Colin Mudie 1926-2020
he naval architect, yachtsman, author and balloonist Colin Mudie died on 11 March. He will probably be best remembered for his ground-breaking transat with Patrick Ellam in the, and the eponymously titled book that followed, but his diverse career included designing many tall ships (among them and ), superyachts, production yachts, motor cruisers and replica vessels. Colin apprenticed at the British Powerboat Company during the war, building MTBs and everything else from speed boats to round-bilged Admiral’s barges. His apprenticeship took him through every department in the company. After that, he worked at the Laurent Giles design office in Lymington working on “really advanced designs” including, of course, , the light, 19ft clinker-built berduman yacht that he sailed with Patrick Ellam from the Canaries to Barbados, a voyage that produced a classic of sailing literature, and changed people's perceptions of cruising off shore in small yachts.
