Brightlingsea One Design

Sail Number – C56

Known Names – Never Say Never

Year Built – 2016

Builder – White Performance/Simon Hipkin

Hull Material – GRP

Sailing Status – Ready to race

Last known hull colours – Pale grey, with red lines and white bottom, and teak deck

Owner History –

Never Say Never was moulded by White Formula and completed by Simon Hipkin for Geoff Gritton, launching in spring 2016. Geoff tested a number of interesting new systems on the boat including a twin spinnaker pole system and alternative vang.

In 2020 she was purchased by a syndicate headed by Walton based Nick Moulton (fondly known among the fleet at the Walton Boys). She continues to race with the Brightlingsea fleet.

Sail Number – C55

Known Names – Wind Sprite

Year Built – 2014

Builder – White Performance/Simon Hipkin

Hull Material – GRP

Sailing Status – Ready to race

Last known hull colours – Mid blue with white lines, a white bottom and a white deck

Owner History –

Wind Sprite was moulded by White Formula and completed by Simon Hipkin for James Anderson. She continues to be based in Brightlingsea and is raced by James’ daughter Maddie, son Fin and their friends.

Sail Number – C54

Known Names – Storm Petrel

Year Built – 2014

Builder – White Performance/Simon Hipkin

Hull Material – GRP

Sailing Status – Ready to race

Last known hull colours – Light green with gold and dark green lines and a pale grey deck.

Owner History –

Wind Sprite was moulded by White Formula and completed by Simon Hipkin for Alan Hicks, who had previously owned C11 Greyling for many years. Alan raced her very successfully until ill health forced his retirement from racing, when he sold her to his long standing crew Craig and Jayne Bond in 2021, who continue to race her regularly with friends and family crewing.

Sail Number – C53

Known Names – White Spirit

Year Built – 2009

Builder – White Performance Sailboats

Hull Material – GRP

Sailing Status – Ready to race

Last known hull colours – White with blue lines and cream decks

Owner History –

White Spirit was build by White Performance Sailboats for the legendary Olympic Gold Medallist and multi class champion Reg White, founder of White Performance. Although the third GRP boat moulded, she was the second to launch and was the first boat to utilise new internal GRP tank mouldings which had been developed by White Performance. Reg raced her to great success until his death, since when she has been raced by his youngest son Mark White. She has been laid up for several seasons in Brightlingsea.

Sail Number – C52

Known Names –

Year Built – 2007

Builder – John Mullins

Hull Material – GRP

Sailing Status – Ready to race

Last known hull colour – White

Owner History –

This was the third of the GRP boats moulded, but the second to actually be launched. She was built for a customer in the Netherlands and has never sailed with the main Brightlingsea Fleet.

If anyone has any details about the current ownership of whereabouts of the boat please contact BODOA Secretary Fiona Brown on fiona.brown@fionabrown.com

Sail Number – C51

Known Names – Grethe (pronounced Greta – named after Poul Richard Hoy-Jensen’s mother)

Year Built – 2007

Builder – John Mullins

Hull Material – GRP

Sailing Status – Ready to race

Last known hull colour – Navy blue with red lines and a white bottom

Owner History –

Grethe was the second of the GRP boats moulded, but the first to actually be launched. She was built for Danish sailing legend Poul Richard Hoy-Jensen of Petticrows, who had been involved in supporting John Mullins and Malcolm Goodwin in the work of specifying the scantlings for the new GRP boats, to ensure they would race on a level playing field with the best of the wooden boats. Poul brought her to Brightlingsea to race her against the fleet, and did some local regattas in her before taking her out to use from his home in the Netherlands for family racing and cruising.

Fiona Brown purchased the boat in 2013 and brought her back to Brightlingsea to race against the fleet and she continues to be based in Brightlingsea.

Sail Number – C52

Known Names – Eider

Year Built – 2007

Builder – John Mullins/Simon Hipkin

Hull Material – GRP

Sailing Status – Ready to race

Last known hull colours – Pale blue, with white bottom and teak deck

Owner History –

Grethe was the first of the GRP boats moulded, and she was originally owned by John Mullins who led the work of creating the new GRP boats. Although she was the first boat out of the mould, John prioritised completion of her sister ship C51 for Poul Richard Hot-Jensen. He continued to work on her periodically but declining health prevented him from completing her.

In 2014 Sue and Adrian Bouckley were looking for a good BOD at just the moment that the Mullins family decided they needed to sell the partly completed C50. Sue’s grandfather Harry King has been a very well known master shipwright, and in conversation it transpired that John had served part of his apprenticeship under Mr King. Simon Hipkin was asked to complete the boat to Sue and Adrian’s specification, which included an unusual teak laid deck with white calking.

Sue raced her successfully with family and friends for several years, but she has been laid up since Covid and is now actively on the market – see our For Sale page.

Sail Number – C44

Known Names – Janice

Year Built – 1955

Builder – James & Stone

Hull Material – Wood

Sailing Status – Ready to race

Last known hull colours – Light blue with dark blue lines, a white bottom and white deck

Owner History –

1955 J Overton
1964 H Jefferies
1965 Harold Norrington, Colin Willett, Clem Mellish
1982 David Watts
1986 T Matthews and Rob Maloney
2014 Richard Austin
2024 Joe & Sally Harman

Under the Richard Austin’s ownership The Mike underwent a total restoration in 2015 by Rob Maloney bring her back to concours de elegance condition. Sadly ill health has meant that Richard was not been able to race her himself, and put the boat on the market. She was purchased in 2024 by Joe & Sally Harman who now race her regularly.

Sail Number – C43

Known Names – Endeavour, White Rabbit

Year Built – 1957

Builder – G R Blight

Hull Material – Wood

Sailing Status – Sailable but in need of TLC

Last known hull colours – Dark blue with a white deck

Owner History –

1957 R Stoker
???? Woods
1976 D Emeny, R J Brown
???? Ian Stone
???? Nick Readings
2019 BODOA

Built 1957 by GR Bligh of West Mersea. Standard wooden clinker construction known to have been stripped and re-fixed with epoxy and redecked circa 2010. New shape aluminium Z-spar mast, galvanised launching trolley, full set of sails.

Endeavour was donated to the BODOA by Nick Readings in 2019 and has been used periodically since that time as a loan boat. She has not raced since Covid and is laid up in the Colne Yacht Club yard. Whilst in need of refit work she is in sailable condition and is actively up for sale at a very preferential price for anyone who will refit her and race her from Brightlingsea – see our For Sale page for details.