Philip Walwyn: Gone But Not Forgotten

Kate, a first rule (1907) International 12 Meter design built by Philip Walwyn in St. Kitts, just completed her crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. Sadly, however, her faithful partner was not with her when she arrived.

Earlier this year, Philip set out from Nova Scotia to sail Kate singlehanded to Falmouth, England via the Azores. Philip was on the final leg from the Azores to England, but on August 3 Kate was discovered off the Cornish coast with its sails up and no one on board.

Peter Dupre, Commodore of St Kitts Yacht Club, shared this report with Scuttlebutt editor Craig Leweck:

“On his crossing from Nova Scotia to the Azores he encountered two storms and had been beset with problems of the self-steering gear. When Philip was about 600 miles southwest of Falmouth, he said he had totally lost the self-steering gear, but was in good spirits steering by hand and making good progress.

“On August 1 at 0700 GMT, Philip was at 84.4N 13.15W which gave him about another 330 miles to go. Having battled headwinds over the last two days he was now on a good course with favorable winds.”

The last message Peter got was when Philip was within 30 miles of landfall.

“I had been waiting to hear from him all day. But then I learned that the Coast Guard found Kate un-manned and after a huge sea search for Philip ensued, he was found in the sea between the Lizard and Coverack and was airlifted to hospital in very serious condition. Tragically – he has now passed.

“Philip was no stranger to shorthanded ocean sailing – this was his sixteenth transatlantic crossing and fifth solo crossing. However, this was an extraordinary yacht to sail singlehanded. Those of us who had been lucky enough to sail on Kate know despite her spectacular performance, she is a very physical and challenging yacht to sail, even fully crewed.”

Philip was a welcome contributor to Scuttlebutt, frequently kicking our tiller when we wandered off course. This tribute to Philip on Facebook sums up our sentiment as well…

“To the man, the myth, the legend that is and always will be Philip Walwyn. A man that touched so many people’s hearts and souls, a man that is. Thank you Philip for all of your dancing to foxes and cross dressing and throwing glasses at the precise moment. Thank you for making all of our lives fuller, you will be very missed.”