Type: 22 Square Metre Skerry
Uffa Fox Vigilant Specifications:
LOA: 34’6″ / 10.51m – LWL: 25’6″ / 7.77m – Beam: 6’4″ / 1.93m – Draft: 4’3” / 1.29m – Hull Number: – Designer: Uffa Fox – Original Owner: Uffa Fox – Current Owner: – Year Built: 1930 – Built By: – Hull Material: – Gross Displacement: 2 tons – Sail Number: 22/K1 – Sail Area: 236 sq ft
Photo credit: David Petersson
Historical:
VIGILANT was one of Uffa’s early ventures into keelboat design. Built in 1930, she is based on the 22 Square Metre Skerry Cruiser rules. She is of very light construction, so much so that the Q Class which raced on the Solent refused to allow her to compete.
Compared to the international 6 meter yacht, Vigilant is of about the same size, with half of the sail area, and half the displacement.
Uffa cruised Vigilant to Sweden to race in the Royal Swedish Yacht Club Centenary Races at Stockholm. He did not excel in the racing there, possibly because his racing experience had largely been in dinghies.
Restoration:
Vigilant was partly restored in the 1970s when her cabin was extended to provide better accommodation but was then laid up in 1975. She was rediscovered in Loddon, Norfolk by Andrew Thornhill who spent from 1990 to 1994 bringing her back almost to her original condition. Today she is part of the International Sailing Craft Association (ISCA) Maritime Museum’s fleet based at Lowestoft from where she has visited events as far apart as the Clyde and Solent.
She was one of the stars of the show at the Uffa Fox Centenary Regatta in 1998.
The boat is recorded in Uffa’s 1934 book Sailing