The next Wharram gathering – or ‘Hui’ – is planned for 3-5 August 2024. This annual event brings together James Wharram Designs boats and boat people for a chance to sail, share stories and get to know different Wharram designs and vessels.
This Hui will mark 70 years since James Wharram designed his first catamaran Tangaroa and mooring this year will be at Devoran Quay at the head of Restronguet Creek in Cornwall – a short five-minute walk from Wharram Headquarters.
Whether people are attending by land or sea, the plan is to gather at Devoran Quay on Saturday 3rd August, where trailer boats can be launched with the afternoon high tide. BBQs will be lit down the road at Wharram HQ, ready for a fun evening with ‘bring and share’ food and drink and the chance to exchange stories of sailing adventures around the fire, together with head of James Wharram Designs, Hanneke Boon.
Sunday 5th and Monday 6th August will be micro adventure style sailing days – weather dependent – exploring the Carrick Roads and camping overnight on boats or in tents on the foreshore, before heading back to Devoran on the Monday afternoon for a final evening around the campfire at Wharram HQ.
Hanneke and the James Wharram Designs team are hoping the Hui will once again provide a great opportunity for Wharram boat owners and enthusiasts to come together for a fun weekend gathering of kindred spirits. For more details and to register your interest in joining the Hui, head to www.wharram.com and fill out the short registration form here.
It’s been a busy year at Wharram HQ, with Hanneke sailing her round-the-world Pahi 63 Spirit of Gaia from Sicily to the Algarve last year. The month-long section of the voyage from Ibiza to Portugal was undertaken with an all-woman crew; a dynamic which made for an excellent atmosphere on board and a thoroughly successful trip, along the coast of southern Spain and through the Strait of Gibraltar – where Spirit of Gaia had last sailed thirty years before.
On arrival in Portugal the boat and crew were welcomed into the lagoon near Olhão by three other Wharram catamarans and the unique 70’ (12.3m) double canoe Ontong Java – a fitting end to a beautiful voyage.
“It was a fantastic experience to sail with my women crew,” Hanneke explained. “We had a fast rollercoaster ride from Gibraltar, round Tarifa to Cadiz, covering 75NM in 9.5 hours, with peak speeds of 14 knots.”
Spirit of Gaia is now overwintering in Portugal, while work continues in the busy Wharram design office back in Cornwall.
