Three men and their boats

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With just a month until the Little Britain Challenge Cup gets under way, Katie Puckett meets three industry amphibians who鈥檝e found true love off the coast of England

Jack Pringle RIBA president and partner in Pringle Brandon

鈥淚 think that if you sail as a teenager, you get the bug and it lies dormant,鈥� says Jack Pringle. He had all but forgotten his youthful dinghy-sailing days on the River Trent until 15 years ago, when he seized on sailing as an alternative to beach holidays.

Two years ago he ditched the holiday spirit, got serious and bought his own 40 ft yacht for 拢12,000. It was an IMX 40 that had been part of the French team for the 2002 Commodores鈥� Cup. He renamed it Mankie, from his daughters鈥� names, Max and Frankie, but it was never going to be an excuse for family outings. 鈥淭he first year I sailed with friends and colleagues,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut you soon realise that if you want to be really competitive you鈥檝e got to pull together a much more serious team.鈥�

Ever since, he鈥檚 been trying to make a name for himself in the sailing world. 鈥淚t takes a long time before you鈥檙e seen as serious, as someone who people want to sail with. You turn up, you鈥檝e got a terrible crew, you do badly. It took about 18 months before people started to say 鈥榯hat boat is really going somewhere鈥� and they have confidence in what you鈥檙e trying to do.鈥�

This year is the first, Pringle says, that he鈥檚 had a team he鈥檚 really happy with. There are 12 in total, including three women and a man from the Canadian Olympic team.

Competitive sailing is an expensive business. On top of the cost of the boat, there are the fees for getting it in and out of the water and cleaning and storing it 鈥� Pringle says he put Mankie through the process 42 times last year. This maintains the competitive advantage but he tries not to think about how much it is costing him. 鈥淵ou just close your eyes and write the cheques.鈥�

His worst moment was watching the destruction of a new 拢2500 spinnaker during Cowes Week last year. 鈥淲e hoisted it for the first time but it got hit by a big gust of wind and it turned into confetti in front of my eyes.鈥�

It will take more than that to dent Pringle鈥檚 enthusiasm for the sport. Last year he sailed every weekend apart from in December. 鈥淚 think I probably did about 70 races, from all sorts of regattas, all sorts of series, class championships, to being part of the British team for the Commodores鈥� Cup. We won quite a few. It鈥檚 a very steep learning curve and the competition is really strong. When you鈥檙e sailing upfront in a race, it鈥檚 probably the most exciting thing you鈥檒l ever do. When you鈥檙e back down the fleet, it doesn鈥檛 really work, but in first, second, third places you get a real adrenalin buzz.鈥�

Pringle鈥檚 latest attempt to woo the hardcore sailing community is Fraxious, a Farr 45, and again an amalgamation of his daughters鈥� names. The new boat cost about the same as the IMX 40 but is a far more serious craft. 鈥淭hat was part-cruiser, part-racer; this is an all-out racer,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very economic way to get into

big-boat racing. We鈥檙e entering a class where boats cost three or four times the amount we spent but we鈥檙e still competitive and can win.鈥� Not at Little Britain though, where Pringle will also be sailing 鈥� he says the class rules will put Fraxious at too much of a disadvantage.

When you鈥檙e sailing upfront in a race, it鈥檚 probably the most exciting thing you鈥檒l ever do
Jack Pringle

Fraxious is not the sort of vessel you would take for a leisurely weekend鈥檚 cruising. 鈥淚t鈥檚 completely stripped out. The cooker is the most basic thing 鈥� it鈥檚 just a little bracket you can attach a calor gas bottle to. There鈥檚 no oven. It used to have water tanks but we鈥檝e thrown them away. To be honest, I鈥檓 not keen on all this upholstery business.鈥�

Aboard Fraxious

Specifications

Length 45 ft
Width 13 ft, 11 ins
Displacement (weight) 17,600 lbs
Sail area 1335 ft虏
Top speed 18 knots

