had to find one,’ Dubois said.
He found employment in a yard
in Jersey, building and repairing
boats. At the same time, he met
restaurant owner George Skelley,
helping him deliver his S&S-
designed 31-footer from
Southampton to Jersey. He then
became a regular member of
the crew. Skelley was later to
play a major role in the launch
of Dubois’ career.
The following summer, Dubois
landed another Jersey ‘holiday
job’ with yacht designer Alan
Buchanan, who had previously
been a stress engineer with an
aircraft manufacturer. So Dubois
picked up valuable engineering
knowledge in addition to practical
yacht design skills.
Then, after graduating from
Southampton, he returned to
Buchanan’s firm as a freshly
qualified naval architect.
As part of a four-man team,
Dubois was kept busy designing
production boats. He also worked
on the design of the 80-footer
Anaconda, a foam-sandwich
yacht built in Australia.
However the ambitious young
Dubois soon grew ‘rock happy’ in
the Channel Isles and decided to
spread his wings, applying for
and getting a job with US-based
superstar design office Sparkman
& Stephens.
This was a real coup for a young
British designer, even if he would
have to wait 10 months for a work
permit. So he left Jersey and got
a job with Yachts & Yachting.
Networking
As a journalist, Dubois met many
people in the marine industry,
ranging from small-time
boatbuilders (me) to famous
sailors such as John Oakeley,
a friend of Bob Miller and Craig
Whitworth from Flying Dutchman-
sailing days. Oakeley won the
Flying Dutchman Worlds in 1967
and was much admired by the
Aussie duo, so Oakeley started
the UK branch of sailmakers
Miller & Whitworth.
Then, in September 1975
Dubois’ friend George Skelley –
encouraged by prominent Jersey
sailor Peter Morton and doubtless
egged on by Ed’s infectious
enthusiasm – commissioned
him to design a new Three
Quarter Tonner. Dubois grabbed
his big chance, but in addition to
his Jersey friends – competent
though they were – he also
wanted top sailors to sail his
precious new design.
In the meantime, Oakeley had
been thinking of asking Dubois to
join him and be the design side
of M&W in the UK.
So, when Dubois presented
a ready-made client it was a
no-brainer. He then suggested to
George Skelley that he’d get the
best out of the boat and enjoy it
more if he took Oakeley and a
couple of his merry men along
for the ride. And another die was
cast. S&S would have to wait...Instant success
Named Borsalino Trois,
this elegant 34-
footer wiped
the floor in the
predominantly
light weather UK Three Quarter Ton
trials in 1976. In the windier World
Championships, she came a
creditable eighth overall in a large
and star-studded fleet. The design
grabbed much admiring attention
and put Dubois firmly on the
‘designer shopping list’ for
competitive owners. Ton Cup
commissions such as serial
race-winners Nadia and Enigma
(a Quarter Tonner) and the
Admiral’s Cupper Vanguard(designed for a Hong Kong-based
owner) soon followed.
However, when Oakeley
decided to expand the sailmaking
business, the partnership broke
up. Dubois abandoned his
houseboat home on the Hamble
mud to seek his fortune on the
more salubrious streets of
Lymington. He still expresses great
gratitude to George Skelley, Peter
Morton and Vanguard’s owner
David Lieu, all of whom urged him
to believe in his ability, take theplunge and form his own design
company. Their advice was sound.
Clients soon started banging on
Dubois’ new office door.
One of these was Richard Riggs.
He wanted a head-turning and
race-winning Half Tonner, and
Dubois duly obliged.
Santa Evita – resplendent with
Britannia blue topsides and
varnished coachroof – had lovely
lines and went on to attract the
attention of David Sanders, MD ofWesterly Marine. To the surprise
of some, Sanders drew a line
under Westerly’s long-standing
relationship with the Laurent Giles
design office and signed up the
young Dubois, whose first model
(the Griffon) hit the slips in 1978.
Sanders had decided that if
Westerly was to hold back
the invading hordes of French
mass-produced cruisers, the
range needed a new look and
sharper sailing performance.
Dubois told me: ‘Looking back
on our favourite
production boats,
I guess one of them
has to be the mighty
Westerly Griffon.
‘For a start, it was a big break for
me – aged just 26 – to get into the
mass-produced market with the
blessing of the then-important
Westerly company and its MD
David Sanders.
‘David is a charming man, and it
was a great leap of faith to give me
the new design contract. Being
chosen by David and Westerly
made this a happy period; and
the Griffon was a great success.Designs of Ed Dubois
➜
Westerly Griffon: available second-hand from £9,950Dubois picked up engineering
knowledge and yacht design skills
Westerly Ocean
33: available
second-hand
from £53,000Westerly Oceanlord: available second-hand from £54,500Sailing ScenesSailing Scenes
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