Needles. By the time the yachts make it to the forts in the eastern Solent, it’s quite late in the
day so I was particularly pleased with this shot of Mariquita off Spitbank Fort. All the competitors
have to leave the fort to port and Mariquita chose an angle which brought her quite close in. As she
approached she eased her sails coming off the wind and headed a little to starboard opening up the
length of the boat giving me the perfect angle as the sun popped out and lit the decks. B.W.
294

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
The Round the Island Race is one of the longest races we’ve ever done in Mariquita. Often at the end of long races on the aft deck
you hear all the conversations about the tactics and navigation. Occasionally you can be frustrated that a few decisions didn’t work
out and some manoeuvres could have been better. But on the Round the Island Race there was none of that. We absolutely nailed it
on tactics and navigation. It was a tremendous day.
Stephen Hemsley
295

XII
XII
23
22
XII
OO
I
13
14
II
IX
21
15
III
VIII
20
VII
19
18
VI
17
V
16
IIII
DIARY ENTRY
Final beat. Once Portsmouth hauled into sight we knew we were nearly home. We began the final beat up the eastern Solent and through the forts, with nary a vessel in competition around us.
The wind had lessened and we tried to eke out every last knot we could from the Old Girl. The cloud had bubbled up but it didn’t dampen our spirits as we finally reached the finish line as the 43rd boat to
cross the line – a remarkable showing for a classic of Mariquita’s age and pedigree. But there was no time to celebrate, there were almost 1,600 other boats behind us and the finish line is no place to linger.
It was time to head back to Lymington and away from the crowds. M.O.
296

START
FINISH
...6 HOURS 48 MINUTES

PANERAI BRITISH
CLASSIC WEEK
18 – 25 JULY 2015
You have to take it right to the edge. That’s why you are doing a
yacht race in the first place. John Caulcutt
Having won the Panerai Trophy in the
Mediterranean in 2014, this was an excellent
chance for Mariquita to try and repeat
her success in the more challenging Solent
conditions. George
put together a top
crew for what was
going to be the most
competitive week of
the season. For some
of the older permanent
crew the event
held fond memories,
as Matty recalled, “It
had been seven years
since we’d been a part of the British Classic
Yacht Club’s regatta here in the Solent. The
familiar atmosphere was and is a comfort to
any yacht that arrives, as this week tries to
embody the Corinthian ideals that underlie
the foundations for our little world. There is a
very long history of honour and fair conduct
in sailing these classics, and as Cowes is the
home of yachting it is only fitting that it’s
here we feel this legacy the most.” As the week
unfolded there was
the added thrill of
seeing the America’s
Cup yachts training
out of Portsmouth
in advance of the
World Series event.
A couple of fly-bys
caught Mariquita
in the same frame
as the new foiling
yachts skimming over the water, as John
Calcutt noticed, “There are some wonderful
photographs of us and them together on the
water in the same shot. Ancient and modern.
Both at the pinnacle of their technical
advancements in their respective years.”
298

norris castle
300

Once the spinnaker is set there is not
much more I can do except enjoy the
view. I’m in a pretty unique position
up there. But if the wind gets up it’s a
different story.
If we get too much wind and the boat starts rounding
up it gets pretty scary. I’m standing where the main mast
runners attach to the main mast and hearing the sound
of the rig as it moves around can be hair-raising. You can
feel every bump on the runners that the guys make below
at deck level. You can feel and hear the entire rig flexing
and moving around you.
Dan Adam-Azikri
301

302

1911 2015
We’ve seen Ben Ainslie’s foiling boats this summer on the Solent. If you think that is cutting edge design, think back 104 years
ago when Mariquita was designed by the Fife yard. In her day she was just as radical.
Jamie Matheson
303

We used those basic elements, the wind and the tide,
very much to our advantage this season. And in some
respects we got lucky: on the upwind legs we had the
tide behind us and on the downwind legs the tide
against. Southwesterly wind, ebb tide, being able to
go dead downwind. Mariquita really came into her
own this season in the Solent.
John Caulcutt