Chris Houchin Business development director at Bovis and race director for Little Britain

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to spend a lot of money,鈥� says Chris Houchin, confounding the popular perception of sailing as a rich man鈥檚 sport. Dinghies like his 14 ft Finn can cost 拢17,000, but he got his secondhand for 拢1000 seven years ago. Berthing fees at Burghfield, a gravel pit 20 minutes from his Northamptonshire house, are 拢60 a year, and since he bought it,

he鈥檚 spent only 拢25 on a sail. 鈥淚 might need to think about doing some more to it soon,鈥� he muses, 鈥渁lthough all the bits work, nothing鈥檚 broken. I鈥檝e got a soft spot for the Finn, actually. It can be physically quite demanding, but it鈥檚 good when there鈥檚 a nice wind. It鈥檚 nice to go out and play.鈥� He likes it, he says, because he can go out whenever he likes without having to organise anyone else.

But sailing his Finn is mainly a winter pursuit for Houchin. He does go out most weekends but he鈥檚 more likely to be with friends in Cornwall or racing in the Solent.

He jointly owns a J/24 yacht in Falmouth with some fellow parents he met on the 鈥渙ptimists鈥� circuit for young sailors 鈥� Houchin used to coach and took his kids all over the country when they were younger. Again, it wasn鈥檛 a big investment. A new J/24 costs about 拢20,000, but they spent only 拢4000. 鈥淲e sail competitively, but we don鈥檛 spend a great deal of money doing it. We sail to enjoy it as well as to win. We almost purposefully don鈥檛 give ourselves the best bits of kit so that when we lose, we have an excuse.鈥�

But, of course, sailing can be an extremely expensive activity if you want it to be. Houchin is raving about his recent three-week cruise around Turkey in a 38 ft yacht and says he鈥檚 wondering about buying a 鈥渟eagoing caravan鈥�. But the one he鈥檚 got his eye on costs 拢250,000. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why it鈥檚 a bit of a challenge at the moment.鈥�

In the meantime, like many enthusiasts, Houchin does his most serious sailing on a wealthier person鈥檚 boat 鈥� he is one of a team of three on a Laser SB3 owned by Mike Riley at developer Castlemore, which came ninth in the nationals last year. 鈥淥wners of yachts have a certain presence,鈥� he says. 鈥淭o enjoy their hobby they need other people to help them do it.鈥�

We almost purposefully don鈥檛 give ourselves the best bits of kit so that when we lose, we have an excuse
Chris Houchin

Houchin started sailing at a young age. His older brother got him into it when he was 10 or 11, and he bought his first boat, a 14 ft Merlin Rocket, for 拢100 when he was 16. By the time he was 24, he was part of the team that won the national championships at Weymouth Bay in 1979 and 1980. They were selected to go to the Moscow Olympics in 1980 鈥� but then Russia invaded Afghanistan and the yachting authority decided not to send the team. This is Houchin鈥檚 greatest sailing regret. 鈥淚 did dream for a long time of standing on the Olympic podium. If we鈥檇 gone, we were fancied to win something.鈥� Instead, they watched their Irish training partners go home with the silver medal. Their luck didn鈥檛 improve four years later, when they just missed out on selection for the Los Angeles Games.

Since then, he believes, the sport has become more professional. 鈥淭he mid-1980s was the last time you could race at international level and hold a job down. I was working for Wimpey in those days. They were very good. They didn鈥檛 pay me much money but they gave us lots of time off.鈥�

This year, Chris is race director for Little Britain, but he says there will be no pangs of longing as he watches the sailors head off. 鈥淎ctually I enjoy it. Somebody鈥檚 got to do the admin and it鈥檚 quite nice to put something back into a sport I鈥檝e been enjoying for 40-odd years.鈥�

Aboard the Finn

Specification

Length 14 ft 9 ins
Width 4 ft, 10 ins
Displacement (weight) 319 lbs
Sail area Main, 115 ft虏
Top speed 16 knots

