James Wharram Designs

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/

17/05/2026

Our time in A Coruña gave me time to rebuild Ernald, our selfsteering, stronger and better. The old bracket had been strong, but the wood and epoxy glue had weathered over many years exposure. There was enough iroko on board to make a proper and lasting repair.

Due to the delay two crew had to return home, but I was very lucky that two helpers at the Floating Stories Lab in Brittany were eager to take their place and were able to come to Coruña within a day. Since then we have made two sails up the coast and are now in beautiful Cedeira. It looks like we will depart for Cornwall tomorrow morning.

11/05/2026

Spirit of Gaia has arrived in A Coruna. We had a good sail from Peniche to Camarinas (Galicia), but just got caught in a thundery rain squall on the last stretch into the ria. We dropped the main fast as the boat speeded up to 12 knots, but sadly the hinging bracket of 'Ernald' our self steering, self destructed.

'Ernald' has been named after Ernald Pearson, a friend since 1972, who sailed many Wharram catamarans, and led the team to launch Spirit of Gaia. He sailed on her maiden voyage from Cornwall to North Spain in 1992, and in 1997 from Sri Lanka to Oman. Ernald died while James and I were sailing the Lapita Voyage in 2009. 'Ernald ' has been an excellent crew member on this voyage, doesn't get tired, needs no food and keeps us on course silently. I hope I can give him some emergency treatment, so he can steer us up to Cornwall, where I will build him a new bracket.

On our arrival in Coruna we were met by Mark of 'Wildling Sailing' on his Pahi 42 Mahi.

We will have to await a favourable weather window here, which may be some time. Lots of Northerlies in the coming week.

06/05/2026

Spirit of Gaia started her voyage from Faro to Falmouth on the 1st May. A two day voyage of light Westerlies got us to Peniche where we are awaiting Southerly winds starting tomorrow. We have a compliment of 6 crew, all good experienced boat people and all are happy. The monohull sailors are delighted by the fact cups stay where you place them and not having to lash everything down at all times. The joy of the double canoe.

05/05/2026

Ever wondered what’s inside a set of Wharram Boat Building Plans?

In this video, Hanneke Boon shows you the large-scale plan sheets and a beautifully illustrated step-by-step A3 booklet that guides you through the entire build, making the process clear, practical, and achievable, even for first-time builders.

Everything is designed to take you from dream.. to a real boat in the water.

👉 20% off all Boat Building Plans - Spring Sale - ends 17th May

Unboxing Wharram Boat Building Plans ⚓What do you actually get when you order a set of Wharram Boat Building Plans?In this video, we open up a full set and w...

19/04/2026

🌞 Spring Sale time - 20% off all Boat Building Plans!

Not sure which Wharram cat is right for you?

⚓ Explore our designs
⚓ Dive into study plans
⚓ Choose your perfect boat

Builders worldwide call our plans “a course in boat building.”

Any questions just ask - we're always here to help.

Ends 17 May

Get started here:
👉 https://www.wharram.com/self-build-boats

18/04/2026

Six page feature article about Hanneke Boon in Wooden Boat May/June issue just out.
Also a review of Women & the Wind by Nic Compton in the same issue.