Classic Boat - May 2018

NEWS

Q& A

Brooke Parish,

Chairman, Sparkman & Stephens

How does it feel to have bought one

of sailing's most iconic brands?

Being a part of S&S is an incredible

privilege for me.

Was your ownership of the 1957 S&S

Mermaid anything to do with it?

There was a well-known TV advert for

Remmington with the tagline: “I liked

my shaver so much I bought the

company”. I guess you could say the

same thing about Mermaid and S&S.

In a nutshell, what is Sparkman &

Stephens in 2018?

Our core business has remained the

same since our founding....yacht

brokerage and naval architecture and

design. Technology has had a huge

impact on both brokerage and design

and we have several initiatives

underway in both areas that we hope

to expand upon in 2018.

Do wooden boats still play a part in

the modern S&S story?

Yes, there is still a market for wooden

boats but primarily of the cold-

moulded variety. Modern classics

have a growing presence. We love it

when a client comes to us with the

sail plan, lines drawing or a photo of a

classic S&S design and wants us to

design a more contemporary version.

It just shows how timeless and

beautiful Olin’s original work was.

What are your aims with the

company?

Whether through brokerage or the

design oce we want to make sure

people know that S&S is a vibrant

company with an energetic and

talented design and management

team. We want to build on the firm’s

reputation and ofer more people the

chance to own an S&S design. We are

finalising work on a new production

design that we believe will win over a

new generation of S&S fans.

Are there any downsides to having

such a well-known history?

Well, no one at the firm is named Olin

Stephens, Rod Stephens or Mitch Nef

[long time S&S president] so the

challenge of living up to that legacy is

something which greets us each and

every day! As much as we love our

yachting heritage, we are much more

focused on the view forward.

The three greatest S&S designs?

Impossible! But if I have to choose,

beyond, of course, Mermaid, I can tell

you that my personal favorites would

include Baruna for all of her majesty

and sheer beauty, and Dora IV

because of her remarkable racing

career. I grew up racing in an 18ft

daysailer similar to the Lightning and

I think the lessons I learned in

seamanship and sportsmanship are

best taught in a stable daysailer

epitomised by the Lightning class.

Did you know Olin?

We met a few times, including the

first year I owned Mermaid. He came

aboard at Eggemoggin and as he sat

in the salon he remarked: “She

reminds me a lot of our boat.” Of

course, he was referring to Dorade. I

could not have asked for a greater

compliment coming from the greatest

yacht designer of all.

CHARMOUTH, DORSET

Attenborough’s

‘sea dragon’ on show

ROUND BRITISH ISLES

RNLI Porsche

911 challenge

POTTER HEIGHAM, NORFOLK

Classic Herbert Woods

cruiser for day charter

The ‘sea dragon’ featured in a BBC show presented by David

Attenborough recently will be on display in Dorset’s fossil

capital of Charmouth for the whole of 2018. The 200-million-

year-old marine reptile’s fossil lay hidden in the clifs of the

Jurassic coast, Britain’s first natural UNESCO site and one of

the most important geological sites in the world, until 2016,

when it was spotted by experienced fossil hunter Chris Moore.

An unusual fundraiser starts on

23 August, when retired couple

Belinda and James Richardson

attempt to visit all of the 238 RNLI stations in the British Isles

in their Porsche 911. They will leave Teddington RNLI west of

London at 9.11am on 23 August (the relevance being the

numbers 23/8) and try to complete the challenge in 911

hours, finishing at Tower RNLI station in London in

September. The aim of the trip is to raise £238 for each of

the 238 stations, which is a grand total of £56,644. You can

donate at rnli-911challenge.co.uk

The 1927 Herbert Woods hire boat Spark of Light, newly

restored at Herbert Woods, featured in the September 2017

issue and runner-up in our awards this year (see page 38), is

now available for day charter. The overnight charter has been

stopped for the amount of wear and tear caused, so the boat

is now ofering six-hour, skippered day excursions, for up to six

people, at a cost of £300. See our Spark of Light feature on

our website now. Book at herbertwoods.co.uk

WORD OF THE MONTH

Knuckle

“A sudden angle made on some timbers by a quick reverse

of shape, such as the knucles of the counter-timbers.”

Sailor’s Word Book of 1867

RNLI