Roger Barton Senior consultant, Mott MacDonald

Before he went into consultancy, Roger Barton spent 24 years in the Royal Navy as a weapons , but he鈥檚 still getting to grips with Inspiration, the 25 ft yacht he bought two years ago. 鈥淚鈥檝e sailed all my life, but when you have your own boat there鈥檚 an awful lot to learn. I鈥檓 still a newbie in terms of yachting. I鈥檝e been to the other side of the Solent and stayed overnight in a few marinas, but it鈥檚 amazing how quickly the summer goes. One never has enough time.鈥�

In summer, he tries to get out at least every other weekend, even if it鈥檚 just for a few hours. Berthing fees are 拢700 a year and, in addition, it costs 拢200 at the start and end of the summer to transfer it between land and sea. 鈥淢y wife will determine how much time I spend yachting. She鈥檚 not a very good sailor 鈥� she gets seasick quite easily 鈥� and she鈥檚 selective about the weather. But last weekend, some chums came up from Dorset and we sailed out to the Isle of Wight and stayed over.鈥�

Despite her landlubbery tendencies, it was Barton鈥檚 wife who first spotted an MG Spring at a boat show, and suggested they buy it. Barton initially baulked at the idea. 鈥淚t was a bit more expensive than I intended,鈥� he admits. They can cost 拢17,000 鈥� still cheap for a yacht 鈥� but Barton eventually found Inspiration and knocked the price of down to 拢10,500 because it needed some work to reduce the water content in the hull.

He hasn鈥檛 raced Inspiration yet, as he still hasn鈥檛 got a spinnaker. The sail and pole will cost about 拢600, he reckons, which he鈥檚 decided is a job for the winter. Last year, he bought a chart plotter, this year it will be the spinnaker and an indicator for wind speed and direction. 鈥淚 try and phase it; there鈥檚 always lots to do.鈥�

My wife will determine how much time I spend yachting. he鈥檚 not a very good sailor 鈥� she gets seasick quite easily
roger barton

It was an MG Spring that was used in the 1980s television series Howards鈥� Way. Barton is pleased with his, even if it鈥檚 not as steady as other yachts (which may make Mrs Barton yearn for an upgrade). 鈥淚t鈥檚 very responsive if you鈥檙e a keen sailor. You trim the sails and set the course and you can feel it running away.鈥� Inside, there are six berths, a cooker and a toilet 鈥� though no shower, again to the chagrin of his wife. 鈥淵ou could take a case with a couple of changes of clothes and go off for a week or so. It is cosy on board 鈥� if you had six people it would be pretty crowded.鈥�

Barton gained his Yachtmaster qualification in 2003 from the Royal Yachting Association, after going to nightschool once a week for nine months. He says that even though he鈥檚 sailed professionally, there is still plenty for him to learn.

His main preoccupation when he鈥檚 out at sea is safety: 鈥淎 lot of people take things for granted 鈥� more than they should. Anyone can buy a boat, go to a marina and sail off with no thought to safety, and end up a bit of a liability. People are okay when they鈥檙e sober but they have a couple of beers and

get in the way of the boom and topple overboard.鈥�

Barton knows this at first hand. He made an unscheduled appearance in the briny shortly after he鈥檇 left the navy and had taken his 14 ft dinghy to its first race meeting on a freezing March day. By lunchtime, his 14-year-old son said he had had enough, so Barton took an older but inexperienced sailor out instead.

鈥淚t was blowing a force six. The wind eddies around things; one moment it was calm, the next there was such a sudden gust, I lost my footing on the boat. I knew I was going to fall overboard so I dived gracefully over the side. It was bitterly cold. I came up and started gasping for breath, and the other guy鈥檚 just staring at me. I started shouting to him, 鈥榯urn the boat around and come to me鈥�. He failed a few times, then capsized just before he was about to run me down. We then had the pleasure of righting the boat and limping home. That event put my son off sailing for about 10 years.鈥