A racing yacht that helped put Burnham on the sailing map has recently been brought back to Burnham to take part in this year’s Burnham Week regatta.

‘Wouldn’t it?’, the prototype wooden version of the fibreglass Squib-class racer, has been bought by Daniel Wastnage of Creeksea and Jason Phelps of Burnham. ‘Wouldn’t it?’ is a pun on the fact that the hull is made up of the wooden ‘plug’ for what is normally a fibre-glass boat.

The National Squib-class is one of the most successful one-design keel boats in the world, and was conceived, designed and built in Burnham-on-Crouch by naval architect, Oliver Lee. 25 Squibs are taking part in this year’s Burnham Week, making it the biggest fleet in the regatta.
‘Wouldn’t it?’ is helmed in Burnham Week by Jo Morely with the sail number 0. Because it’s made of wood, it is lighter than the average Squib, so if it wins any races, its results may not be counted, but the Burnham Squib fleet is keen to see her put through her paces.

Crewed by two people, a Squib is a racing keelboat, with a hull of fibreglass fitted with an iron keel to keep it upright in a blow. It is easily discerned on the river by its distinctive tan sails and the trademark ‘squiggle’ logo which looks a little like a gull in flight, but is, in fact, based upon a squiggle on the blueprints made by Oliver Lee to test a marker pen.

Squibs has been sailed all over the world, though the main fleets are in the UK and Ireland with Burnham remaining its effective headquarters. The boat has proved popular with sailors of all ages, with young, fit people in their twenties racing against elderly couples. It is internationally renowned for its intelligent, robust design and is suitable for both racing or cruising, including picnics on the river.

Its design was based on a larger boat also designed by Oliver Lee, the Ajax 23, but at 19 feet long, the Squib is just the right size to act as a trailer-sailer, to be towed behind a car to regattas, the lakes or seaside holidays.

Oliver Lee was born in Grantham in 1927. The son of a professional photographer, he learnt to sale on the Great Bitter Lakes in Egypt during his National Service. In 1948 he came to Burnham-on-Crouch and joined Tucker Brown’s boatyard to serve a 5-year apprenticeship in yacht-building. In 1953, he teamed up with local naval architect Alan Buchanan, spending 12 years designing craft ranging from sailing cruisers to deep-sea trawlers. By then Oliver Lee had become a highly-skilled sailor, winning the Hornet dinghy class world championship in 1954, with Brian Fisher as his crew.

Oliver started his own yacht design and build business in 1963, and began work on the Squib in 1967, in his house at the bottom of Park Road. The first production boat was Number 11, and named, predictably enough, ‘Squib’, which is now owned by current Squib Class chairman, Dick Batt, and which has regularly raced on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Oliver Lee went on to build over 150 Squibs in Burnham, the last made by Lee being number 157, called ‘Cheque Mate’. He used his deep understanding of aerodynamics to build his own glider, and built a range groundbreaking yachts, including the revolutionary Mig 3.5 for single-handed or disabled sailors. He also designed and built the Hunter 19’, a version of the Squib with a small cabin, dubbed the ‘Squib with a Lid’. One of these, the ‘Willing Griffin’, helmed by David Blagden, made a record-breaking Atlantic crossing, the smallest boat at the time to have taken part in the singlehanded Transatlantic Race.

Oliver Lee’s daughter, Jenny Harris, who still lives in Burnham, recalls her father ‘starting work at around 7am and we wouldn’t see him until dinner time’. Jenny described the famous naval architect as ‘a very quiet soul, always understated,’ and explains how he had an office in his house, at the bottom of Park Road before ‘he got a shed round the back of Warner’s Hall’ – the biggest house on the lower High Street. The shed in which he designed and built his boats is no longer there, but, says Jenny, ‘the lady who lives in the house that replaced it, called her home Oliver.’

Oliver Lee’s granddaughter, Emily, said that she recalled ‘the handmade models he made of the boats he was designing. He used to sail them in the pond at home – they were remote-controlled. I loved watching them sail.’ Jenny has kept all the original blueprints of the yacht and recalls the early success of the Squib: ‘I was around 10 years old when it dawned on me how successful the Squib had become; it did make me feel proud’. She also speaks of her father’s enthusiasm for marketing the boat; ‘I used to race a cadet (a small racing boat designed for young people and crewed by two) and my dad paid me £10 to call it Squib, so it would go in the racing programme like an advertisement.’

Emily adds, ‘Every time I go in the pub with friends, they introduce me as ‘this is Emily, she’s Oliver Lee’s granddaughter!’

Oliver Lee died in 1993, but Squib production continued in Burnham by Barker Brewer Boats, up to 1996. The total number of Squibs in the world is now approaching 900. There is an exhibit dedicated to Oliver Lee’s work in the Burnham Museum. The Squib is the only National keel boat to have been designed and built in Burnham-on-Crouch.

Daniel Wastnage, Burnham Squib Class Captain, learnt earlier this year that ‘Wouldn’t it?’ had come up for sale in Levington, Suffolk, where it had been owned by Mark Wincer from Waldringfield. Says Daniel; ‘She had been kept in good condition. It seemed only right that the first Squib should return to her rightful home where she could be treasured by the Burnham Squib fleet. The fleet has set up a Just Giving page to look after this valuable piece of Burnham Maritime history.’ The link to that page is: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/original-squib

Daniel Wastnage added, ‘if you would like to join the fleet and are interested in trying out a Squib, we have two club boats available to charter for a small fee at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club. The boats are very affordable.’ You can contact Daniel on dan@wastnage.co.uk