James Wharram
In the mid 50's, based on his research into ancient Polynesian boat design, James Wharram built the first off-shore Catamaran in Britain and sailed it out into the Atlantic. While the world's yachting community were busy dismissing such a design as a worthy sea-going vessel, James was landing his 23'6" 'Double Hulled Canoe' in the West Indies.
There he built a second 40' Polynesian style Catamaran and sailed it back to the UK accompanied by two young German girls -being the first to sail a catamaran across the North Atlantic.
These amazing Trans-Atlantic crossings and the follow up book "Two Girls, Two Catamarans" has etched the name 'James Wharram' into the annals of yachting history.
The quality of the Wharram self-build catamarans is reflected in their popularity, excellence of craftmanship and 'sound sailing qualities'. 50 years on - with 10,000 sets of plans sold and thousands turned into proud vessels - Wharram 'Cats' can be seen in harbours across the world maintaining the highest reputation for surviving wind and wave.
