Mariquita Book - mk2

introduction
Being involved with Mariquita was something I thought I could only dream of. Little did I know that my
conversation with John Caulcutt, in the bar of the Royal Thames one evening in January 2012, was going to lead
to this becoming a reality. But for me the story actually started many years before. There is a saying “what’s for you
will not go by you” and I believe there is a lot of truth in that.
I recall visiting friends one spring weekend. On the Sunday we went to a quiet little place on the Suffolk coast called
Pin Mill. Walking around after lunch we came across a large, but sadly neglected, hull lying in a mud berth. I had
never seen a yacht of this size and thought to myself that I was seeing my first J-Class racing yacht. She was a sad
sight, paint flaking from her hull, mast and spars long gone, and judging by how high out of the water she was, the
lead from her keel had been removed some years back. To add to her indignity, on deck was perched a structure
that would have easily passed as a garden shed. I was not to see another boat of that size for many years and she
slipped away as a distant memory.
However, many years later I was sailing in the British Classic Yacht Club regatta in Cowes on board the newly
restored Opposition. That year the Club had attracted a ‘Big Boat’ class, which included the recently rebuilt
Mariquita. Unaware that I had glimpsed her before, I remember vividly standing on her vast teak decks, looking
around me in wonderment at this graceful racing machine. I couldn’t help but think how amazing it might be to
sail on, never mind own, this cheetah of the seas, built a century ago. The dream was answered on a very special
occasion when in the spring of 2012 we met on board Mariquita in preparation for the handover. Sitting at the
saloon table with Jim Thom, the captain, he passed around the beautiful monograph commissioned to mark her
restoration. As I leafed through the pages, one photograph suddenly took my breath away. The sad hulk that I had
mistaken for an abandoned J-Class in Pin Mill was the Mariquita in whose saloon we were now sitting. Thinking
about that still sends a shiver down my spine.
This book sets out the story of our three years sailing Mariquita. It has been an awesome adventure that I have been
privileged to share with my partners John Caulcutt, Stephen Hemsley and Nick Edmiston. It has taught me a lot
and I have had the pleasure of sailing with some wonderful people, led by our captain, George Newman.
Jamie Matheson
May 2016
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