305

We had a lot of new faces in the regatta crews in 2015. Very good
sailors but not Mariquita sailors. The modern sailors know how to sail
and race better than us to be honest. But it’s not the same thing on a
classic – what’s a topping lift … what’s a jigger?! They don’t know the
terminology but then again it doesn’t take them long to pick it up. It’s
probably easier for them to learn the classic way than the other way
around but it’s a challenge for everyone. The loads are much bigger …
we don’t use power winches. On a modern boat the next manoeuvre
is one click away. On Mariquita it’s about the strength of the crew as
opposed to systems so everything takes longer. It’s a big learning curve.
George Newman
306

The way these classic boats are sailed today is really
the same as they were sailed a 100 years ago. There
is manpower but also timing, balance and a sheer
confidence amongst the crew. There is total commitment
from everyone on board. It’s very impressive.
Robin Whitefield
307

It’s a great atmosphere on Mariquita. It’s relaxed but very professional. It’s fun but spot on. You have to be on the ball. Everyone has that
lovely respect for a boat which is a bit of a handful. She’s like a thoroughbred horse. You can’t not concentrate for a moment or you get the
feeling that Mariquita could bite!
Shirley Robertson
308

Photography Note
Photographing the big schooners like Eleonora is definitely a step up from the more flighty Metre boats especially when you are up close on the bow. The power of a yacht on this scale screaming past you is quite
frightening. I love this shot though as it was taken during some close racing between Mariquita and Eleonora. We had taken a calculated risk and come across her bows in the the rib as she headed up to a mark
off Gurnard. As we swung round on her starboard side the foredeck team popped up on the bow preparing for the next tack. Eleonora is fully powered up here just like Westward would have been back in the day.
It was one of the few occasions that Eleonora got the better of Mariquita during the 2015 season. B.W.
309

PANERAI BRITISH CLASSIC WEEK
Big Boat Class Winner ~ Mariquita

The feeling that people get when they step on board, particularly for the first time, is
quite special. It’s almost as if they step off planet earth and onto planet Mariquita.
Jamie Matheson
311

RYS BICENTENNIAL, COWES
27 – 31 JULY 2015
Not everything always goes to plan. These are complex boats.
Things do happen that you can’t legislate for. Jamie Matheson
2015 was the year the Royal Yacht Squadron
achieved its bicentenary. To mark the
occasion the Squadron hosted an invitational
regatta to bring together as many clubs and
friends as possible
from around the
globe to share their
common interests
and love of sailing.
Twenty-five yacht
clubs from around
the world were
invited for five
days of racing in a
200 strong fleet. The range of yachts was
mouth-watering. Sir Charles Dunstone’s
yacht Spectre contested a competitive IRC
Fleet sailing alongside classic beauties such
as Saskia, Tomahawk and Mike Slade’s grand
prix racer, Leopard. The J-Class also had a
four strong fleet with Velsheda, Ranger and
Lionheart joined by Rainbow. The weather
during the last week in July was stormy
with 30-40 knot winds recorded on the
Monday. Mariquita
sensibly took the
day off and kept her
powder dry for the
Wednesday when
the Race around the
Isle of Wight was
scheduled. The day
dawned bright and
sunny, with lighter
winds of 15-20
knots, perfect for Mariquita who started at
8am. Two hours later the Js and 8-Metres got
away. As the firing of the canons signalled
the final start, RYS member and race officer
Jonathan Peel remarked, “That’s it ladies and
gentleman: two years’ work – up in smoke!”
312

There were some magnificent classic sailing yachts that stole the limelight at the
Royal Yacht Squadron’s bicentenary celebrations in 2015. Heads were turned at
the sight of the superbly maintained and varnished Mariquita competing against
some of the fastest yachts afloat today in the Race Around the Isle of Wight,
following the same course as the original America’s Cup in 1851.
With Sir Ben Ainslie leading the Squadron’s current campaign to bring the
Cup back to the UK in very high speed catamarans, the contrasting beauty of
Mariquita, which was the fastest yacht of its type 100 years ago, is a reminder of
a more elegant age fortunately still on display thanks to the vision and generosity
of the current owners.
Two of Mariquita’s owners are Members of the Royal Yacht Squadron which made
this vessel’s participation at our bicentenary even more poignant. The owners take
it in turn on the helm which is impressive at a time when professional sailors are
tending to dominate the yachting scene at this level.
Mariquita provided our bicentenary with a glimpse of how yacht racing would
have looked in the early 20th century. Technology may move on apace but some
aspects of yacht design have never been bettered and Mariquita is the perfect
example.
Christopher Sharples
May 2016
James Robinson Taylor
314

