Sail Number 2 Built in 1911
Adventurer was born from a bold idea to bring something new to the venerable Thames A-Rater class. Jock Wishart had long admired these elegant, high-performance river racers and decided it was time to create a fresh take—something that respected the tradition but pushed the design forward.
He approached my nephew, Jamie Stewart, a skilled boatbuilder who had completed his university thesis on A-Raters and was eager to build one himself. They struck a deal: Jock would fund the materials and labour at cost, and Jamie would build the boat—they would share ownership.
With no modern plans to go by, they relied on the original lines of Scamp, one of the most successful classic Raters. Fortunately, Jock could call on old friend and renowned yacht designer Hugh Welbourn, who agreed (in exchange for several crates of Mount Gay rum!) to digitise the lines. From Hugh’s computer model, Jamie was able to build a male plug for the hull. For the deck, Jamie adapted a mould taken from a 505 dinghy, resulting in a sleek and comfortable design that was not only eye-catching but also highly responsive in a breeze.
As the build progressed, costs inevitably climbed, and Iain Donnell joined the syndicate as a partner. That arrangement, however, turned out to be less than ideal, and Jock eventually bought out his share. Such is the nature of boat projects!
Adventurer took some time to find her form. Early on, she carried too much weight forward, and her performance lagged behind expectations. The breakthrough came when we shifted the mast eight inches aft—transforming her handling and speed. Some say it was the change in paint colour—from my beloved palatinate purple to Jamie’s more aggressive bullet grey—that did the trick.
Her first major triumph came in the 2014 Queen’s Cup, helmed by Simon Blake. From there, Adventurer became a regular podium finisher. Her finest season to date was 2018, when she came tantalisingly close to a clean sweep, winning both the Thames Championship and the Queen’s Cup.
With Jamie always looking to innovate and tweak the design, we’re excited to see what the future holds for Adventurer. She’s a testament to what can be achieved when tradition meets innovation—and when a good idea is fuelled by determination, a bit of rum, and a lot of passion.
