ONBOARD Magazine autumn 2023

a chance, and Pendennis became too well
established as a refitter of classic yachts
to make a name as a yacht builder. But
Britain still rules the waves when it comes
to building smaller yachts.
When it comes to blue water sailing
yachts another British brand tops the list.
With over 20 million sea miles and 100
circumnavigations of the world, Oyster
Yachts has come a long way from the
company’s beginnings in 1973 in a boatyard
in Norfolk. Celebrating 50 years this year,
the company boasts over 600 employees
in the UK, USA and Europe, with a range
of blue water sailing yachts handcrafted
in the UK, and an order book stretching
to 2026. Oyster Yachts was started in
1973 by Sir Richard Matthews.
His vision for the Oyster 34,
AFTER
a cruiser racer designed by
WORKING IN
For 22 years, John Vickers has refined his visual sense of design,
Don Pye of Holman and
materials, light, colour balance and love for detail and proportion
NORTHERN EUROPEAN
Pye and built using local
SHIPYARDS ALMOST
boatbuilders Landamores
Heywood continues, “I am pleased to see
he was 7 or 8 years
in Wroxham, Norfolk. This
EXCLUSIVELY, STARTING
so many successful yacht tender builders
old. It was big British
mould-breaking design
now established in this country. I have
worked with Compass, Pasco, and Falcon.
I’m pleased to say the yacht design sector of
brands like Oyster,
Princess, Sunseeker
and Fairline stands,
VICKERS STUDIO GAVE US THE
CHANCE TO WORK WITH
GREAT BRITISH YACHT
was to lay the foundations
for 50 years of success.
Combining build quality and
our industry is extremely strong in the UK.”
that inspired his
interior features that made
BUILDERS
imagination and studies
Oyster Yachts synonymous with
Another Bannenberg protégée is Andrew
Winch titular head of the Winch Design
a company that has become a multidisciplinary
studio, specialising in the
bespoke design of superyachts, residential
and commercial properties and private
jets. The studio was founded in 1986 by
Andrew Winch and his wife, Jane, and now
comprises of over 150 individuals. In July
2021, it became fully employee owned.
Employee ownership sits beautifully with
the Winch ethos which has always placed
value on people, whose loyalty, talent and
commitment have played a part in the
success of the business. It is a studio that
prides itself on having no house style. Each
project is completely unique, and the firm
takes pride in having no ‘one size fits all’
approach to design. Relentlessly creative,
they find solutions to design challenges, be
it on a grand, breath-taking superyacht or
a pared back, contemporary sailing yacht.
The yacht studio currently has 16 yachts
in build, including a 44m explorer yacht
with a fully sustainable interior, multiple
70m to 100m+ projects and a day boat.
Slowly but surely, new blood filters into the
industry nurtured by the big names that
have preceded them. John Vickers’ career
in yacht design started when he visited the
London boat show with his father, when
in design, and seafaring.
After 15 years apprenticeship
with companies that were direct offshoots
from Jon Branenburg’s London studio he
started Vickers Studio years ago which
still makes him ‘a new kid on the block’
in superyacht design terms. He told us,
“After many years, working in northern
European shipyards almost exclusively,
starting Vickers Studio gave us the chance
to work with great British yacht builders,
such as Sunseeker and Fairline, as well as
other tender manufacturers in and around
Southampton such as Falcon Tenders.”
A recent highlight for the Vickers studio
has been the full interior refit for 75m
Leander. First built for a British-based
client in the early 90s, then owned for
many years by a very respected English
owner she was a holiday retreat for the
British Royal family after Britannia was
decommissioned. For many years Leander
was seen at Cowes weeks anchored off
the Royal yacht Squadron.
Despite the early success of Camper and
Nicholson in Gosport, Great Britain has
never spawned many successful large yacht
builders. True Brooke Marine had a stab at
it. Devonport Yachts became so tied up
with dockyard dogma that it never stood
long-distance blue water cruising.
Perhaps the best-known performance motor
yacht brand of all is, Sunseeker. Originally
named Poole Power Boats, the company
was founded by brothers Robert and John
Braithwaite in 1969. The company changed
its name to Sunseeker International in 1985
and has since become a global British icon,
with every Sunseeker the result of an
uncompromising and unmatched approach
to design, craftsmanship and performance.
From its numerous manufacturing bases in
Dorset, Sunseeker employs c.2,300 people
and produces around 140 boats every year
ranging from 38-131 feet. The British brand
exports 98% of its yachts something that
can best be attributed to the investment it
makes in the strategic growth of its global
dealer network.
Poole in Dorset on Britain’s south coast
is also home to Sunseeker’s Design &
Technology Centre. It is a facility which
vertically integrates every detail of the
yachts from the initial concept designs
through to the finishing details including
furniture, complex electrical systems, helm
consoles and soft furnishings. Over the past
few years, Sunseeker has brought more work
in-house to increase its UK supply capability.
It has invested in its Technology Centre
ONBOARD | AUTUMN 2023 | 137