RAISING THE ENSIGN 08.00 EVERY MORNING AT THE RYS
315

THE RACE AROUND THE ISLE OF WIGHT
WEDNESDAY 29 JULY 2015
The Race around the Isle of Wight, as distinct from the Round the Island Race held on the 27th June, was the highpoint of the International Regatta recreating the spectacle of the original America’s
Cup race sailed in 1851. With over 70 yachts competing including six from the USA, this was one of the main reasons why the syndicate had agreed to bring Mariquita up from the Mediterranean
for the season. Yachts on the startline included classics such as Eleonora and Sumurun, the J-Class and modern flyers such as Jethou and the all-carbon maxi Rambler.
The significance of the day was that it recreated and emulated the race that took place in 1851 which was the original America’s Cup Race. The course starts east, running in the opposite direction
to the Round the Island Race. It all came about because the United States wanted to show off its new yacht designs as part of the Great Exhibition organised by Prince Albert. So the America was
built by a syndicate from the New York Yacht Club and duly sailed across the Atlantic in order to challenge the members of the RYS. One of the RYS members, Lord Anglesey, bought a cup called
the £100 Cup and a date was set for the race. Although there were 15 yachts on the start line the members of the RYS expected the result to be a formality. Interestingly it wasn’t a modern day start.
Instead all the competitors were moored off the Squadron. The raced turned on a brave piece of navigation by America off Bembridge. After she rounded The Needles she passed Queen Victoria who
was watching from the royal yacht. Having established that America was in the lead she asked who was in second. She was told, “Ma’am there is no second”.
316

317
James Robinson Taylor

DIARY ENTRY
Wednesday was to be our baptismal day, and what better way to welcome crew to Mariquita than to take her around the Isle of Wight with a seaway off the back? Just when we thought we had gotten away from an English
season without the soaking one would get in Falmouth, it came for us and didn’t disappoint. Soaking aside, it proved to be one of the best races ever on Mariquita as we clocked a time six minutes faster than our epic run at
the end of June! With a downwind start to the east we were smack on the line with the pole down and bore away powerfully at the gun. The kite set was tough but clean, and you could feel the boat lurch forward as the clew
popped out and the spinnaker started to draw. Everyone remembers the first time they see Mariquita’s kite open, no matter how long ago it may be. To watch the faces of those seeing it for the first time is a reminder of the awe
it still inspires. We carried the kite all the way to the turn south, and let the reaching staysail take over from there as we rocketed past Bembridge. M.O
318

To go east around the Isle of Wight, on the original America’s Cup course, is always
special. We had a good start and the sight of all those wonderful spinnakers set
going eastbound towards Bembridge was absolutely fantastic.
John Caulcutt
319

320

You could see the swell. You could see the overfalls. You could see the wind against tide situation in St. Catherine’s in the distance. Indeed you could see
the yachts ahead of us starting to pitch. I think for the whole regatta this was the critical moment as regards heavy wind and sea state – an aggressive
situation for a lovely boat like Mariquita to get into.
John Caulcutt
321

It’s not about the crew. The crew are going to survive perfectly
well if the boat does. So it’s all about nursing the boat through
the seaway. Keeping her driving forward but stopping her as
best one can from slamming.
John Caulcutt
322

With each descent into the trough, the water is flooding across
the foredeck … I can feel the mast shivering in its step.
Matty Oates
323

Photography Note
The back of the Wight. The overfalls. St Catherine’s. On Round the Island days this is where the big incidents always seem to happen. So as a photographer it always pays off to go the whole way round.
This photograph was taken just after Mariquita had made it past the lighthouse and through a nasty squall. Close hauled with no other boats in sight. B.W.
325

