James Wharram Designs

13/08/2026

Very old Jeckells sails start a new life in Hawaii

In the 1960s this bright orange sprit rig was made by Jeckells for the early 22ft Classic Hina design (fore runner of the Hinemoa). These Hina photos were taken in the Conway estuary in North Wales, where James and Ruth Wharram were based at the time, living on their 40ft catamaran Rongo. This was the first Wharram catamaran Hanneke sailed on in 1968.

The Hina moved to South Wales and joined Tehini in Sandy Haven, not sure what happened to the boat when the Wharrams moved to Ireland, but the sails stayed in the family. They spent the last 40 years stored in their bag in the JWD workshop in Devoran, but are now back on the water again.

Kiko Johnson, who performed the launching ceremony of Spirit of Gaia in 1992, has been the owner of a beautiful genuine Hawaiian double canoe for many years. He has wanted to rig her with a sprit rig as many canoes in Hawaii were rigged under European influence in the 1800s. When Hanneke met Kiko in Port Townsend last year they decided that the bright orange old Hina rig would be the perfect match for Kikos 22ft Wa'a Kailua - Hawaiian double canoe.

https://jeckells.co.uk/history/

25/07/2026

Six Wharram catamarans are participating at the wonderful traditional boat festival in Douarnenez. Great appreciation for the designs here in France.

22/07/2026

Wharram Hui Audierne - day 2

On Sunday all the boats left the harbour for a social sail in a brisk wind, with many of the boats reaching speeds over 10 knots. All people without boats were able to crew aboard their chosen boat.

After some exciting hours sailing, all the boats rafted up for everyone to eat lunch and gather in conversation across the many decks. A memorable day, with many happy memories and some great photos.

22/07/2026

Spirit of Gaia has arrived in Douarnenez. Tempes Fetes is starting tomorrow. Many boats are arriving today.

18/07/2026

Wharram Hui Audierne (Brittany) - day one.

The Hui brought many Wharram builders, sailors and enthusiasts to Audierne this year. The presence of Spirit of Gaia drew many people from far away, with people driving long distances from the South of France, Denmark, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. For Hanneke it was great to catch up with friends she had not seen in many years.

At the end of Saturday around 40 people gathered on Spirit of Gaia to be briefed about the sailing plan for Sunday when 8 Wharrams will head out to sea for a social sail followed by a raft up off the beach.

Meantime Audierne hosted a 'Rendez-vous de la Mer' and a market on the quayside, with the town's langouste 'Cap Sizun', shoreside booths and the Wharram catamarans as attractions.

The 7 boats attending are Pahi 63 Spirit of Gaia, Tiki 46 'Grand Pha', Tiki 38 'Wax Spirit', Tiki 28 'Louloute', a Tiki 33 (extended from 30), Pahi 31 'Nomadic' and a Hitia 17. Another four boats had registered, but sadly were not able to make it.

More photos of the other boats will follow tomorrow.

10/07/2026

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DalLQ1DC7VD/?igsh=MWNna2s0M2Jya3h2Ng==

09/06/2026

Spirit of Gaia will attend Falmouth Classics next weekend (12 - 14 June). Public viewing is on Saturday, we will be anchored close in and are happy to receive people on board. Or come to watch the Parade of Sail on Sunday morning from the headlands or by boat.

29/05/2026

https://youtu.be/t4loJJeUo0Y?si=ZLaqiHq6NO2fPvFV

A full boat tour of Spirit of Gaia, the Wharram Flagship...Wharra...

25/05/2026

Spirit of Gaia has crossed Biscay and is back in her home port in Cornwall after 34 years.

On May 18th we got a weather window of southerly wind for around 3-4 days and we had to take it. The wind did indeed blow from the south, but turned out a lot stronger than we had hoped for and soon after clearing the shelter of the land sails started to come down.

Mizzen down first, little reduction in speed; taking two reefs in the main were immediately followed by lowering the whole sail and still we were sailing at 7-9, 10 knots in rough seas. Later the staysail got a reef and our speed still stayed the same. For the night we lowered the staysail as wind still looked like increasing and hoisted a brand new storm staysail (about half the area of the normal staysail), which I got made after our heavy wind voyage up the Red Sea. For the next two days we sailed under just this little sail at around 6-7 knots while the decks got battered by the sea, from below and from above. But Gaia valiantly sailed on, shaking off water and riding those seas with ease. She had seen worse.

Ernald, our repaired self-steering crew member, was stronger than ever and kept Gaia on a straight course throughout. I counted ourselves very lucky that he had self destructed when he did, or he would have broken on this voyage and we would have had to hand steer the whole way.

The wind reduced during the last night and in the morning we encountered fog on our approach up the Channel. Thank goodness for AIS, which showed us all close shipping. We were then welcomed by the UK Border Force soon after we passed the Lizard.

On Thursday afternoon we sailed into Carrick Roads (Falmouth) in very low visibility, but soon after the anchor was down the sun came out and we were warm for the first time in 3 weeks of sailing.

On Friday we motored up Restronguet Creek to Gaia's launch site at Devoran Quay. We just made it to the Quay on the last tide with sufficient water. She lies there now beneaped waiting for the next Springs this coming weekend.

Everyone is welcome to visit and view the boat. On Saturday 30th May in the afternoon there will be an open day while the tide is in and I will be there to tell Spirit of Gaia's stories of her past voyages and adventures. Maybe see you there?

19/05/2026

Good news - we’ve extended our Spring Sale 🌊

Many of you have been exploring designs, ordering Study Plans, and planning future builds. For that reason we’ve decided to keep the offer open for people yet undecided.

⛵️ 20% OFF all Wharram Boat Building Plans
📅 Extended for 2 more weeks, until Sunday 31st May

If you’ve been dreaming about building your own Wharram catamaran, now’s the time to begin.

Here's a handy guide to choosing a Wharram:

https://www.wharram.com/articles/choosing-a-boat/