In the back garden of his home in south-east London on a chilly late October day, publisher Dick Wynne gave an insight into what it’s like to run a publishing firm which, in the absence of any grand profit, might be described as a rather grand hobby.
“The books came first” he remembers. “I was an armchair sailor from the age of about 12. I got to 50 before I did anything about it, and did my Competent Crew in the Solent in midwinter. If I can hack this, I thought, then sailing is for me.”
If books led Dick to boats, then it was boats that completed his circle back to books, through an Albert Strange connection. “I wanted a canoe yawl for my first boat, and ended up buying a David Moss-built 15-footer. Then I got involved with the Albert Strange Society [the yacht designer Strange was one of the early and great advocates of the type] and met Tony Watts, who was archivist of the Humber Yawl Society.”
The Humber Yawl Society is devoted to the life and designs of George Holmes, a contemporary of Strange, and the other great name in canoe yawl design from that era. “I said to Tony: why not write his biography? And I’ll produce the book.” Holmes of the Humber was released in 2009 and sold 350 copies. “I was deluded by the success of that first book into doing more.” There soon followed a re-issue of Albert Strange, by John Leather, with a new introduction.
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
The joys of coarse racing
A record year for Loch Broom SC and its Flying Fifteens
MOSQUITO FIRST RULE 6 (ANKER, 1913): FROM TRIUMPH TO DISASTER AND BACK
She was designed to race hard in 1913, but 101 years later, almost sank after a calamitous collision. Today, Mosquito is back and racing again
SYDNEY HARBOUR 18 FOOTERS
The Sydney 18s were among the most radical racing dinghies in the world in their heyday. These days, they still are
SWEDISH ROSE
At her launch in 1894, Bel’Rose changed Swedish sailing forever. Now, her owner of 44 years has had her rebuilt, in strictly traditional style
FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
Cox’s Boatyard on the Broads was revitalised a quarter of a century ago and it hasn’t looked back
PETER NICHOLSON Got the T-shirt
From navy pilot to yacht designer to Squadron commodore to company boss... it’s all in a life’s work to Peter Nicholson
It's Howard's Way... not Martin's way
Martin Black recalls a rare win, uncelebrated; and a chance at fame, unrequited
F0R WHOM THE BOAT CALLS
A replica of Hemingway’s fishing boat Pilar has put to sea and will soon enter line production, bringing a legend back to life
Winston Megoran THE MAN BEHIND THE BOOK COVER
For more than 30 years, illustrator Winston Megoran produced countless paintings and etchings of the sea and boats. This brilliant and diverse self-taught artist also created a wealth of book jackets that have made his work, if not his name, famous
YARD VISIT: SPIRIT YACHTS GREEN SPIRIT
James Bond, the electric age, and a new dayboat model
Allman Betts Band
THE PROUD INHERITORS OF THE ALLMAN BROTHERS’ GREGG ALLMAN, DICKEY BETTS AND BERRY OAKLEY PROVE TO BE MORE THAN CHIPS OFF THE OLD BLOCK
2020 SMITHMOOR CUP
The annual championship Smithmoor Cup BPCR Silhouette match was held July 16-17, 2020.
SECRET WEAPON
Bobby Dickerson was integral in transforming the Padres’ infield from error-prone to October-caliber
All The Pretty Things
DICK TAYLOR, GUITARIST AND FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE PRETTY THINGS, DEPARTED THE BAND AFTER THEIR CONCEPT ALBUM S.F. SORROW, BUT RETURNED IN 1979 FOR THE LONG HAUL, UNTIL THE RECENTLY RELEASED (AND LAST) ALBUM, BARE AS BONE, BRIGHT AS BLOOD.
Surf Guitar's Next Chapter
SURF-ROCKER MARTIN SCHMIDT TALKS GW THROUGH THE SURF GUITAR BOOK, AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE TONES AND TEXTURES BEHIND THE REVERB-DRENCHED GENRE’S MOST FAMOUS RECORDINGS, GEAR AND GUITAR HEROES
TOP 10 Turnaround seasons
With the 49ers experiencing a turnaround season of the wrong kind this year through the middle of October, let’s take a look at the bright side. San Francisco is coming off one of the very best turnaround seasons in franchise history, as the 2019 49ers made one of the greatest single-season improvements in NFL history for a team that had such a poor record the season before. That earns last year’s team a high place on this list of the best turnaround seasons in 49ers history.
FAA CHIEF TESTS CHANGES TO BOEING'S GROUNDED 737 MAX
The head of the Federal Aviation Administration, a former military and airline pilot, said Wednesday that he liked what he saw during a two-hour test flight of Boeing’s revamped 737 Max jetliner, a key step as the agency considers whether to let the plane return to flight after two deadly crashes.
It Echoes Up the Holler
Terry Newsom and Mitchell Cathey are co-pastors of Cumberland Furnace COGOP in Dickson County, Tennessee. Because of their reputation as larger-than-life mountain movers, State Overseer E.C. McKinley has dubbed these Western Highland Rim ministers the “Cumberland Furnace Boys.” District presbyter Mike Burton asked them to co-pastor the church after faithful COGOP trailblazer, Pastor Buna Lampley (who had mentored them), went to glory.
ProAc Response D2R - LOUDSPEAKER
Between the mid-1980s and late 2000s, Stereophile published 14 re-views of loudspeakers from England’s ProAc Limited.
This Ultra-Rare Essex Terraplane
Stands Out in a Crowd