326
James Robinson Taylor

LEADING THE J’S HOME
Although we had a massive head start on the Js, it gave a huge boost to all the crew ... we’re going to keep these guys behind us ... we’re going to cross the
finish line before them. Velsheda was leading the charge and she was gaining on us quickly, but we did hold her off.
George Newman
327

NEW MARIQUITA ROUND THE ISLAND RECORD: 6HRS 40 MINS
It was a sleigh ride and, not only that, we held off the Js right to the finish. What a feeling
... what a way to start a regatta. I’ll always remember it. Hands down best day.
Matty Oates
328

Jonathan Hoare
Jonathan Hoare
329

FRIDAY 31 JULY 2015
330

Photography Note
One of the most frustrating aspects of photographing Mariquita is the pre-starts. The foredeck team only pull out the jib top as she crosses the start line, so for the hours leading up to that moment the sail
configuration is not complete. This particular morning was different. Mariquita needed to win the last race of the regatta and was therefore keen to sail. Both Eleonora and Sumurun were unconvinced that there
would even be enough wind to start the race. So John had Mariquita sailing around off the RYS with everything up including the jackyard topsail. This photograph shows Mariquita on the start line in excellent
position with Eleonora and Sumurun in her wake. B.W.
331

I then saw something on Mariquita that reminded me of just how special she is. I saw the finest example of the mariner’s art. With no shouting, no nonsense. The only damage, when it could
have been a total calamity, was to the top mast itself. Nothing else lost and three hours later we were back on the dock in Cowes. George our skipper took charge of the situation. Within minutes
Matty and Dan were up the rig securing the topmast. Not one single piece fell to the deck, not one. Nothing else broken, nothing else lost and thankfully no injuries.
Jamie Matheson
332

DIARY ENTRY
The throat halyard was what parted, causing the forward end of the gaff to drop until the wire-to-rope splice jammed
in the lower throat block, thereby preventing it from falling further. The shock loading, however, pulled the top hamper
over the back, jackyard topsail and all. Let us point out some important things here: the jackyard and its spars were all
fine, as was the mainsail. The two halves of the topmast remained aloft in the rigging, and most importantly, nobody
was hurt. Looking back, it could not have happened at a better time for a myriad of reasons. What was really frustrating
was it was the picture perfect day for a sail on Mariquita. M.O.
333

After the race the owner of Eleonora, Zbynek Zak, recounted how his crew were so mesmerised by the sight of Mariquita adrift close to
the Brambles Bank, that they had to be called to order to prevent an accident of their own.
334

We had a tough incident, but it’s a credit to the crew who were
able to unscramble the knitting – that ‘snakes honeymoon’ that
was aloft.
John Caulcutt
While I would never have wished the damage to the topmast,
I saw something that to my mind absolutely epitomised the
spirit of Mariquita. I have never seen such an exhibition of
teamwork and professionalism.
Jamie Matheson
335

DIARY ENTRY
Coming back to the dock that evening, once everything had been cleared away, a passerby wouldn’t even know anything had gone wrong, especially if they kept their eyes on deck. Even if they did look up, Mariquita
would just appear a bit shorter than she would normally be. The deck was packed up, brass polished, varnish rinsed and wiped. Chafe gear was in place, and shoes lined up like normal along the offshore rail. It
was a difficult way to end the last day of the regatta, the last day of the season. It would have been easy to mope and stay quiet, but thanks to the prodding of some very good people, we started a party instead.
And people stopped by and stopped by and stopped by. M.O.
336

MARIQUITA’S CREW RYS BICENTENNIAL
The whole part of the fun and the feedback of being on Mariquita is seeing the
experience through other people’s eyes, and seeing youngsters come away, and they
are absolutely amazed at what they’ve done, where they have been and who they
have been with. That is in no small part down to George the skipper and Matty
whose continuity and attention to detail is second to none.
Tubby Brook

338

339

340

DIARY ENTRY
With the cocktail shakers going in the galley driven masterfully by Ed and Ed, the crowds began to gather. First Jamie and Angela arrived to taste their first Mariquita Espresso Martini (a legend in its own right),
then John with Stephen and Sherron, and then the crew of Sumurun (one of them arriving head first through the forehatch), and then faces from Eleonora and friends and family, and everyone in between. Music
was played, songs sung and stories told. I certainly can’t remember that many people having that much fun in the forepeak. A great way to end a memorable day. M.O.
341

