FLYCATCHER
W
hen it comes to buying toys, my friend
James Stock has endearingly eclectic
tastes.
Take flying. Having gained his
qualifications, Stock didn’t go for a sensible modern
aeroplane. No – he bought a venerable World War II
Auster spotter plane and parked it just beneath the South
Downs. And whenever he flew back to his private airport
(a field with a shed) he angled his approach to skim my
nearby rooftop while emitting deafening farty backfires.
For transport on land, Stock’s favoured conveyance
was a pre-war Alvis. Then along came a yen to do some
classic yachting and long distance singlehanded events
such as the Jester Azores Challenge. So the Auster and
Alvis were sold and replaced by a beautiful Twister 28. I
was lucky enough to join him for Paimpol’s festivities
when crewing on a couple of Classic Channel Regatta
races around the Île de Bréhat (off North Brittany)
aboard the good ship Fly.
Having ‘done’ the classic yachting circuit, Stock
decided it was time for another project. So he sold the
Twister in 2015 and went chartering before deciding on
his next move. Then a chum suggested that a Cape Cod
catboat design might be just the ticket for a veteran
sailor in his home waters of Chichester harbour. What’s
more its renowned form stability would make it ideal for
the less nimble solo sailor whilst its commodious cockpit
would give ample space for crewed jaunts. And last – but
by no means least – it would be acceptable to the
Bosham SC Classic day boat fleet for occasional racing.
So Stock’s competitive spirit could still be satisfied.Catboats of many sizes were developed in the
mid-1800s and were widely used around Cape Cod for
coastal fishing and local transport. A single mast – set
right up in the bows – and a near 2:l length to beam
ratio gave enormous working space and carrying
capacity. What’s more, inherent stability was excellent
and performance was good, while shoal draught and
centreboard (a US invention) meant that shallow waters
and small ports were easily and safely accessible.
The catboat design became so successful and
adaptable that leisure sailors soon took it over and built
dinghies and small coastal cruisers. One memorable
design – the 3.76m Beetle Cat – was introduced in 1920
and over 4,000 have now been built. The Beetle Boat
Shop in Massachusetts still manufactures them to this
day. And larger cruising catboats from various builders
also abound in the USA.
In Cape Cod Catboats Stan Grayson writes that the
first catboat to come to England (in 1852) was the Una.
Her owner, Earl Mountcharles, raced her successfully on
the Serpentine in front of Prince Albert. In 1854 Una
moved down to the Solent and British writer Dixon
Kemp recorded that the Cowes sailors ‘almost regarded
the Una as a little too marvellous to be real...and no
wonder. In less than a year there was a fleet of Unas at
Cowes, and about the Solent...The Earl’s sailing master,
John Hollis, was very perfect in the management of the
Una, and waltzed her about as cleverly as a Rhode Island
fisherman in many sailing matches’.
The American yachting historian William P Stephens
recalled that when the 15ft (4.57m) Una arrived atJustin Adams’
drawing was
based on New
England cats,
taking owner
James Stock’s
garage
dimensions into
account too!