OWNERS & CREW 2015
JOHN CAULCUTT STEPHEN HEMSLEY JAMIE MATHESON
GEORGE NEWMAN
MATTY OATES
CHRIS TIBBS
DAVID BEDFORD ANGELA MATHESON SHERRON HEMSLEY
342

OWNERS & CREW 2015
TUBBY BROOK DAN ADAM-AZIKRI WILL STORY
WILL GIBBON
EMILY DOBSON
GUILLAUME COVAT
GUY RIBADEAU-DUMAS
JOE DONOHOO
EILAH
343

RESULTS 2015 SEASON
OLD GAFFERS
FLEET REVIEW
WESTWARD CUP
ROUND THE ISLAND RACE
IRC GROUP 0
Parade of Sail
Wings
Mikado
Thistle
Mariquita
Sumurun
Eleonora
6 hours 48 minutes 17 seconds
[6.48.17 secs]
43rd fastest boat out of
1584 entries
PANERAI BRITISH CLASSIC
WEEK
RYS BICENTENNIAL
Mariquita
Sumurun
Sumurun
Mariquita
Eleonora
Eleonora
344

THE YEAR IN NUMBERS
MARIQUITA
17,422 PHOTOGRAPHS
890 PENNANTS
424 CUSTARD CREAMS
271 ESPRESSO MARTINIS
200 YEARS OF THE RYS
172 PHONE CALLS TO JOE
127 EGGS ON PIZZA
102 ROLLING HITCHES
9 MOBILES IN THE WATER
2 TOPMASTS
&
1 ROUND THE ISLAND RECORD
345

FIXING THE TOP MAST
The heel of the topmast sockets into the top of the mainmast.
It is vacuum sealed so very difficult to dislodge. With chisels
and hammers Matty and Dan tried to split the wood down the
middle to break the seal. It wouldn’t budge and by mid afternoon
they decided on a different method. By fixing two eye bolts into
the wood they were able to attach a crow bar creating a ‘Spanish
windlass’ that sucked out the wood just enough to break the seal.
It’s not unusual for gaff-rigged yachts to lose a topmast. Back in 1911 when the 19-Metres
were first raced they pushed the boats really hard, basically to breaking point. At one
infamous regatta on the Clyde in July 1912, both Norada and Corona lost their main
masts in a nasty squall at the mouth of Rothesay Bay. Nowadays it’s less common but
there have been some recent incidents. The 15-Metre Tuiga had a bad run of luck at Les
Régates Royales. Three years in a row on the same day at the same leeward mark she lost
her topmast. They were out racing the next morning.
Back in the day the crew would work through the night to fix the topmast for the next
day’s racing. In 1911, there were no cranes so they would raise the spinnaker pole really
high, lashing it in place. They would then set up a tackle at the end of the pole as the hoist
point, essentially using a block and tackle to hoist the new topmast up so they could then
drop it in from a great height. The boat might be ready to race the next day, but the same
might not be true of the crew. Not only would they be tired from working all night but
they would also have the incident from the previous day at the back of their minds.
346

OVERWINTERING IN LYMINGTON
Mariquita returned to Lymington on Sunday 2nd August with
George and the permanent crew keen to fit the replacement
topmast brought up from France in April. Within a few days the
new topmast was ‘stepped’ and Mariquita was looking as good
as new. By the start of the following month her canvas winter
cover was in place. Specifically designed for Mariquita the cover
protected her topsides, blocks and varnish while crucially letting
air pass through and around the deck.
347

BEN WOOD - PHOTOGRAPHER
Solomon Wood
The first time I saw Mariquita was on a
slightly disheartening morning in Scotland
on the opening day of the Fife Regatta in
2008. I had made the trip up from the Isle of
Wight and the conditions for photography
on Day 1 were typically Scottish. It was
a cold, wet and slightly misty day when
suddenly, from behind Cumbrae, appeared
this boat. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’d been
photographing the classics for over 10 years
but here was a yacht from another world.
As she glided past, the crew were in their
matching uniforms ready for the pre-start
briefing with Jim Thom and Chris Tibbs – it
looked pretty serious and very professional. I
didn’t photograph many of the other yachts
that week!
Fast forward exactly eight years and I’m
knee deep in photographs of Mariquita.
Choosing the pictures to go into this book
has been one of the hardest selections I can
remember. Over three years we’ve taken
over 40,000 photographs! On these pages
are a few of my favourite images that didn’t
quite make it. Hopefully the photographs
speak for themselves. I do however have a
few people to thank.
First of all I’d like to thank the Mariquita
syndicate for inviting me to be part of the
team and giving me the opportunity to
photograph this magnificent yacht over
three years in some pretty special locations.
Secondly I’d like to thank the numerous
people who have helped with the
photography and the production of this
book. Compiling a monograph such as
this is a massive jigsaw puzzle and certainly
something I could never have completed
on my own. I’d like to thank all the crew
on Mariquita but especially George and
Matty for putting up with all my questions
and requests over the years!
Thirdly I’d like to thank all of the
photographers who have kindly given
permission to use their work to illustrate
some of the moments I missed.
Finally I’d like to thank Stephen Hemsley
who back in 2013 not only recognised
the importance of Mariquita, the only
surviving 19-Metre yacht, but also gave
me the chance to capture the Mariquita
Project in all its glory.
348

Notes on the Photography
Following one of the classics around the farflung
ports of the Mediterranean is hard enough
with just a rucksack and the reassurance from
the train station loudspeaker that your train
will be arriving on time. Now add to that bags
and bags of delicate camera equipment and
a fairly tight schedule and you begin to see
the adventures Ben has had in his time with
Mariquita.
From his first day aboard in Cowes in 2010 when
he was shoved around from spot to spot, he has
done it all with a smile and an innate ability to
capture both the fast action and easy joy on deck.
And when everyone else is sat down at a prizegiving
dinner, Ben was still on his feet zipping
from angle to angle to capture the festivities.
When we awoke at four in the morning to race
around the Isle of Wight in 2015, Ben was already
setup on shore, snapping away at Mariquita on
her mooring. He is tireless.
I hope he’s aware of the big and beautiful
window he’s created over the last few years.
An insight that has allowed family, friends and
strangers a glimpse into our world. Whatever
pressure or fatigue may have come from its
creation, it has melted away to leave behind
memories that we’ll be able to treasure for years
to come.
Matty Oates
351

EPILOGUE
Joining the Mariquita syndicate in 2012 was a step into the unknown. I’m not a
yachtsman but the whole experience has been a wonderful surprise. The classic scene
is such tremendous fun. It’s more friendly and less aggressive than modern sailing and
there is a great sense of camaraderie between the yachts. The whole Hemsley family has
been involved, and I know Sherron, Sarah, James and Vicky have all enjoyed their days
on Mariquita, whether we’ve been racing in the sunshine of Barcelona or the wind and
rain of the Solent! Having La Mascarade available to follow the racing was a highlight of
our two years in the Mediterranean. Plotting the next day’s tactics with the after guard
over a few drinks on La Mascarade was great fun. After our first season in 2013 we
redoubled our efforts to win the Panerai trophy. Mariquita is a race boat and we felt that
352

STEPHEN HEMSLEY, OWNER
with a year’s experience in the bank and an ever-improving crew anything was possible. Holding
the Panerai Trophy aloft at the Cannes Regatta, 12 months later, was a wonderful achievement
and I’d like to thank the crew from that season for all their endeavours. It’s no secret that I wasn’t
keen on bringing Mariquita up to the UK for the 2015 season – I could have happily managed
another season floating around the Mediterranean! However, I was persuaded by John and Jamie,
and I have to say that the racing in the Solent was even more exciting. The winds are stronger, the
courses and tactics are more interesting and navigating such a narrow piece of water in a yacht
as powerful as Mariquita takes great skill and courage. The Round the Island races were two of
the most exciting days I’ve ever had on the water. I’ve often felt that what makes Mariquita really
unique is her history and pedigree. Having the ‘Old Girl’ back in the waters where she enjoyed
her greatest successes was a fitting and happy end to our adventure.
353

THE FINE ART
Excerpts from The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad
published by Doubleday, Page and Company, Garden City, New York (1924)
Of course, yacht racing is an organized pastime, a function of social idleness ministering to the
vanity of certain wealthy inhabitants of these isles nearly as much as to their inborn love of the
sea. But the writer of the article in question goes on to point out, with insight and justice, that
for a great number of people (20,000, I think he says) it is a means of livelihood – that it is, in
his own words, an industry. Now, the moral side of an industry, productive or unproductive,
the redeeming and ideal aspect of this bread-winning, is the attainment and preservation of the
highest possible skill on the part of the craftsmen. Such skill, the skill of technique, is more than
honesty; it is something wider, embracing honesty and grace and rule in an elevated and clear
sentiment, not altogether utilitarian, which may be called the honour of labour. It is made up
of accumulated tradition, kept alive by individual pride, rendered exact by professional opinion,
and, like the higher arts, it spurred on and sustained by discriminating praise.
This is why the attainment of proficiency, the pushing of your skill with attention to the most
delicate shades of excellence, is a matter of vital concern. Efficiency of a practically flawless kind
may be reached naturally in the struggle for bread. But there is something beyond – a higher
point, a subtle and unmistakable touch of love and pride beyond mere skill; almost an inspiration
which gives to all work that finish which is almost art – which is art.
The sailing and racing of yachts has developed a class of fore-and-aft sailors, men born and bred to
the sea, fishing in winter and yachting in summer; men to whom the handling of that particular
rig presents no mystery. It is their striving for victory that has elevated the sailing of pleasure craft
to the dignity of a fine art in that special sense. As I have said, I know nothing of racing and but
little of fore-and-aft rig; but the advantages of such a rig are obvious, especially for purposes of
pleasure, whether in cruising or racing. It requires less effort in handling; the trimming of the
sail-planes to the wind can be done with speed and accuracy; the unbroken spread of the sailarea
is of infinite advantage; and the greatest possible amount of canvas can be displayed upon
the least possible quantity of spars. Lightness and concentrated power are the great qualities of
fore-and-aft rig.
A fleet of fore-and-afters at anchor has its own slender graciousness. The setting of their sails
resembles more than anything else the unfolding of a bird’s wings; the facility of their evolutions
is a pleasure to the eye. They are birds of the sea, whose swimming is like flying, and resembles
more a natural function than the handling of man-invented appliances. The fore- and-aft rig in its
simplicity and the beauty of its aspect under every angle of vision is, I believe, unapproachable. A
schooner, yawl, or cutter in charge of a capable man seems to handle herself as if endowed with
the power of reasoning and the gift of swift execution. One laughs with sheer pleasure at a smart
piece of manoeuvring, as at a manifestation of a living creature’s quick wit and graceful precision.
Of those three varieties of fore-and-aft rig, the cutter – the racing rig par excellence – is of an
appearance the most imposing, from the fact that practically all her canvas is in one piece. The
enormous mainsail of a cutter, as she draws slowly past a point of land or the end of a jetty under
your admiring gaze, invests her with an air of lofty and silent majesty. At anchor a schooner looks
better; she has an aspect of greater efficiency and a better balance to the eye, with her two masts
distributed over the hull with a swaggering rake aft. The yawl rig one comes in time to love. It is,
I should think, the easiest of all to manage.
354

A THANK YOU
To all those who have been part of the Mariquita experience
since we purchased her in October 2012 … our heartfelt thanks.
Mariquita was designed and built as a race boat in 1911 and it
is heartening to note that with your help we are still winning
races 104 years later.
“There are good ships and wood ships and ships that sail the
sea, but the best ships are friendships and may they always be.”
(Irish Proverb)
John Caulcutt Stephen Hemsley Jamie Matheson
mariquita
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Xandra Bingley, Brian Cantwell, James Chastney, Barnaby Edwards,
Bella Janson, Rosemary Joy, Nicola Kearton, James Lord, Alex Martin,
Mersea Maritime Museum, Martin Piper, Joe Thomas, The Wyvern Bindery,
Anna Wood and David Whistance
355